Cultural input: the prisons in Bolivia (or how to engage Spanish learners)

How to get students engaged and producing a lot of language???? Well…. I recommend purchasing Martina Bex 7-day lesson plans about Los niños prisioneros de Bolivia as it is truly worth the investment! Not only did it save me a lot of prep-time, it also made my students had a meaningful discussion in the target language!

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a favor1 Bolivia1 comprehend52 comprehensible100 comprehension261 conversation311 culture246 debate11 debe2 discuss30 discussion39 Education20 effort1 en contra1 engage161 family164 high interest7 input47 interest10 interesting23 issues1 key structures8 listen294 listening52 lo que hace1 Martina Bex11 meaningful15 output44 performance2 prison2 read40 reflect23 reflection26 skills26 social relationships7 South American3 Spanish33 speaking73 story46 storytelling39 structures7 target9 target language12 TPRS71

The Spanish alphabet

This is a simple activity to do with Spanish beginners when you are teaching the alphabet: students create their own alphabet page by looking for words which start with each letter of the Spanish alphabet. This is the first year in my teaching career that I do this activity and I have found out that my grade 6 students (11-12 years old) had a lot of fun doing this.

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activity13 alphabet1 beginner318 browse1 browsing1 culture246 dictionary3 enjoy48 find6 finding2 foreign language35 fun424 grade 68 language45 letter2 letters2 looking for1 research17 simple15 skills26 Spanish33 writing55

IB Spanish students: La casa de Bernarda Alba

I am teaching Spanish language B IB higher level and my students have to read two works of literature. Since I have a group of only girls, I have chosen La casa de Bernarda Alba which is written by the famous poet Federico García Lorca.

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biography40 book95 free13 higher level1 IB9 La casa de Bernarda Alba. teacherspayteachers1 language B4 literature92 Lorca2 play27 presentation140 read40 ressources40 slideshow33 Spanish33

Reading activity: una televisión para los perros

I believe reading in the target language is crucial because it promotes fluent reading skills which then leads to fluency in the other language skills such as speaking and writing. Fluent reading means reading without a dictionary, which can be challenging if students read an authentic text or a book.

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acquire50 acquisition65 article46 ci145 collaborative3 communicate9 communication10 comprehensible100 comprehension261 connection116 dictionary3 discussion39 Education20 group work5 input47 interest10 listening52 magazine3 Mary Glasgow6 media2 ressources40 skill4 skills26 Spanish33 speaking73 story46 storytelling39 television5 text4 TPRS71 understand67 understanding22

Pablo Picasso y el Guernica for Spanish beginners

As the school year draws to a close, I have chosen to read a book in Spanish with my students. If we don’t manage to finish the book, my students will have to finish reading it over the summer holidays which will be an excellent practice to keep up their Spanish.

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acquire50 Agentes secretos y el mural de Picasso1 book95 civil war2 cognates7 connect115 culture246 easy reader35 Guernica1 interactive43 key structures8 Mira Canion1 mural1 novel51 painting33 personalized16 Picasso1 PowerPoint2 presentation140 questions74 recycle2 renew1 repeat78 skills26 slideshow33 Spanish33 speaking73 video351

How to get students to talk about a sport in Spanish for one minute or two?

When reviewing the topic of free time with my grade 9 students (14-15 years old), I decided to spice it up a bit with “different” kind of sports and hobbies such as “el futbolchapas”:

without subtitles

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comprehension261 examination5 exams3 free time7 futbolchapas1 grade 108 grade 98 hobbies8 IGCSE12 listening52 oral12 ping-pong de puerta1 presentation140 questions74 skills26 Spanish33 speaking73 sport9 subtitles5 video351

How to use poems with first year Spanish learners?

I found this lovely poem on Pinterest and I used it with my grade 6 students (11-12 years old) as it was the prefect review for physical description and family.

Listening/comprehension: I told the poem “TPRS style” by drawing the “abuela”

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beginner318 description96 family164 grade 68 physical10 poem71 pronunciation11 re-telling1 re-write2 read40 Spanish33 speaking73 story46 storytelling39 structures7 TPRS71 vocabulary256 write59 writing55