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As the school year wraps up, there’s no better time to reflect—not just on what we think worked, but on how students experienced our class. In this episode of Growing With Proficiency: The Podcast, I’m sharing how I use end-of-year surveys to gather meaningful feedback that helps me adjust my teaching and better meet my students’ needs.

I’ll walk you through key survey questions that cover classroom culture, comprehension, learning strategies, and personal progress. I’ll also reflect on the responses of my own students and how those responses are helping me to adjust some of my lessons, routines, and strategies—all while keeping things simple and actionable.

If you want to close the year with purpose and set yourself up for a stronger start next year, grab a notebook and let’s start.

Resources & Links:

1. 🎯 Freebie: 10 Stations Template – Keep students engaged while you reflect! 👉 growingwithproficiency.com
2. 🎙️ Related Episodes:
   • Episode 125: 3 Creative Ways to Keep Students Engaged and Learning as the Year Ends
   • Episode 76: Talk, Read, Talk, Write with Tan Huynh
   • Episode 124: Silent Sustained Reading: Why It Works & How to Start

🎉 FREE RESOURCE FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS!

“10 Ready-to-Use Station Activities to Keep Students Engaged!”

✅ Reading & Easy Tasks – Print & go!
✅ Engaging & Interactive – Keep students focused!
✅ Low-Prep & Time-Saving – Less work!

Perfect for those moments when students seem more distracted than ever.

👉 Grab Your Free Resource Now!

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Are your students tuning out as the school year winds down?

Keeping students focused during the last weeks of school can feel like an impossible task. But what if you could turn this tricky time into a fun, engaging learning experience—without burning yourself out?

In this episode, I’m sharing 3 powerful strategies that will keep your students active, learning, and excited to participate—all while giving you space to breathe and teach with intention.

Plus, I’m giving away a FREE Ready-to-Use Resource Pack with templates for 10 station activities that will transform your classroom. Download it now!

🎯 Key Takeaways:

✅ Why Year-End Engagement Feels So Hard: Learn why students lose focus at the end of the year—and how to reset the learning vibe.

✅ Strategy 1: Stations for Focused Learning: Discover how to set up simple stations that boost reading, and interaction while you work with small groups.

✅ Strategy 2: Rotations for Recap & Review: Use rotations to reinforce what students have learned with creative brain dumps, illustrated one-pagers, and group summaries.

✅ Strategy 3: Pre-Recorded Listening & Reading Tasks: Create audio and video tasks students can complete independently using tools like EdPuzzle or Formative.

💻 Tool of the Week:

Chrome Extension: Mote
Looking for an easy way to record audio for your class? Mote is a Chrome extension that lets you record short audio clips directly from your browser. It’s a game changer for teachers looking to integrate more listening without extra prep!

📢 Resources & Links Mentioned:

The Spanish Teacher Academy Waitlist

🎁 Download Your Free Resource Pack:
“10 Ready-to-Use Station Activity Templates”

🎙️ Related Podcast Episode:
Episode 32: “How to Use Stations for a Low-Stress, High-Engagement CI Classroom”

Episode 118: Low-Stress Assessments with AnneMarie Chase

Episode 64: Teaching Without Tears: Effective Technology in Language Classes with Meredith White

💡 Let’s Connect!
✨ Follow me on Instagram
📧 Join my free Facebook group: Growing With CI FB Community

👉 Ready to keep your students engaged through the end of the year? Don’t miss this episode and grab your freebie today!

🎉 FREE RESOURCE FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS!

“10 Ready-to-Use Station Activities to Keep Students Engaged!”

✅ Reading & Easy Tasks – Print & go!
✅ Engaging & Interactive – Keep students focused!
✅ Low-Prep & Time-Saving – Less work!

Perfect for those moments when students seem more distracted than ever.

👉 Grab Your Free Resource Now!

Send us a text

What if you could easily add more reading to your classroom to support language acquisition and cultural competence without overwhelming yourself with extra work? Research shows that reading is one of the most effective ways for students to grow in proficiency. So, how can we make time for it in our busy classes?

In today’s episode, we dive deep into Silent Sustained Reading (SSR)—a simple, yet powerful strategy to boost your students' reading skills. You’ll learn how SSR works, why it’s so effective, and how to make it work for you and your students. I also share tips for building a library on a budget, keeping students accountable, and creating a routine that gets results.

And don’t miss our new segment, “The Tool or Activity of the Week,” sponsored by Growing With Proficiency – The Spanish Teacher Academy!

Episode Highlights:

• What is Silent Sustained Reading (SSR)? Learn what SSR is, why it’s so effective for language acquisition, and how it fosters a love of reading.
• Building a Library on a Budget: Tips on creating a diverse and accessible library for your students, including asking for PTA funds, using DonorsChoose, and creating your own books.
• How to Make SSR Work for You: Practical strategies for when to implement SSR in your classroom, setting up reading logs, and using choice boards to engage students.
• Keeping Students Accountable: How to ensure your students are really reading and engaging with the material, without the need for grading or additional assignments.
• Translation Race: This week's “Tool or Activity of the Week”—a fun and competitive game that encourages translation practice and gets students involved while adding a little luck to the mix.

Tool or Activity of the Week: Sponsored by Growing With Proficiency – The Spanish Teacher Academy

This week’s highlighted activity is Translation Race learned from Nelly Andrade—a fun and interactive way for students to listen to sentences, comprehend, and translate in groups, with a lucky dice twist to keep things exciting and level the playing field.

Resources and Links Mentioned:

• Growing With Proficiency – The Spanish Teacher Academy: Join the waitlist to be the first to know when doors open at growingwithproficiency.com/academy.
• DonorsChoose: https://www.donorschoose.org/
• Revista Literal by Spanish Martina Bex
• Le petit journal by Toward Proficiency
• Bryce Hedstrom resources

If you’re ready to get reading in your classroom and boost your students’ language acquisition, this episode is packed with tips to make it happen. Be sure to try Translation Race this week and share how it goes with your class!

🎉 FREE RESOURCE FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS!

“10 Ready-to-Use Station Activities to Keep Students Engaged!”

✅ Reading & Easy Tasks – Print & go!
✅ Engaging & Interactive – Keep students focused!
✅ Low-Prep & Time-Saving – Less work!

Perfect for those moments when students seem more distracted than ever.

👉 Grab Your Free Resource Now!