This document (fully editable and free!!) is what I use to formally introduce conjugation to my first-year Spanish students. I have a verb chart on my wall that I refer to all.the.time for pop-up grammar, and this document gives the students a place to try out the spelling changes on their own.
Have you ever seen Pam Kaatz’ verb wall? It’s a color-coded map to conjugation that allows students to see the big picture of all the tenses as well as the details of conjugation. I went to one of her workshops many years ago, and have never looked back! Her site: http://verbwall.com/
I love how you introduce verb conjugation (I’m giving it a try in my class). However, how do you throw in the -imos without confusing them? And how to explain to them when to use it since they are starting with the 3rd person singular form?
To start with, just tell them that some verbs end in -amos, some in -emos, and some in -imos. Pay attention to the ‘mos’ to get the meaning, and they will eventually get the feel for which goes with which. I teach conjugation at some point down the road, but only after they are comfortable doing it ‘organically’. It makes more sense then. Starting with the third person singular form doesn’t mess them up at all, because to them it’s all vocabulary. Just tell them that vive means he lives and vivimos means we live. They get it!!