activities Archives • The Engaged Spanish Classroom

5 Engaging Activities for a Proficiency Focused Spanish Class

Erin Coleman — Mon, 14 Aug 2023 23:40:52 +0000

Getting started with "Proficiency"

Proficiency-focused, proficiency based, communicative: there are a lot of buzzwords that can sound intimidating even to us seasoned teachers. Honestly, sometimes they’re intimidating to us BECAUSE we are seasoned professionals. We have been down many roads and many different perspectives before, and so it can be hard to jump into something new (again.)

I dragged my feet for a few years before fully embracing the proficiency-focused approach, but never looked back once I took the leap. I want to share the baby steps that helped me!

I started by changing my gradebook (which you can read all about here) and then I slowly started updating my plans, assessments, and activities.

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Today I want to share my 5 go-to activities 🙂 Now that I’ve tried out a BUNCH, I have my reliable favorites that I keep coming back to, time and again. Below you’ll find a quick intro to each, and links to tutorial blog posts where I have them!

#1 ¿Mano o Manos?

¿Mano o Manos? allows students to sit in their desks, and participate in almost the most passive way possible. All they need to do is read what’s on the screen, and then choose whether they will raise 1 hand or 2 to express their answer.

Students who are ready for the challenge of contributing an additional thought/idea to the class can show they’re ready by raising a fist instead.

It doesn’t get more low-pressure than that! This activity is a great way to gauge your students’ abilities at the start of the year or unit.

I have various sets available, or a set of 4 editable templates so you can make your own unit after unit and year after year!

#2 PASITOS

Pasitos is one level up from Manos, because students are standing UP (and therefore more likely to chat with one another about the content, which I LOVE!) Instead of raising their hands to express their response, they take one step to the left or one step to the right. That’s it!

You’ll notice I have my Pasitos and Manos resources grouped together on TPT, because they truly are similar.

One additional (great) difference for Pasitos is that ALL of my sets for this activity are editable. I hope this helps you! (Without the graphics involved in Manos, I was able to do that more easily for each and every set!)

#3 HEXÁGONOS

Hexágonos is one of my NEWEST activity lines. I am SO excited about it – you can read my blog post on the topic here!

In this activity, students work together in pairs to organize vocabulary words or phrases into groups. They then have the opportunity to explain/defend their groupings to the class.

Benefits of this activity:

Can be done digitally or print/hands-on

Promotes collaboration and critical thinking

Your students will ABSOLUTELY surprise you!

#4 CITAS CORTAS

Citas Cortas is my go-to when it comes to a low pressure speaking activity. I have a tutorial blog available here.

The structure of this activity allows students to participate without feeling like they’re put on the spot or embarrassed to speak.

It’s great at the start of the year in all levels, to set the tone of a growth mindset! 🙂

#5 SONIDOS SECRETOS

Sonidos Secretos is one of the activities my students ask for MOST throughout the year. I have a tutorial blog post for this activity here.

Students always say this activity has hidden benefits; they expect to just be silly and have fun, but they always tell me they’re surprised with how much it helps them!

Students have to THINK in the target language, which makes this activity unique from any others I’ve developed!

I hope you find something new to try! Cheers to a new and wonderful school year, Profe!

The post 5 Engaging Activities for a Proficiency Focused Spanish Class appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

How to Incorporate Hexagon Grouping in Spanish Class

Erin Coleman — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 02:26:31 +0000

My sister Patti teaches science, and called me recently to give me this idea of a flexible grouping activity. She was begging me to make this for Spanish students, because she tried it in her science classes and her students LOVED it! Her exact words were “Please trust me, please try this. The kids will LOVE IT.”

I dragged my feet a bit, but a few weeks after talking to her this idea was stuck in my head. I designed Hexágonos to practice Hexagon Grouping in Spanish class. Hexagons work well for this activity because they fit well together to create groups of any size.

(Shown in images throughout this post – Hexágonos – Mis Vacaciones.)

SETUP

(Keep reading for a detailed walkthrough – this is the setup before the activity, when you open the document and get going with your students!)

Open your PDF download of Hexágonos. Inside, you will find a teacher page, visual examples, and a student support page to project while students are working.

You will also find a list of 33 vocabulary words. These are the key to this activity.

If your students will be completing the activity by hand, print and cut out one set of 33 hexagons per group. Students don’t need ANYTHING other than the hexagons! (Well, a flat workspace is a good idea.)

If your students are working digitally, share the PDF with them and instruct them to click the link that says “click here to make your own editable copy.” Students only need one copy per pair or small group.

To complete digitally, students use the digital workspace included in their editable copy. There is space provided for them to create 4 Hexagon groups, and they can easily copy and paste additional pages as needed. To create their groups, students are able to simply CUT/COPY and PASTE the digital hexagons from the starting place to the group they organize.

Differentiation: if using the digital version, you can allow students to repeat hexagons! Simply copy and paste the same vocabulary word in various groups, if it applies 🙂 Don’t like this option? Use the print and play option, OR play digitally and tell your students that each hexagon can only be used once.

Grouping: This can be done in pairs or small groups. I recommend 2-3 students per group.

Timing: I recommend giving students 10 minutes to organize their groups. From there, you have a few options. You can have a class discussion where students explain their groupings: OR — before a class discussion, challenge your students to take 5 additional minutes to try to completely mix up their groups! Then, during class discussion, they can describe their original grouping plan and explain their adjustments during round 2.

HOW IT WORKS

Each hexagon has one vocabulary term or phrase written on it. Students look at the 33 hexagons in front of them (whether digital or on paper) and think creatively to organize the vocabulary into groups.

There are no right answers, and there are no wrong answers! All student groups may come up with different combinations! Your students will surprise you with their thinking process.

Motivate students to discuss with their partners and try to think of groups that allow for the use of the most hexagons possible out of the 33.

I suggest giving students 10 minutes to separate their hexagons into groups, using as many of the hexagons as they can. They may separate them into 2 groups, 3 groups, or more! As students gain more confidence with this activity, they will routinely challenge themselves to think of 3+ groups instead of just A/B groupings. With that being said, it’s not a bad thing if students just use two groups! That’s still GREAT 🙂

After the ten minutes, ask students to describe their groups to the class. In classes that are hesitant to speak, students are usually VERY excited to share their thought process in this activity! This is a great way to help bring your quieter classes out of their shells. On the other hand, it’s a great way to organize your rowdier classes and get them focused and engaged in a collaborative activity.

Another small challenge I mentioned above as a differentiation option: after your students have their groups set, and before the class has any discussion, challenge your students to speak about alternative groups they could have made.

I can’t wait to hear how it goes! See all of my available (AND EDITABLE) sets below!!!

EXAMPLE

Let’s say two students (or pairs of students) were given the same list of words below.

Can you see how they chose to group them differently? Can you see how there are no right/wrong answers?

Can you think of other possible groupings? I’m sure you can!!!

This is a wonderful opportunity to motivate students to think critically!

AVAILABLE ACTIVITY SETS

Check out the first sets that are ready for you! Keep in mind, each set is EDITABLE so you can adjust to meet your class needs 🙂

Looking for free resources to try?

Thanks for reading!

