​What does Frida Kahlo, La Catrina, Mafalda and a poor old lady have in common? They have all helped in promoting reading and literacy in my Spanish classroom. Watch the video to find out how. 

Feliz Día de las Brujas,
Doctora Collado

Research shows that emotions affect learning. On this post, I share how a simple routine like taking attendance and giving students the freedom to create with the target language, serves as an emotional check-in. 

Se me cuidan,
Doctora Collado

PS. The Fright Night sound effects are courtesy of my teenage neighbors.  ;-)

Today I talk about building community in the foreign languages classroom. Go to www.erickacollado.com/community-building.html for more information. 

On this video, I test the Parrot Mambo Minidrone to deliver a message from point A to point B. The activity is part of a thematic unit on drones I am currently working on. My goal was to see the best way to use the mini-drone to deliver a message for a role-play exercise. After several trials, I concluded that it is best to fly the drone from a determined spot (point A) and have it land on the destination (point B) first. Next, the message in the form of a sign on a craft stick can be released opening the grabber using the drone controller. The person receiving the message should then remove it from the floor and place it away from the mini-drone. Finally, the drone pilot can close the grabber, have the drone take off, turn towards the original point and fly it back. This process was the safest way I found to deliver the message. But like the saying goes “It takes two…” and probably a group of three to four students to engage in this type of activity.

Buen viaje,
Doctora Collado