Activity to use with Informal Commands

Rarely do I have a classroom activity where students are amazed and ask to do it again, and this is one of them. I usually do this after assessing informal tu commands as a celebration of sorts. This activity is a set up to be a chain reaction that I start by saying "Buenos dias," and I do not give any directions before the activity. I give each student a sentence on a slip of paper (some may get two sentences), and I tell them that I am going to leave the classroom for two minutes. At the end of the two minutes they should know what the sentence means that is on their piece of paper. They are welcome to collaborate or look up words. After the two minutes are up, I walk into the classroom and say, "Buenos dias," and the chain reaction should start. If there is a time lapse, I read the sentence aloud until the student who should be doing that action gets it.

Depending on how much time we have I will follow up the activity by showing them that the verb that goes with "estudiante" is the same form as the command (minus the irregular forms). In the past, I have timed the class and then announce as "champion" the class that went the quickest. I also want to note that I used the activity below with a Spanish 1 class, so you can adjust the sentences to make them more advanced for a higher level.

Sentences:

Cuando la profesora dice “Buenos días,” abre la ventana.

Cuando una estudiante abre la ventana, canta “Row, row, row your boat.”
Cuando una estudiante canta “Row, row, row your boat,” limpia el escritorio de Señora Ushupun.
Cuando una estudiante limpia el escritorio de Señora Ushupun,  canta “Happy Birthday.”
Cuando una estudiante canta “Happy Birthday,” pon un bolígrafo sobre el escritorio de la profesora.
Cuando una estudiante pone un bolígrafo en el escritorio de la profesora, juega al tenis.
Cuando una estudiante juega al tenis, di “¡Soy inteligente!”
Cuando una estudiante dice “Soy inteligente,” escribe “Me encanta el español” en la pizarra.
Cuando una estudiante escribe “Me encanta el español” en la pizarra, mira la ventana.
Cuando una estudiante mira la ventana, canta “Call Me Maybe.”
Cuando una estudiante canta “Call Me Maybe,”come una hamburguesa.
Cuando una estudiante come una hamburguesa, escribe en la pizarra “MND es supercool.”
Cuando una estudiante escribe en la pizarra “MND es supercool,” baila.  
Cuando una estudiante baila, toca la guitarra.
Cuando una estudiante toca la guitarra, bebe una Coca Cola.
Cuando una estudiante bebe una Coca Cola, haz la tarea.
Cuando una estudiante hace la tarea, toca el piano.
Cuando una estudiante toca el piano, abraza (hug) a tu amiga.
Cuando una estudiante abraza (hugs) a su amiga, sal la clase.
Cuando una estudiante sale la sala de clase, di “¡Señora Ushupun, tú eres la mejor!”
Cuando una estudiante dice “¡Señora Ushupun, tú eres la mejor!”, juega al béisbol.
Cuando una estudiante juega al béisbol, cierra la puerta.
Cuando una estudiante cierra la puerta, toma la mochila de una amiga.
Cuando una estudiante toma la mochila de una amiga, escribe en la pizarra, “Me gustan los mandatos.”
Cuanto una estudiante escribe en la pizarra, “Me gustan los mandatos,” habla por el teléfono.
Cuando una estudiante habla por el teléfono, corre.  
Cuando una estudiante corre, di “EL FIN!”

 

 

Videos and the Spanish Economy

I became aware of this video from El Mundo Birch, and I thought this video would be a good starting point for talking about Spain's economic issues with my Spanish 1 students. They first watched the video without any introduction, and I asked them what they picked up from the video. Then I asked them why they thought Coca-Cola would do this which led into a conversation about the economic issues in Spain. It only took five minutes at the beginning of class, but it was much more relevant to them than reading a newspaper article about the economic crisis.

 

The next class day, I showed them this video. We didn't watch the whole thing, but, again, it was another starting point for conversation about the crisis.

La tecnologia vieja

What's next? IPods? Desktops? Cars?