I hope you found something new to try! Be sure to join my newsletter by signing up above – and as always, REPLY to any of my emails to let me know how you’re doing or to request a specific resource! Happy to help support you and your students! Reach me on Instagram @theengagedspanishclassroom, or email me erin@theengagedspanishclassroom.com

The post How to Incorporate Hexagon Grouping in Spanish Class appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

Wordle for Spanish Class: Word Puzzle fun for any level!

Erin Coleman — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 00:37:20 +0000

How does it work?

Wordle is a daily digital word puzzle game that took the world by storm a little over a year ago, and is now hosted by the New York Times.

Here’s how it works: The NYT chooses a 5 letter word each day, and you have 6 guesses to discover the correct word. You do this by making guesses of COMPLETE words; not letter by letter, like some other word guessing games.

If you guess a word that has a correct letter in the correct place, that letter will appear as GREEN in your guess.

If you have a correct letter in an incorrect space, it will appear as YELLOW.

You then make your next guess, again of a complete word, using the knowledge you’ve gleaned and the letters you have remaining.

Letters you’ve already guessed appear as grayed out on your keyboard.

You have a total of 6 chances to get the correct word.

How can I play Wordle with my Spanish Class?

There are ways to play this game virtually in your language classes (even setting your own words!) below, and I really enjoyed using these digital options.

If you’d like to play the daily SPANISH Wordle, share this link with your students!

Just like the English version, there is a new word every day and you have 6 guesses to get it right. Only actual Spanish words are accepted as guesses.

Alternatively, if you’d like to design your OWN digital Wordle to use with your students (in any length, not just 5 letters) try this platform! You can even set the language at the top of your screen if you’re making one in Spanish or another language other than English. Setting the language is important as the platform only accepts guesses that are real words in the designated language.

Play Spanish Wordle In Person, too!

While my students and I had fun with the various digital options, my students were much more engaged with an in person version I decided to try with them.

To set up, I drew 6 rows of 5 boxes on the board. You could absolutely create puzzles with 4 or 6 boxes, however many letters you’d like!

I called my students to discuss aloud as a class, and make official guesses together with me running the game at the front. If you have a rambunctious class, you can designate one person to submit the official guesses for the class, but my students typically did a great job communicating and working together as a team on this!

I would use my differently colored whiteboard markers to provide hints about correct letters and placement.

In this example, I used the color green to show my students they had a correct letter and correct placement.

I used pink to tell them they had a correct letter, but incorrect placement.

They solved this puzzle in five guesses! The correct word was PERRO. My students were always so proud when they solved the puzzle!

This worked really well at the very start or very end of class for me. It also worked as a brain break or as a “reset” in between activities during the day. Often, students would ask for it when they realized we were transitioning between activities for the day. Students also often offered to be the one running the game! “Profe, can I do a quick Wordle for the class?”

During one of my final observations last year, a student did just that! He raised his hand as I was prepping for our next activity which was going to take place in small groups, so I had some instructions to pass out before setting up. He offered to run a Wordle, and the entire class participated with him while I made my way around setting up. My department head, who was observing me, loved it! She was so proud of him, and so I was I 🙂

I love this because it makes our students THINK and REFLECT on the Spanish words they already know! I loved changing the puzzles to be 4 letter words one day, and six letters the next. This really challenged my students.

I noticed engagement in ALL levels of Spanish that I taught, from Spanish 1 CP to Spanish 3 Honors! Don’t rule out your Spanish 1 students 🙂 They’ve got this!! Keep reading for WORD IDEAS by level!

Spanish Wordle Ideas by Level

Here are a few ideas for 5 letter puzzles for various levels of Spanish learners. I’m sure you can think of a zillion more, but wanted to give you a few suggestions to get started!

Remember, it doesn’t always have to be 5 letters! You make the rules, Profe. Just make sure you set up your whiteboard boxes accordingly if you choose to do a 4 or 6 letter word, etc.

Spanish 1:

COLOR

FELIZ

ANTES

LIBRO

CLASE

LAPIZ

RUBIO

AMIGO

MADRE

VERDE

Spanish 2:

GATOS

GORRA

LECHE

AGUAS

PERRO

PRIMO

LINDO

CARRO

NUBES

NOCHE

Spanish 3:

CELOS

RATON

LUCES

BRAZO

NARIZ

LLENO

CASCO

PRISA

HABIA

VECES

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Have fun, Profe! I hope you’re leaving with some new ideas to try! Thanks for reading 🙂

The post Wordle for Spanish Class: Word Puzzle fun for any level! appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

4 Back to School Ideas to Engage and Get to Know Your Students

Erin Coleman — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 15:00:24 +0000

4 Back to School Resources for Spanish Class

These resources will help you get to know your students starting on day 1! My goal for the first days of school is always to involve my students as much as possible, rather than just speaking AT them about routines and procedures.

I of course cover routines and procedures… but not on the first day. On the first day, we have fun playing one of my back to school versions of Taco Tuesday, learn about culture using Calle 13’s Latinoamérica, and then a mix of the activities below!

The activities below help me get to know my students starting on the very first day. On the SECOND day of class, maybe I’ll start to review some routines, but I do that piece by piece over the first week.

Relationships come first. You matter, and your students matter. Everything else can wait.

When you’re done here:

Looking for more digital friendly ideas to start the year?

and even more ideas for the first week of school!

#1 Pasitos: Mis Fortalezas en Clase >> Interpretive ACtivity

This new interpretive activity is perfect for the first day of class in Spanish 2 and up. (Since it is completely editable, it could be adjusted to English for Spanish 1!)

It will give your students the opportunity for COMPREHENSIBLE and ACCESSIBLE input from the very first day, with low-pressure output from them which makes participation easy for all!

After reading the prompt on the screen, students take one step to the left or right to show their answer. Students who are willing can then participate aloud, if they’re ready!

This is a great way for you to get to know your different class blocks, AND to get them excited about the topics you may cover this year! It is also a great opportunity for students to reflect on their strengths and areas for improvement in Spanish class. It’s so important to have this growth mindset right from day 1. I know you and your students will love it, and again, it’s completely editable!

#2 Mano o Manos: Introducing Ourselves >> Interpretive Activity

This is another low-pressure activity that offers ALL students the opportunity and support to participate. Students again read the prompt on the screen, but instead of moving to the left or right, students are able to stay seated and raise one hand or both hands to represent their answer.

I often prompt students to hold up a fist if they have a comment to contribute (for example if they don’t agree with either answer, or if they’d like to add a third option!)

Meant for the first few days of school, great for Spanish 2 and up

Perfect for the start of the year in Spanish 3 and up, as preterite tense is used

YES, this is meant for the very start of the year in Spanish 1! Focus on COGNATES and common words 🙂

I love these activities because on the first days of school, students don’t know one another quite yet and are often a bit timid. These activities offer a lot of input and help build their CONFIDENCE in the language, so they know they will always be supported to participate without judgement in our class. If you’re interested in editable versions of this activity, you can see those here.

#3 Todo Sobre Mí >> EASILY ADAPTED AS A Start of Year Project

If your school embraces project based learning, this project is a great way to start the year in Spanish 2 or Spanish 3. Since the project is completely editable, you can adjust the requirements to cover what your students have learned in past years!

