#270

What happens when students start reading—and within thirty seconds, they’re stuck on every unfamiliar word? A reading that should build language can quickly turn into a vocabulary scavenger hunt, with students translating instead of understanding. In this episode, we’re moving from preparation into what happens during reading. We’ll explore how to keep students focused on meaning, maintain engagement, and interact with texts in purposeful ways. You’ll get five practical routines you can adapt across proficiency levels and use in your classroom right away.

Topics in this Episode:

• Our job is to help students interact with the text in ways that build confidence and keep them focused on meaning.
• Instead of constantly checking, "Did they get it?" We're asking,"What support will help them get it?"
• 5 During Reading Activities that Build Comprehension: Read in Chunks, Give Students a Focus Task, Margin Thinking, Text Scavenger Hunt, Stop and Talk
• Adapting these activities across proficiency levels
• Mistakes to avoid
• "A Day in the Market" Reading Text (Spanish, French)
• Episode 279: Before Reading Routines that Build Confidence and Curiosity
• Quick Win Course: Engaging Reading Activities That Build Proficiency

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram: @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook: /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter): @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.

#269

Have you ever found what seems like the perfect reading for your students, only to watch them immediately react with some form of “I don’t understand this?” Sometimes the problem isn’t the text, it’s that students are not prepared to read it. In this episode, we’re kicking off a three-part series on reading by focusing on what happens before students even read the first sentence. We’ll look at why preparation matters, five simple pre-reading activities, and how to help students approach a text with more confidence.

Topics in this Episode:

• Sometimes students don't struggle with reading because the text is too difficult, but because they are not prepared to read it and lack the confidence to take it on.
• Once we change the purpose of reading, we also change how we prepare students.
• Preparation helps students build interest., activate background knowledge, preview essential vocabulary and structures., develop a purpose for reading.
• 5 Pre-Reading Routines: Picture Predictions, Title Talk, Essential Vocabulary, PersonalConnection, Reason for Reading
• Mistakes to avoid
• "A Day in the Market" Reading Text (Spanish, French)
• Quick Win Course: Engaging Reading Activities That Build Proficiency

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram: @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook: /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter): @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.

#268

In a recent episode, I explored how intentional opening routines can help us make the most of those first few minutes of class. Today, we’re continuing that conversation with Rosa Casado, a Spanish teacher in New Jersey, who shares how she does this in her classroom. We talk about what makes an opening activity effective for her students, how routines build engagement, adapting them for different proficiency levels, and simple activities you can use today.

Topics in this Episode:

• why are the first five minutes of class so important and what changes when teachers become more intentional about them
• what makes a great opening activity and the biggest mistake teachers make
• routines that help create more engagement and how long it usually take for students to buy into a new routine
• adapting the same opening activity for different proficiency levels
• an easy routine anyone can start using right away

A Few Ways We Can Work Together:

• Ready For Tomorrow Quick Win PD for Individual Teachers
• On-Site or Virtual Workshops for Language Departments
• Self-Paced Program for For Language Departments

Connect With Me & The World Language Classroom Community:

• Website: wlclassrom.com
• Instagram: @wlclassroom
• Facebook Group: World Language Classroom
• Facebook: /wlclassroom
• LinkedIn: Joshua Cabral
• Bluesky: /wlclassroom.bsky.socia
• X (Twitter): @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts on this episode or the podcast.