Vision Boards in Spanish Class

Vision Boards are something that more and more people are using to help them set attainable goals and even more importantly, achieve those goals. Why not adapt this great growth mindset practice to your Spanish Class? Here are some tips on how to use vision board in Spanish Class!

This year, I had great success trying out a vision board or “mapa de sueños” in my Conversation Spanish class. Since it was a new project, we developed it together and I really let them have free reign on their creations. The end result was something valuable and useful. I love that I got to learn a little more about my students and they truly enjoyed learning about one another.

Let’s Do It!

1. Make sure your students know what a vision board is. Some of my students were familiar with this concept and some had no clue. It was important that I took time out to explicitly explain what a vision board is and more importantly why this would be something they would want to do.

I found this great website where the author does a great job of introducing vision boards, talking about their importance, and explaining step by step how to make them. I did not use the entire article but I did quote one or two sentences for my students in order to show them what they should include in their vision boards.

2. Give them the tools to complete the project. In my school, we are a 1:1 school so I knew that each student had access to an Ipad to present their vision board. I kept it really simple. I told them to create their vision board in Google Slides, by simply copying and pasting pictures that they wanted from Google. Even though it may not have been necessary, we created a blank slide and did a practice vision board with a few pictures, just so that I was one hundred percent sure each and every student understood the concept.

            Note: If you do not have access to 1:1 technology, you can have your students submit their Slide to you. Then you can compile them (copy and paste) into one Slides presentation for easy presenting on the SMARTboard. If you do not have access to any technology you can go old school: bring in some magazines, newspapers, and poster board to create an authentic vision board that can be displayed around the room.

I required that each vision board had a minimum of 10 images. Even if you are not able to have each student present on all ten images because of time restrictions, it is a good starting point. Ten images challenges them to think past the basic first few goals and really think about what they want for themselves.

3. Let them get to work! I used half of one 40-minute class period to give my students a jump-start on their vision board. I was able to circulate around the class and support them, answering any questions that they may have and also offer suggestions of good picture representations. They left class with little “work” to do. I put quotes because I did ask them to prepare to talk about each one of their pictures the following day.

4. The presentations: I am very fortunate to have a very small Conversation class this year. I kept the presentations simple. We sat in a small circle and I started off class presenting my vision board. This set the tone for the expectations. I quickly said what each picture that I selected was, and I explained what it represented. For example: “I have a picture of my family because I want to be present and enjoy family moments whenever I can this year”.

Each of my students took their turn explaining what their pictures were. I stopped after each and asked one or two clarifying questions just to simply keep the conversation going and also engage each student in a little spontaneous conversation.

Ideas for Extension Activities:

A fun idea would be to revisit these vision boards at a later date and “check in” on their progress. This does not necessarily have to be another oral presentation: students can complete a writing assignment choosing 5 of their pictures and commenting on where they are in the process. You can ask them to write about plans for continued improvement or even if they have any goals they want to change now. This would make an amazing no prep sub plan!

Tips for Presenting with a Larger Class:

• Two smaller circles run by students: You can have your class of 28 split into two circles of 14 and allow this to be more student run. You can circulate between the two circles and listen in on what each person is saying. You can put the audience in charge of asking two questions at the end of each vision board.
• To make sure my students have prepared questions I usually hand out a worksheet that asks them to write down the presenter’s name, one interesting thing that they learned and one question that they have. This way, everyone is engaged throughout the presentations.
• Try a gallery walk: Split your class of 28 into two groups of 14. On the first day, the first group of 14 students sets up their “station” somewhere on the perimeter of the room. The other 14 students must walk around to each station and hear a few of the presenter’s ideas. They do not necessarily have to listen to all 10 pictures, but maybe have them talk about 3-4 before the student listening moves on. I would again give my students a worksheet that asks them to record information so that everyone is held accountable while listening. Many students like the gallery walk because they feel that the pressure of presenting in front of the entire class is off of them. Another positive is that the presenter may talk about all 10 pictures but may do so a few times. This really gives them a chance to practice speaking and go off script a little. I love to circulate during these gallery walks because there is a lot of room for spontaneous conversation. Students who are normally quiet tend to speak up and compliment or ask a question which they may not have done in a large class setting.

I hope that you find this helpful! I absolutely loved the products that my students came up with this year. They were reflective thinkers and it really allowed me to see their creative side as well as learn some more about them, which I love to do!

If you have any further questions feel free to leave me a comment below!