It is set up as a project for the end of the year in Spanish 1, but each year I tweak a few small things and use it with my upper level classes to get started and to get to know them 🙂

I love using this as a way to get my students involved and engaged with the language from the very first days of school. It also helps me gauge where each student is in regards to curriculum and communication expectations.

#4 Student Survey and Goal Setting

These last two activities are a MUST for me during the first week of school. They are both completely editable and can be adjusted to meet the needs of your unique classes.

I give this survey every year to get to know my students from the start. During a normal school year, I give this in between activities within the first few days to give students some quiet time during the overwhelming first week. I always give them time during class to complete this (and honestly I offer plenty of time, around 20 minutes) because I want them to know that I take their answers seriously. I value what they share with me during this first encounter. I used to give this as their first homework assignment, but I didn’t get detailed or thoughtful answers.

During a typical year, my students complete these self reflections 8 (!) times throughout the year.

At the very start of the year, it is a great way to set a baseline and expectation for students to consider their proficiency within the language as they grow throughout the year.

I also think it is a great reminder that there is no “end” goal – but that we are all learning and progressing in the language at different rates and in different ways!

Before you go…

Looking for more digital friendly ideas to start the year?

and even more ideas for the first week of school!

Have a GREAT start to the year, Profe!

The post 4 Back to School Ideas to Engage and Get to Know Your Students appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

Purposeful Spanish Teaching: Resources and Free Downloads for the Future and Conditional Tenses

Erin Coleman — Sun, 27 Mar 2022 20:20:48 +0000

The future and conditional tense units are some of my favorites in Spanish 3! At this point, my students have been exposed to a *lot* of the present, preterite, and imperfect tenses. They’ve learned how to talk about their past and their childhood. After the preterite, the imperfect tense usually seems a bit easier to use, and now enter: the future and the conditional. I LOVE these tenses, and my students do too!

We love setting goals for the future, and we love class discussions of ¿Qué preferirías? ¿Preferirías vivir en una isla sin personas, o sin technología? ¿Por qué? (The questions embedded in this activity are super fun year after year!)

I give two projects during these units, and my students always rock them both. After getting through the heavier parts of our curriculum, these units are fun, laid back, and engaging!

In this post you’ll find my favorite resources that I use year after year. You’ll also get access to various free resources to try! Happy planning!

Goals for EVERY SPANISH CLASS level

In Spanish 3 it is easy to forget that we still need to build our students’ confidence. I do my best to show that making mistakes is not only OK but actually a sign of strength and progress. In my teaching of all levels I do my best to provide lessons, activities, and assessments that offer the following:

various opportunities for input
movement and/or hands-on options
consistent opportunities for student choice
a balance of independent work and group work / collaboration
structured and supported opportunities for low-pressure output
engaging games / fun 🙂 that are still language-focused
clear expectations
varied and purposeful assessment styles
assessment options that offer student choice when possible

My favorite resources for the future and conditional tenses in Spanish class

Read further to see how I introduce, practice, and assess (and to snag some free reading materials), but I wanted to share my two favorite activities in case you need a quick pick-me-up for your classes! The activities below are my two most reliable activities over the past few years.

Sonidos Secretos is super fun, and hearing students make guesses in Spanish is INVIGORATING for my teacher soul. My students beg for this one almost as much as they ask for La Silla Caliente!

As for Panal de Preguntas, this year I decided to use it as a whole-class discussion instead of the digital partner game we usually play. I had students volunteer to choose a number; that student read the question aloud, and the entire class responded to the ¿Qué preferirías? question by holding up one finger or two (to represent the first or second option, accordingly.) We completed this as a warm-up all week, answering a few questions each day! I kept track of which questions we had answered by using the digital game pieces on the first page. Typically, it can be used as a partner game where students type directly into the editable document. Have fun!!

Each activity above is available in both the future and conditional tenses. I also have editable templates of both of these activities in case you’d like to design your own and use them with your classes again and again. Now, onto my full units!

Introducing the unit

I try to start each unit with various styles of INPUT that prove to students that A ) they understand more than they think and B ) they CAN learn new things! I love hearing, “Wow, I actually understand this!”

You *don’t* need to start new units the way our teachers used to, with notes, lecturing, and explaining from the start. You CAN give students the power to explore the language and make discoveries on their own.

One way I like to do this is with simple readings like this free download for the future tense. The reading is simple enough that students can work independently or in small groups to discover patterns and build confidence in their abilities. We then use their discoveries to guide our “notes” for the unit, when we come back to review as a whole class. An alternative activity that follows this same style, but is far more comprehensive, is my editable digital Semillas grammar notebooks.

I also love using puzzles and other hands-on activities right from the start of any unit.

This type of activity shows students that they can understand and explore the language based on their prior knowledge!

They know more than they think they do 🙂

For a more traditional approach, I use these future tense guided notes and practice pages.

I often offer these as extra practice for my students that enjoy traditional note-taking. They’re great for review after we have explored the tense in a more natural way.

Leerrores is an activity that offers a LOT of input and helps build student confidence even at the start of a unit! Students work together to find errors, and it really makes them feel like language experts!

For most activities you see above, I have an equivalent for the conditional tense. If you liked the free intro reading for the future tense, you’ll love this free download for the conditional as well! Have fun!

Supported practice For the future and conditional tenses

After introducing these tenses, (we utilize them separately but they fall close to one another in our curriculum) I always aim to offer various styles of supported practice for my students to work on their own or in small groups.

I use groups as much as possible; my students sit in groups of 4-5, so we are naturally in groups every day. The practice at this stage is still very input-centered, or is very structured and supported output. My goal is still to build confidence and allow my students to explore the language.

These are three examples that are very low-pressure for students, and offer various supports and differentiation opportunities.

Last year one of my goals was to offer more input for my students, both written and oral. These reading and review activities offer plenty of written input for my students, and help my students build confidence in their interpretive skills. Again, the reaction is usually “I actually understood that!!!”

We usually follow this activity up with these task cards for the future and conditional tenses.

¿Mano o Manos? is an activity that offers a LOT of input in a very low pressure setting!

My students love these activities because they can participate without feeling like all eyes are on them 🙂 It’s a great way to build confidence in a new unit!

The same goes for building student confidence with word races– I love using small white boards for these, so I can see how students are doing individually. I am able to reflect – How much review do we need? Does the class seem fairly balanced in their confidence? etc.

I also have a version available for the conditional tense.

review opportunities

This section is filled with my favorite things. My goals during review are to make sure my students are having fun, to get them interacting with the language in a way that is low-pressure and communication-focused, and to make sure every activity is valuable and engaging.

Taco Tuesday is a favorite every year. Best played in pairs or groups of 3 – you can read the tutorial here for in person play and here for digital play. Grab a free version to try here!

La Silla Caliente is my most competitive game – students love it! A new editable format as well as a digital score tracker designed by me make gameplay even easier on the teacher. Read the tutorial here and grab a free version for the present tense here!

Gallery Walks are great for motivating your students to communicate and construct output in the TL, while still providing a low pressure and supportive setting. You can read more about how I use them here!

These reading packets are my favorite way to move from input to structured output. They are also a great way to balance group work with independent work. We often move through the sections, switching up our work settings throughout.

