If you know me at all, you probably know that Taco Tuesday is one of my favorite games to play with my Spanish class students. My creation of this game stemmed from my need for a game that the entire class could play at once – while actually engaging all students!
With large class sizes (that often continue to grow…) I am always trying to create activities that are:
- flexible in group sizing and length of play
- low prep
- effective and engaging for any number of students
Taco Tuesday was one of the first games that helped me reach all of these goals. I have since created many templates, as well as a bundle of various completely editable game board sizes. I have also transformed the game to be digital ready, which you can learn more about here.
If you’re wondering how to play in a traditional class setting, or how to differentiate for your students’ varying ability levels, read on!
Why we love Taco Tuesday
I love seeing the level of excitement and commitment in my classroom every time we play Taco Tuesday. By the end of each round, there are sometimes tense friendships, budding arch nemesis, holes in the game board, and earned bragging rights (see photo.)
My favorite is when there are year-long battles where students are determined to have the most wins. They want to claim the (absolutely non-existent) Taco Tuesday Crown.
This game helps build a sense of community in my classroom, and is my go-to even from the first day of class. Read about how I use it from DAY 1 right here.
Taco Tuesday is now ready for DIGITAL gameplay, too!
All of my existing Taco Tuesday games (including the templates) have been updated to include digital components as well as the option to print and play.
Every game also has walkthrough videos and support to help you through the digital options!
I hope you find this helpful!
Find a more detailed digital tutorial below. Or keep reading on this page to find differentiation ideas and strategies for both styles of gameplay.
How to Play
Prep
General Instructions:
Extra:
If there is a tie for a certain word, I have my students quickly play rock, paper, scissors to determine the winner. This happens once or twice per game. This game gets very competitive and sometimes the papers at the end are in ROUGH shape. When we get toward the end of the game, I sometimes make my students close their eyes and keep their hands behind their backs as I give the clues. They sometimes impose silly rules upon themselves, and I’ll include some of their favorite ideas below.
Ideas for Differentiation
Language Use:
Double-Up or Triple-Up
Wait-Time
Time Played: Placement + Duration
Based on your class climate/ability, there are a few ways to decide how long you will play for. For a class that gets easily riled up, I usually play for shorter bursts of 5-7 minutes. I will also strategically place the game time either toward the beginning or end of class. If it is a Monday, I’ll often play at the start to wake them up. If it is later in the week, we can play at the end of class to regain their focus and keep them on task until the bell. With shorter games they may ask to play the following day as another quick warmup, and that’s fine! Switching partners makes the game feel brand new.
For more skilled classes or faster moving students in general, I sometimes work through the entire game board. This is the rare “Total Taco.” I usually only do this on half days or days where one class has moved ahead of another class. I also usually only do this if we have gotten through everything for the day/week. My students know it is a reward for working hard! For example, I have one class that meets for one extra day per week (the periods are shorter so the time objectively should be equal, but they always seem to move ahead) and they are often my only class that gets to witness #TotalTaco.
Additional Challenges:
- “Ok, we have to turn the paper over until she finishes reading the clue”
- “Hands behind your back for this one!”
- “You have to tap the word with your elbow!”
- “You have to tap two other answers before you tap the right one!”
- “Eyes closed until she says it!”
- “Markers have to stay capped and in the tray until she’s done speaking!”
Sign up to receive a members-only version of this virtual-ready game, and gain access to other exclusive resources! You will receive additional special videos in your inbox that are just for you, with extra support for digital gameplay like changing your game piece colors and more! 🙂
Interested in a second free game, this time for the present tense of AR verbs? Grab it here!
Have fun!
And one more thing before you go — if you know a French teacher who would love to play, share Macaron Mardi with them!
17 Comments
Do you have any ideas to do this in a virtual classroom?
Hi Maggie! In the spring, I did this two different ways during distance learning. First, I made an at-home version for students to play as the teachers with their family members. I used VERY COMMON words and cognates to that my students could be the teachers, and their families could be the players. It went VERY well and my students sent me videos of their families having fun! Also, for my traditional versions I recorded myself giving students clues and sent them the game sheet to play on their own. They told me they liked that they could pause the audio, listen to me give the clue, and find it on their own time. It wasn't how we normally play, of course, but it was nice to keep some of our normal routine during a difficult time.
I hope this helps!!
Take care,
Erin
Are you able to send me a copy of the editable Taco Tuesday template? I do not have Google Drive on my computer and I already purchased the editable ones?
Thanks
Hi! The editable versions are only accessible through Google Slides/Drive. When you open the PDF there should be a link that says “click here to make your copy” – no need to have anything on your computer, you can sign into Google Drive via a web browser. I hope this helps! Erin
Thank you for sharing your ideas for this Spanish class. I will try these different strategies with my students and get back to you and let you know how they liked them.
Teresa
I hope you have fun!!! 🙂