Imperfect Tense - Photos Provide Wonderful Compelling Input

Are you looking for an easy way to get a lot of repetitions of high frequency verbs in the imperfect tense? 

Tell your students to bring a photo to class or to email a photo of themselves doing something when they were little.  Put the photos in a powerpoint or share the photos using a document camera. Start by asking ¿Cómo se llama él/ella? (What is his/her name?) and then ¿Qué hacía él/ella cuando era niño/a? (What did s/he did when s/he was a little boy/girl?) After the students answer, talk directly to the student who is in the photo to get exposure to the tú form. For the example of the little girl at the beach, ask:
- To what beach did you used to go?
- With whom did you used to go to the beach?
- For how many days did you used to stay at the beach?
- What things did you do at the beach?
and then mix it up and ask if she still goes to the beach or if she only did that when she was little.
You can easily find a handful of questions for each photo. You don't need to be concerned that the students will tire of the repetition. My students are so interested in seeing photos of their friends when they were younger that they appear not to notice the repetition or, if they do, they don't mind it. 

I use this activity each year with my Spanish 2 students. The photos provide the opportunity for highly personalized questions, complete with actively engaged students and, most definitely COMPELLING and comprehensible input. 

Note: If you have a student that doesn't have photos available of when they were younger, make sure you have a plan B for those students so they don't feel left out.  A nice twist that may be an option for Plan B, is for some students to bring in photos of their grandparents or great-grandparents.  Then you can talk about what the older generations used to do which may evolve into an interesting talk about the differences of growing up now compared to growing up several decades ago.

Reading Comprehension - How do you know students understand?

If it is true that reading is one of the best ways to acquire a new language, then we should be reading with our students and encouraging them to read as much as possible.  The challenge is to know whether the students understand what they are reading.

House layout, characters, and objects in chapter.

One way to check students' comprehension while reading without stopping to ask comprehension questions or to fill in a graphic organizer (although I use both of these methods often), is for the students to be active participants throughout the reading. 

One way for students to demonstrate that the understand is to have the students move the characters on a "scene" that is scaled down in size.  In the book I'm piloting with my students, there is a chapter with a lot of action taking place outside or inside a house in which one of two groups of people do the following:  
 - run/walk from one room to another in the house
- arrive in front of the house, get out of a car, run to the front door, etc
- go up/down the steps in the house & across the roof
- through the neighbors house, 
- etc.  

To demonstrate that the students understood where each of the two groups of people were throughout the chapter, they each had small papers representing 4 different people, a car, a bookbag, and a suitcase.  As the people and items were mentioned in the chapter, students moved their pieces on a model of the house that I sketched for them (it was a quick sketch and a stretch for my artistic abilities).  It was an easy way to check their comprehension of the events in the chapter, it gave them a specific purpose for listening, plus it gave them additional listening practice of the chapter. 

Review the following day

The following day I used the same papers for review. I taped people and the other objects on different places on the sketched scene, numbered the diagrams 1-10, and typed a list of 14 actions from that chapter. I showed each numbered picture (example to the right) and the students read the sentences in order to match the depicted action with the sentence.  

If you're reading a book that has a chapter in which there is a lot of movement that can be demonstrated easily with miniature characters and objects, this is an option with which you may want to experiment.  It worked well for my students and they enjoyed the novelty of the activity. 

Variations of other activities for your students to be active participants such as Freeze Frame (check back soon for a new example of Freeze Frame and a collage with the photos for additional activities) and using TPR with Reading, as described in this post; scroll to ch4, or read how Martina Bex does this as described on her blog post "Sound Effects Read-aloud".

Keynote Speech by Lori Langer de Ramirez, Ed.D.

Thanks to a participant on the FLTeach forum for posting the link to the Keynote Speech by Lori Langer de Ramirez, Ed.D. at NYSAFLT's conference in October, 2013.  I listened to her speech at the end of the school day yesterday while I was correcting papers, and then again last night when I could listen more intently while following along with her powerpoint that she made available to download.

Lori is a captivating speaker with some sensible ideas for using "play" in the classroom.  Lori moves seamlessly from one idea to another so the 40+ minute presentation will go by quickly.  If you invest the time to listen to her presentation, you'll come away with new ideas on how to use "play" in the classroom with growing in the TL as the end goal.

