I used this activity for the first time as an icebreaker at our MOPS group, and it was so fun! I love using it in class, because it is a great way to give everyone an opportunity to speak without eliminating teacher-guided discussion. So here's what you do: Decide how many groups you want to … Continue reading Collective Interview
We all have those classes that just won't stop talking...and we all have those classes that just won't start talking! Such is the case with one of my second-year classes (level 1B). It's a great group of kids, and they are very good students, but getting them to participate in discussions or speak up in general is worse than … Continue reading Get them talking!
I needed to spend today prepping vocabulary for Chapter 2 of El Nuevo Houdini with my Spanish 2 students. There are a few words in the chapter that are important to the understanding of the chapter with which my students are not yet familiar, or might have trouble recognizing. For example, most of them have … Continue reading Mad Libs for Comprehensible Input
I've received several emails lately from teachers that long to use TPRS, but feel trapped because their department requires them to teach textbook units and give textbook assessments. Most of these teachers have heard that thematic units go against everything that CI stands for, and that the two are diametrically opposed. While it is true … Continue reading Textbooks and TPRS
I made 18 reusable sets of letters that can be used to practice the alphabet, spelling, and vocabulary year-round. 18 sets is enough for even my biggest classes to have one set per set of partners. Print out this document (kinesthetic letters ), then use the two sheets that printed to create a front-to-back copy … Continue reading Kinesthetic letters
*Original post published in 2012; see 2017 update with answers to FAQs at the end of this post! Last year, I printed dictionary pages for my students' binders so that they had an organized way to keep track of the target structures that we learn. I know that they could do this on any piece of … Continue reading Dictionary Page
This is a great way to get your students thinking logically. They will need to put themselves in order based on a series of clues that you read to them (download a template for the clues here.) Begin by assigning students to groups of four. If there are extra students, they can be the“director”for a … Continue reading Logic Line-up
This excellent activity comes to you from Kyra Rice via my awesome ex-maternity sub B.Lo. (Today is my first official day back--a planning/grading day, thank the Lord!) Kyra called it "You Are What You Eat", but it can be modified to suit just about anything; B.Lo. used it to present likes (foods, music, activities, etc.) … Continue reading You Are What You Eat
Have you ever played the game "Spoons" at a party? This was one of my favorite games throughout high school and college. We played it backstage at all of our school plays, in the lunchroom, in our dorm rooms, in the evenings when I lived in Mexico, at holiday family gatherings...whenever we could! The games … Continue reading Spoons for Spanish
*Reflection, 5 years later...I left the classroom three years ago, and I have attended many, many conferences and workshops since then. I've read a lot of research, books, and blogs, and I think that I can say honestly that I have considered all of it. I am confident that output doesn't lead to language acquisition, so when I said … Continue reading Greetings
