Feed the Monster in Spanish Class

by | Jan 31, 2013 | fruits, frutas, games, monster, tpr, TPRS




I love teaching this unit in my classes. I especially love teaching names of fruits that are endemic to Latin America, mostly from Colombia, the country where I am from.


In preparation for this activity you will need to create a monster prop, similar to the one in the picture below, which is very simple to make  – with no sewing involved. I used felt fabric of different colors, glue, staples and wiggly eyes. Make sure to put a space in the mouth so the children can feed the monster. The monster I made is big, and my students enjoy its visit to class. I use a hanger to carry it from classroom to classroom. You will also need plastic fruits or pictures of different fruits, depending on the ones you would like to introduce.






Once the monsters and fruits are ready I like to introduce them using Total Physical Response (TPR).  I often use American Sign Language (ASL) because I don’t think it makes sense to spend time creating my own gestures when I can use the beautiful ASL that children may already be familiar with or encounter later in life. Plus, ASL is a language in and of itself, so my use of it just provides another advantage for my children and their multilingual brains! My favorite resource on the Internet is Signing Savvy. On this site, you just have to type a word, and then you get a video showing the corresponding sign.

I use a magic box or bag and introduce the name of each fruit with the sign. I review each fruit by asking the children to show me the sign while saying the name in Spanish. Then we go over each fruit and describe it by colors and sizes. I will also ask my students questions like “¿te gusta comer manzana?” and then have them respond back to me by saying “sí, me gusta”, “no, no me gusta”, or “me encanta.”Since my students are young and many don’t have experience in the language, I ask questions in a way that models the answers so they feel confident about it:
Me: ¿Qué es?
       Es una manzana.
       ¿Qué es?
Student: Es una manzana.


 After students have learned the vocabulary, I use other activities to complement and assess the topic. Here are some examples:
  • Place a fruit into a bag or box. Ask a student to follow commands: Encuentra la manzana, pásale la manzana a Peter.                        
  • Give a fruit (picture or plastic) to every student. You need to have a flash card or picture of each fruit. Ask “¿dónde está la manzana?” The student who has the fruit must answer “¡Aquí está la manzana!” (Don’t forget to model the question and the answer). 
  • Check for TPR gestures for each fruit showing the sign you taught for each fruit.
  • Ask students to draw pictures of the fruit you name. Erasable white boards are great for this activity!
  • Charades: A student makes a TPR gesture and the rest of the class has to guess it.

Tell a Story: El Monstruo Comelón

This is where the monster you made comes alive. Tell the story while feeding the monster.


El monstruo se come un banano.El monstruo se come una piña.El monstruo se come una pera.(Do the same for each fruit you have decided to include in your unit)¡El monstruo se engordó!
Ask questions after telling the story:¿El monstruo come piña o pan?

¿Qué come el monstruo?
¿Te gusta comer piña?
¿El monstruo se engordó o se durmió?
¿Qué le pasó al monstruo?

Act it out!

Play with the story before you let students act the story out. Pick some students to retell the story.

You will need a narrator, and to make it more fun and interactive, you can give a play microphone to the narrator.
Choose other students to put the fruits inside the monster’s mouth. They should say the word aloud and make the appropriate TPR gesture.





Happy teaching!
Carolina

TALKING ABOUT “DÍA DE MUERTOS” IN YOUR SPANISH CLASS

TALKING ABOUT “DÍA DE MUERTOS” IN YOUR SPANISH CLASS

by | Oct 10, 2012 | Day of the Dead

Día de Muertos is widely celebrated in Mexico and Guatemala as well as in other countries in Latin America.  It is a very important celebration meant to remember family members and friends who have passed away and are not with us anymore in this world. It is generally a very happy and colorful event that involves a lot of art, food, music, and most importantly, time with family and friends. 
 