HERE is the NYSALFT's website where you'll find her presentation, as well as her powepoint that can be downloaded.

She mentions her Pinterest board in her presentation.  You can find her boards and 2,800+ pins at Pinterest HERE.

Enjoy!

Ticket out the Door + Monday morning review

If you are reading a novel with your students and want a short review on a Monday morning after students haven't seen the text for 2 days, or any morning for that matter, here is a quick review that your students can make for you.

Student sketches for review and ticket out the door

During the last 3-5 minutes of class, (they won't need more time so don't waste time by extending it), give the students a piece of 8 1/2 x 11" copy paper. They should fold it hamburger style and tear it into two pieces.  Then tell them to sketch two things that happened in the chapter that are important to know.  Before they leave, they hand their two sketches to you and, if you need a ticket-out-the-door idea, they can say one sentence about one of the sketches they drew. ba-da-ba-da-BING! A review and a ticket-out-the-door, all rolled up in one!

Trust me, even if it is a short chapter, there will still be many different sketches because each one has their own idea of what was important in that chapter.  Also, some students that aren't artistic may choose something easy to draw instead of the important events of the chapter. No problem. A large variety of sketches is good.

On Monday morning, put the sketches under the document camera for all the students to see (or fax them to your computer and project the file onto the board), and ask the students to come up with sentences that describe the sketches.  The sketches will keep their attention because they love looking at their own sketches or those of their friends. 

There are other activities you could do with the sketches, but this one requires very little of your time and it is a good way to remind the students of the events in the previous chapter before continuing with the next chapter.

Se Puso - Pre-teaching Vocabulary

Two weeks ago I was preparing a lesson and follow-up activities for chapter 2 of the novel that my class is piloting when I realized my students did not know "se puso" and it was an important element of the chapter.  The biggest problem was not that my students did not know the word, it was that I had little to no voice due to a nasty cold (one of the things I brought home from Alaska).  In the past I used the book "Froggy se viste" to introduce se puso and se quitó but it was too late to go to the public library.

Instead, I made a powerpoint with questions using se puso on 15 slides.  It turned out to be a short review of clothing also.  I still ended up reading the questions to the students with my crackly voice, but I was confident that the students felt comfortable with the word se puso and would easily recognize it when reading chapter 2 after the activity. (I reinforced the word with the students later in the week with "Froggy se viste".)

The powerpoint can be found HERE. 

Or, preview it below:

14+ Uses for the Feltboard App in the Language Class

Earlier today I wrote this post about the New and Improved Feltboard App.  Since I rediscovered the app this morning, ideas continue to pop into my mind in how I can use the app in a comprehensible way with my beginning levels of Spanish and additional ways to use it with students with higher abilities.

I have 14+ ideas listed below, but I'm sure there are many other ideas, and I'll add them as I think about them or as others share how they use them.  Really...the small cost of this app is worth it!

1.Students read a description written by the teacher and recreate them on the ipad. My department bought this app for our ipads last year and FINALLY I have beneficial ways to use it this year. Update September 2015: I created three scenes and saved each scene to my camera roll on my ipad. Then I typed a description of each scene. Students worked with a partner to read the description and create it on the ipad using the Feltboard app.  After each picture was created, they had to show the ipad to me. I compared their scene to the photo on my camera roll and I signed their paper if it was correct. Students then returned to their seats and worked on the next scene. The paper can be found HERE.



2. Students listen as the teacher describes a scene and they re-create it on their ipads.

3.  Students receive a printed copy of a feltboard made by the teacher.  They listen as the teacher describes it and they circle anything that DOES NOT match the teacher's description.  (Ex:  La chica llevaba botas rojas.  Students circle the black boots that the girl is wearing.)

PHOTO A

4.  The teacher creates two separate feltboards with many similarities, but several differences too, and makes copies of them.  (see images on the right) Students work with a partner.  One student has photo A and the other photo B. WITHOUT SEEING their partner's paper, they must communicate in the TL to find the differences.

PHOTO B

5. The teacher creates a feltboard packed full of different objects (especially useful if they are words that you have recently introduced) and projects it onto the board.  After a determined amount of time, the teacher turns off the projector and students write a list of the things they remembered seeing.