Speaking fun FOR THE FUTURE AND CONDITIONAL IN SPANISH CLASS

Over the years, I have had no trouble offering a variety of opportunities for my students to practice their reading, writing, and listening skills. I am always confident my students get enough practice and exposure in these areas. Where I always double check myself to make sure I am offering enough? SPEAKING. So I found myself trying to develop various speaking activities with differing approaches and goals.

These are a few go-to speaking activities for this unit that always keep my students engaged and communicating in the target language. If you’d like to read more about my go-to speaking activities, check out this post before you leave!

Tiburones is a great way to get students speaking in small groups. Easy to differentiate, and play for any amount of time! 🙂

Sonidos Secretos is one of the most fun activities I have – and the fact that it’s for SPEAKING blows my mind! The room is always filled with giggles during this one – learn more from my tutorial here.

I like to offer Llama Mía as a stations activity or as a student-choice option during review. It’s another great low-pressure and adaptable option to promote speaking in the target language.

Café Charla is the perfect speaking option for fast finishers, or for the last 5 minutes of class if you need to conference with a few students but want to make sure your other students are on task.

One last speaking activity I always incorporate is Citas Cortas. My students *always* write on their reflections and goal setting pages that while they get nervous before this activity, they find it the most beneficial!

Assessment options

I recently adjusted my syllabus and grading practices to be more proficiency-focused, and I am never looking back! Instead of having grades that seem meaningless in language learning (40% quizzes, 40% tests, 10% homework and 10% participation,) my department has supported a move toward a more proficiency based approach. My students’ grades are now broken down as follows: 30% interpretive, 30% interpersonal, 30% presentational, and 10% study habits. (I personally stopped giving homework last year, and I don’t grade very much classwork, so the 10% study habits is heavily based on my students’ own reflections on their participation. You can read more about that approach here, at the bottom of the post.)

When I was a new teacher, I would give 4 page quizzes that included listening, reading, writing, and speaking. Honestly, I gave quizzes like this until very recently. After changing my approach to grading, I have worked to break it down for my students and allow them to practice one skill at a time.

With this new approach, I am forced to be more mindful about the why behind each of my assessments. I also have to work to be more balanced – it has made me offer more interpretive assessments, which my students of course LOVE. In general, I have moved away from the more traditional quizzes, and focus more on the styles below.

This is one of the projects my students love most! They get to use an app with an aging filter to “age” themselves, and describe their future lives. They dream about what their family, home, and overall life will look like! Students always impress me with this one!

In this project, students choose 4 “What if” situations, and present detailed opinions (5+ phrases) on each using the conditional tense. For example,: Si yo fuera un animal, yo sería un perro. Yo correría con mis amigos, y dormiría mucho 🙂

If you’d like to see a wider variety of my resources for these tenses all in one place, look no further! This bundle has notes, practice, games, assessments, projects, and writing prompts!

All of my projects are editable, and rubrics and drafting space are included for students. These can be completed digitally or on paper!

Again, these approaches are not meant to be used as a one-style-covers-all. They are appropriate with a balance of assessment styles, and some will work better with your teaching style than others! I encourage you to continue to think outside the box when it comes to “assessment,” and offer a variety of options for your students. They may surprise you with their strengths!

Thank you for reading!

I hope you are leaving with a few new ideas to try! Maybe you also found some inspiration to evaluate WHY you choose the activities you do, and how they (along with your grading and assessments) are purposeful!

If you have any questions or would like to see a post for a specific unit, please feel free to email me at erin@theengagedspanishclassroom.com! I’d love to hear from you.

The post Purposeful Spanish Teaching: Resources and Free Downloads for the Future and Conditional Tenses appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

4 Simple Ways to Discuss and Express Gratitude in Spanish Class

Erin Coleman — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 21:01:44 +0000

Gratitude and Thanksgiving in Spanish class

Gratitude is a popular topic in November and December, but it’s applicable and important all year long! The following activities can be used with your students at any point in the year, during a unit on giving thanks OR simply as a morale boost for any level of Spanish class.

1. Culture + Gratitude

First, you could absolutely tweak this cultural lesson if you didn’t use it to start the year with your students (or even if you did!)

While this lesson isn’t designed to be specifically about gratitude, the discussions we have about this song often turn to the values we hear about most in the United States. Conversations pop up around placing value on money, a “desirable” career, and fame, rather than family, relationships, health, peace, etc. I always love hearing what my students share, and getting their insight. They always impress me.

This is completely editable so you can adjust the discussion questions as needed for your unit.

2. Get your students writing in Spanish

These Spanish class writing prompts double as classroom decor! I use them every year at this time and love to decorate our windows and doorway with my students’ creations.

They are purposefully very open ended so you can be flexible with scaffolding and supports for your students!

There are 8 writing prompts included. Each one is provided in color as well as in black and white so students can color the banners themselves!

3. Show gratitude with your students, or for them!

I love using these sweet notes for my students! You can give out a few at the door, or drop them subtly at a student desk if you notice someone is having a rough day. Just watch the difference it makes in someone’s day 🙂

Alternatively, you can print them and offer them at the front of the room if students would like to show gratitude to one another, or to someone else in their life! Teachers in my school often motivate students to write thank-you notes to former teachers at this point in the year. When I get a few in my mailbox, it REALLY lifts me up! They can even write in the target language if they are writing to a former Spanish teacher.

There are 10 small cards included. Each one is provided in color as well as in black and white so students can color the cards themselves!

4. Use Spanish Digital Stickers to make your students smile!

Show your students that you appreciate their efforts with these cute fall Spanish digital stickers!

My students often complete work in Google Slides, and it is super easy to drag and drop these sweet stickers onto their projects and other work! Sometimes, I also simply email a sticker to a student to let them know I appreciate them 🙂

There are 12 beautiful images included, as well as a tutorial video to help you store the stickers in Google Keep for easy access.

If you’d like more ideas for digital stickers, be sure to read this blog post on using digital stickers in Spanish class!

Looking for free resources?

I hope this post leaves you with new ideas and resources for your unit on gratitude, whether it be in November or any time your classes need a little boost!

Have fun and I hope you have a safe and healthy holiday season with your family, whether it be family by blood or chosen family!

The post 4 Simple Ways to Discuss and Express Gratitude in Spanish Class appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

15+ Resources to Support Proficiency Based Grading in Spanish Class

Erin Coleman — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 20:38:24 +0000

Two years ago, a few of my colleagues made the leap from traditional grading to a more proficiency-focused path in our Spanish and other world language classes. It was intimidating to make the change (and I know not all teachers have control over their grading policies) but it was an update that was WELL worth our efforts.

After reading this post you’ll know exactly how we break down our new grading categories, and the many ways this change benefits our students. You’ll also see how this new approach has led to more purposeful and effective planning for my own classes. You will leave with many new ideas and a variety of free resources to try with your students.

Ready to dive deeper?

Be sure to enroll in my Proficiency in Practice course for access to resources, assessments, rubrics, demo videos, infographics, and more!

ENROLL NOW

Traditional Grading In Spanish Classes

Example of a traditional grading breakdown for Spanish class:

40% Quizzes
40% Tests
10% Homework
10% Participation/Classwork

This is the type of grade breakdown I followed for my first seven years of teaching. I was hesitant to change because I thought, “This is how it has always been done!”