In Mexico, the holiday is celebrated over the course of three days that coincide with Halloween. Many cultural historians have noted that Día de Muertos is a Mexican form of the Catholic All Saints’ Day, and it thus mixes European and indigenous roots, a particularly rich feature of Mexico and Latin America in general (mixing of traditions). This is a great opportunity to let our children know that, while it’s a colorful holiday complete with skeleton characters, it is not something that should be simply equated with “Mexican Halloween.” Perhaps it can serve as a chance to point out similarities and differences between things, a kind of early opportunity to explore comparisons and contrasts in a formal way in the classroom and to encourage families to do the same at the dinner table or in the car. 
 
November 1st is the most important day to celebrate in Guatemala and it is known by the Catholic name as El Día de Todos los Santos. The Guatemalan celebration is also filled with joy and in towns like Santiago Sacatepequez, where it includes flying big kites that represent a way to communicate and be in contact with the dead.
 
Here is a short song that by the Scherzo band from Querétaro, México.
 
 
Al sonar las doce de la noche 
Las calaveras salen a pasear,
Muy contentas se suben a su coche 
En bicicleta y también a patinar. 
Tumba, tumba, tumba vacía 
Ciérrate ya que viene la fría,
Jajaja que risa me da,
Jajaja no me alcanzará.
 
 
Have fun sharing with your students! 
Carolina
17 GAMES TO PLAY IN SPANISH CLASS

17 GAMES TO PLAY IN SPANISH CLASS

by | Aug 16, 2012 | games, games in Spanish

Over the years, teaching Spanish to different age levels, I have learned many games from my students and other colleagues. Here is a list of some of the favorites my students and I enjoy playing in class.

ARROZ CON PAN: Game of elimination played in a circle where the students chant “Arroz con pan (3x) y sal” then a number is called out and counted around the circle.

CIERTO – FALSO: A person (often the teacher) stands between the stands of the trees and calls out phrases related to the class’s latest vocabulary. If the statement is true about the student, they must try to run to the other side without being tagged. (Example phrases: “Si te gusta comer helado. Si tienes hermanos, etc.)

BINGO: Sometimes students make their own boards and fill in the latest vocabulary we have been learning in class. We also have bingo boards for different topics.

ROBA LA VACA: This game is really simple. One student stands guard by a small animal but is blindfolded. The students chant “Roba la vaca” while someone (usually chosen by the teacher) steals the cow and hides it. The blindfolded person may ask three questions about who stole it (in Spanish) and then must guess by saying “Maria tiene la vaca.” If the student guesses correctly, a new guardian is chosen.

DRAW IT: A stack of cards with various words, (usually actions, adjectives and nouns) is set out next to a large dry erase board. Students come up and choose a card. They can not say the word, but they must try to draw out the ideas, and the group (or their team) must try to guess the word (this can be done with phrases too.) Alternatively, students may also act out words on the cards while the others guess.

CHARADES: A student makes a TPR movement, and the rest of the class has to guess it. Variation: Pick a student, show a flashcard to the class, and hide it from the student, then the class makes the TPR movement and the child has to guess it.

¿QUÉ ES?: Ask a student to hide an object (manipulative, picture card, etc.). The rest of the class has to guess it by asking, for example, “¿Es la manzana?” And the student answers “no, no es la manzana” or “si es la manzana”. The student who guesses the right answer takes the new turn. Variation: Tape a flashcard on the back of a student. Show it to the class, then have the student ask the class, “¿Es la manzana?” and  have the class answer back “no, no es la manzana” or “si es la manzana”.

FRIO, TIBIO, CALIENTE: Ask a student to leave the classroom. While the student is outside, the rest of the class hides an object. The student comes back to the classroom to try to find the object. Other students help by saying “frio” (when the student is far away from the object), tibio (when student is getting close to the object) or caliente (when the student is really close to the object). If the student is taking a long time to find the object, the class will start counting from 1 to 10. If the student finds the object, he/she will have to say its name.

