This game is quick but engaging! I have versions for different seasons and themes, but was missing the one for la primavera. The Spring here in Boston is at its fullest, so this a great time to make connections to bring to the classroom and why not take advantage of the better weather to take your students outside. Just print the pages or bring your computer outside to play the game. This game is played just like any “Would You Rather?” type of game, where you have a set of questions and students respond to choose what they prefer.
Click HERE to download the game and get ready to have fun!
Looking for ways to incorporate geography in your classes? These are some ideas that you could bring to your classes right away!
Money Basket
Over several years of teaching Spanish I have collected coins and bills from different Spanish speaking countries. Either someone brings them to me or I collect them during my own travels. I got to a point where I didn’t know what to do with them. It occurred to me that I could use them for a center in my class. I also printed some images and laminated them for students to manipulate easily and placed them with the coins in a basket. I printed and laminated maps where all the Spanish speaking countries are listed. My students really enjoy looking at the different bills and coins, comparing them to the United States bills, and locating the countries on the map.
Guess The Temperature
Create a slide with a world map and numbers on it. Choose a country, then a city and locate it on the map. If possible use Google Earth to take a quick virtual trip. Talk about the general weather and seasons. Ask your students to guess the temperature in that city. Record their answers on a paper or board. Use the Chrome extension “UV Weather” to check the temperature and find who guessed it right or came close!
Play Your Favorite Music
Create a slide with a world map and insert a video or audio to your slide. Add a flag of the country the songs belongs to. Locate the country on the map and talk about the colors on the flag. Then, make it a game! Have an object for your students to pass around. In my case I use a plush toy monster. Play the music and ask your students to pass it around. Stop the music and whoever has the object will have to answer questions. You and your class decide when to stop the game.
Do you do any activities in your Elementary Spanish classes that incorporate phonological awareness? It’s definitely not a requirement to teach phonological awareness in an early language class but this one is hidden in a movement activity, so why not?!
El chicle mágico
I learned this magic gum game when I was a kindergarten teacher in Colombia and we could spend a lot of time playing it! I have been using it with my Spanish learners here and they seem to enjoy it.
To get ready for it, just print the template and put it together. Pretend to give your students the magic gum, tell them that it’s invisible. Pretend to eat it and then take it out and make a little ball. Choose a word. I like using my magic bag for this. I just put a few flashcards in it.
Once you have one word to play with, ask your students to use the gum and stretch it by syllables. For example, if the word has three syllables, they will stretch the gum three times. You can do it fast, slow, big and small!
This game is another fave in my classes. Quick to put together and great to review vocabulary while adding some movement. This game is known by different names, but I call it “Aguacate” in my classes.Use flashcards with different vocabulary you have explored with your students. For example, colors, numbers, seasons, animals, and so on!
Look for clipart of something that’s making movement. In this case, I chose a jumping avocado, and called the game “aguacate.”You can choose another clipart that works well for your classes and name it differently.I call this card the movement card. Print about 10 of them.
Mix all the vocabulary flashcards, and place the movement cards in the group of cards. They should be in different places in your group of cards.
Have your students say the name of every vocabulary card, and do the movement every time they see the movement card.
For example, if you follow this video it would be:Amarillo, azul, aguacate (jump), anaranjado, rojo, aguacate (jump) and so on!You can decide as a group how to end the game. Need the cards to download the game? Click HERE!!
There are different times during our classes when we need to regain our students’ attention. Either because our students are transitioning from different classes or from activities we are doing in our own language classes, or because some of them are being too social, or we simply need to regroup. In any situation, it is always handy to have different strategies to capture our students’ attention. I definitely have a few that I keep in my teacher toolbox in case one doesn’t work. Here are some of the ones I use:
1. Three-Tone Chime: This one is by far my favorite because the soothing sound brings some calm to my classes, and also because it gives me the opportunity to verbally accompany this signal. When students hear the first chime, it gives them the heads up to stop what they are doing, with the second chime they are ready to look at me, and with the third chime they are ready for what comes next.
2.Chants or Verbal Attention Getters: The teacher says a phrase and the students respond to it (call and response). I like using visuals that go along with them. I usually print them out and add magnets on the back and place them on the magnetic whiteboard. I also like adding some culture. For example, when I say “Wepa, wepa, wepa”, students respond by “Wepa, wepa, je”. This gives us the opportunity to talk about the word wepa which is used in the Caribbean and some parts of Colombia to express joy and excitement. You can also hear it in some vallenato songs.
3.Quick hand game: I particularly love this one because it gives students the opportunity to start joining in and also gives them time to see that we are getting ready to transition or that I need their attention. The quick hand game in the reel is accompanied by lowering our voices.
Just like any other part of your class routine, attention getters require practice and consistency to make the routines and rituals stick. It’s also important to add some fun elements to them and have more than one at hand!
