Have you been wondering about how to teach about weather, calendar, and introductions? Or have you been doing “calendar talk” and it is getting a little stale? Are you the kind of teacher that loves to tweak things to keep it fresh? (Yep, me too).
Then you will love these interpersonal speaking task cards! They will get your students up moving and chatting with one another. The teacher can sit back and listen to all the beautiful Spanish being shared. Read on for a step by step instruction of how I use these in my classroom and download example cards.
1. Print, cut, laminate
Print as many cards as you have students. I often print two copies of the same set of cards so that there are duplicates. If a student comes across the same question more than once, fantastic! That repetition is helping them to acquire the words and they will feel more confident in their response. If you can laminate the cards your future self will thank you when you reuse them next year or class.
2. Pass them out to your students
I give one card to each student, ask them to read their card and raise their hand if there are any words on the card that they don’t know. I then write those on the board with the English so the whole class can reference it. I tell them if you don’t know a word, chances are one of your classmates doesn’t either. This will also reduce the amount of questions the teacher gets during the activity.
3. Circle
Set a timer on the board for the activity. I usually set it for 5-8 minutes. Students should find a partner and then ask and answer the questions on the cards. I put a sentence starter at the bottom of the card to help them correctly frame their response. Once they finish, they swap cards and then find a new partner. Meanwhile, the teacher can circle the class listening in on the conversations and fielding any questions.
4. Collect and reuse
When the timer goes off, collect the cards or have the students drop them off on your desk. I keep them in a plastic sandwich baggie for my next class or to use again next year. You can label the outside of the bag with a sharpie. For example “Weather, Calendar, & Intros.” Another option is to write it on a scrap piece of paper and put it in the bag with the cards. Check out this post for different ways to store your task cards.
I hope you love using these task cards as much as I do. I have found them to be so helpful that I created them for every unit I teach. Ready to try it out? This freebie on weather, calendar, and introductions will get you started. Just enter your email and first name below. Let me know how it goes by connecting with me on Instagram or Facebook.
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