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Are you looking for an interactive and engaging activity to boost your students' participation and build a strong classroom community at the end of the school year? In this episode of "Growing With Proficiency, the podcast," we explore a unique twist on the popular Card Talk activity that my students absolutely loved!

In this activity, I’ll share with you how to turn the simple drawings our students do in card talk into a pair-reading activity plus a gallery walk.

Main Highlights:

• Introduction to Card Talk and its benefits for student engagement and comprehensible input.
• Detailed activity setup with the prompt: "The Best and the Worst in the School Year."
• Step-by-step process from drawing, writing, hallway gallery walk, and class discussion.
• Personal connection and community building through shared experiences.
• Extending Card Talk: Ideas for adapting Card Talk for different thematic units such as clothing, food, and travel.

Resources and Links Mentioned:

• Free Teacher Guide: "How to Shift to A Comprehensible and Communicative Teaching Approach" – growingwithproficiency.com/guide
• Episode 82: Previous discussion on Card Talk with Ben Fisher
• Follow Claudia on Instagram: @claudiamelliott
• Connect on Facebook: Claudia M Elliott
• Join our waitlist for Growing With Proficiency The Spanish Teacher Academy

Thank you for tuning in to "Growing With Proficiency, the podcast." Until next time, keep growing and keep teaching with passion. ¡Hasta luego!

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The end of the school year can feel chaotic: testing, low energy, and unpredictable schedules. So what do you actually do with your students during those final weeks?

In this episode of Growing With Proficiency, I sit down with Allison Wienhold (Mis Clases Locas) to share simple, low-prep end-of-year activities for world language classes that keep students engaged without burning you out.

We talk about how to balance review, celebration, and connection while staying true to a communicative, comprehension-based approach. Whether you need movement, easy games, or meaningful ways for students to show what they’ve learned, this episode is full of ideas you can use right away.

✨ Biggest Takeaways

• Why the end of the year is a different season for both students and teachers—and how to plan accordingly
• How to use conversation cards + movement for engaging review
• Easy ways to turn any activity into a gallery walk or walk & talk
• Low-prep games like:
  • 1-2-3 Jump
  • Team Marker Game (whole-group version)
  • Relay-style Quizlet/Kahoot/Blooket
• A meaningful self-portrait project to make learning visible
• How to talk about future plans and goals with students
• Simple ways to use movies without creating a full unit

📚 Resources & Links Mentioned

• Alison Wienhold (Miss Clase Locas): https://misclaseslocas.com
• Activities with movement (includes question cards, Quizlet Live Relay, 1,2,3 Salta & dancing) https://misclaseslocas.com/10-ways-to-get-you-spanish-class-moving/
• Culture rich movies to use at the end of the year https://misclaseslocas.com/appropriate-movies-for-spanish-class/
• Comprehensible Iowa Conference June 12-13, 2026 in Des Moines, IA https://comprehensibleiowa.wordpress.com/
• End of the Year Activities Blog: https://misclaseslocas.com/lista-lunes-end-of-year-in-spanish-class
• Running out of Time EOY Blog: https://misclaseslocas.com/end-of-the-year-spanish-activities/
• Grab a Spanish Routine Freebie: https://misclaseslocas.com/para-empezar-sample-1-week-freebie/
• Growing With Proficiency Spanish Teacher Academy: https://growingwithproficiency.com/academy
• Growing With CI FB Community
• GWP Blog
• Claudia's Teacher Pay Teachers Store
• IG & Twitter: @claudiamelliott

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Profe ¿te ha pasado esto? Haces una pregunta… y recibes respuestas de una palabra. O silencio. O miradas de “no sé qué decir”. Y tú estás ahí pensando: pero si esto debería ser comunicación… ¿por qué no se siente así?

Porque muchas veces no es que tus estudiantes no quieran hablar o que no puedan, es que no tienen una razón real para hacerlo.

En esta conversación me siento con dos profes extraordinarias — María del Carmen Benítez desde Monterrey, México, y Teresa Jensen desde Omaha, Nebraska — para descubrir cómo un simple intercambio por Zoom entre sus clases lleva siete años transformando la experiencia de sus estudiantes... y por qué estos no quieren que termine la llamada.

En este episodio hablamos de:

• Qué es el modelo 50/50 y cómo funciona
• La logística: Zoom, Google Sheets y cómo se emparejan los estudiantes
• Cómo se eligen los temas de conversación
• Cómo preparar a los estudiantes antes de la llamada
• Los desafíos más comunes y cómo superarlos
• Seguridad y consentimiento informado
• Cómo empezar desde cero

🎧 Escucha el episodio, compártelo con tu comunidad y conéctate con nosotras para seguir creando clases más auténticas y significativas.

María del Carmen Benítez es especialista en enseñanza de lenguas con casi 40 años de experiencia. Actualmente lidera el área de Lenguas Extranjeras en Prepa Tec y es examinadora del Bachillerato Internacional. Ha trabajado en formación docente, desarrollo curricular y proyectos internacionales, además de promover la lectura y la escritura creativa a través de Poetazos.

Theresa Jensen es profesora de español certificada por National Board con 28 años de experiencia. Ha sido reconocida como finalista de ACTFL Teacher of the Year y Teacher of the Year en Central States. Es autora de novelas en español y promueve el uso de historias como herramienta para crear clases más inclusivas, significativas y centradas en la voz de los estudiantes.

Conéctate con nuestras invitadas:

María del Carmen Benítez benitez@tec.mx

Teresa Jensen —https://srajensen.com

Recursos para ti:

Website: https://growingwithproficiency.com

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