Showing posts with label spanish class. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spanish class. Show all posts
Tuesday
Monday
Cuéntanos
Every year I say I'm going to do a variation of Show & Tell in my Spanish classes and I never actually do it. This year I made sure that I started right away in the first week so that it becomes a part of our daily routine. Every week is a different topic, we keep track on our class blog. And every week I vary the rotation of students. We call it Cuéntanos.
So far we've had Mi objeto favorito, mi pedazo de ropa favorito, mi juego favorito, mi película favorita and I've lined up mi sitio web favorito, mi hashtag favorito. When possible, such as in the object and clothing sections, they are to bring in their item to share and pass around, otherwise we project an image on the board of what they are talking about.
I typically schedule 3-4 students a day, that way we finish them all in 5 days. What they have to is very basic. Answer the questions:
1) ¿Qué es?
2) ¿Por qué es tu _______ favorito?
3) ¿De dónde es?/¿Quién te lo compró/regaló?
4) Otro pedazo de información
This allow those who work at a Level 3, average, complete the basic requirements, but those who would like to work at a level 4 can do so by extending their sentences and providing more information.
By doing this, I am guaranteed that every students gets to speak (albeit limited) Spanish every week. Those few I have who will never contribute during a regular day, now have no choice. I also like that it allows them to work on their public speaking skills. I was a nervous wreck in high school when I had to get up in front of the class, and although I'm sure I would have hated this activity to
start off with, eventually I would have gotten used to getting up there on a weekly basis. I think it is very beneficial for them. We keep it very casual, and they know the routine, we come in, settle down, and someone usually offers to go first and get the party started.
Right now, they've been reading what they have prepared, but I've told them that for the next round I would like them to work on memorising more so that it becomes more than just a reading activity. I would like them to become confident Spanish speakers, and I can already a difference in some of them.
I've really had a good time with this so far. By the way, I also participate in Cuéntanos every week by doing the first one for every topic. I've already learned quite a bit and been surprised a few times. For example, today I found out that one student's favourite game was NHL 14, but I didn't even know he had an interest in hockey. I've only ever heard about him talk about BMX. I've even seen him at the skate park when I've taken my own son. And I've taught this young man for three years! Others brought in instruments as their favourite and I didn't know they even played any. I believe the others are enjoying these little slivers of their classmates life that we are being exposed to, which we may have not otherwise known about.
Does anybody else do anything similar in their class? I'd love to hear about your experiences or if you have any suggestions on how to improve the activity.
So far we've had Mi objeto favorito, mi pedazo de ropa favorito, mi juego favorito, mi película favorita and I've lined up mi sitio web favorito, mi hashtag favorito. When possible, such as in the object and clothing sections, they are to bring in their item to share and pass around, otherwise we project an image on the board of what they are talking about.
I typically schedule 3-4 students a day, that way we finish them all in 5 days. What they have to is very basic. Answer the questions:
1) ¿Qué es?
2) ¿Por qué es tu _______ favorito?
3) ¿De dónde es?/¿Quién te lo compró/regaló?
4) Otro pedazo de información
This allow those who work at a Level 3, average, complete the basic requirements, but those who would like to work at a level 4 can do so by extending their sentences and providing more information.
By doing this, I am guaranteed that every students gets to speak (albeit limited) Spanish every week. Those few I have who will never contribute during a regular day, now have no choice. I also like that it allows them to work on their public speaking skills. I was a nervous wreck in high school when I had to get up in front of the class, and although I'm sure I would have hated this activity to
Right now, they've been reading what they have prepared, but I've told them that for the next round I would like them to work on memorising more so that it becomes more than just a reading activity. I would like them to become confident Spanish speakers, and I can already a difference in some of them.
I've really had a good time with this so far. By the way, I also participate in Cuéntanos every week by doing the first one for every topic. I've already learned quite a bit and been surprised a few times. For example, today I found out that one student's favourite game was NHL 14, but I didn't even know he had an interest in hockey. I've only ever heard about him talk about BMX. I've even seen him at the skate park when I've taken my own son. And I've taught this young man for three years! Others brought in instruments as their favourite and I didn't know they even played any. I believe the others are enjoying these little slivers of their classmates life that we are being exposed to, which we may have not otherwise known about.
Does anybody else do anything similar in their class? I'd love to hear about your experiences or if you have any suggestions on how to improve the activity.
Thursday
Monday
La Música Tribalera/Bota picudas
I like to start with a small unit on Music with my Grade 12s. It's a fun way to start off the semester, and it hooks them right away.
A few of the things I do is start with this short Powerpoint (the links are not working currently, but the videos are below)
I start off by having them tell me about music in their lives related to instruments and types of music they listen to. We then watch the Intentalo video by 3Ball MTY.
They have to tell me if they noticed anything interesting clothing-wise. Usually the answer is the short dresses, and then the funky boots! So, we then start to talk about them and lead into this mini documentary.
To end of this lesson, I have them design their own boots, so out come the coloured pencils and off they go drawing! Next time we meet, they must explain their boots to the class and why they chose the design they did.
