There are several things that can be done after telling or reading stories to young students. Here are just a few:
Picture Talk
Choose some pictures or illustrations from the story and discuss them with your students. Ask questions about what they see. For example, inquire about the type of animal depicted, whether it’s a cat or a turkey, its color, the sounds it makes, and its current location in the story.
Use TPR (Total Physical Response)
Identify key vocabulary words in the story. This can be done before or after reading. Create flashcards, use gestures, or provide simple definitions to help students understand and remember new words. Introduce interactive games such as the freeze dance game, where you play music, students dance or move around the room, and when the music stops, you call out a word, prompting students to perform the corresponding gesture. Alternatively, engage them in a game of charades!
Act It Out
Allow students to act out parts of the story through role-playing or dramatization. This not only reinforces comprehension but is also excellent for repetition. Another option is to provide your students with props to act out the story.
Drawings
Ask students to draw their favorite parts and use their pictures to retell the stories. You can also encourage them to complete drawings related to the stories and use these as conversation starters.
Play Games
You can look for games that support the story. For example, in the story “Pavo prepara su pastel”, my students and I love playing the hot-cold game with a soft toy turkey.
How do we play the game? One student leaves the room, and we hide the turkey somewhere in the room. Then, the student returns to the room, and we help them find the turkey by saying “frío”when they are far away, “tibio” when getting closer, and “caliente” when the student is next to it.
Read the Story Again Changing Your Voice
Use different tones and pitches to portray different characters in the story. This adds excitement and helps maintain the children’s interest. Additionally, ask your students to choose an emotion for you to incorporate while reading the story, such as happy, sad, or crying.
Add More Extension Activities
Encourage students to write or create their own endings, or craft simple projects related to the story. If possible, provide your students with mini-books containing versions of the stories that they can take home and share with their families!
This was an end-of-school-year project that spanned about 8 classes, equivalent to three weeks in our schedule. The project was conducted as part of an all-school Celebration of Learning event, intended to be shared with families. The project’s goal was to provide third-grade students with the opportunity to apply their Spanish skills as novice learners. Through this project, we used the language they had been exposed to through various sources, such as stories, songs, structured routines, and other forms of input during the school year and previous years. Additionally, the project aimed to foster a sense of community by allowing students to read their books to their pre-k buddies.
The majority of my third-grade students demonstrate language proficiency at the novice mid and some high after being in the program for almost five years. They initially had Spanish once a week in the early years, and from first through 3rd grade, it increased to twice a week.This means that most of them can comprehend and use basic phrases and sentences to communicate in the context of our classroom. They do require guidance and support, including visuals in the room, memory aids, and assistance from me.
The Process of Becoming Authors
Reviewing High-Frequency Words and Phrases
Throughout the year, we covered various high-frequency words used in different contexts, such as stories, clip chats, classroom routines, and other activities. We brainstormed some of those words, phrases, and even questions for the students to use in their stories. Additionally, I provided my students a template with suggested phrases to assist them in writing their stories.
Writing The Story
As my third graders are considered novice learners on the ACTFL proficiency scale, they required assistance with certain words. During the story-writing process, students turned to each other for clarification, referred to the list of high-frequency words, and used the provided template. However, because language acquisition is a personal journey, some students needed more support from the teacher than others.
Editing Their Stories
After the students completed their initial drafts, we moved on to editing their work. The students reviewed their work, and then I helped edit it for accuracy.
Typing and Illustrating Their Stories
Once students were ready, I instructed them to use Canvato type up their stories and encouraged them to search for appropriate illustrations to accompany their work. Some students were already familiar with Canva from previous projects with other teachers. To finish the process, the students also worked on their author bios and included pictures of themselves
Recording Their Voices
Next, students recorded their voices reading their stories on Seesaw. We were able to generate QR codes on Seesaw and used them to create a virtual library.
Reflecting on Their Work
Students reflected on their work’s process and provided suggestions to improve this project for next year’s students.
When The Books Were Published…
The books were published, and third graders read them to their PreK buddies during community time.
These books are now part of our classroom library. I read them to kindergarten students, and my second and third-grade students love them since the authors are their friends!
This is an example of one of the fun stories created by my students!
