Cultural input: the prisons in Bolivia (or how to engage Spanish learners)

How to get students engaged and producing a lot of language???? Well…. I recommend purchasing Martina Bex 7-day lesson plans about Los niños prisioneros de Bolivia as it is truly worth the investment! Not only did it save me a lot of prep-time, it also made my students had a meaningful discussion in the target language!

[read more…]

a favor Bolivia comprehend comprehensible comprehension conversation culture debate debe discuss discussion Education effort en contra engage family high interest input interest interesting issues key structures listen listening lo que hace Martina Bex meaningful output performance prison read reading reflect reflection skills social relationships South American Spanish speaking story storytelling structures target target language TPRS

Spanish story script: se vende

This story comes from the wonderful Martina Bex who posts so many brilliant ideas and resources on her blog. I started a new unit with my grade 6 class which is about going shopping and this story fitted perfectly!

Speaking/vocabulary: I first started by introducing the different shops to my students using this slideshow: SHOPS.

[read more…]

acquire acquisition comprehensible comprehension creative expression flashcards key structure language Martina Bex pattern quizlet repetition se vende sell selling shop shopping skills Spanish speaking story storytelling target TPRS writing

How to use poems with first year Spanish learners?

I found this lovely poem on Pinterest and I used it with my grade 6 students (11-12 years old) as it was the prefect review for physical description and family.

Listening/comprehension: I told the poem “TPRS style” by drawing the “abuela”

[read more…]

beginner description family grade 6 physical poem pronunciation re-telling re-write read reading Spanish speaking story storytelling structures TPRS vocabulary write writing

How to use stories written by students?

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am a big fan of The Comprehensible Classroom because there are so many fun story scripts to be used and Martina Bex (the author) shares so many fabulous ideas and lesson plans! One story script I have used with my middle school students (grade 6 to 8) is Buscando Gafas.

[read more…]

book comprehensible comprehension creative Education engage grade 6 grade 7 grade 8 input key structure middle school mini-book output productive proud querer reading retelling reusing script skills Spanish speaking story storytelling telling tener writing

Storytelling: arranging to go out

I am using stories more and more often in my lessons as I believe my students greatly benefit from listening to them as well as reading them and writing new ones. Apart from inventing my own stories, my favorite source is The Comprehensible Classroom which has a wealth of fantastic resources and story scripts.

[read more…]

arranging to go out comprehensible comprehension create creative creativity film free time go out high frequency hobbies key structures listening output project Spanish speaking story storytelling TPRS video writing youtube