Category Archives: Celebrations

Celebrations Comprehensible Input Interpersonal Activities

Feliz día de San Valentín

Published by:

Me encanta celebrar el dia de amor y el amistad! Valentine’s day is one of my favorite holidays. How can you not love a day that celebrates love and friendship. Here are some ideas to help you spread the love.

I use this presentation to start the lesson. I have students open a Google Document on their computers although you could also just use a piece of paper. I have them write the title and do a google search for El Dia de San Valentin and ad an image to their document.

As they watch the presentation the add five vocabulary words in Spanish with an image to illustrate the meaning, five symbols with images, five common gifts with images, and five sentences from the presentation.

One of my favorite activities I call Whip Around with Tally. I put a list of items on the board and quickly whip around the room asking every single kid the same question while a student tallies the responses on the board. In this case I ask what gift would you like to receive for Valentine’s day and where would you like to go for Valentine’s day?

After the whip around with tally I have students rank order their top five gifts and top five places they would like to go or things they would like to do for Valentine’s day. They then compare their answers with a partner. I also like to use a google form or on line poll to vote for their favorites.

Whenever possible I ask personal questions to increase classroom engagement.

I have my students make Valentine Cards for everyone in the class. Check out this previous post for details and links to resources.

Celebrations Comprehensible Input Storytelling Using Children's Literature in the World Language Classroom

¿De qué tienes miedo?

Published by:

This time of year, instead of dealing specifically with Halloween, I like to ask the question…What are you afraid of?

I start with this video. There is a worksheet to go with this video on the Real Language Right Away website. Here is the presentation I use for more input.

I have a list of common fears written on the white board in Spanish with a picture or a prop for each item. We then whip around the room quickly asking…¿De qué tienes miedo? We tally each person’s answer to find the most common fears for the class. I have students post their fears to a padlet with an image. I am always surprised that their biggest fear is usually spiders.

You can also have the students rank order their fears with a partner.

I like to give students this slide with links to songs, books, and videos related to things we fear. Basically it is a google slide with a background, layered with images, and links to book sites and Youtube videos. Click here to get a copy with the links.

 

For more fear related stories, see my earlier posts on Using Children’s Literature, Oscuro Muy Oscuro et Hay un Cocodrilo Debajo de mi Cama

I found some inexpensive books at Walmart and the dollar store in English. No problema, I made them bilingual by writing the Spanish word with a Sharpie.

Celebrations

De quoi as-tu peur?

Published by:

This time of year, instead of dealing specifically with Halloween, I like to ask the question…What are you afraid of?

I start with this video. There is a worksheet to go with this video on the Real Language Right Away website. Here is the presentation I use for more input.

I have a list of common fears written on the white board in French with a picture or a prop for each item. We then whip around the room quickly asking… De quoi as-tu peur? We tally each person’s answer to find the most common fears for the class. I have students post their fears to a padlet with an image. I am always surprised that their biggest fear is usually spiders.

You can also have the students rank order their fears with a partner.

I like to give students this slide with links to songs, books, and videos related to things we fear. Basically it is a google slide with a background, layered with images, and links to book sites and Youtube videos. Click here to get a copy with the links.

For more fear related stories, see my earlier posts on Using Children’s Literature, Une Histoire Sombre et Il y a un Alligator Sous Mon Lit.

I found some inexpensive books at Walmart and the Dollar store in English. Pas de problème, I made them bilingual by writing the French word with a Sharpie.

For extra practice, search Quizlet, Blooket, and Gimkit for De quoi as-tu peur? Moi? J’ai peur des serpents!

Celebrations culture

Las Tradiciones del Año Nuevo

Published by:



The bell rings and la cuenta reversa is playing as I run around the room with a suitcase (full of props)  saying “Feliz Año Nuevo”.  As the clock strikes twelve times, I eat 12 grapes and say doce deseos para el Año Nuevo.  I open my suitcase, have the special student pass out a graphic organizer, and use the items in the suitcase,  this presentation, and my whiteboard to teach traditions of the new year in Spanish speaking countries.

On the graphic organizer, students add a symbol or drawing and a sentence in the target language for each of the traditions presented.  I write the sentence for them on the white board and they can copy it onto their graphic organizer.



I use infographs, Youtube videos, authentic commercials, and powerpoint presentations to build background knowledge.  You can find them on my Pinterest page. 



  • Here is a list of propósitos for students to write their own in Spanish.  I have students put their propósitos on a flipgrid.  We can tally our top resolutions and compare them to the top resolutions in Spanish speaking countries.