Become a more confident language teacher.
Trashketball is a common game used by teachers in many subject areas to review content. The basic premise is that teams are competing to answer questions, and their score is affected by shooting and making or missing baskets (in a trash can). There are many different versions of this game, and there’s no wrong way…
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Playing input-focused games in class can be a great way to boost student motivation, and Arcoíris, or ‘Rainbow’, is a game that you’ll be excited to add to your repertoire for the coming school year. Arcoíris is a simple group game in which group mates are competing against each other to earn the most cards…
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If you’re a language teacher, I am willing to bet that you have played the Flyswatter game with your students! The Flyswatter game, commonly called Matamoscas in Spanish, is an easy game that brings in movement and competition. It’s also easy to keep it Comprehension-focused, as Keith Toda taught us some years ago. But is…
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The most successful synchronous lessons are often game-based. As a parent, I have been spying on my own kids’ synchronous classes. As a curriculum coach, I’ve been debriefing synchronous lesson plans with SOMOS teachers. GAMES make online classes feel less like a chore, and they allow us to do what we miss most about being…
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I have learned many of my favorite games from Nelly Hughes, author of Fluency Matters‘ Selena and the force behind Comprendes Méndez SpanishShop. As a teacher that has been using and training teachers in Comprehension-based™ methods for many years, Nelly has a knack for finding and adapting games for communicative language classes. ”El que sabe,…
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Tomorrow is Friday, it’s the first week back from break, and you’re exhausted. What to do, what to do… “MovieTalk?” –you think– “No, too much standing and talking.” “Asking a story?” –but you dismiss it– “Too much standing and talking and energy used in general.” “Picture Talk?” –now there’s an idea!– “No, too much using…
Read MoreDon’t you love discovering a new game!? A few days ago, Jenny Robbins shared an AWESOME no-prep activity in the iFLT/NTPRS/CI Teaching Facebook group. This game can be used in ANY class to provide students with an opportunity to get up and move, accompanied by repeated exposure to content or language. How to play RUN!!…
Read More![Have a speed cup competition in your language classes; narrate in the target language "Can s/he do it in less than __ seconds? Can s/he do it faster than [other student]"? etc](https://i0.wp.com/comprehensibleclassroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/speed-cup.jpg?fit=690%2C1966&ssl=1)
My kindergartener came home from school on Friday raving about this super cool game that he had learned in P.E. (Why this was a PE lesson, I am not entirely sure.) He couldn’t wait to teach all of us how to play–and all he needed was 12 cups that had holes in the bottom. I grabbed a stack…
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Last night, we had our third meeting of our local PLC (Northern NY & VT – sign up here if you live in the area and want to connect!). Our guiding question was, “Describe a recent lesson in which students were engaged?” I am really inspired by the creativity of the teachers in our group…
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Note to the reader: While this popular party game has long been Mafia, I no longer advocate for calling it by that name. Mafia is a term that refers to crime organizations that are often associated with specific countries and cultures; most notably, Italian, Russian, Japanese, and Irish. In the same way that we do not want…
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