El día de los muertos and Halloween in Spanish

There are two great videos which are to be found on and which are great to talk about two major cultural events happening very soon!

The first one “La noche de brujas” is perfect for one lesson:

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article46 brain break6 celebration20 channel2 cultural10 day of the dead4 día de los muertos1 Education20 fun413 halloween6 key structure10 Mary Glasgow6 miscositas1 repetition42 ressources40 Spanish33 spanish cuentos1 storytelling39 target language12 target structure20 thematic1 TPRS71 unit3 video350 vocabulary256 website1 youtube67

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 comprehension250 connection105 dictionary3 discussion39 Education20 group work5 input47 interest10 listening52 magazine3 Mary Glasgow6 media2 reading252 ressources40 skill4 skills26 Spanish33 speaking73 storytelling39 television5 text4 TPRS71 understand67 understanding22

Spanish story script: se vende

This story comes from the wonderful Martina Bex who posts so many brilliant ideas and resources on her blog. I started a new unit with my grade 6 class which is about going shopping and this story fitted perfectly!

Speaking/vocabulary: I first started by introducing the different shops to my students using this slideshow: SHOPS.

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acquire50 acquisition65 comprehensible100 comprehension250 creative13 expression21 flashcards8 key structure10 language45 Martina Bex11 pattern1 quizlet9 repetition42 se vende1 sell6 selling1 shop9 shopping13 skills26 Spanish33 speaking73 storytelling39 target9 TPRS71 writing55

The perfect song to use the past tenses in Spanish!

I love using songs in my lessons and I found out that my students enjoy it too! Apparently some of them even buy some of the songs! When we listen to a song in class, we listen to it several times in the week at the start of each Spanish lesson.

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acquire50 canción2 Education20 expressions5 imperfect187 imperfecto1 listen283 listening52 pasado1 past316 preterite1 preterito1 questions74 quiz18 Sheila1 Sheila Blanco1 Sheila Down1 skills26 song29 Spanish33 speaking73 structures7 vocabulary256

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 reading252 Spanish33 speaking73 storytelling39 structures7 TPRS71 vocabulary256 write59 writing55

How to use stories written by students?

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am a big fan of The Comprehensible Classroom because there are so many fun story scripts to be used and Martina Bex (the author) shares so many fabulous ideas and lesson plans! One story script I have used with my middle school students (grade 6 to 8) is Buscando Gafas.

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book95 comprehensible100 comprehension250 creative13 Education20 engage150 grade 68 grade 74 grade 85 input47 key structure10 middle school3 mini-book2 output44 productive9 proud1 querer1 reading252 retelling4 reusing1 script201 skills26 Spanish33 speaking73 storytelling39 telling3 tener1 writing55

Storytelling: arranging to go out

I am using stories more and more often in my lessons as I believe my students greatly benefit from listening to them as well as reading them and writing new ones. Apart from inventing my own stories, my favorite source is The Comprehensible Classroom which has a wealth of fantastic resources and story scripts.

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arranging to go out1 comprehensible100 comprehension250 create6 creative13 creativity4 film41 free time7 go out2 high frequency217 hobbies8 key structures8 listening52 output44 project11 Spanish33 speaking73 storytelling39 TPRS71 video350 writing55 youtube67