March is the perfect time to bring some excitement into your Spanish class with Madness Brackets! I first heard about this idea from Spanish Plans years ago. This activity combines music, competition, and student choice — all while reinforcing listening skills.
In this post, I’ll share how to use Madness Brackets in your Spanish class, why they work so well, and how you can adapt them for different types of content all year long.
What Are Madness Brackets?
Madness Brackets are inspired by the excitement of sports brackets during March Madness — but with a language twist! Here’s how it works:
Create a bracket with different Spanish-language songs.
Students listen to the songs in pairs or small groups.
Vote for their favorites, and advance the winning songs to the next round.
Keep going until you have a class favorite!
It’s easy to set up and creates a ton of excitement in the classroom. Students get exposed to authentic Spanish-language music while improving their listening skills and cultural understanding. Plus, the element of competition keeps them motivated and engaged.
Why Madness Brackets Work So Well
Student choice – Letting students vote makes them feel involved and invested.
Repetition with purpose – Students listen to songs multiple times as they advance, reinforcing vocabulary and comprehension.
Not Just for Music – Use Brackets All Year Long
One of the best things about this idea is that it’s not limited to music or March. You can adapt the bracket format for all kinds of content and use it throughout the school year:
Animated shorts – Let students vote for their favorite animated short in Spanish.
Animals – Create a bracket featuring different animals and let students decide which one wins based on descriptive clues.
Books – Compare different picture books or short stories.
Brackets are easy tool that can be used to introduce vocabulary, practice listening and speaking skills, and build classroom community.
How to Get Started with Brackets in Spanish Class
Choose your theme (music, animals, movies, etc.).
Create a simple bracket (you can use free online tools like Canva or Google Slides).
Introduce the content and explain the voting process.
Let students listen, watch, or explore — and then vote.
Continue until you have a winner.
Madness Brackets with Animals
In this example, students will learn about eight endangered animals through readings and comprehension activities, which will take about eight classes. Introduce one animal per class. After every two readings, have students choose a winner to advance to the next round. Continue until only two animals remain, then have students pick the final winner. You can enhance the activity by showing a short YouTube video about each animal. It’s a great opportunity to use a map to explore each animal’s origin.
Example of what the Madness Bracket will look with animals!
Ready to Try Madness Brackets in Your Spanish Class?
Madness Brackets (or any type of bracket) are an easy and engaging way to bring excitement into your Spanish class while reinforcing language skills. Whether you use music, animated shorts, or another theme, brackets are a great tool for increasing student engagement and building cultural connections.
Have you tried Madness Brackets or another type of bracket in your class? Let me know in the comments — I’d love to hear about your experience.
I attended the NECTFL25 conference and was lucky to see Christina Margiore‘s presentation, “Keep the Conversation Going with Chat Mats.” It made me aware of all the benefits of bringing them into the classroom. I feel that Chat Mats have been an underrated teaching tool! After attending her session, I’m inspired to incorporate them more into my class. These simple yet powerful resources help create a low-stress environment where students feel more confident using the target language. Whether you teach elementary or older students, Chat Mats can be a game-changer for encouraging communication and keeping conversations flowing.
What Are Chat Mats?
Chat Mats are visual supports that provide students with key phrases, sentence starters, and vocabulary related to a specific topic or conversation structure. They can be laminated sheets, paper printouts, or even digital versions for interactive activities. The goal is to give students a scaffolded way to engage in meaningful conversations without feeling overwhelmed.
Why Use Chat Mats?
Chat Mats help reduce anxiety by giving students a safety net when speaking in the target language, making them feel more comfortable and less afraid of making mistakes. They also encourage authentic conversations by allowing students to mix and match sentence stems rather than relying on memorized dialogues. Additionally, they provide structured support, especially for younger learners who benefit from visuals and key phrases to help them communicate their thoughts. Best of all, Chat Mats are highly adaptable—you can use them for different themes, grammar structures, or cultural discussions, making them a versatile tool for any language class.
How to Use Chat Mats in Class
Here are a few easy ways to incorporate them into your lessons:
Partner Conversations – Give each student a Chat Mat and have them take turns asking and answering questions.