MANO A MANO: Divide the class into pairs. The teacher calls out two body parts and the student pairs have to put these parts together. For example: Mano a mano –they put together their hands. Make it more fun by calling different body parts Codo a rodilla – they put together their elbow and knee. Variation: You can also use flash cards for this game.

MEMORY GAME: In this game students have to find the matching pictures. A student uncovers two cards. If the pictures match, the student gets to go on and uncover two more pictures. If the pictures don’t match, the student puts the two non-matching pictures back to cover them up and another student gets a turn.

GO FISHING: Place pictures of fish of different colors in basket . Each fish has a magnet pasted on the back. Give a student a fake fishing pole and have him/ her fish while the class chants: “Pesca, pesca, pescador, pesca un pez, ¿de qué color?” The student who is fishing must say the color. Variation: Write questions on the fish, and instead of saying the color, the student will have to answer the question.

SIMÓN DICE: This is a great TPR game. To play this game you need to have a group of three or more students. Pick a student to be “Simón”. The rest of the class must do what Simón tells them to do. If Simón says, “touch your eyes”, the other students touch their eyes (the student who doesn’t do the right action is out of the game). However if Simón says jump without first saying “Simón dice” and a student does the action, the student is out of the game too.

PASA LA BOLA: Place the class in a circle. Give a ball to pass around the circle (they will have to pass the ball to the person sitting next to them and the ball goes in one direction only). While the ball is coming around, the class chants: “¡Pasa la bola, pasa la bola, pasa la bola, para!.” The student who gets the ball must answer a question or pick an object from a magic hat/box placed in the middle of the circle. If the student doesn’t know the answer, the class can help and start passing the ball again. Variation: Have the students quietly listen to traditional music from Latin America or Spain while passing a ball around. When the music stops, the class should ask “¿Qué es?,” and the student who has the ball must pick an object from a magic hat/box and give the answer to the class.

LINE OF NUMBERS:. Using masking tape, make a line on the floor and place numbers from 1 to 5 in a line. Have two students stand on either side of number 1 facing each other. Show a flashcard. If both students identify it at the same time they both get to move to the next number. If only one of the students gives the answer only he/she will move to the next number. The student who gets to number 5 first wins the game.

FUTBOL (SOCCER): Make a fútbol chart out of construction paper and print out 12 fútbol balls. Divide the class into two teams (to make it more fun you could name the groups by using names of Spanish speaking countries). Each group will get the score on the opposite side of the field. Show a picture card or ask a question and the team that gets to answer first gets a point (place one of the fútbol balls on the opposite side –remember that in fútbol you score on the other side of the field). If both teams answer the questions at the same time they both get points. When the teacher is placing points (balls) on the field, the whole class chants “gol, gooooooooool!” Whoever gets the most points wins.

LA RANITA: Have the class sit in a circle. Place pictures or objects of the unit of study around the circle. Have a student be “La Ranita” (while wearing a frog mask) and jump around naming the vocabulary.  Variation: Another student can tell “La Ranita” where he/she should jump.

LA FILA (THE LINE): Have the class be in a circle. Place a line of picture cards or objects in the middle. Pick two students from the class and  have them face to face on either side of a particular card. The teacher or another student calls out some of the vocabulary placed on the line. The two students have to jump to find the card. Non-Competitive variation: Have one student jumping around the line. When you or a student calls out the name of an object, they find their place on the line.

Have fun playing in Spanish!

 

 

6 Tips for Using Puppets to Teach Spanish to Children – advice from an Expert Puppeteer and Actor in Colombia

6 Tips for Using Puppets to Teach Spanish to Children – advice from an Expert Puppeteer and Actor in Colombia

by | Aug 6, 2012 | puppets, teaching tips

I have been extremely lucky this summer during my trip to Colombia to have had the opportunity to find amazing people who can continue contributing to my professional development and to become better at what I do, teaching language to children. This time I had the opportunity to learn from Jaime Andres Castaño of Corpoteatro. Corpoteatro is a small organization that provides workshops for teachers to learn more about how to incorporate theatrical techniques into their teaching. It also offers workshops for children and anyone who is interested in learning how to use theatrical techniques in their daily life. Reminds me a bit of all the ads I’ve seen on the subway (T) cars in Boston for Improv Asylum and their ads that say “No More Group Hugs with Brad From Accounting,” targeting corporate team building, as well as all the amazing ways theater is used in social cause grassroots organizations. Theater is essential – it really enriches the theater of our lives and is fantastic for teaching people of all ages.