6. Practice descriptions such as emotions, clothing, hair color, and prepositions of location using the 9-square grid. (Find an full explanation and ready-made image to download HERE.) 

7. The teacher creates a feltboard packed full of different objects (especially useful if they are words that you have recently introduced) and projects it onto the board.  After a determined amount of time, the teacher turns off the projector and students write a list of the things they remember seeing. 

8.  Students use ipads to create several feltboards and email them to the teacher.  The teacher prints them or puts them on a powerpoint.  On a separate paper, the teacher writes a short summary of each feltboard and students match the summaries to the correct feltboards.

9. As a variation for number 8, the teacher will make a collage of 6 or more feltboards created by the students (a great use for a photovisi collage explained HERE).  Project the collage onto the board. Instead of a full summary of each feltboard, the teacher can read, or write, sentences about each, mix the sentences, and the students search for the feltboard that each sentence matches.

10. For upper levels that have a better command of the language, the teacher creates a feltboard scene as a starting point for a story, and students develop the story.
Variations: 
 - The feltboard scene is the MIDDLE of the story.  Students write what happened before the scene and what WILL happen next.
- The feltboard scene is the END of the story and students write what happened to lead up to that point.

11.  The teacher creates a feltboard scene and makes copies for the students.  Then she reads a story that has nothing to do with the scene except that some of the vocabulary in the story is the same as the felt pieces.  Ex:  The feltboard may show a family in the city, but the story is about a woman that always forgets things.  As the students listen to the story, they cross off the items that were mentioned in the story.  Great listening comprehension!  At the end of the story, students can list the items that WERE NOT MENTIONED in the story.

12. Sometimes in my upper levels for a fun activity, we create a story by sitting in a circle and each person adds a sentence to the story.  A variation of this can be done while illustrating it with the feltboard as the students add a sentence. OR...

VARIATION:  What I like better is that the teacher is the one that has the ipad with the feltboard app, and it is hooked up to the projector so students can see it.  The first student says a sentence. The teacher adds an item and the next student must weave that item into the story. This could be quite an interesting variation.  

13.  The teacher creates a several feltboards to depict a short story.  Email the feltboard pictures and put them into a 4 square grid on a powerpoint.  Students guess the order of the story before they hear the story.  They write or say a logical story narration to justify how they ordered the pictures.

VARIATION: Students read the description written by the teacher, match the pictures to the 4 different parts of the story. Then put them in a logical order.

14.  A basic activity: the teacher creates a feltboard with a large number of felt pieces and copies it or projects it onto the board.  Students work with a partner or in teams, taking turns saying a sentence that includes one of the felt pieces.

VARIATION:  Students simply say the name and color of the felt piece and cross them off until all the items have been identified.  (not a very exciting use, but hey, I'm running out of ideas).

15. Assessment with Photo #1 (from #4 above). Project the photo onto the board.  Either the teacher reads a statement about the picture or distribute a paper with sentences about the picture.  Students write if the statement is TRUE or FALSE.  Option: if false, students correct the statement to make it true.

16. Assessment with Photo #1 and Photo #2 (from #4 above). Student write sentences that describe (x) number of differences between the two scenes.

What other ideas do you have to SHARE?

Feltboard App - New & Improved

If you downloaded the Feltboard app in the past and haven't looked at it lately, you are in for a pleasant surprise. I checked it this morning and discovered the creators added several new features and many new felt board pieces and backgrounds. 

How can MFL teachers use this app in the classroom? I made one project that I'll use in the classroom this week and I have several more ideas that I'll work on when I have time.

My first project (download above photo HERE) uses the Feltboard pictured on this post to practice descriptions (hair, emotions, clothing), and prepositions of place (a la izquierda, a la derecha, detrás de). First, make a few colored copies of the Feltboard and give one to students working with a partner. Then describe one of the numbered pictures and students listen until they know which one you are describing. (or project the photo with your smart board) For additional practice once they know the correct picture, either the teacher can say True/False statements about that particular picture and students answer Verdadero o Falso, or...students can say statements to describe the picture further.

Note: There are many other colors of hair, clothing, & expressions, but I wanted them to be somewhat similar so students have to listen to several clues to narrow down the correct answer.