As I watched my colleagues make the change to more proficiency based grading, I began to notice the glaring drawbacks of the traditional breakdown I was using.

Drawbacks:

Feedback: My grades did not provide valuable feedback to my students. “You have a low quiz average.” What does this mean? What valuable guidance does this provide?
Planning: My class grades were not supportive of a reflective planning practice. “Wow, a class average of 70% on that quiz.” A quiz that likely had 3 pages assessing varying skills. So, what did we need to review? How did this help me be a reflective teacher?
Assessment: I noticed that I was assessing arbitrary skills on quizzes and tests. I had conjugation sections, fill-ins… typical grammar-focused assessments that don’t focus on communicative skills.
Meaning: Did my student’s grades accurately reflect their skills? I realized that many of my graded assessments were focused on output, which was not appropriate especially for my novice learners.

As hesitant as I was to make a change (especially as I was pregnant with my first son and I knew I would be out on maternity leave for a portion of the year) I knew it was the right thing to do. And I am SO GRATEFUL that my colleagues motivated me to do so. My students were happy, too!

Purposeful Grading in Spanish Classes: A Proficiency Based Approach

I followed the lead of my colleagues and implemented a more proficiency focused grading breakdown. To be honest, I changed my syllabus just a few days before school started. I wanted to commit to the change and now allow myself the chance to back out! (Want to see exactly what it looks like? You can grab an editable copy of my Spanish class syllabus!)

The new grade breakdown focuses on the modes of communication:

30% Interpretive
30% Interpersonal
30% Presentational
10% Study Habits

Right away, I noticed that the drawbacks of my previous grading practice had been turned into benefits that would support not only my students, but myself and my teaching practice.

Benefits:

Feedback: I can now say to a student, “You’re doing amazing with your interpretive skills, now let’s add some extra interpersonal practice!” This is directly connected to their language skills vs. the vague “You did well on that quiz.”
Planning: It is very easy for me to see the areas each class needs to work on! Low interpersonal grades? Let’s add in some Citas Cortas conversational activities this week.
Assessment: My assessments actually have a FOCUS and MEANING. Instead of conjugation quizzes, my assessments consist of more real-world communicative examples.
Meaning: When my students look at their grade, they can immediately invoke the meaning and value in their skills. Instead of arbitrary categories, they know the exact value and reason behind their grades and can more accurately monitor their own progress. These rubrics developed by my colleagues, the entire MHS world language department (adapted over years from various supports such as ACTFL) have truly helped guide us in this process. Please see the special notes at the bottom of this post for more info about these!

Now that you have seen the new grading breakdown and heard a little bit about the immediate benefits, I want to offer you some extra support, FREE RESOURCES, and ideas for each mode!

The Breakdown

So, now that we have our grading scale. What do we do with it? How do we plan to practice and assess each of the four categories?

1. Interpretive Mode: 30%

FOCUS:

Comprehension and appropriate cultural interpretation of written and spoken communication*

EXAMPLES:

Interpretation of texts, audio advertisements, infographics, music, movies, and more

RESOURCES/ACTIVITIES TO TRY:

Taco Tuesday — tutorial + free resource for Present Tense AR Spanish Verbs
Leerrores — All digital and editable! Available interpretive reading resources
Sonidos Secretos — tutorial + free sample for Present Tense AR Spanish Verbs
Reading Passages — free resource for the present tense, free resource for the conditional tense, free resource for the future tense + more ideas from me
Conversation Strips — available resources
Interpretive Assessment Examples — check these out to see how I format my assessments!
Listening/Reading Template (for practice or assessment) — Keep reading to get access to this set of editable templates and more additional free proficiency based resources from me!

Taco Tuesday is one of my favorite resources to use with my students to practice the interpretive mode of communication: I love how adaptable it is for any unit, and that it is ready for in person and digital game play! You can see all of my Taco Tuesday games as well as editable templates with five game board sizes!

Sonidos Secretos brings SO MUCH FUN into my class each time we play! And my students don’t even realize how much practice they’re actually getting with the target language! I have editable templates available for this activity as well.

Leerrores is a great confidence builder that offers a LOT of comprehensible input, as well as extention activities for students. Every set is digital and editable, with student and teacher copies included.

Conversation strips are a great way to practice interpretive skills even during a quick warm-up.

2. Interpersonal Mode: 30%

FOCUS:

Active negotiation of meaning, often including adjustments or clarification*

EXAMPLES:

Non-scripted conversations, open-ended class discussions

RESOURCES/ACTIVITIES TO TRY:

Citas Cortas speaking activity — tutorial + free resource for Spanish Introductions
Text Conversation template, and
Chispas speaking activity — Get access to these additional free proficiency based resources from me!

Want your own editable copies of these interpretive and interpersonal resources?

3. Presentational Mode: 30%

FOCUS:

Creation of message that stimulates interpretation without opportunity for negotiation of meaning*

EXAMPLES:

Written reports and presentations, rehearsed spoken presentations

RESOURCES/ACTIVITIES TO TRY:

Presentational Projects for Spanish Class
Structured Speaking Activities — Free Cacto Conversación for Spanish AR Verbs, Free Llama Mía Game for Preterite of Spanish AR Verbs
Open-Ended Writing — Free restaurant writing prompt
The Chispas speaking activity above can absolutely be adapted to work as a presentational speaking assessment, if students are able to prep their speeches/contributions ahead of time!

These Spanish class projects are my go-to assessments each year for the various levels of high school Spanish that I teach.

I have made sure that each resources is completely editable as well as digital-friendly, so that you can truly adjust to meet your unique class needs.

I hope you find some inspiration for your next presentational assessment!

I also have Spanish project templates available if you’d like to design your own, with all of the elements that I like to include (student drafting space, teacher example, student checklist, etc.)

4. Study Habits: 10%

This final category is where many teachers include homework, classwork, and participation. I honestly stopped giving homework last year and I don’t plan to begin again. I also do not grade much classwork; it is very rare that something would fall into this category rather than one of the 30% categories related to the communicative modes.

So for my students, this final 10% is based on their participation in class.

You may already know that my students assess themselves on their Spanish class participation. I was tired of trying to find an objective way to grade participation without feeling like the “good kids” always got the better grades automatically.

This (completely editable) student self assessment participation reflection / rubric has been my solution for the past 5 years or so, and I’ve never looked back!

Yes, this means that 10% of my students’ grades are in their hands. I have the final say in the grade, but I have found that my interference is very rarely needed.

We complete this reflection at the halfway point and end point of each quarter, which means we complete it 8x per year.

My students get used to this routine quickly, and I especially love that their reflections help me to consider adjustments to my own teaching practice. This is their opportunity to let me know what is working for them, and what isn’t!

I tell my students that if I agree with their self-given score within 5 points, I award them their grade. If I disagree with their score, we meet one on one to discuss our misunderstanding. I have only ever had to meet with TWO students about this.

Many students are harder on themselves than I would be! When this happens, we talk about self-advocacy and asking for what they deserve. “You gave yourself an 80, but I honestly would have given you closer to a 90. Next time, please consider giving yourself more credit for your hard work!”

I have had a lot of success with this practice, and I hope it inspires you to approach participation grades in a new way!

Why make the change to Proficiency Based Grading in Spanish Class?

