Thursday, October 7, 2021
Presented by: Elena Spathis
2021 FLENJ Teacher of the Year
Teacher of Spanish
Pascack Valley Regional HS
It’s time to say “adi s” to the days of teaching culture in isolation. Infusing culture into our daily lessons not only engages students, but helps to foster empathy, spark curiosity, and promote global awareness. In this hands-on workshop, we will focus on designing unit plans through a cultural lens. We will discuss the steps and process behind creating a communicative, culturally-rich unit. Furthermore, we will analyze sample unit plans, and will brainstorm culturally-relevant topics that are relevant to a variety of languages.
Elena Spathis is a teacher of Spanish at Pascack Valley Regional High School District. She is certified to teach Spanish and English as a Second Language. Elena earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and Modern Greek Studies, as well as a Master’s of Education degree in Language Education from Rutgers University. She recently completed her second Master’s degree in Teacher Leadership from Rowan University. Elena is an avid traveler and enjoys immersing herself in new languages and cultures around the world. In the classroom, she strives to develop her students’ language skills through authentic, communicative tasks. She places culture at the core of her lessons, as she hopes to inspire her students to be globally aware citizens. In addition to teaching, Elena is a contributing writer for Edutopia and Wayside Publishing, in which she details effective and engaging language teaching practices. In May 2021, Elena was honored as the Teacher of the Year in New Jersey on behalf of FLENJ. She is looking forward to collaborating with other language teachers nationwide and abroad.
Workshop Series
- #5 Riding Shotgun: Letting Students Take the WheelJune 16, 2023 - 6:53 pm
- #4 Planting the seeds for departmental growthJune 16, 2023 - 6:48 pm
- #3 How to connect the three C’s in the Spanish classroomJune 16, 2023 - 6:39 pm
- #2 Making Comprehension-based Activities Work: Using Images, Videos, & CalendarsJune 16, 2023 - 6:33 pm
- #1 Leave Happy: Strategies to build relationships and create a positive classroom communityJune 16, 2023 - 6:28 pm