 One form of theatrical art involves puppets. With my visit to Corpoteatro, I wanted to learn more about basic techniques to use with simple puppets. With their help, I learned that mouth puppets work great because they are very simple to handle and give me one free hand to point at other materials. I have always loved puppets and use them frequently into my teaching (I am a PreK to 3rd grade Spanish teacher in a FLES program) because puppets give me excuses to create silly and joyful situations that open the children to learning and make a dynamic conversational environment based on play and make-believe. Puppets are a great teaching tool that allow children to forget they are listening to a language they are just learning and gives space for a playful and natural-feeling environment. In many cases, my puppet friends show up in class to teach something new, or to ask my students about something we recently learned. Their appearances in my classes are usually very short, which makes my students ask for their puppet friend in the next class. Each of my puppet friends has a  name, and I usually use a name that is tied to a cultural connection or refers to a word in Spanish. For example, I have a puppet girl that I have named Cumbia (traditional Colombian dance) and another one I named Rana (frog).
 
Tips to Keep in Mind! 

Andres gracefully shared his basic tips that can help educators when using puppets in their classes. 
1. Treat your puppet like any other class member. Give it a name, a voice, and a space in your class. This puppet cannot be used by your students. They need to show respect to the puppet too!               
 
2. Make sure you always use the same voice for this puppet, and don’t confuse it with any other puppet. Limit yourself to one or two characters for the school year. This will make the children feel confidence and know that it creates a safe environment for everyone.    
                                                                    

3. Use syllables when your puppet talks. You want this puppet to look very natural.

 
4. Always look at your puppet when he or she talks. 

5. Make sure to greet your puppet when he joins the class and also say adiós  when he leaves the class. Put it away very carefully. Have a box or bag where you always place it.
 

6. Most importantly as with all teaching, smile and have fun!

I do have to admit that at the beginning it is not comfortable when using puppets, but once you see your students’ faces, you will see how rewarding it is to have puppet guests in class! 

 
Have fun teaching with puppets!

A Visit to The Zoo in Cali, Colombia

by | Jul 31, 2012 | animals, Colombia, culture, zoo

Teaching about zoo animals is one of my favorite units. This time, I visited the zoo in Cali, Colombia, and I collected a few videos of animals native to Colombia and South America. Comparing the various zoos that I have visited in different countries and cities in the US, the Cali zoo is by far my favorite. Not that I’m biased or anything! But, seriously, it is first rate. First of all, the weather is great and makes it possible for the zoo to have species from all over the world. The zoo is very well organized and has plenty of information for visitors to learn about each species. Any self-respecting zoo has a lion, a jaguar, and a bear, but this zoo also has Andean condors, Andean spectacled bears, and monkeys that are endemic to, or can only be found in, Colombia.
To use these videos and pictures, I advise you to first take a virtual trip to Cali, Colombia, using Google Earth. Then, download the map of the zoo and plan your visit with your students. On the zoo’s website you can find some pictures and videos of some of their animals.
Here are a few videos I took during my recent visit to the zoo. Feel free to share them with your students! Teaching with authentic resources always gets the children excited about the language and different cultures.

el cóndor de los Andes
la guacamaya
la llama

el mono

el oso de anteojos 
Have fun visiting the zoo!
Carolina

 All the videos and pictures here are property of Fun for Spanish Teachers and are available for classroom use only. Please contact me directly if you wish to use them in a different way. If you use them in a blog post you must give credit to my site www.FunforSpanishTeachers.com