PLANNING: My planning is more clear and purposeful
BUY-IN: There’s no more “why are we doin’g this activity?” from students! They KNOW why, because they are aware of the exact skills we are working on!
GROWTH: Students can observe their growth more clearly; and so can I!
AUTONOMY: Since there are no questions about students’ areas of strength and weakness, they are more able to take their learning and review into their own hands.
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: I have noticed that increased buy-in from my students and better planning by ME has led to more engaged classes, and more long term benefits!

Special noteS

The focus of each mode that I describe above is interpreted from wording in ACTFL’s communication packet. I found this packet very helpful during my transition to a proficiency based approach!

When it comes to grading, my department worked year after year to develop a set of rubrics for our World Language classes to help guide us and our students throughout each year of their language learning. A few summers ago, I was asked to help format and streamline the scale on these rubrics for my department. I settled on a rubric for start of year, mid year, and end of year for each level, with a scale that adjusts as the year progresses. I received permission from my DH to share them with you, in case you’re wondering how we started! These rubrics are not my own, but from my wonderful department after years of collaboration and hard work.

Thank you for reading!

I hope you are leaving with new resources and ideas to support you in your proficiency-focused classroom this year. My planning is much more purposeful since leaving traditional grading categories behind, and I motivate you to take the leap! It’s worth it!

If you’re ready to diver deeper into ASSESSING for proficiency, be sure to check out this post before you go!

Do you have any ideas to share? Please comment below!

The post 15+ Resources to Support Proficiency Based Grading in Spanish Class appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

Purposeful Spanish Teaching: Resources and Free Downloads for the Present Tense

Erin Coleman — Sat, 05 Jun 2021 20:08:36 +0000

Over the past few years I have worked hard to examine how I approach new material in my classes. During the first few years of my teaching career, I taught directly from a textbook. To be honest, I was bored. So were my students! I didn’t use any strategies that could remotely be considered comprehensible – I was following the most traditional teaching habits and doing things the way I thought they were “supposed” to be done. As I grew in my teaching, I learned that just because “it has always been done this way” doesn’t mean it always should be done this way. I’ve been lucky to be surrounded by supportive colleagues and a department that fosters growth and new strategies and ideas.

As I start this new blog series, the first unit that comes to mind is of course teaching the present tense. I love teaching Spanish 1 every year because I love watching students grow so drastically in their language journey. Selfishly, I love seeing the immediate effects of my teaching.

To be honest, I also love sharing my passion with students who are experiencing the language for the first time. It is a privilege to hold the doors open for them, as so many held the doors open for me. I think of the influences in my language education often; my middle and high school teachers, my college classmates from Mexico, Spain, and Argentina, and my host families in Mexico and the DR. I am also lucky to be surrounded by native speaking colleagues that support me in my constant learning (thank you for always answering my texts and questions… Brenda, Margoth, Maria, Vicky!) All of these influences in my life have fueled my passion for the language, and it is my goal to inspire these feelings with my first-year students.

Goals for this level

In Spanish 1 it is so important not only to share passion for the language and culture, but also to help foster a strong sense of confidence and capability. I do my best to show that making mistakes is not only OK but actually a sign of strength and progress. In my teaching of all levels I do my best to provide lessons, activities, and assessments that offer the following:

various opportunities for input
movement and/or hands-on options
consistent opportunities for student choice
a balance of independent work and group work / collaboration
structured and supported opportunities for low-pressure output
engaging games / fun 🙂 that are still language-focused
clear expectations
varied and purposeful assessment styles
assessment options that offer student choice when possible

Introducing the unit

One way I like to do this is with simple readings like this (free download!) for the present tense of AR verbs. The reading is simple enough that students can work independently or in small groups to discover patterns and build confidence in their abilities. We then use their discoveries to guide our “notes” for the unit, when we come back to review as a whole class.

I also LOVE to use puzzles at the very start of a unit. In Spanish 1, for the present tense, this may need to be on day 2. But for upper levels and once students understand the general patterns of the language, I use puzzles like these as our warmup before we even begin our study of the tense/unit. I love what a confidence builder it can be! Regardless of level, these can be done individually or in pairs, perhaps racing against another pair or small group 🙂

Sometimes more traditional guided notes can come into play at this point, after students have had the chance to see and use the language on their own. The first page here is an example of the style I’d use — I’m likely to give students a few minutes to fill out what they can independently, but then come together as a whole group to ensure accuracy moving forward. We’d potentially save the following pages for another day within the unit.

Here is another great option for another very structured approach to guided notes/practice.

Supported practice

After introducing the tense, I want to offer various styles of supported practice for my students to work on their own or in small groups. (I use groups as much as possible; my students sit in groups of 4-5, so we are naturally in groups every day.) The practice at this stage is still very input-centered, or is very structured and supported output. My goal is still to build confidence and allow my students to explore the language.

These are three examples that are very low-pressure for students, and offer various supports and differentiation opportunities.

Last year one of my goals was to offer more input for my students, both written and oral. I have started creating these reading and listening activities to offer both approaches and help my students build confidence in their interpretive skills. Again, the reaction is usually “I actually understood that!!!”

I really like sentence structure worksheets because students have everything they need to be successful. It is a great confidence builder before students are expected to work on their own with the language. It is very easy to differentiate by offering support at the start, doing a few together as a class before working independently, and more.

The same goes for building student confidence with word races– I love using small white boards for these, so I can see how students are doing as they hold up their answers to each question. That allows me to use this activity as a thermometer for the class. I am able to reflect – How much review do we need? Does the class seem fairly balanced in their confidence? etc.

review opportunities

Taco Tuesday is a favorite every year. Best played in pairs or groups of 3 – you can read the tutorial here for in person play and here for digital play. Grab a free version to try here!

Speaking fun

Tiburones is a great way to get students speaking in small groups. Easy to differentiate, and play for any amount of time! 🙂

Sonidos Secretos is one of the most fun activities I have – and the fact that it’s for SPEAKING blows my mind! The room is always filled with giggles during this one – learn more from my tutorial here.

I like to offer Llama Mía as a stations activity or as a student-choice option during review. It’s another great low-pressure and adaptable option to promote speaking in the target language.

Café Charla is the perfect speaking option for fast finishers, or for the last 5 minutes of class if you need to conference with a few students but want to make sure your other students are on task.

Assessment options

I recently adjusted my syllabus and grading practices to be more proficiency-focused, and I am never looking back! Instead of having grades that seem meaningless in language learning (40% quizzes, 40% tests, 10% homework and 10% participation,) my department has supported a move toward a more intuitive approach. My students’ grades are now broken down as follows: 30% interpretive, 30% interpersonal, 30% presentational, and 10% study habits. (I personally stopped giving homework last year, and I don’t grade very much classwork, so the 10% study habits is heavily based on my students’ own reflections on their participation. You can read more about that approach here, at the bottom of the post.)

With this new approach, I am forced to be more mindful about the why behind each of my assessments. I also have to work to be more balanced – it has made me offer more interpretive assessments, which my students of course LOVE. In general, I have moved away from the more traditional quizzes, and focus more on the styles below.

