by Sarah Welch, for Seidlitz Education
’Tis the season for 2024 roundups, and who are we to dodge a trend? Particularly when it gives us a reason to celebrate a facet of the Seidlitz business that brings so much joy and value to our team and to fellow educators?
2024 was a banner year for our little blog, with posts reaching more than 130,000 educators. We hope each of you took something useful away to bring back to your classrooms, campuses, or districts to further support your students in their language learning journeys.
As we dive headfirst into the new year, we wanted to take a minute to reflect on — and to celebrate — a few of our favorite posts from the last year.
QSSSA: The Secret Ingredient to Language-Rich, Interactive Classrooms
by Dr. Stephen Fleenor
Following the highly anticipated release of our new QSSSA book, Dr. Fleenor published this fantastic overview of the powerful strategy that’s at the foundation of so much of Seidlitz’s teachings. If you’re new to QSSSA — or if you could use a refresher — don’t miss this primer!
Visual Vibes: Because Who Doesn’t Love a Good View?
by Dr. Michelle Yzquierdo
Every educator knows visuals are a great way to enhance the *vibes* in a classroom. But what kind of visuals are most valuable for students, and how can we use them to their maximum potential? Dr. Yzquierdo breaks it down in this blog post that will leave you with a clear idea of how to best use visuals — and a craving for a beach vacation.
Finding the Rightness in Our Students’ Answers
by Isaac Márquez
One of the biggest keys to lowering students’ affective filters — so they can build confidence in the classroom — is providing low stress opportunities for output. And that means looking for what students get correct even in a wrong answer. It’s a simple strategy, but it can be tough to implement, and Isaac’s blog post clarifies it in a really tangible way.
On a personal note, I find myself thinking about this post a lot as my toddler is practicing counting and endlessly remixing numbers one through ten. “Sure, eight came first, but you did eventually get to four!”
Start the Year Strong: Procedures and Expectations for World Language Classrooms
by Sally Barnes
Sally’s post is geared primarily toward World Language teachers, but it contains valuable insight for all educators about setting (and adhering to) classroom expectations. A little advance planning goes a long way in making expectations and procedures sustainable from day one to the end of the year, and Sally’s expert guidance makes an often daunting task seem easy.
Help Newcomers Tell Their Stories
by Elise White Diaz
Elise’s blog post offers a powerful answer to the proverbial question, “How do we integrate newcomers into the class and curriculum when they are so far behind the language levels of their peers?” Her take: allow them to express themselves — and tell their stories — through pictorial representation and then use co-constructed text to engage them in all four language domains. In short, make their stories matter, and empower them to tell those stories.
We have a stellar lineup of posts planned for 2025, but we want to hear from you, too: What do you want to see on the Seidlitz blog this year? Share your ideas in the comments below!
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