Profe Valentina

Profe Valentina I love helping world language teachers with fresh ideas and resources that make language acquisition enjoyable in their classrooms!

Creator of Aventuras in Learning
Story-based Spanish curriculum for elementary classrooms

08/31/2026

Year 19. ❤️
And I still get excited about the first day of school.

New students, new stories, new ideas… and that feeling of walking back into my classroom and remembering how much I truly love teaching.

I’m especially thankful for my students, who give me the space to keep learning, creating, trying new things, and becoming a better teacher every year. So much of what I create for Aventuras starts right here—with them, in our classroom. 💛

To all the teachers starting a new school year: I hope this year brings you lots of joy, meaningful moments with your students, and many reasons to remember why you chose this profession.

Here’s to Year 19 and all the aventuras ahead!

If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably recognize these words. ❤️💙They’ve been part of my classroom and th...
08/30/2026

If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably recognize these words. ❤️💙

They’ve been part of my classroom and the way I teach through stories for years.

The color distinction was something I first learned at a conference, but I wanted to adapt the idea for my young learners. So I created reusable cards, added visuals and consistent gestures, and started adding the words to our wall as we actually use them.

But the most important part?

The words don’t stay on the wall.

I intentionally recycle them throughout our stories so students hear them again and again in meaningful, comprehensible contexts.

They see them.
They hear them.
They gesture them.
They use the visuals when they need support.

And little by little, the goal is for students to acquire that language and use it to communicate.

If you’re an Aventuras in Learning teacher, these High-Frequency Word Posters are already included with your membership.🤗🤩

Not an Aventuras teacher? You can purchase them separately.

Comment WORDS and I’ll send you the information.

You don’t need a complicated plot to create a story for your Spanish class. 📖Start with a simple communication goal, cho...
08/28/2026

You don’t need a complicated plot to create a story for your Spanish class. 📖

Start with a simple communication goal, choose the key language, and build a repetitive story around it.

That’s exactly how La iguana y sus amigos works. 🦎 Students introduce themselves and share something they like through a simple, comprehensible story.

Teaching greetings and introductions right now?

Comment STORIES and I’ll send you access to the story!

08/27/2026

They may not need a slower story. They may need more ways to understand it.

Reading more slowly can help, but it does not automatically make a story comprehensible.

Young learners need multiple ways to connect Spanish with meaning. Illustrations, gestures, movement, familiar language, purposeful questions, and personal connections help them follow the story and remain actively involved.

Want more ideas for making Spanish comprehensible? Follow Profe Valentina for practical strategies you can use in your classroom.

08/26/2026

¡Chócala! ✋ is one of my favorite activities for the beginning of the year because it helps my students find little things they have in common.

Here’s how we play:

✏️ First, students write a few things about themselves: their name, favorite food, a family tradition, something they like to do, their birthday… You can choose the prompts that work best for your students.

🎵 Then I play music and everyone walks around the room.

⏸️ When the music stops, they find the person closest to them and compare one of their answers.

Did they find something they have in common?

¡Chócala! ✋ They give each other a high five!

Then the music starts again and they find someone new.

We repeat it several times so they have a chance to talk to different classmates and discover more connections.

Such a simple activity, but such a fun way to start building connections from the very beginning of the year. 💛

I adapted this from the activity Card Talk

Save this one to try with your students!

Looking for a story to begin the year with greetings and introductions? 🦎La iguana y sus amigos gives novice learners a ...
08/24/2026

Looking for a story to begin the year with greetings and introductions? 🦎

La iguana y sus amigos gives novice learners a meaningful reason to ask and answer questions like:

✨ ¿Cómo te llamas?
✨ ¿Qué te gusta hacer?

And the story is just the beginning.

Inside Aventuras, you’ll find vocabulary support, character visuals, gestures, TPR games, a digital flipbook, printable props, personalized questions, digital games, printables, and opportunities for formative assessment.

Everything is designed to guide you through what to do before, during, and after the story—while your students listen, move, interact, read, and communicate in Spanish.

One story. A clear teaching path. Everything you need to teach it. 💗

Want to explore La iguana y sus amigos with your students?

👇 Comment STORIES and we’ll send you the link to start your free trial of Aventuras.

Call-and-response routines have made such a difference in the way my classroom runs. ✨Instead of repeating the same dire...
08/20/2026

Call-and-response routines have made such a difference in the way my classroom runs. ✨

Instead of repeating the same directions over and over, we practice simple cues until they become part of our everyday routines.

My biggest tip: don’t introduce them all at once. Start with one or two. Teach it, practice it, and use it consistently. Once your students know exactly what it means and what to do, add another!
Smoother transitions, more Spanish, and a little more joy along the way. 💛

Want to try them?

I created a FREE set of my favorite Spanish call-and-response routines for you!

👇 Comment ROUTINES and I’ll send them your way!

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