Get the Most Out of Calendar Talk in Your Classroom

World Language Classroom

#182

Calendar talk is a CI (Comprehensible Input) activity that is part of many teachers' routines in the classroom. It is essentially just that, talking about the calendar. What began as simply saying the date has grown into much more than that. In this episode I will share with you my own process of doing a calendar talk activity that engages students on a wide variety of topics as we begin the class. Lots of language and culture is embedded in activity very organically. Sometimes the slides and materials can take quite a bit of time to create. I don’t want that to hold you back, so you can make a copy of my Google Slides with all of the embedded links right in the show notes.

Topics in this Episode:

• The evolution of Calendar Talk in my classroom – from a simple "Today is [date]" to a dynamic, engaging discussion that students look forward to.
• The benefits of Calendar Talk
• The process and routine: Date, Time. Weather with visuals
• Engaging students in specific details about the date, weather and time in their own lives.
• Moving toward these details in a target language country and leading students in discussions where they compare to their own responses in the previous activity.
• Practical Tips for doing a calendar talk along with the country comparisons
• Episode #170 with John Sifert
• Be sure to Copy the Google Slides that I use will all of the embedded links to your Google Drive.

Connect with Joshua and the World Language Classroom Community:

• wlclassrom.com
• X (aka Twitter): @wlclassroom
• Threads: @wlclassroom
• Instagram: @wlclassroom
• Facebook: /wlclassroom
• WLClassroom Facebook Group

__________________________
Interested in having Joshua work directly with your department, school or district? Look at options for collaborating in person or remotely.
______________________________
Sign up for Talking Points to get tips, tools and resources for your language teaching.
______________________________
Join Joshua as a guest on the podcast.
______________________________
Join Joshua for a Leveling Up Coaching Episode on the podcast.

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