Time for play? Time for work? It is time for both!  In my LAL before school Spanish class at Zionsville West Middle School we are learning to tell time by the hour, by the half hour, and by the quarter hour.  We are also learning how to say all of the classes that meet in a school day and then describe our school schedule incorporating the time of day we have each of the classes.  Today we laid on the floor and made “body clocks” with our arms outstretched.  The students were divided into two teams and took turns guessing what time the other team’s clock was indicating.  After enough practice, we then moved on to competing by teams to tell what time the teacher’s arms was indicating.  This produced much excitement with jumping, hands flailing, and yelling out the time in Spanish to earn their team a point! We had so much fun!  It was a great way to practice Spanish, learn how to tell time, play together, and of course, work together!

I work hard to come up with exercises and fun activities that enhance language acquisition and student participation.  I have been teaching Spanish since 1989 and love it more and more each year!  I began teaching elementary Spanish in the Zionsville Schools in the fall of 2000 and have seen it grow and develop into a wonderful program with teachers who cherish their language and culture!  We work as a team to encourage each other challenge each other in our teaching strategies so that we can improve as educators.  I appreciate the friendships, the support, the professionalism, the laughter, and the hard work that all of my colleagues and I put in to make this program what it has become to be today.  I can say that LAL has grown to have a heart all of its own and it beats near to my own…I love it!

By: Amy Mallot

LAL Board President

LAL Teacher, ZWMS