Raise your hand if you’ve ever struggled to speak all in Spanish with your students. I used to think this was IMPOSSIBLE when I was teaching out of a textbook. How can my students possible understand “ser vs estar,” for example, if I’m only explaining it in Spanish? Well, I finally got over that hurdle when I switched to a CI based approach. Curious how I would set up my lesson? Read on for the details of how to design your lesson plan to help keep you (Yes you, the teacher, hehe) speaking in Spanish.
Bell Ringer (~3-5 minutes)
Hand out a sheet of paper with 2 quick questions based on what you’re studying. For example, if I were focused on food, I’d ask: 1. What’s your favorite food and 2. What’s the strangest thing you’ve eaten. Tell them it’s a secret and that they shouldn’t tell anyone around them because we’re going to play a game with this. (Pro tip- Running short on time to make photocopies? Or looking to reduce paper? Just project the 2 questions on the board and have your students write their answers on a scrap piece of paper). After your students are done, collect all the papers.
Calendar Talk (~ 5 minutes)
Discuss the weather and any important events on the calendar. Looking for a cute template for Calendar Talk? Check out my example here.
Picture Talk (~10-15 minutes)
Throw an interesting picture on the overhead. Then complete a Picture Talk activity with the class, a great way to practice listening skills. At the end, ask them to take out a scrap piece of paper and give them 3 true/false questions to answer to check for comprehension. I like this to be a formative assessment, more of a check in for them to see how much Spanish they’re understanding.
Guess the student (~10-15 minutes)
Your students have been waiting all class to “play the game” based on the questions they answered when they first walked into class. Pull out one of the papers without showing the class. Explain that you’re going to give clues about one of their classmates and the students have to guess who you’re describing. Try to tease this out a little. For example, as opposed to simply saying “Su comida favorita es pizza” act surprised and say “Ay clase, esta persona es muy interesante. No le gusta la fruta. Prefiere una comida más deliciosa.” By stretching it out, you’re able to give them so much more Spanish input while keeping their interest! Once they think they know who the student is, they should write down their name on a piece of paper.
Describe several students (you can easily cut this short or extend it depending on how long your period is). At the end, do the big reveal of who each student was. This is yet another opportunity to repeat the Spanish and what their favorite food was. For a twist! Throw in your own answers and see if anyone guesses the teacher! Need more details on this activity? Check out this post.
Infusing your class with CI based activities will help you to reach that 90% target language goal in your Spanish class. These activities and ideas are great jumping off points that will get you speaking in Spanish consistently. Enjoy!
Related Posts:
Picture talk: Out with Old Grammar Charts & in with Comprehensible Input
How to Use a Picture Talk Activity to Reinforce Spanish Vocabulary
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