My new approach means there is the opportunity and need for strictly interpretive assessments, like this example here for the present tense. I love that my students typically do WELL on these assessments; confidence means the world! 🙂 I also love that I can very quickly create and grade assessments like this. I will make a few versions per unit; I’ll print one to assess interpretive reading, and I’ll simply read the other aloud to my students for interpretive listening.

When it comes to assessing presentational writing, I often still offer lots of structure and supports to my Spanish 1 students. I also want to provide as much student choice as possible, which we often forget when we are assessing our students. Projects like this one are flexible and students can really make them their own while showcasing their skills. I do typically allow students to use notes for their projects (though it is all done in class), so a balance is needed with additional ways to assess presentational writing/speaking.

I mentioned that as a new teacher, I would give *very* lengthy assessments with ALL the sections. When it came to writing, my requirements would be very grammar focused; you need 4 stem-changing verbs! (What? WHY!?) Now, I offer supports, proficiency-based goals, and I am not hunting for errors as a way to remove points. I am happier, and my students are more confident! Here is an example for the present tense in Spanish 1.

For speaking assessments, I prefer to assess my students 1×1 in the hallway. Realistically, we are only able to do this a few times per year, so I typically save that for our quarterly exams (we give 4 rather than just midterms/finals.) In the meantime, I do my best to assess speaking in low-pressure settings. Citas Cortas is a great way to do that! As my students work with one another, I walk around with my clipboard and listen in. I tell my students that everyone is starting with a 5/5. As I walk around, if I hear all Spanish (and it is mostly comprehensible) they keep their 5. If I hear English, or notice they are truly unable to communicate, they may drop from that 5. They are even allowed to ask for another question from their partner; as long as they are communicating in the TL, they are meeting our goal. More often than not, students earn 4s and 5s. You can read more about how I use this activity here.

Thank you for reading!

If you have any questions or would like to see a post for a specific unit, please feel free to hit “contact” at the top of this page! I’d love to hear from you.

The post Purposeful Spanish Teaching: Resources and Free Downloads for the Present Tense appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

Planning Made Easy: Engaging Spanish 3 Review Activities to Reach All Learners

Erin Coleman — Mon, 24 May 2021 20:20:30 +0000

As a new teacher I always struggled finding the right balance with review activities. When I was teaching directly out of the textbook (which I admittedly did for the first few years), the review activities were always either boring or too difficult…. but always draining. My students didn’t care about them, and frankly neither did I! It always felt like something we had to “get through.” If no one is enjoying what you’re doing… why do it?

I wanted to develop Spanish 3 review activities and strategies that would be challenging for my students without being daunting. I also always want to promote target language use, and continually strive to do so in a way that builds confidence and keeps my students engaged. I tend to prefer small group activities over independent work by nature, so you’ll see a lot of those here, too!

I hope you can find a few new ideas or starting points to try with your students. I am still learning as I go each and every year, but wanted to share a compilation of my favorite review activities for Spanish 3! Keep reading to find:

Review Games
Whole Group Review
Independent Activities
“Assessment” Options
Review Projects

These are the activities, assessments, and games that I come back to time and time again during review season.

Please note that for every activity you see, I have additional pre-made versions ready for you. If you see a game that you like, but wish it was for another topic or unit… check my categories on TPT. It’s very likely that I have one ready for you. If not, you can always contact me to make requests! For this post I have included examples for the preterite, imperfect commands, and more. I know that every Spanish 3 curriculum is unique, so I encourage you to visit my TPT to see if I have something that better matches your needs 🙂 Also, I offer editable templates so you can adjust mine / create your own review materials.

You can see my Spanish 1 Review Activities post here, and one for Spanish 2 right here. I also have a post all about my general review strategies here.

Review Games

Of course the first thing I always want to talk about is games. I use games as much as possible in my classroom; I have fun, my students have fun, and we stay in the target language in a low pressure setting. I love them for so many reasons!

In my school, our Spanish 3 curriculum is very grammar heavy. We all work to use as much comprehensible input and strategies as we can, but the overhaul of our curriculum is a step by step process each year. I use games and design all of my own activities to help myself balance my desire to be more comprehensible while still covering what I “need” to cover.

During review season, games are a way to get my students to review while they think they are “just having fun.” In fact, they are being exposed to a LOT of comprehensible input, and they are expected to communicate in the target language – and they DO it! Not only do we accomplish these wonderful feats, but games also keep my students more engaged and help me avoid any end-of-year restlessness.

Below are a few of my favorite review games for this level. I am inserting a wide variety here because they all offer different things, and are valuable for their own reasons! And because, well, I love games. I hope you find a few that speak to you and help you and your students have fun together 🙂

Taco Tuesday is of course my all time favorite. I love that I can now play digitally or in person! This partner or small group game gets very competitive and can be played for various lengths of time. See the tutorial for traditional gameplay here, and digital options here.

Panal de Preguntas is a game I made for a complete digital option. It can technically be utilized in many ways; in pairs or small groups, but even independently as well. Students are given the opportunity to practice reading and writing while also strategically blocking their opponents!

Tiburones is another great speaking game that is great for small groups of 3-4 students. I typically use this activity when we have at least 20 minutes, as students tend to like to play multiple rounds.

Guerra de Miel is an interactive card game for students to compete while conjugating!

Another similar option, Doble Donas, has an almost identical setup and gameplay except it provides an additional aspect of student choice at every turn.

Citas Cortas is another great speaking activity, and this one involves movement too! It’s my take on a speed-dating style speaking activity. There is a self-reflection attached to each version, which is especially important during review seasons!

Sonidos Secretos is a great morale booster. My classes always end up in giggles when we play. This may be one that has to wait for when social distancing and masks are no longer needed; but I couldn’t go without mentioning it here. It really is one of the most fun activities I have ever created for my students.

Read my tutorial post here to get a better idea of how to play!

Whole Group Review

Sometimes… whole class activities are best. It could be because certain classes need more structure, or it could be because you’ve noticed a common need/theme among your students. It might be that you were out the day before, and you need to regroup and assess where everyone is before making any other decisions about your lesson plans.

Whatever the reason, I always try to have a few big group activities in my back pocket for any unit. The activities below are meant for these days, and I hope they’re helpful for you and your students!

La Silla Caliente is one of my students’ favorite games every year. I love it because it is unique – a whole-group game where I can easily gauge how individual students are doing. You can read more about it in my tutorial right here.

I have pre-made game sets for a variety of tenses and vocab themes.

Four corners is great when you need a whole group activity AND movement! Very little prep, very simple instructions. Play for 5 minutes, or 15!

It’s also a great way for students to get a lot of input in just a short time!

Word race activities with small white boards are honestly my favorite thing to do in a pinch. We have 10 extra minutes in class? Break out the small white boards! (Tablets work too!)

Since all students answer at the same time, it’s again a great way to assess where each student is, but in a low pressure setting and without calling attention to them.

¿Mano o Manos? is another great whole group activity that provides a LOT of input in a low pressure setting.

It was designed for remote and hybrid models, but will be even easier in person!