A few of the things I do is start with this short Powerpoint (the links are not working currently, but the videos are below)
I start off by having them tell me about music in their lives related to instruments and types of music they listen to. We then watch the Intentalo video by 3Ball MTY.
They have to tell me if they noticed anything interesting clothing-wise. Usually the answer is the short dresses, and then the funky boots! So, we then start to talk about them and lead into this mini documentary.
To end of this lesson, I have them design their own boots, so out come the coloured pencils and off they go drawing! Next time we meet, they must explain their boots to the class and why they chose the design they did.
Thursday
#lomejordeMexico
A little bit of the Twitterverse, directly and indirectly
incorporated into class today via an activity that Martina Bex put together for one of her classes.
She captured various tweets on the hashtag #LoMejorDeMéxicoEs and created comprehension questions. I tweaked that and borrowed some of the tweets for my 2nd year students. I had them go through them without the use of dictionaries or translators. They did an amazing job at figuring out pretty much every tweet, and were entertained by the statements.
Then I put them into pairs and they had to try to come up with four tweets about #lomejordeCanadá.
Some had trouble thinking outside the box, some stuck to some very generic points and some took advantage to throw in Justin Bieber (because what would Spanish class be without mentioning Justin Bieber on a daily basis?), and others needed more guidance, nonetheless, they seemed to have a good time trying to put their tweets together. There were some slower to put together their tweets and didn't get to writing four. I had each pair choose their favourite two that they came up with and write them on the board.
I took pictures (see below) of their amazing hand writing. The next day we took a look at what they came up with all together. The tweets allowed us to learn a number of new words and explore some common grammar mistakes.
I enjoyed this activity. It was very simple to throw together, fun to execute and even more fun to see the results.
I didn't have them actually tweet out their statements as most do not have Twitter, although I had some offers from those that have accounts, to tweet out everyone's work, so perhaps I will have them do that so we can make a little mark on Twitter.
incorporated into class today via an activity that Martina Bex put together for one of her classes.
She captured various tweets on the hashtag #LoMejorDeMéxicoEs and created comprehension questions. I tweaked that and borrowed some of the tweets for my 2nd year students. I had them go through them without the use of dictionaries or translators. They did an amazing job at figuring out pretty much every tweet, and were entertained by the statements.
Then I put them into pairs and they had to try to come up with four tweets about #lomejordeCanadá.
Some had trouble thinking outside the box, some stuck to some very generic points and some took advantage to throw in Justin Bieber (because what would Spanish class be without mentioning Justin Bieber on a daily basis?), and others needed more guidance, nonetheless, they seemed to have a good time trying to put their tweets together. There were some slower to put together their tweets and didn't get to writing four. I had each pair choose their favourite two that they came up with and write them on the board.
I took pictures (see below) of their amazing hand writing. The next day we took a look at what they came up with all together. The tweets allowed us to learn a number of new words and explore some common grammar mistakes.
I enjoyed this activity. It was very simple to throw together, fun to execute and even more fun to see the results.
I didn't have them actually tweet out their statements as most do not have Twitter, although I had some offers from those that have accounts, to tweet out everyone's work, so perhaps I will have them do that so we can make a little mark on Twitter.
Tuesday
La Comida
I found these 2 great videos for preparing Guacamole that I will use during my Imperativo by way of Comida lessons.
The first one has comprehension questions pop up in the subtitles section. The language is simple and pretty straightforward and the speed is manageable for the students.
The second one highlights the use of the Imperativo in the 'tú' form showing the written form of each verb.
The first one has comprehension questions pop up in the subtitles section. The language is simple and pretty straightforward and the speed is manageable for the students.
The second one highlights the use of the Imperativo in the 'tú' form showing the written form of each verb.
Friday
El Arte Pequeño
Using these fantastic scenes by artist Slinkachu (as well as here, here, here and here), we made our own version, but with a specific focus. I had my students depict a social problem that teens face nowadays and the talk about it in Spanish.
I conveniently had a number of mini luchadores which I borrowed from my 2 year old, who was quick to notice that they disappeared from his playroom!
Students worked in pairs to design the details of their scene and then take a photograph. Every pair had to then answer the following questions.
-->
I conveniently had a number of mini luchadores which I borrowed from my 2 year old, who was quick to notice that they disappeared from his playroom!
Students worked in pairs to design the details of their scene and then take a photograph. Every pair had to then answer the following questions.
-->
1) ¿Cual es el problema social?
2) ¿Cómo nos afecta?
3) ¿Qué podemos hacer para resolverlo?
I put all the photos in a slideshow and as their photo came up they presented their blurb.
This worked very well, it was a quick 1.5 period activity which they were excited about.
Sadly, there is a recurring theme in all of the scenes. Bullying. As a result, Spanish class turned into an English conversation class which took us across the topics of bullying, teen pregnancy, sex ed in schools, the distribution of condoms in school, things on the internet as a permanent thing and a number of other subjects. My Grade 10s, although not participating, were very aware and listening to the conversation throughout. I enjoyed listening to the views of my students and was interested to see the differences in opinions.