Another use for the above Feltboard is to let the students play the guessing game on their own. To support the students as they work with partners, type the descriptions and provide one student with the answers. 

Yet another idea is to ask, or type, questions such as:

- ¿Cuántos gatos negros están detràs de las chicas?

- ¿Dónde está el gato en la foto de la chica rubia que lleva el vestido verde? (a la derecha, a la izquierda, o detràs de ella)

- ¿Cuántas chicas tienen un gato blanco?

- Describe la foto de la chica que está sorprendida.

etc.

The Feltboard app is definitely worth a second look. It has so many possibilities. I look forward to creating more Feltboards with more details on the new backgrounds to use in class - describing, stories, etc!

If you don't have the app and want to download the Feltboard pictured above, try the link in the 3rd paragraph, or try HERE, which is a link to a googledoc.

Post Reading Activity

One of the most important things that I want my students to do when starting a new novel is to become familiar with the characters and understand how they relate to each other.  I started the second novel of the semester with my Spanish 2 students this week.  (I'm one of several teachers piloting the book for the author.) 

The author introduces the three main characters in the first chapter, providing a nice amount of preliminary knowledge about the characters, but leaving the reader curious to learn more.  To help solidify the new information about the characters and the storyline, I had two post-reading activities for chapter 1.

1.I listed the 3 main characters on the board and students searched the text for information on each of them. I listed their answers on the board, saving the character I knew would be most intriguing to the students for last.  The limited information on the 3rd character piqued the students' interest.

2. Then the students wrote the "backstory" of the 3rd characters, an idea suggested by the author.  I read a few of the backstories to the class. Wow! They didn't hold back on their creative ideas.  They wanted me to read all the stories, but I limited it to 4 or so per class.

3.  The 3rd activity was to improve students' listening comprehension while helping to cement the storyline and information on the characters.  I distributed the paper (on the right) and then I read 15 statements and/or questions from chapter 1.  Students only needed to write the number of the statement in the appropriate block, which allowed the activity to flow smoothly.  

We completed the reading and three activities in one class period with time to spare.  The students now have a solid foundation of the storyline and are eager to learn more about the characters in the following chapters.

Observation in Alaska - What I've learned from 3 Teachers

My school district understands the value of observing other teachers and gives us one day to observe teachers in our district or in other districts.  I'm sure my principal was a bit shocked when I emailed him a request to observe in Alaska.  I've met some great language teachers at conferences in the last few years and I couldn't think of a better place to spend a day observing.

Below are the 3 teachers I observed and a small sample of what I gleaned from each of them.

Betsy Paskvan - Japanese - A J Dimond High School

Betsy is the Queen of Comprehensive Checks! She was constantly checking to make sure the students understood both her statements and questions.  Below are a FEW of the comprehension checks I wrote in my notes:

- What part of that means "so that"?

- Do this (put fist on palm), when you don't know what I'm saying. It's ok." (A reminder for her students to signal her when they don't understand.)

- _____(a Japanese word) means blurry. Try it.

- Why is it ____ (a Japanese word) instead of ____ (a Japanese word)? (Difference between formal and informal)

- Show me with a comp ck (10 fingers) how much you understand.

- What did ____ (a Japanese word) mean? What told your ears that?

Betsy prepared her students for a story by reviewing structures with a PowerPoint slide with Japanese on the left and English on the right with target structures underlined. (see photo) The target structures were: from - to; rode; with a friend. Then she chose a student to fill in the details, followed by a problem that the other students offered suggestions on ways to resolve the problem.

I also have new ideas on how to better implement songs in the target language from observing how Betsy reviewed and introduced new structures in the song lyrics and additional questioning with students.

Cara O'Brien-Hollen - French - West High School

Cara was a bundle of endless energy! I was sure that she must crash at the end of the day but I saw her later that evening and she was still going strong.

Her class included a wide variety of activities: a weekend cheer, PQA on animals in their natural habitat, MovieTalk with a legend "Skeleton Woman", a catchy French song "US Boys"(?), an activity called Chain Reaction to put information in order and later to work on the 1st and 2nd person singular. (It's obvious that I used to teach grammar by the book by the way I stated that lat sentence, right?). There probably were more things she chatted about with the students, but since I have no French background....

