I’m sure you’re familiar with this situation: We celebrate Hispanic heritage month. We talk about remarkable Latino champions. Students research, and they make posters and presentations. And yet by the end of the school year, names such as Sonia Sotomayor or Diego Rivera don’t ring any bells. Why? And how can we fix that situation? Meaningful learning is all about … Read More
No lo digas (Taboo)
Objective: find strategies to explain wordsRequired materials: cards and virtual board (see resources below)Preparation: none (once you print and cut the cards)Time: at least 30 minutesNumber of students: at least 4Resources: You can use this virtual board to keep score and time. Use this template to create your own set of cards or join Bablingua to download our more than … Read More
Resuelve el misterio
Objective: practice yes/no questions (speaking) and learn some new wordsRequired materials: use (
¡Buena suerte!
Objective: increase fluency and vocabulary reviewRequired materials: at least 4 printed photos (see an example)Preparation: minimalTime: at least 15 minutesNumber of students: 8 or moreDirections: In this fun activity, some students will describe several photos to the whole class. The catch is that one of them won’t get an image, just a card that says “¡Buena suerte!”. The lucky student … Read More
Encuentra a alguien que
Objective: encourage students to use Spanish in a conversation with other studentsRequired materials: a copy of the handout for each studentPreparation: minimalTime: about 40 minutes, depending on the class size.Number of students: this activity works better with classes over 10 studentsResources: El fin de semana – Pretérito indefinido: PDF – Google slide Join Bablingua to access the file about reflexive … Read More
Una mentira
Objective: review tenses or vocabularyRequired materials: nonePreparation: noneTime: at least 10 minutesNumber of students: noneDirections: Three trues and a lie is a popular activity that I like to use to review and practice what students learnt in previous classes. It could be a certain tense (pretérito indefinido) or vocabulary (familia).If you’d like the activity to last longer, start by organizing … Read More