Overall, a successful activity with an excellent class discussion.
 |
| la intimidación |
 |
| el suicidio |
 |
| la intimidación |
 |
| el estrés |
 |
| la intimidación |
Wednesday
No boundaries to art
In preparation for their final project for this unit, I wanted to show my students that art is not limited to a brush and paint, or paper and a pencil, so I put this short PowerPoint together where they had to figure out what material was used in each piece.
We saw pieces made from computer keyboards, origami, lego. Here are a few images that we say, you can find the whole PowerPoint here.
We saw pieces made from computer keyboards, origami, lego. Here are a few images that we say, you can find the whole PowerPoint here.
Arte Callejero- El Tono
I dared to ask my kids what art forms they wanted to look at, and the general consensus was on street art/urban art which is great because there is soooo much out there and there are also a lot of Spanish artists producing amazing street art.
Day 2 of the Art Unit, we looked at an artist named El Tono. After a short intro/listening activity where I spoke about him and they simply had to understand what I was saying, we went on to look at his work. He has uploaded his portfolio in .pdf format, describing his many international exhibits in Spanish with pictures. I gave each student one of those which they had to read, understand, then explain in English to their peers.
They enjoyed finding out from each other what his different projects were and it was fun talking about the motivation behind them.
I have to admit that it is not easy for them to express themselves about all this, but they are attempting with a solid use of Spanglish. I'll take what I can get. (It is officially only their 3rd semester of Spanish.)
Click on the image to access El Tono's art portfolio which I found on his website here.
Day 2 of the Art Unit, we looked at an artist named El Tono. After a short intro/listening activity where I spoke about him and they simply had to understand what I was saying, we went on to look at his work. He has uploaded his portfolio in .pdf format, describing his many international exhibits in Spanish with pictures. I gave each student one of those which they had to read, understand, then explain in English to their peers.
They enjoyed finding out from each other what his different projects were and it was fun talking about the motivation behind them.
I have to admit that it is not easy for them to express themselves about all this, but they are attempting with a solid use of Spanglish. I'll take what I can get. (It is officially only their 3rd semester of Spanish.)
Click on the image to access El Tono's art portfolio which I found on his website here.
Intro to Art
I started the unit off with my very own digital gallery. I created QR Codes, borrowed the ipads we have available and threw them right in to looking at different art forms and telling me their opinions.
I pasted 18 different works of art around the room that could only be accessed by scanning the bar code. Below are 3 examples that I used.
I pasted 18 different works of art around the room that could only be accessed by scanning the bar code. Below are 3 examples that I used.
They kept track of the name of the piece, artist, origin of the artist and their opinions using this sheet.
I thought this would take about 30 minutes, but boy was I wrong! They got so into checking out other pieces by the various artists that this spilled over into the next day so in total, many of them ended up taking 90 minutes! I didn't mind though as they were very keen on seeing all these different forms of art, whom am I to deny them!
When we finally got around to talking about what they saw and their opinions en español, it was very interesting to see the differences in who liked what. Some pieces I thought they would like, most didn't like. Their use of extensive opinion-giving vocabulary was not as extensive as I would have liked, but this allowed them to see that there is much more than just saying "Me gusta" all the time, or "Es feo.". It gave them the opportunity to explore better ways to express opinions and why they liked or didn't like.
I then went on to ask more questions to extend the speaking portion of the class, asking which was their favourite and why, least favourite and why. Which medium was the most interesting, etc.
All in all, I think it was a very successful start to the unit, and although the language portion was limited in scope, I like that the first day got them excited about the unit. When some heard that we were doing art, they groaned and said "But this Spanish class!". That feeling is exactly what I'm hoping to dispel over these few of weeks.
Año 12- El Arte
My grade 12s (which in reality are part of a split level Grade 10/12 class, talk about being super organised!) have started the Art Unit. I have spent a lot of time thinking about how to approach this unit as I am in now way, shape, or (artistic) form anything close to an art teacher. I don't know how to critique, what makes one painting worth millions as opposed to another, and I just don't get some a lot of it. All I know is that I like a lot of colour and I like to understand what is going on in the piece, but that is neither here nor there.
On that note, I didn't want to focus on the "traditional" stuff, but rather, I wanted to actually engage my students and not talk at them about the techniques, blah, blah, blah. We have focused on a lot of Arte Urbano o Arte Callejero. And it worked! From the get go they were interested. Phew! It's been a lot of work, and it's not over. I am changing things daily, and just spending a lot of time preparing, but it's worth it. I will break down some of the activities I have been doing to give you a taste.
On that note, I didn't want to focus on the "traditional" stuff, but rather, I wanted to actually engage my students and not talk at them about the techniques, blah, blah, blah. We have focused on a lot of Arte Urbano o Arte Callejero. And it worked! From the get go they were interested. Phew! It's been a lot of work, and it's not over. I am changing things daily, and just spending a lot of time preparing, but it's worth it. I will break down some of the activities I have been doing to give you a taste.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)