Role-Playing Activities – Assign students different roles and scenarios, using the Chat Mats as a guide.
Exit Tickets – Before leaving class, students can use their Chat Mats to share something they learned or a sentence they created.
Small-Group Discussions – Use Chat Mats to guide students through a structured discussion related to your lesson’s theme.
Storytelling – Have students use their Chat Mats to describe characters, settings, or events in a story.
Weekend Chat Mat
Ready to give it a try? Download this weekend Chat Mat to start using it with your elementary or novice level students right away!
Chat Mats are one of those tools that help students feel successful while making your job easier. They support language production, build confidence, and keep students engaged in conversation. If you haven’t tried using them yet, give them a go and see how well they work!
Using a magic box works with any grade level. It’s a wonderful way to deliver comprehensible input while keeping students curious and engaged. This tool helps reinforce vocabulary and encourages speaking in a fun way. I like using a song to build anticipation before introducing the magic box. You can find the song in this post.
Here are eight creative ways to incorporate it into your lessons:
1. Introduce Vocabulary
Fill your magic box with objects related to your lesson theme, like animals, food, or seasonal items. Pull out each object and describe it in the target language:
“¡Mira! Hay una manzana roja.”
“Es un oso pequeño. ¿Te gusta?” Encourage students to repeat phrases or respond with simple sentences.
2. Play a Guessing Game
Place an item in the magic box and give students clues in the target language:
“Es un animal. Es grande. Es de color blanco y negro. Dice “Muuu”. ¿Qué animal es? Take a few guesses before revealing the answer!
3. Storytelling with Props
Turn the magic box into a storytelling tool. Start with: “Había una caja mágica…” Reveal items one by one to build a story. For example, a wand, a frog, or a hat can inspire creative narratives. If students have enough vocabulary, they can add their own ideas in the target language to expand the story.
4. Create a Daily Mystery Box Routine
Make the magic box part of your daily or weekly lessons. Reveal one item each day and connect it to your theme:
“Hoy en la caja mágica hay una estrella. ¿Qué más tiene estrellas?”
5. Categorization Activities
Sort objects from the magic box into categories like colors, sizes, or emotions:
“¿Es grande o pequeño? ¡Es pequeño!”
“¿Es feliz o triste? ¡Es feliz!”
6. Interactive Commands
Add movement by incorporating actions:
“En la caja mágica hay un sombrero. ¡Ponte el sombrero!”
“Hay una pelota. ¡Tira la pelota!”
7. Hidden Questions
Include question cards or mini tasks in the box. For example:
“¿Cómo te llamas?”
“Salta tres veces.” Students take turns pulling cards and responding.
8. Themed Explorations
Match box contents to specific themes:
Seasons: Leaves, mittens, or snowflakes for winter.
Animals: Plush toys or pictures.
Holidays: Small symbols of cultural celebrations.
The magic box is a simple yet effective tool for bringing excitement, curiosity, and meaningful input to your lessons. Whether you’re introducing new vocabulary, building stories, or creating themed lessons, this activity keeps students engaged and participating in the target language. Try it in your classroom and watch the magic happen!
Teaching Spanish in the elementary classroom can be an exciting and rewarding experience, especially when using Comprehensible Input (CI) strategies. CI focuses on delivering language in ways that are understandable, engaging, and meaningful for students. This post includes 5 effective ways to bring CI into your Spanish lessons using tools like Picture Talk, PQA, Calendar Talk, Movie Talk, and Write and Discuss. These strategies are not only engaging but also great for providing input!
Picture Talk is one of the best ways to engage students and get them speaking in Spanish. It involves showing images (or a series of images) and asking students simple questions about what they see. This helps students connect to the language through visuals, which makes learning easier and more fun. All you need is a picture that you know will be engaging for your students. Using visual prompts, like pictures of familiar places or objects, not only helps with vocabulary but also encourages full sentence responses. Picture Talk allows students to practice speaking while making learning feel natural and relatable.