Differentiation strategies included to prompt class discussion 🙂

Independent Activities

As much as I love review games, some classes do prefer individual work. There’s nothing wrong with working quietly on your own; some students are better able to focus this way, with headphones in and focusing on the areas that they need to review. Even when we do review games, I try to offer options whenever possible. During review season I want my students to know that their time with me is THEIR time. If I offer a review game for AR verbs and they are very confident in that area, I try to have another option for them to review quietly. This may sound like extra prep, but having a few extra digital files to pop in Google Classroom and label as “additional in class options” truly only takes a few minutes of my time before class. This is a great way to provide student choice, and motivate students to advocate for themselves. What do they need? What don’t they need?

It is also important to remember that REPETITION is your friend! Did you play this game last week? That’s OK! A few students might choose to complete it again for review. And not because they’re lazy, but because they want to see that material again!

Alternatively, I try to have true study guides available for all levels in case there are a few students who would like to review in the more traditional sense. This study guide linked here is completely editable so you can customize for your own unique class needs. I hope it gives you a starting point or even a completely no prep option to use with your students right away 🙂

Below are a few additional activities that can be given to students for independent work.

Reading packets provide great structure that can take an entire class period of independent work. Editable and with answer keys included to make your life easier!

These can be used as partner activities or independently – my students love timing their first try, and then trying to beat it and/or beat their classmates’ times!

“Assessment” Options

So you might be thinking, OK I thought we were talking about review, not assessments. But here’s the thing! “Assessments” can be done in an informal setting and used as review. Since my students typically have listening, reading, speaking, and writing portions of their exams, (long gone are the traditional fill in the blank and conjugate exams, thank goodness) it is important that we practice these skills. Sometimes this can include “self-assessments,” where you do an assessment-style activity with the entire class, but students self-grade and they don’t actually submit the work.

Beneficial? VERY. Amount of extra grading for you? NONE.

I use this approach so my students can take time to reflect on their progress and assess any areas they may need extra support before the exam. I sometimes ask for a show of hands to see which questions/areas posed the biggest challenge for students, and I adjust my plans from there. But there are ways to do this in a low-pressure setting where students know they aren’t actually being judged for their “incorrect” answers.

I also find that practice exam pieces like this truly help my students to feel more comfortable on the day of the exam. If we have practiced a few listening activities during the week, I can be confident they are going to ROCK the listening exam because they have built up their confidence. The same goes for reading, writing, and even speaking.

Below are some of the activity styles I use to practice these skills. You’ll notice some of them are labeled as a “quiz” or assessment, but again, that isn’t how they always need to be used. I am always trying to rethink, reuse, and repurpose resources that I already have.

I love using this style of practice/assessment with my students to build their CONFIDENCE in their listening comprehension skills. After this type of assessment, I always hear “I understood so much more than I thought I would!”

These reading packets can be assigned as assessments, whether for a grade or for self-assessment by providing the answer key. I love using these as a way to mix it up from the traditional “quiz.”

Open response style writing prompts are always great practice! You can use them in so many different ways. You could have open notes, no notes, a timed write, set specific goals or key words to use… the possibilities are endless. The simple rubric allows your students to reflect on areas to work on.

Review Projects

Projects of course are typically used as an assessment; however, if timed and supported correctly, they can ALSO serve as review with a bigger goal in mind.

When my students have finals on the horizon, they tend to get very overwhelmed with “review.” They are receiving review packets in all of their classes, and it is all just packets of work they are expected to do on their own (and often on their own time). I do provide study guides, but sometimes I also provide a project option instead.

I want to note also that I ALWAYS provide enough in class time for ANYTHING I am providing. This approach goes for the entire year, but for now of course I’ll focus on review. If I am providing study materials, I am also providing my students with the choice/time to complete them during class. Will I provide extra options for outside of class if they ask me for them? Yes. But will I assign a study guide or project to be completed at home? No. Never.

Anyways – back to using projects for review purposes:

Offering a review project option gives my students space to be creative in their review process instead of filling in blanks over and over. While some students enjoy the structure of study guides, some students need the space to be creative and also have the ability to reflect on the areas they need to improve. For example, I have students that are very confident in the majority of our curriculum; they don’t NEED to review every chapter in order to feel confident. If I give them a fairly open ended project instead, they can pick and choose what they need to review. They can also choose to showcase areas they are proud of; and building confidence before exams is *so* beneficial!

In this process, my students are proving to me that they are reviewing, sure, but they are also proving to themselves that they CAN handle the areas of the curriculum that they previously found too tough.

This may sound like a lot of work, but it is fairly simple to give a broad project template that students can take and tweak to make their own. Below are a few projects I use in this level, and I hope you can get some ideas or a starting point for your students to jump off from in their review. All of the projects below are completely editable, so you can tweak as much as you need!

This is a bundle of all the projects I use throughout the year in Spanish 3 (and other upper levels). They are all editable, so you could tweak them to work for review during any point in the year!

In each project I have clear expectations, student supports, drafting space, as well as teacher examples… and more!

All projects are ready to be completed digitally, but can of course be adjusted.

The three projects below are the ones that, in my opinion, are most appropriate for review before your final exam. They are structured in a way that you can easily add broader requirements to review what you have covered throughout the year 🙂

Happy reviewing!

Thank you, as always, for reading! I hope you found some new ideas or starting points here to try. Just know that your efforts ARE making a difference with your students. They HAVE learned this year, they have IMPROVED their skills, and you have PREPARED them well for their future with the Spanish language!

Take care profe,

The post Planning Made Easy: Engaging Spanish 3 Review Activities to Reach All Learners appeared first on The Engaged Spanish Classroom.

Planning Made Easy: Engaging Spanish 2 Review Activities to Reach All Learners

Erin Coleman — Sat, 22 May 2021 21:57:22 +0000

I wanted to develop review activities and strategies that would be challenging for my students without being daunting. I also always want to promote target language use, and continually strive to do so in a way that builds confidence and keeps my students engaged. I tend to prefer small group activities over independent work by nature, so you’ll see a lot of those here, too!

Review Games
Whole Group Review
Independent Activities
“Assessment” Options
Review Projects

These are the activities, assessments, and games that I come back to time and time again during review season.

Please note that for every activity you see, I have additional pre-made versions ready for you. If you see a game that you like, but wish it was for another topic or unit… check my categories on TPT. It’s very likely that I have one ready for you. If not, you can always contact me to make requests! For this post I have included examples for the preterite, imperfect commands, and more. I know that every Spanish 2 curriculum is unique, so I encourage you to visit my TPT to see if I have something that better matches your needs 🙂 Also, I offer editable templates so you can adjust mine / create your own review materials.

You can see my Spanish 1 Review Activities post here, and one for Spanish 3 right here. I also have a post all about my general review strategies here.

Review Games

In Spanish 2, I find it is most important to keep students motivated. In my school, our Spanish 2 curriculum is one of the least…. fun. I’ll say it. It’s grammar heavy even when we don’t want it to be, and we cover so much that it’s har for us to find time to be flexible. Review games really help me to keep my students motivated, and to build positive relationships and trust with them.

Below are a few of my favorite review games for Spanish 2. I am inserting a wide variety here because they all offer different things, and are valuable for their own reasons! I also know that every Spanish 2 curriculum is very different depending on your unique school. And I’m also including a lot of options because, well, I love games. I hope you find a few that speak to you and help you and your students have fun together 🙂

And remember, these are samples of the styles of activity I use with this level. I have various pre-made versions of each one, and editable versions of many!