She is the perfect example of the importance of bringing 100% to class, every day.  Our students (should) expect it and they certainly deserve it.

Michele Whaley - Russian - West High School

Michele gave a beautiful demonstration of how to teach students and not 'curriculum'. She has mastered the technique of teaching to the eyes. The whole classroom experience is centered on the students, their present needs, and personalization. I saw the last twenty minutes of one class in which she was doing PQA with structures in the future tense based on her students' responses to a chart on weekend activities. She involved all students, personalizing the input for each.

In her second class, she introduced new structures/vocabulary and moved into a story with student actors and  props. She gently directed the students' actions and their lines, always, always, always teaching to the eyes and always checking comprehension. Then she seamlessly moved into MovieTalk with an animated video that had the same structures.  

Another thing clearly evident in Michele's classes is how much she cares for her students, even down to the comfy classroom chairs she bought for her classroom.  A student stopped in after class for her signature for a sports team and Michele said how glad she was to see him joining the team. 

(I have to add that I thought it was so dear that since Martina and I were observing, one student asked if they could sing a song they learned to show the visitors what they knew. The students obviously were happy with what they knew and wanted to share that with us.)

It was a rewarding day and I plan to implement some of the activities in my classes and have new ideas on how to improve my teaching. My biggest take away from my trip is to add more culture into my storytelling and CI.

Two of my favorite bloggers: Martina (middle) & Michele (r)

I strongly encourage teachers of all subjects to take the time to observe others. It doesn't have to be as far as Alaska, even though I strongly suggest it for language teachers because of their amazing language programs and hospitality.

This is a perfect time to send out a huge THANK YOU to Martina Bex for her generous spirit and warm hospitality and
THANK YOU to Michele, Betsy, and Cara for welcoming me into their classrooms.

Flight to Alaska - $$$

Buying additional warm clothing - $$

Learning through observation and discussions with other language teachers - PRICELESS!

Two more photos from Alaska:

The town of Whittier sits at the base of the mountain, accessible by water or through a one-way, 2-mile tunnel made for cars and trains.


 

If you look closely (between the two heads of the people dressed in dark clothing and above) you'll see ice and snow breaking away from the glacier - known as "calving".

Reading to Students - part 3

Today I finished reading Brandon Brown quiere un perro with my students. Below is a short explanation of how I presented chapters 6-10.

Chapter 6
I made a "vocabulary" paper by choosing words from chapter 6 that I felt the students either needed to review or words they may not know.  I put 3 or 4 words/phrases in boxes along with the English translations to make it as easy as possible for the students to decode the words. After students completed the matching we went over their answers.  I also had a large version of the same words printed on a big piece of white butcher paper.  As I read the chapter, I pointed and paused at the words on the butcher paper that were the same words on their paper.  
As always, I stopped reading throughout the chapter to ask questions and check comprehension. The screenshot to the right shows the top portion of the paper I gave to the students.


Chapter 7
I took the easy way out on chapter 7. I looked for words that I felt the students needed more exposure or review with.  Then I wrote 12 sentences exactly as they are written in the chapter and underlined the words I had previously selected.  I wanted the students to see the words in context to help them with the meaning. I read the chapter to them using the document camera so they could follow along as I read to them.

Chapter 8
For this chapter, I did a similar activity that I did for chapter two (found HERE) except instead of T/F questions, I had multiple choice questions.  Many of the answers for the multiple choice, I wrote full sentences for more input in seeing the structures in full sentences and not single word answers.  I read the chapter and students listened for the information on their papers.

Chapter 9
This chapter has repetitions of the following structures:
   - está sorprendido
   - está preocupado
   - está contento
   - está nervioso
The students told me the meanings for each of the above phrases (easy for them because many have been used before in the book and their cognates).  Then, as I read the chapter to them, when I saw one of the expressions in the text, instead of saying the expression I asked the students how the character felt.  They chose the answers from the 4 expressions listed above.  It also helped to point out that the "o" changes to an "a" when referring to a female.

