Children's Books in TL - Activity #1

Below is the activity I used before reading "¡La Señorita Nelson Ha Desaparecido!" to my students.

1. Read the book before class in search of words that students may not know.  Write those words on the board.

2. PQA the vocabulary and structures on the board.

3. Put students in groups of 3-4 and give them 10 minutes to write a short story including all of the new structures/vocabulary.  (I did this with my Spanish 4-ish students so I reminded them that I wanted work worthy of someone in that level. I do not suggest this activity with level 1 or 2 students.)

4. Students share their stories with classmates.

5.  Read the children's story.  

This was a simple activity that helped make the entire book comprehensible to the students.  

The words I listed on the board were:  espantoso, echar de menos, rehusar, *bolitas de papel mascado, *se portaban mal, *sabelotodo.

*Students already knew these words.