Throughout last semester my classes needed short, daily readings with activities embedded into the texts. We tried many formats to develop the best way to present a quick reading break between class conversations.
The texts we created take no more than 10 minutes to read, are varied between history, culture and short fiction, and have margin notes for all vocabulary so that they can be read by anyone… even the student who has been checked out all semester!
Every text has accountability. Many of the readings are written as cloze passages with a word bank. My students report that they enjoy the puzzle-like challenge of fitting the right word in the right place, and I like that this format encourages them to pay close attention to the meaning of the paragraph.
We also created culture and history texts that focus on many Spanish-speaking countries, as well as texts with multiple kinds of activities to draw in students without getting stale. Altogether there are enough tiny readings to last an entire semester. The Big Book of Tiny Daily Readings in Spanish is an excellent book for Spanish teachers who are looking for a brief opportunity to promote literacy… every single day. See the index of readings below & purchase the book on Amazon by following this link.
