insight
As a high school Spanish teacher in Chicago Public Schools, I noticed one of my students making representative gestures to himself as he reviewed vocabulary words. I wondered if including gesture in my lessons would boost understanding for all my students.
prototypes
Using ASL (American Sign Language) to inspire my gesture vocabulary, I developed a lesson on prepositions, which was effective and engaging.
Students wanted a way to practice the gestures at home, so I produced a YouTube video. I filmed in mirror image, since most students copied my movements that way. I included Spanish and English subtitles to help with understanding and give reading practice.
Students performed better overall on this unit than previous units, and several students who typically struggled with vocabulary aced the exam!
extension
I continued to refine the method and incorporated gestures into nearly all my lessons. On the left, you can see artifacts from a gestural read along of Dr. Seuss's, "Huevos Verdes con Jamón."(Green Eggs and Ham) This book is beloved by students, and since they already know the story it reduces much of the anxiety of trying to follow along in Spanish, allowing them to focus on the form of the words and retain the meaning.
212K+ views
The initial video prototype on prepositions became a hit with teachers and students across the globe, and is still enjoying success on YouTube - with 212K+ views to date!