Using the target language for instructions (visual)

I am a big fan of posting what I say to kids visually, not just providing oral input. Not only does this provide great support for kids who learn differently, but it also creates an ongoing reference source for that input. One of my favorites "posts" are instructions for activities we are doing in class. I've created simple instructions on the back of which I've placed magnets so I can easily change them out when transitioning from one class to another. Additionally, I break down the activity into it's steps and stick those next to each instruction so my kiddos can see the correlation between instruction and step in the activity. As I introduce the activity, I go over the steps one by one ensuring my students comprehend what it is I am asking them to do. What I love about this (apart from using the target language, of course!) is that as we are doing the activity, I can refer my students to the instructions when they ask me "So, what do I do next?" or "I'm done with this".

So, as an illustration, you can see in the above picture students need to first put their name on the activity (La oruga muy hambrienta) using a pencil (note I put the material- pencil, scissors, etc- up as well, reinforcing that vocab). Then, they must cut out the pictures, thirdly glue them to the appropriate pages, and lastly, color. I've provided an example of each step for additional visual support.
The more you use this system, the better students get at it. Keeping the instructions simple enables them to more easily access the vocab, and over time they begin to know what the expectations are for instructions in class and use them independently.
We've created a great printable so you can easily do this yourself! Get it in our shop!

Get our printable here!

¡Torta!

I devised this card game, modeled after 'Torta' (a game from Spain) and Slapjack. My fourth graders are working on the constructions 'me gusta', 'me gusta mucho', 'no me gusta' and 'me encanta' with various activities such as skiing, playing basketball, reading, etc- 12 total. I found a bunch of picture depictions for each activity and made enough copies to make about 84 cards (thereby each activity is represented several times).
To play I divided the class into two teams and split the deck in half. (I prearranged the cards so there would be lots of matches). A member from each team comes up and they both turn over a card at the same time, like in Slapjack. If the cards are the same, the first kid to slap the cards and call out 'Torta' is the winner, but not until he or she has made a sentence with the activity and one of the constructions (like 'Me gusta patinar'). That team then gets all the cards that have been turned over. If the cards are not the same, the next two players come up to turn a card, and so on. At the end of class, I tally how many cards each team has and a point goes to the team with the most cards. I keep a running scoreboard so we can track over time how the teams are doing.

Rompecabezas

You know those classes where one or two kiddos finish early on a project or activity? "I'm done." can be the dreaded statement, especially for the traveling teacher who doesn't have a load of other items to turn to. One simple solution is to give the student or students a puzzle to do. But, I want to keep it light- I can't be carrying around puzzle boxes in my bag. So, I make my own puzzles using pages from calendars- here's how I do it:
-I choose a picture from one of the many Spanish-themed calendars I haved collected
-I glue the picture to stiff paper, making sure the paper creates a border so students can tell which are the edge pieces
-On the back, I divide the future puzzle into squares with a pencil and ruler. For younger students, you will need fewer and bigger pieces, and for older students you can make more, smaller pieces.
-In each square I write a letter (the same letter). When the puzzle is cut up I will know to which puzzle the pieces belong. If you have mutliple puzzles, the pieces can get mixed up and this helps to resort them.
-I laminate the puzzle.
-I cut the puzzle up along the lines I have drawn on the back.
-I put the pieces in a ziploc baggie labeled with the name of the puzzle and the letter I used on the back.
-The puzzle is ready to go!

When we are doing a project, I throw 5-6 puzzles into my bag- they are lightweight and easy to carry around- and hand one out when a kiddo says, "Señora, I'm done. What can I do now?"

¡Diviértete!

Que chulito!

I just found the most adorable site for kiddos in Spanish:

http://us.gusanito.com/esp/

Enjoy!

Memorama

I just loved playing memory when I was a kid. Playing it in the foreign language class has loads of possibilities- from the simple -matching two of the same pictures- to the more challenging- matching a picture with a word, or matching two parts of a sentence. As children have more experience with the language, you could have them match pronouns with appropriate verb conjugations (yo + hablo) or matching gender (la + flor).

When I play with my kiddos, I give it a twist. Using a pocket chart, I have taped the numbers 1-20 on the chart, spacing them so the cards can go between the numbers. The playing cards (I make them using clip art from google image search or flashcards) go into the strips of the pocket chart. To play, one kid has to say a number out loud (in Spanish, of course) in order to have me turn the card over. A second kiddo says a second number, upon which I turn that card over. If they are a match, yippee! (or yupiiiii, as the case may be) If not, I flip them over and two new kids get a turn and so on. At the end of the game (usually I allot a specific amount of time to play), we count the number of pairs and say each pair outloud. This way of playing is a great way to get two for the price of one- practicing numbers while at the same time practicing target vocabulary on the memory cards themselves. ¡Disfrutelo!

¡Bienvenidos a todos!

This is Pepita. She is beloved by my students- she is part of our class each and every day.

As a Spanish teacher, I am constantly looking for new ideas to use in my classroom. I have been teaching Spanish for 10 years to K-2 (14 years in total, but I started in ESL), and though one would think I have discovered all there was to do in class, new ideas keep coming. Sharing ideas with others is, in my opinion, part of being a professional. For the last several years I have been presenting workshops on teaching Spanish at the elementary level. This blog will attempt to continue that work-to share ideas, games, activities, pedogogical information, etc that are successful and allow our students to grow in their ability to learn and use Spanish.