Chapter 10
In my classes, I always make a big deal out of finishing a book.  I emphasize how great it is that they read (in this case, they listened to because I read it to them) a(nother) book in their second language.  I felt we needed to go out with a BANG, which meant actions and noise.  I chose the following words and wrote them on the board.
  se despierta, se duerme, de repente, está contento, feliz cumpleaños, fiesta, & regalo

Most of the words they knew already from previous chapters or from last year. For the first two words, they used the same motions from a previous chapter.  Anytime I say "de repente" in class, students have to snap their fingers one time, so that motion and sound was already established.  I added "está contento" with my last class of the day because I realized how often it is repeated in the chapter after reading it in my two other classes.  The class suggested the thumbs up and pointer finger pointing away (as if, yeah, I'm happy and I'm cool about it).  Everytime I read "fiesta" they yelled, "wooohooo". For "feliz cumpleaños", they had to clap their hands 3-4 times and say in English, "Happy, happy, birthday", similar to what some restaurant staffs do when you celebrate your birthday in their restaurant.  The last one was regalo.  I had students quickly sketch a present on a 1/2 sheet of paper and then each class decided what action or noise when with it.  My favorite was the last class' idea.  One girl blurted out, "let's jump up when you say it". I only needed to hear that one time and I was all for it.  The others were not exactly convinced that this was the best choice, but they obliged.  At first, not all students were "jumping up" together, but I didn't mind.  Then one brilliant student said, "we should do it in a wave". Yes....brilliant. After that, each time I read "regalo" there was a beautiful wave around the class as the students jumped up with their sketches of presents. It was a blast! I was so hoping the principal would walk in to see and appreciate all their gestures and sounds.

I felt comfortable that they had a high comprehension of the chapter, but still paused at times to check their comprehension or ask "what does lo mean in the phrase lo observan?"

And with that, we finished the book. One book read (listened to) and we are on our 16th day.  My goal is to read 3 or 4 more books before the end of January.  We're off to a great start!
 

If you don't want to learn Spanish, you're in BIG trouble.

Last week I overheard some mumbling about the (high) expectations in my Spanish class (sit up, make eye contact with me, respond with "ooohhh" after a statement in a story, answer the either/or, sí/no, or short answer questions, do your 50%, listen when another person is speaking, etc).

When I heard the mumbling, which I'm sure they were surprised that I was able to hear them, I paused and explained that this is how Spanish class is conducted in my room.  Then I said, "If you don't want to learn Spanish, then you're in BIG trouble. You can't stop your brain from doing what it naturally does when it receives comprehensible input...it acquires the language." 


Even if there are students in my classroom that signed up for Spanish to meet college requirements and even if they don't particularly want to learn Spanish, they don't really have a choice because their brain is going to pick up the language whether they want to or not.

From time to time, I remind the students that their first language was acquired after thousands of hours of input. Their parents didn't sit down with them when they were a toddler and explain the grammar rules or give them lists of themed vocabulary to learn. (Why do textbook publishers insist on putting vocabulary in themed units?)  Instead, their parents TALKED to them, interacted with them, and asked them question after question about their surroundings.

Read an example of a mother's interaction with her toddler:

Sally, do you want some ice cream? What kind of ice cream do you want? Do you want chocolate ice cream or vanilla ice cream? Oh, you want vanilla ice cream. That's my favorite ice cream too. The mother then looks in the freezer and discovers there isn't any vanilla ice cream in the freezer. Uh,oh, We don't have any vanilla ice cream. We'll have to go to the store and buy some vanilla ice cream. Sally, where are your shoes? You need shoes to go to the store. Are your shoes in your room? Go to your room and look for your shoes. Sally, we can't go for ice cream until you find your shoes. .....

"Sally" is receiving comprehensible input in this interaction. It's compelling to her because she wants the ice cream. Her mother didn't have to explain the grammar in order for "Sally" to understand the conversation.

Likewise, in our CI/TPRS classrooms, we are providing the input in a comprehensible, and hopefully, compelling, manner so the students' brains eventually acquire the language. 

It takes TIME. 

It requires REPETITION. 

It requires the teacher to go SLOW. 

It requires the teacher to POINT and PAUSE at the new structures.

It requires CREATIVITY on the teacher's part to provide COMPELLING input. 

It requires COMPREHENSION CHECKS so the teacher can pace his lesson.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. 