Personalized Questions and Answers (PQA) is a powerful CI tool that involves asking students questions about their own lives. This strategy helps students connect personally with the language, making it more relevant and memorable.PQA promotes meaningful communication and boosts motivation. The more personal the questions, the more engaged students will be in the lesson!
Calendar Talk is a great way to start each day by reinforcing basic language skills. Discussing the day, weather, and other daily topics in Spanish helps build a routine while integrating essential vocabulary. You can also include birthdays, school events and special holidays.
Movie Talk is a fun and engaging way to bring Spanish to life through short clips from movies or cartoons. You don’t need to show full-length films to make an impact; just a few minutes of a clip can offer rich language input. By describing scenes and asking questions, you keep students actively engaged and help them infer meaning from context. Movie Talk not only teaches language but also is a good too to expose students to culture and storytelling in Spanish.
Write and Discuss” is a structured output activity in Comprehensible Input (CI) teaching that helps students consolidate what they’ve learned through a collaborative writing process. It typically follows a discussion, story, or other input-rich activity on.
If you’ve never used these strategies before, I suggest choosing one to try first. Once you feel comfortable with it, add another. It takes time to feel fully confident, and it will never be perfect—so go ahead and give it a try!
As a teacher who transitioned from using long, decontextualized vocabulary lists to incorporating Comprehensible Input (CI), I’ve seen firsthand how essential CI is for effective language teaching. While its effectiveness is well-established, many myths still persist about how to use it and how well it works. Let’s clear up some of those misconceptions!
You Have to Be Silly to Teach With CI
Teaching with CI doesn’t require over-the-top theatrics, funny costumes, or constant humor to keep students engaged. While these strategies work for some educators, they are not essential for CI. The real power of CI lies in making language understandable and meaningful. You can use stories, visuals, and real-world connections in a calm, professional manner and still engages your students.
CI Is “Unstructured” or Lacks Rigor
There is a misconception that CI lacks the structure and rigor of traditional grammar-based instruction. However, CI is supported by solid research in second-language acquisition and can be as structured as you design it to be. The difference lies in how students acquire grammar: naturally over time through meaningful exposure, rather than isolated drills. Clear objectives and assessments can still be integrated while using CI.
CI Is Only for Teaching Basic or “Fun” Topics
Another common misconception is that CI is only effective for teaching simple vocabulary like colors, animals, or food. In reality, CI can be used to teach complex and meaningful topics. Students can explore history, geography, cultural traditions, and even science through CI methods. CI doesn’t limit what students learn; it expands their ability to engage with important topics in the target language.
CI Is All About Speaking Slowly
While slowing down your speech is a part of making input comprehensible, it’s not the whole picture. CI also involves using gestures, visuals, repetition, and context to ensure students understand. The goal isn’t just to simplify; it’s to make the language rich and engaging while still being accessible to your students.
You Need a Deskless Classroom for CI to Work
Nope! You can absolutely use CI with desks or tables.While moving around and engaging students is important, your classroom setup doesn’t have to be desk-free. What matters most is that your teaching is interactive and engaging—whether students are sitting at desks, or beanbags.
CI Takes Too Much Time to Plan
While incorporating CI might feel effortful at first, it becomes second nature with practice. Stories, visuals, and realia often work across multiple lessons, reducing the need for constant reinvention. Additionally, the deep engagement from students often leads to more efficient learning, saving time in the long run.
CI Doesn’t Promote Speaking Skills
Some worry that focusing on input neglects output, particularly speaking. However, research shows that listening and reading comprehension precede speaking ability. When students are ready, they begin producing language naturally, often with more accuracy and confidence due to the strong foundation built through CI.
CI Promotes the Use of English in the Classroom
This myth assumes CI relies on English, but that’s not true. CI teachers use context, gestures, visuals, and repetition to make the target language comprehensible. While occasional minimal translation can help with tricky concepts, the focus remains on maximizing input in the target language.
Switching to Comprehensible Input (CI) has made my teaching more effective and engaging. Despite some misconceptions, CI is flexible and supports natural language learning. It fits any teaching style while keeping lessons meaningful and structured. By making language understandable, we help students confidently use it in real-life situations. Adopting CI means choosing a more impactful approach to language teaching.