La ropa y las tiendas

I have been teaching Spanish 1 for the umpteenth time this year, and while teaching a unit on clothes, I had a "Aha! Moment." Students (I teach at an all girls' school) want to see websites about fashion and clothing so they can compare and contrast what is out there with their own style. I realized that I needed to find more clothing websites that are specifically Spanish, so I emailed my students that are currently on an exchange in Spain, and they gave me a list of stores that they like to go to in Spain. I have added some of my own.

1. Stradivarius (Spain) www.stradivarius.es
2. El Corte Ingles (Spain) www.elcorteingles.es
3. Bershka (Spain) www.bershka.com
4. Pull and Bear (Spain) www.pullandbear.com
5. Mango (Spain) www.mango.com
6. Blanco (Spain) www.blanco.com
7. Nicoli (Spain) www.nicoli.es

Nada, nada, limonada

February. This is the time of the school year when I have to push myself to be creative, energetic and patient (and I fail daily). The other day I lost it because students turned the heat up to 86. I should not have lost my temper, but seriously. 86 degrees. No bueno.
Students and teachers alike are praying for snow days. The only thing close to a snow day that we have had is a late arrival, and that was on my day off. President's Day is our only scheduled day off that is on the horizon, and Spring Break feels sooo far away.
With that said, this is the best I can do for today.

Interesting Infographic

I found this infographic on Twitter, and I thought it was interesting. Perhaps the most interesting part is in 100 years the prediction of how many languages will be extinct. It is predicted that Chinese, English and Spanish will be the most used languages. I got two down--not sure if I'm ready for Chinese!

   

    Browse more data visualization.
   

   
   
   
  

Kraft Mac 'n Cheese Commercials

These are cute commercials, and I think my Spanish 1 students will be able to pick up on enough of the Spanish to figure out what is going on. The commercials serve as a starting point for a conversation about culture and how not all Latinos appreciate American culture becoming more prevalent in their homes.

Video- Lo Mejor de Mi Vida Eres Tu

This is one of Ricky Martin's newest songs. I like the message that the video conveys, but as a teacher in a Catholic school, if I showed it in class I know I would hear from parents about it. I love it anyways. The melody is catchy and beautiful.

Reflecting and Planning Ahead

Warning! This blog post is very train of thought, and I am processing as I am writing.
This school year has been a bit of transition for me. After years of working full-time, I am now part-time teacher and part-time mom. My school is on block scheduling, so I teach one day and I am at home the next. Because I am only teaching 3 blocks of Spanish 1, I have been able to focus on prepping for one class (instead of my normal two or three). During first semester I experimented with speaking quizzes, dictionary activities and current events.
The one take-away that I have from this past semester is that I need to plan ahead at the beginning of the year with goals for the students. I think I expected too much out of my Spanish 1 students in terms of the amount of work that I asked them to do and the content of the speaking tests. Next year I would like to be more specific about the goals for my students and then create classroom activities to align with those goals. (I am having a "duh, Maria" moment--those are what the State Standards are for! Because we are a private school, we are not tied to the state standards. When I write lesson plans I do not have to specifically align them with the state standards, so they are not at the forefront of my mind when I do lesson plans--even though that is what I was trained to do in college.)

Goals for Spanish 1 conversation tests based off the Ohio State Standards:
Semester 1:
Interpersonal Communication
1.a. Use a common range of expressions to make requests and seek clarification.
2.a. Engage in greetings, introductions and leave-taking.
Quarter 1 conversation test: I will say a question or a phrase and the student will respond. Students will introduce me to a friend.
Quarter 2 conversation test: I act like a new student in the school and I ask the student questions about the schedule and locations of places in the school. Or I show them a picture and the student tells me as much as she can about the picture.
Semester 2:
Interpersonal Communication
1. b. Ask and answer a range of questions to seek or clarify information.
2. b. Ask questions and provide answers on a range of topics.
3. b. Ask and answer questions about feelings emotions and preferences.
Quarter 3 conversation test:  I act like a waiter and the student orders their food like in a restaurant.
Quarter 4 conversation test: Students create questions that they ask me in Spanish about anything using vocabulary and expressions that they already know.

Goals for Spanish 1 projects based off the Ohio State Standards
Semester 1:
Presentational Communication
1.a. Plan a range of texts and presentations by brainstorming ideas and choosing vocabulary, phrases and sentence patterns.
2.a. Create and present lists and classifications.
3. b. Dramatize or perform authentic songs, dances, skits, plays, monologues or scenes from literature using appropriate gestures.
Semester 1 Project: Imaginary Friend Project (see blog post here) or Family Tree Project.
Semester 2:
Presentational Communication
1. b. Organize thoughts and choose resources.
2. b. Tell a personal story or anecdote that relates some details.
3. a. Recite or retell authentic stories, folktales, legends poems and rhymes using appropriate gestures.
Semester 2 Project: Presentation on high school sports or daily routine for final exam or Family Tree Project.

Based on the standards, I know I already do classroom activities and projects that match these standards, but I would like the alternative assessments--like conversation tests and projects--to align with the standards.

Buen dia- Anuncio de McDonald's

This is a great video to use in Spanish 1 because students can pick up on the language used. It took watching it three times before my students caught on to what was going on, but they eventually got it.

Video- Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

I must be a little behind the rest of the world, but I just discovered this song on You Tube (after 1.5 million people did). It is a mashup of the English version and a Spanish version. It would be a good one to use with Si clauses. I am teaching Spanish 1 this year, so I will not be teaching Si clauses, but I wanted to share the video nevertheless.

The Importance of Learning a Foreign Language

Yesterday I went to an amazing and suprisingly worthwhile conference about using technology to aid communication in the classroom. I was a little cocky going in thinking, "What can she teach me that I don't already know?" Sheepish am I! It is an understatement to say that I was blown away by what I saw, and I cannot wait to apply what I learned in the classroom. I have LOTS to write, but I do not have the time to process it all right now. But I do what to share a video that she included in her presentation. It is called "The Importance of learning a foreign language."

Mnemonic for Irregular Tú Commands

Students love a good mnemonic. I feel accomplished when a I see a student writing down the mnemonic that I taught her in the margin of her test or quiz. I love it even more when a student either teaches me a new way to help students memorize grammar concepts.
This mnemonic came from a student to help our Spanish 2 class memorize the informal tú
command forms (she learned it from her junior high Spanish teacher). Remember that the majority of the informal positive command forms come from go-go verbs (verbs whose yo forms have a "go" ending in the present tense)--for most of them just drop the -go from the yo form present tense to get to the command form.

Infinitive            Yo form                Tú command           
Venir                    vengo                          ven
Decir                    digo                             di
Salir                      salgo                           sal
Hacer                    hago                            haz
Tener                    tengo                           ten
Ir                          voy                               ve
Poner                    pongo                           pon
Ser                        soy                                 sé

Now for the mnemonic. Say this sentence: Vin Diesel has 10 weapons. I'll break it down for you:
Vin=ven
Die=di
Sel=sal
Has=haz
Ten=ten
Wea=ve (if you say it with a German accents it helps)
Pon= pon
S=sé

(Btw--This is lovely "video" is a little something that I created on Blabberize. Read my post about Blabberize here.)

Twitter in the Classroom

I have been a Twitter follower for almost 3 years, but it wasn't until the 2010 Winter Olympics that I became a daily follower. Note that I say "follower" and not "tweeter." I really use Twitter as a news source and as a way to follow the lives of celebrities that intrigue me, including those that speak Spanish. In the last two years, I have only used Twitter in the classroom by showing students interesting tweets in Spanish from celebrities. For example, Maite Perroni (Mexican soap star) tweeted a simple quote: "La perfeccion de lo imperfecto." My Spanish 1 students don't yet know "lo," but they can understand the sentiment. One student translated it as "Perfectly imperfect," which wasn't an exact translation, but she understood the basic gist of the tweet. Another example was a meme that Sergio Ramos (soccer player for Real Madrid) tweeted. It, of course, had his picture with the crests of Real Madrid vs. whatever team they were playing that night. It also had the date and the game time. I don't remember exactly what the date and time were, but let's say it was 12 / 3 / 2012, 18:00. I asked my students what it meant, and most of my classes figured it out if they didn't already know how to read dates and times European style.
With the new school year coming up I decided to up my game with Twitter. I created a professional teacher Twitter account (SraUshupun), and I intend to tweet information I would want my students to know, like The Top Ten Reasons to Study Spanish and a NY Times article "Why Bilinguals are Smarter."  The only people I am following are Spanish speakers and new sources in Spanish (like El Pais and CNN Espanol).
I am not going to make Twitter a "must" for my students, but I want my classes to make those connections with the greater Spanish-speaking world. The first day of class I am going to ask my students how many of them are on Twitter (I am really curious to find out a percentage), and I will share my Twitter name with the students and with their parents on Meet the Teacher night so they can connect with the classroom. I am sure I will update with more ideas as the year continues.

Activity for reviewing clothing

I have a big bin full of clothes that I use to introduce clothing vocabulary to my students. I have a new idea for a game to do for review before the quiz . My students usually love board races, and this is a variation. The class will divide up into two teams and give themselves a team name in Spanish. I will pile up on the clothes on the floor in the front of the room, and one student from each team will stand by me at the back of the room. I will show them a vocabulary word for an item of clothing, and they have to race to the front to find that item of clothing. The student who finds the item first wins a point for her team.

Mnemonic for Ser and Estar

Ser and estar are two verbs that introduce students to the more difficult nuances of the Spanish language. It is one of the grammar points that makes Spanish more difficult than French or Italian. I have two mnemonics that help students remember the differences.

Ser- DRPOOPE
D-date (Es el veinte de agosto.)
R-relationships (Ella es mi amiga. / Yo soy tu hermana.)
P-physical description (Mi padre es alto y gordo.)
O-origin (Ellos son de Guatemala.)
O-occupation (Soy profesora.)
P-personality description (Eres inteligente y amable.)
E-events (El concierto es a la una.)
T- time (Son las dos de la tarde.)

Estar- CLIF
C-condition ( Está nevando. / Estoy enferma.)
L-location (Estamos en clase.)
I-ing (Estoy tomando la leche.)
F-feelings (Estamos tristes.)

Blabberize

Blabberize is another Web 2.0 site (see my tips on Web 2.0 here) that is like Speechable in that you can manipulate an existing photo by adding audio and a moving mouth.  It is not necessary to create a login account, but one is needed if you want to save your "video." Blabberize also gives you the option of searching for other videos created by Blabberize users and you can file those videos to your favorites on the website (if you have an account). This function is helpful because other FL students have posted their projects, so you can get an idea of how other teachers are using the resource.

I have not used this in the classroom, but I would like to in the fall. Some ideas for activities:
1. Students pick a celebrity and have the celebrity describe themselves.
2. I can create videos for students to listen to. They could do a cloze activity or simply write what the video says. I could also provide questions for them to answer.
3. Introduce vocabulary to students using these videos (this would be fun in the spring when students are probably tired of hearing my voice).

Speechable

Speechable (http://www.en.speechable.com/) is a Web 2.0 resource that allows users to add text an already existing picture.  There is a similar site that allows you to add audio (see my post about Blabberize here).
Speechable allows you to add a speech or thought bubble to an image that is saved to your PC or from a website. You do not need an account to create one. The site was having technical difficulties when I created my picture, so instead of being able to send it to myself I did a screen clipping of the picture and saved it to my computer.
So the next step is "How do I use this resource effectively in the classroom?" Here are a couple ideas:
1. Have students create a poster for the classroom with a key phrase that they use in class like "¿Puedo ir al baño?", "No entiendo," "¿Puedo tomar agua?" and "No tengo la tarea." They would have to take a picture that would connect with the phrase. Hang in the classroom. You could do the same for idiomatic expressions.
2. Have students create a comic strip of sorts using their original photos.
3. Create my own photos and introduce vocabulary using the photos with the speech bubbles.

Web 2.0 Tips

Two years ago was my first year teaching in a 1:1 Tablet PC environment. By no means am I an expert, but I have learned a lot since 2010. Each year I have added new activities and fanciness to my lessons, and this year I have plans for more. One of my goals is use more Web 2.0. For the longest time I wondered what Web 2.0 actually is. It was a buzz word I heard going around, so finally I looked it up. Web 2.0 is "the internet viewed as a medium in which interactive experience, in the form of blogs, wikis, forums, etc, plays a more important role than simply accessing information" (according to www.dictionary.com). Web 1.0 is simply looking for information. Web 2.0 is more interaction.  (There is Web 3.0, but I'm not there yet!)

Because Web 2.0 is fairly new, there tend to be technological glitches in what little experience I have with it. I'm sure I will add to these tips at the year goes on, but here are a few tips:

1. Be patient and understanding with any problems students face.
2. Be flexible with deducting points for work that is late for students that are having tech issues.
3. I prefer to use Web 2.0 sites that do not require a login, especially if we are only going to use the site once or twice.
4. Always familiarize yourself with the site and do what you are going to ask your students to do in advance.
5. Show students what you created with the website so they can see how it works.
6. Provide step-by-step instructions of how to use the website (especially with younger students with little experience with technology).

I have links to several Web 2.0 sites on the sidebar of this blog. Happy webbing!

Videos to use in the classroom

Last year I inadvertently decided to start showing videos to my students on the last class day of the week. Two weeks in a row I showed them two different videos on You Tube that had to do with the Spanish language or culture. The two videos--One Semester of Spanish Spanish Love (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngRq82c8Baw) and Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal getting a leg cramp during a U.S. Open press conference (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5qaeZmv0vo) -- set a playful and fun tone to the class. Towards the end of the year, one student told me that she looks forward to the videos all week, and it was at that point that I realized that is part of what we do now--watch videos on YouTube for entertainment. Not only is it entertaining but showing the videos also expands students' world views beyond what they know about American pop culture. I try my best to find videos that are fun but still culturally relevant to the Hispanic world (or proof of our America's cultural influence over other cultures). After watching the videos, I usually have 1 or 2 talking points about the video either having to do with grammar, vocabulary and / or culture. The time I spend searching for videos is well worth the effort, and I am going to continue to do this in the future.

Here is a list of some of videos that I showed last year:
-"Second Semester of Spanish Spanish Love Song"
-"Cuando Me Enamoro" by Enrique Iglesias
-N*Sync singing "This I Promise You" in Spanish (and, yes, I did put in the asterisk)
-A clip from the Spanish talk show El Hormiguero of the host walking on water
-McDonald's commerical with father and son in a funny situation
-McDonald's commerical from Argentina called "Yo pago"
-McDonald's commercial for Happy Meals and this one
-A clip from another Spanish talk show of the host teaching the Jonas Brothers a song in Spanish
-The official trailer of High School Musical 3
-A CocaCola commercial called "Para todos"
-A Argentine commerical for Mother's Day
-An M&M's commercial
-An Adidas soccer commercial called "Nace de dentro" with La Seleccion Espanola advertising their new T-shirt (the girl students love this one)
-A Nike soccer commercial with La Seleccion Espanola from the World Cup 2010
-A video with Real Madrid's goal keeper Iker Casillas and Liverpool's goal keeper Pepe Reina
-A Coca-Cola commercial that is totally '80's and totally cheesy, and that is what makes it great.
-Juanes on Sesame Street

Towards the end of year last year I was running out of videos to show my students, so I turned to telenovelas. I showed clips of simple story lines from Cuidado con el angel and Rebelde.