This project was a little messy and required me to be 100% present to support my students, but I still enjoyed it. Thanks to my students’ feedback, I have ideas to make it even better this year, and maybe write a post again!
I call this game “Busca,” which is based on a popular matching game. This is a fun game that my students absolutely adore, and it can be played at any time during the school year! It has a Halloween theme, but you can play it at any time. Before you dive into the game, you’ll need to prepare by printing at least 6 sets of cards and, if possible, laminating them for added durability. Here’s how to set the stage for the Busca game:
Introduce the vocabulary: While students may not necessarily need to learn these words, this is a fun game to engage them and get them moving. Nevertheless, I recommend going over the vocabulary with your students. You can achieve this by using flashcards or, if available, by projecting the image on the board.
Explaining the Game: Let your students know that this game is inspired by various popular matching card games. I like calling it “Busca.” Take a moment to discuss the rules of the game. It’s important that everyone is on the same page before you start.
Setting the Objective: Explain that the primary goal of the Busca game is to be the quickest at identifying matching vocabulary between cards. To prepare for the game, you’ll need to distribute a card to each student. Then, instruct them to find a partner in the classroom. Here’s how the game unfolds:
Both students should cover their cards and, in unison, say “1, 2, 3, ¡busca!” (which means “search” in Spanish).
Simultaneously, they reveal their cards to each other and race to find the matching image. The student who successfully identifies the matching image first wins and gets to keep their partner’s card.
The student left without a card should promptly receive a new one. If you prefer, you can be the one distributing the cards.
The game continues until all the cards have been matched, and one student accumulates several cards. If you’d like to make the game shorter or more challenging, you can set a specific time limit for each round, such as 10 seconds.
Ready to play it in your classes? Click on the picture to download the 36 cards for the game!
Using stories to teach Spanish to young learners can be an effective and engaging way to introduce children to the language and is a great tool for language acquisition. Here are some tips and ideas to help you make the most of this approach:
Choose age-appropriate stories: When selecting stories, it’s important to consider the age and language proficiency level of your students. For younger learners, simple stories with basic vocabulary and repetitive phrases can be helpful. As they progress, you can introduce more complex stories with a wider range of high-frequency vocabulary.
Use visuals: Including pictures or illustrations can help children better understand the story and increase their engagement. Use visuals to introduce new vocabulary or help children make connections between words and their meanings.
Ask questions throughout the story: Encourage children to participate and interact with the story. You can ask yes or no questions or provide choices for students to respond.
Act out the story: Acting out a story can help children better understand the plot and vocabulary. Use props to make it more fun and interactive. You can use students as actors while telling or reading the story.
Incorporate music: Including songs or rhymes related to the story can help children remember new words and phrases. Music can also create a fun and engaging atmosphere in the classroom. You can come up with your own songs to support the story!
Follow-up activities: After reading the story, incorporate activities to reinforce learning and keep children engaged. These can include games, crafts, or writing activities related to the story. You can also have students retell the story in their own words or pictures, or create their own versions of the story.
Use diverse stories:ry to incorporate stories with diverse characters and cultures as well. This can help children develop empathy and understanding for people from different backgrounds. Bring both fun stories and stories where your students can see themselves represented.
Stories provide a rich and effective way to aid in language acquisition. Sometimes, children forget that they are hearing a different language because they become so immersed in the plot.
The “Roll a Story” activity is an engaging and easy-to-use activity that is excellent for providing input at the novice or beginner levels. You will need dice and a “Roll A Story” template with predetermined details. This template includes words and pictures, making it more accessible for lower elementary students. This activity can be done individually, in groups, or as a whole class.
Students take turns rolling the die, with each roll representing a sentence in the story.Students can write the story in their notebooks or complete a template, as seen below.
After your students have finished rolling their stories, encourage them to create an illustration to go along with it. If students worked in small groups, have them share their stories, or you can read them aloud to the class. Take this opportunity to pause and ask questions about their stories.
¡Hola! I am Carolina, a Colombian elementary Spanish teacher based in Boston, MA. Fun for Spanish Teachers is the result of my passion for teaching Spanish to children and my desire to inspire collaboration and creativity in a vibrant teaching and learning community. It’s the perfect stop if you are looking for songs, games, teaching tips, stories, and fun for your classes.
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