euro tickets

Printable Conversation Euro Tickets

Update: I wrote this post years ago. Since then, I’ve switched up my philosophy a lot. To read my current thoughts, try this post:

Why I Stopped Trying So Hard to Get  My Students to Speak in My Spanish Classroom

 

Here’s the original post:

For the coming school year, I am determined to focus more on CONVERSATION. We all know the drill: take several years of a foreign language, in which one or two students will excel and go on to speak and use the language, while 95% of the class forgets everything after ¿Cómo estás?. Well, this year I am upping the participation grade to at least 25% of their grade, if not more. My goal is less content, with more usage and practice.

The participation grade has always been a bit nebulous and a weak area of mine. I like starting students with a 100, because I do lots of direct questioning and games that force everyone to use the target language. It seems too complicated to start at 0 and track everyone’s participation until they earn 100 points. BUT– I found myself saying “Hablen español” frequently, which meant that the students were speaking English more often than not.  I would deduct points but it wasn’t a concrete thing, and anytime teachers find themselves making threats, it’s likely because they haven’t delivered palpable consequences. Eek. I know. Also, we have pretty cramped classrooms and sometimes I would forget to write down all the points I was supposed to deduct by the time I actually made it back around to my desk.

But this is a new year! New years, new semesters, fresh starts: this is the glorious part of teaching. And here is where my newest printable comes in. On the first day of school, I will hand this sheet out to my students and have them cut out the euros and write their name on the back of each one. Then they can use a paper clip or whatever to attach them all securely to their notebook. Whenever we are doing a “Spanish-only” activity, or if it’s a Spanish-only class, and I hear English, I’ll simply ask for 50 or 100 euros, depending on how off-topic it was. Then later in the day when I enter in that day’s participation grade, or the participation grade for a certain activity, I’ll know who got full credit and who lost points. The points deducted might vary for different levels.

The cool thing is that with something physical like tickets, they can potentially earn them back before class ends by showing me they are really making an effort to speak lots of Spanish. It also eliminates any threats or scolding. I can just say “cincuenta euros, por favor” and go on with the discussion without missing a beat. The next class they get all their tickets back and get a fresh start.

What do you all think? Would this be an effective strategy for your classes?

Download:

Euro Conversation Tickets

Euro Tickets

 

Similar Posts

11 Comments

  1. Sara Igglehart says:

    I really like this idea! It’s easy enough to where you can monitor every student at once without taking away from the class. Plus, it helps them with numbers. I’m definitely going to try this this upcoming school year! ¡Gracias! 🙂

    1. Thank you! I have to use strategies that are simple or I will not be able to follow through. 😉 Glad you stopped by!

      1. Sara Igglehart says:

        Hahah, true! My friend, a fellow teacher, and I were discussing this idea snd she mentioned you could even give Euros for good behavior, extra participation, etc. Just a thought! 🙂

  2. Karen Wenzel Weigel says:

    Thanks for sharing your Euro idea! Last year I increased participation to 25% but found it difficult to monitor! Your idea makes it so much easier and concrete = I will definitely try!!
    One suggestion is to laminate the bills so they last the whole year:)

  3. Shana Barnett says:

    Wow, thanks this is a wonderful idea. I am teaching Spanish is Jamaica and I am sure my kids will enjoy this 🙂

  4. laura perez says:

    I printed these and started using them this week. I gave one sheet to each student. I already had to collect three yesterday and it seems to be working. They are speaking less English! I’m wondering, how often would you pass out a sheet to each student, and do you reward those who have any left over at the end of a week/month? I’m thinking of passing out one sheet per month and tiering the rewards at the end of the month based on how many euros they have left.
    Thanks!

  5. Kellett Dinsmore says:

    I love this idea! I just want to be sure I know how you are counting these on a daily/weekly.grading period basis. We are on a nine weeks grading period. Do you give 100 points for your whole grading period or week or day, but then may deduct 50- 100 in a class period? Could you explain in more detail how your participation system works? Would love to try it!

    Thanks so much!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *