In the name of keeping it comprehensible, here is a super simple way to review vocabulary and/or grammar.
This one is for reviewing “mandatos” for the final exam I am required to give. I made it super quick, so excuse the quality, but hopefully it gives you the idea of how to do this. You can then use THIS as a template to change for whatever you are needing to review and/ or introduce.
I use these sometimes with pictures of my students, things in our school or even get other teachers to help me by letting me take pictures of them with the items or doing the actions for that set of vocabulary.
Then, I talk about each picture. This gives me a chance to review previous vocabulary and also reinforce staying in the class language for as long as possible.
For example, I would use the slide above to talk about the children by describing them and their clothing, reviewing colors, reviewing what they are doing (or any other form of the verb). I could talk about this picture for 2-3 minutes without much effort by pointing to all of the different visual supports.
As always, I hope this idea helps you have an easy day or inspires you to create something simple like it that keeps students engaged and you able to easily stay in the class language.
It seems that ever since we went virtual out of necessity at the start of the pandemic, we have made most things digital. That is okay for lots of things, but I find more and more that kids are burnt out on technology. That may not be true for your students in your teaching context, but it is my reality right now. So, how can I address this tech fatigue??
One thing I did a few weeks ago was play the old game “Dots and Boxes.” I wasn’t sure how it would go. To be honest, I had a back-up Gimkit game all loaded and ready to go just in case. Much to my surprise, it was a HUGE hit!
The digital version of this can be found on my TpT store.
So, what did I do? Well, I reached back into my archive of worksheets that would review the concepts we needed for the assessment. Some were reading worksheets with questions about the reading (reading). Some were fill in the blank worksheets with targeted vocab and grammar required by my district (writing). Some were questions that had to be answered aloud (speaking). Some were based on a podcast and/or video they had to watch and listen to in order to answer the question. I briefly explained each page (I gave them 5) and then explained the game like this:
First, you start with a blank grid of dots.
Then, you allow one person to connect two dots to make one line.
Then, the next person must connect two dots, making a line.
This continues until there are are enough to make a box.
If you draw the 4th line that closes the box, you get to put your initials in that box.
This continues until all boxes have been made.
The winner is the one with the MOST boxes with initials.
The dots that you draw can be on your whiteboard or you can project the image above.
So, you have the worksheets, you have the grid…how do you put it all together? Great question! What I did was first project the image above on my board. Then, I passed out a packet of the worksheets. I sat in a central part of my classroom where I could watch what was happening and I got a self-inking stamp (this will save your initials a million times in one day). Once students finished a couple of questions, they could come to me to check. I told them they had to have 5 questions completed on the worksheets or have one of the speaking prompts ready to go. If they were all correct, they got a stamp on their paper (made grading easier when I chose which one to grade) and they got to go draw a line. They could NOT draw a line until they were all correct. If even one was incorrect, I sent them back. This infuriated some, as I wouldn’t tell them which was incorrect. It made for some great group work though! They were ALL engaged and trying to win another line!
It was fun, engaging and they learned and problem-solved a LOT! Win-win.
I hope this helps with some ideas for teaching these required vocabulary sets and/or topics while keeping lessons focused on communication!
So, everyone knows teaching required vocabulary can be dry and SUPER boring for students AND their teachers. I posted earlier in THIS post about one way I was working through some vocabulary required by my district in a more engaging way and incorporating listening and speaking.
Well, I am teaching some restaurant-related vocabulary now and decided to do the same kind of activity since it was super popular last time. So, HERE is the activity I call, “What’s on the Menu?” I have included some common foods you would find at restaurants, but it is super easy to insert your own too! I hope this helps some of you make this a less painful vocabulary lesson! Remember, if YOU enjoy the activity, they will too!!!
I hope this helps with some ideas for teaching these required vocabulary sets and/or topics while keeping lessons focused on communication!
Hey there! It has been a while since I have posted. It has just been…quite a start to 2022. I hope you are all getting into the semester and finding your groove.
I have an activity that may be fun and can be adapted. I did this with my students last week in my Spanish classes AND my ESOL class and it was a HIT! So, of course, I will be making more. For now, I will share THIS one and how I used it.
I created THIS slideshow. I gave each student a copy of the slideshow through our LMS (we use Schoology, but you could do this with Google Classroom or Canva or whatever you use).
First, we reviewed the items on the last slides (the moveable parts). We practiced describing them by color, size and name. It was a great practice! Then, I had them open their copy of the slideshow. We chose a room and then I covered my projector. I called out the item and where to place it in the room. (We have recently covered prepositions of place.) After about 5 items, I revealed my room and had them look and see if theirs was the same. We did this a few times with different objects. Then, I had them partner up and create a room and a script of sentences. I only gave them about 5 minutes. Then, as time allowed, I had students come up to my computer and do the same thing for the class. They loved seeing if they could stump their friends.
This could also be used as manipulatives! You could print the blank room slides on paper and laminate them or put them in page protectors. Then, you could print the objects and cut them out and laminate them. this would allow students to move them around. I think this would be especially fun for the littles, but I know my middle schoolers would love it too.
I hope this gives you a fun activity to do and some ideas about how to use these. I will have more for sale in my TpT store in the next couple of weeks. For now, I hope you enjoy it!
Happy Teaching!
-Alana
Find me on Instagram (@SraKSpanish) and Follow my TpT store as I build more resources!
In the district I teach in, we have some required topics and vocabulary. This doesn’t always mix easily with the world of CI. I have found, through my work with Tina Hargaden, that it is possible to integrate required lessons/topics/vocabulary and still make lessons based in communication.
So, how do I do that? Well, one thing I do is follow the curricular framework presented in Tina’s book, Foundations. There are six cycles of instruction, and those really help me frame every lesson and keep a structure, yet still have flexibiity.
Recently, I had to teach house vocabulary. After introducing the vocabularyThis, I created THIS activity for us to do together. I incorporated a section for us to do together, a listening activity and then an interpersonal communication opportunity for students where they practice listening and speaking with a partner or group. This could also be done virtually by having students submit a video of them talking through their “casa.”
HERE is a Loom video I recorded explaining how I used this resource. Although it is in Spanish, you can absolutely put text boxes over the words (there are only a few) in your language.
I hope this helps with some ideas for teaching these required vocabulary sets and/or topics while keeping lessons focused on communication!
Happy Teaching!
Alana
Find me on Instagram (@SraKSpanish) and Follow my TpT store as I build more resources!
I am gearing up for the first few days back from break! I know, I should be relaxing and disconnecting. I have been, I promise, but I also know I relax better when I am prepared.
So… I have been continuing with my series of Following Simple Directions worksheets. I know worksheets are NOT the preferred task, and I plan to do a lot of guided vocabulary work and story telling along with this, but, that being said, I feel like my students are better on task when there is something concrete for them to accomplish and turn in. I hope to NOT have to do this next year, but my students seem to really need the structure and to be reminded how to be in school this year.
HERE is the link to the PDF with English AND Spanish
Anyway, I hope you can find some way to use this that will benefit your students. This is just one level. The leveled versions will be up for sale on my TpT store by the end of the week.
HERE is the link to the PDF with English AND Spanish
I have also created some New Year Student Practice for Following Simple Directions for sale on my TpT store. HERE is the link to the Spanish, and HERE is the link to the English.
Happy teaching!
Follow this blog for more great, free resources! Find me on Instagram (@SraKSpanish) and Follow my TpT store as I build more resources!
Sra. K. Spanish 