Category: Semester Reflection

Running Reflection Series 2: My Experience with Mike Peto’s Brazilian Portuguese Classes ~ Post #2

On By GaryDibiancaIn Beginning of the Year, Classroom Routines, Conferences and Training, Curriculum, Learning Portuguese, My Philosophy, Semester Reflection, Spanish I, Spanish II, Spanish III, Spanish IV, Teaching Strategies, Uncategorized2 Comments

I've decided to give this topic its own post. It takes me back to my first day of learning Brazilian Portuguese with Mike Peto this summer and I have not stopped thinking about his clickable Song Activities for the past 25 days. In fact, we are still using these activities daily in our classes, and I still love them.  I feel like this post should also say: Feeling accomplished!

Running Reflection Series 2: My Experience with Mike Peto’s Brazilian Portuguese Classes ~ Post #1

On By GaryDibiancaIn Beginning of the Year, Classroom Routines, Conferences and Training, Learning Portuguese, Semester Reflection, Teaching Strategies, Uncategorized3 Comments

I have waited for this moment for a long time. I have always wanted to learn and/or acquire another language that went beyond a few lessons so I could “get by” while traveling to a new place. This summer has provided me the time and opportunity to start working toward this goal via on-demand Brazilian …

Continue reading Running Reflection Series 2: My Experience with Mike Peto’s Brazilian Portuguese Classes ~ Post #1

Running Reflection Series: My Experience with Mike Peto’s Approach, My Teacher Struggles, and Next School Year ~ Post 3

On By GaryDibiancaIn Assessments, Beginning of the Year, Classroom Routines, Curriculum, Semester Reflection, Spanish I, Spanish II, Spanish III, Spanish IV, Teaching Strategies, Uncategorized5 Comments

“AHA” Moment #3 from Mike Peto’s Guidebook: Write and Discuss Every Day I am going back to how I started 10 years ago in my school. I always wanted students to have a notebook and pencil, and somewhere along the way this became a problem for students. So again, I will require all students to …

Continue reading Running Reflection Series: My Experience with Mike Peto’s Approach, My Teacher Struggles, and Next School Year ~ Post 3

Running Reflection Series: My Experience with Mike Peto’s Approach, My Teacher Struggles, and Next School Year ~ Post 2

On By GaryDibiancaIn AP World Language, Assessments, Beginning of the Year, Classroom Routines, Semester Reflection, Spanish I, Spanish II, Spanish III, Spanish IV, Uncategorized1 Comment

As teachers, I think we all have our favorite grades or courses to teach. For me, the consistency of teaching level 4/IV Spanish to juniors in high school for 21 of 22 years, is where I am most comfortable and, perhaps, happy. It is where I am helping students to grow and hone their skills …

Continue reading Running Reflection Series: My Experience with Mike Peto’s Approach, My Teacher Struggles, and Next School Year ~ Post 2

Running Reflection Series: My Experience with Mike Peto’s Approach, My Teacher Struggles, and Next School Year ~ Post 1

On By GaryDibiancaIn Beginning of the Year, Classroom Routines, Conferences and Training, Curriculum, My Philosophy, Semester Reflection, Spanish I, Spanish II, Spanish III, Spanish IV, Teaching Strategies, Uncategorized4 Comments

I have now been teaching for 23 years, and it is still amazing how I feel every year I continue to learn more as I hone my craft. This past school year was no different as there were some new “old” challenges thrown at me that have happened about every 3 years when I teach …

Continue reading Running Reflection Series: My Experience with Mike Peto’s Approach, My Teacher Struggles, and Next School Year ~ Post 1

Resource: Who is ready for a Tea Party about the film “También la lluvia/Even the Rain” with your upper-level Spanish students?  

On By GaryDibiancaIn AP World Language, Culture, Curriculum, Semester Reflection, Spanish III, Spanish IV, Teaching Strategies, Uncategorized1 Comment

I rarely share resources but I am sharing this resource because the whole class period was a wonderful introduction to the film. I feel that this year my students had a much better understanding of the film and the characters because of this powerful preview activity. I also loved it because in no way was the “preview activity” a passive one; my students were 100% engaged and actively interacting, speaking Spanish, and oh yeah, having tea and cookies.  

Spanish IV Reflection 2022-23 ~ Finding the Balance 

On By GaryDibiancaIn AP World Language, Assessments, Curriculum, My Philosophy, Semester Reflection, Spanish IV, Teaching Strategies, Uncategorized3 Comments

Teaching Spanish IV, which in my district consists of mostly students in their Junior year, is a magical experience for me as an educator. I feel the class can be a great turning point for students in terms of their proficiency growth as they approach proficiency levels of Intermediate-Mid and High.

Spanish II 2022-23 Reflection

On By GaryDibiancaIn Assessments, Beginning of the Year, Curriculum, My Philosophy, Semester Reflection, Spanish II, Teaching Strategies5 Comments

Teaching Spanish II is always a test of endurance, patience, and satisfaction watching students grow from novice levels of Spanish to intermediate levels for most. This year I taught three sections of Spanish II, which have a mix of students with most 9th graders having had Spanish since elementary school and then daily in 6th, …

Continue reading Spanish II 2022-23 Reflection

Summer Series Reflections 2023

On By GaryDibiancaIn Beginning of the Year, My Philosophy, Semester Reflection, Uncategorized1 Comment

-PLEASE FOLLOW AND SUBSCRIBE to my blog so you will receive an email when I post. My goal is to add 20 new subscribers for each of these summer posts. Please help me reach my goal.  -CONTEST: Remember in almost all of my posts I have included musical theater references. At this point, I have no idea which references I have included on each post. So the contest is to add a comment on 5 different Blog posts with your guess of the musical theater show tune reference (of the 5, it can only include 2 of the ones that I am posting this month). The first person, who has also FOLLOWEDSUBSCRIBED to my blog, to add 5 comments with the correct musical references will win a $25. Amazon Gift Card. My musical theater fans, if you are going to read the posts, why not read with a purpose?