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Pick the Pic

February 14, 2013

Pick the Pic is another super simple activity to use when you want to review a story or need a listening assessment. To do it, you'll need sets of illustrations that can be described clearly... and that's it!

Pick the Pic is another super simple activity to use when you want to review a story or need a listening assessment. To do it, you'll need sets of illustrations that can be described clearly... and that's it!

How to Pick the Pic

After you’ve finished a story (and maybe after you’ve typed it out and read it, but not necessarily), have each student illustrate a scene from the story on a whiteboard or half sheet of paper. This activity could also be done with photographed depictions of scenes.

When students finish their scene illustrations, take up two pictures at a time and show them to the class (either on the doc cam or by walking them around the room).

Depending on whether you're using this as an activity or as an assessment, you'll want to prep the activity in different ways:

How to use as a review activity

Students must state whether the description matches the picture on the left, the right, neither, or both. Give them a cue, and have them give you their answers at the same time. This could be done verbally, visually (with strips of paper that have one of the four possible responses written on the top front, bottom front, top back, and front back of a paper), or physically by moving to a designated space in the room. Review the correct answer and ask for a description of the other scene.

Post this set of vocabulary with translations:

  • ninguno – neither/none
  • ambos – both
  • el de la izquierda – the one on the left
  • el de la derecha – the one on the right

How to use as an assessment

Label one picture “A” and the other one “B”.

  1. Describe a scene from the story out loud in the target language. Repeat the description up to three times.
  2. Give students a few seconds of think time to examine and consider the images.
  3. Ask for students to record responses.

To use Pick the Pic as an assessment, simply have students number a paper 1-5 (or whatever it is). Then, students listen to your description and write down “A” or “B” beside the question number. It's so easy– just make sure that you keep track of the right answers!!

EXTENSION FOR THE REVIEW ACTIVITY:

When you are done with each pair of images, give them back to the students that drew them. After you have finished the activity (8-10 rounds is usually enough), have students do a stand-up, hand-up, pair-up activity in which students find partners and then describe the scene that their partner drew while their partner checks for accuracy. Do this for five to seven minutes before calling kids back to their seats.

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