We are 9 days into the semester and I can see the undeniable beginning signs of acquisition taking place with my Spanish 2 students.  They didn't study it. They listened, they responded to my questions, they helped to create stories, they read, and, as a result, their brains are beginning to internalize certain grammar structures and vocabulary without having to take the time to translate it before recognizing it. The words are "falling out of the mouths" of some of the students. Others will need more input, a lot more input, before the brain acquires it. But ALL will eventually acquire it at their own individual pace. 

My job is to stay the course and to keep providing compelling, comprehensible input.

High expectations? I suppose some might think that.  But I tell them their brain will thank them. The best part is yet to come, when the students realize their ability to communicate in the language is growing. They'll recognize it, just give them time.  

Reading to Students - Part 2

I read the first 3 chapters of Brandon Brown quiere un perro to my Spanish 2 classes during the first week of school. (see earlier post "Reading to Students" for information on how I read the first 3 chapters of the book).

After a four-day weekend due to Labor Day, I wanted to review the events in Chapter 3 before continuing with the next chapter with the following activity.

Chapter 3 
I organized sketches of the main events of chapter 3. The easiest way to do this if you do not want to make the sketches is one day before this activity give the following slips of paper to 9 of your students. (Hint: Use a standard piece of copy paper and divide it evenly into 9 squares - like a tic tac toe board; then when you piece it together again, you won't have to resize the sketches to fit onto one paper.) Write the following sentences in the TL and give them to students, or in English if you think that is needed.
-  Brandon says goodbye to his mother and leaves on his bicycle
-  Brandon sees Jake and his dog outside of Jake's house
-  Brandon and Jake leave Jake's house on their bikes
-  There are many people and dogs in the park.
-  A little dog passes in front of Brandon and Jake on their bikes.
-  Brandon picks up the little dog and talks to it.
-  Brandon picks up the dog and rides to his house with the dog.
-  Brandon enters the house with the dog.
-  Brandon is in the bedroom with his dog and he is happy.

Collect the sketches and tape them together but NOT in the correct order that they appear in the book. Write a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i on each of the sketches.
Write sentences in Spanish that will match each of the sketches.

The following day, project the sketches onto the board with a document camera (or copy a sheet for each student). Talk about the sketches, especially if the students' artwork may not be as clear as you would like. Describe a sketch and students say which sketch you described.

Then hand a reading review sheet on chapter 3 and let the students work in groups of 3 to complete the review.  Below are my instructions and the first few sentences of my worksheet.

I went over the answers on the left first, followed by the answers on the right. 

Chapter 4
I wrote the following words on a large piece of paper (white butcher paper):
se despierta, se hace muchos ruidos, se duerme, recoge, lleva, de nuevo, está nervioso, (la cama) está mojada, ve, tiene vergüenza, observa, cierra
Together the students and I decided on a motion for each of the words and then we practiced them TPR style, adding a new word after I felt each word and motion was solid.

Then the students formed a circle with their chairs and I asked for 2 volunteers for each word.  I instructed them to stand up and do the motion when they heard the word(s) while I was reading Chapter 4. I used the document camera when reading chapter 4 so students could follow along as I read and both listen and look for the word so they could do their motions. The reading kept the class engaged and they even helped out their classmates if I paused after a word and the students assigned didn't hear or read it right away.

After the reading, I distributed a paper with questions and multiple choice answers to review what they read.  

An example of questions on my handout is:

1. ¿Quién se duerme rápidamente?     Brandon       el perrito       Brandon y el perrito

2.  ¿Cuándo se despierta Brandon?      a las 7           a las 6             as las 5

The multiple choice questions gave them reading practice to go along with the verbal input they have been receiving on the book. 

Chapter 5
I chose the following structures to practice from chapter 5. I put the verbs in the past tense since I am slowly adding past tense into our warm-up discussions.

había
se llamaba ______
vivía solo en una fortaleza
quería comer con 

I story-asked a story about a boy that lived alone in a fortress that wanted to go out to eat with someone. I had a powerpoint to go along with the story to rule out who the boy did not want to eat with, which included capitán Crunch and el presidente, in order to have them become familiar with those cognates that are used in chapter 5. The powerpoint also had places where the boy did or didn't want to eat with the other person. 

Because the vocabulary was introduced with the past tense, I wanted to make sure the students got an abundance of reps of the past tense, therefore we didn't have time to read any part of Chapter 5. We'll continue with that tomorrow.