Spanish Music Activity Packet

One of the best ways to learn Spanish is through music. It's engaging, catchy, and somewhat addictive. I had been wanting to use music for a while, but just never knew HOW to add it into my lesson. I envied teachers who were able to so easily add music into their lesson! 

I saw a cute video by Aldrey (he is so adorable!!!!). It was the song called "La Lista" and I KNEW that I wanted to use this song in my lesson. Plus, it's not very hard to translate. This was my backing of inspiration to give it a try! 

If you want to try this yourself, here is what I did to get started:

First, you must get the FULL lyrics to the song. If you can't find them online, you'll have to watch the video and copy them down (this is what I had to do). 

I then decided I would pull apart the phrases used in his lyrics by making random words. Ser un artista. Ser, un, and artista are vocabulary words I wanted them to know separately. I created a huge list of all these random words. 

After creating an activity of a bunch of random words, I put those words together to make expressions such as "ser un artista" and even "ser una persona" Many of the expressions weren't necessarily in the song, but it was great practice for them to put the phrases together. 

We then did a fill-in-the-blank exercise where they had to listen to the song and fill in the missing words. It really trained their ear. 

Lastly, they had to translate the whole song which was actually really easy for them.  

They LOVED watching the video & listening to the song! SOOOO many of them downloaded it on their phone and was singing it for the next week long! 

The next day...take a guess what the first question was: CAN WE LISTEN TO "LA LISTA"? 

If you would to purchase my Spanish Music Activity Packet to Aldrey "La Lista" here is the link below: 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spanish-Music-Activity-Packet-Mi-Lista-by-Aldrey-2351872?aref=aekkood6

Happy Music Lesson Planning!

God Bless,
Britt B. 

Present Tense Scavenger Hunt

So after posting my PAST TENSE scavenger hunt using practice of the verb "Ir", I got so much GREAT feedback, but I did have several requests to produce a present tense scavenger hunt that could be used in Spanish 1! 

So last night, I created a present tense scavenger hunt using the "Ir" verb. It also uses great practice of popular places located within the school (The majority of schools will have ALL of these areas). 

If you are interested in buying the PRESENT TENSE scavenger hunt...copy and paste below: 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spanish-QR-Code-Scavenger-Hunt-Places-around-School-2299126


If you would like to produce your own, see my previous post below (there is also a video) about how to produce your own scavenger hunt game! 

God Bless,
Brittany B. 

The Best Review Game You'll Ever Play

Okay, confession time = I don't USUALLY LIKE review days. I don't know why...I guess it's where I have spent the whole time TEACHING the unit, it's just like UGH...again we go! 

But...one little game has changed my whole opinion on review games and the kids LOVE IT! I mean, hard core, in love with it...would choose it over ANYTHING!!!

I'm talking heart racing, sweaty palms, and nerves, nerves, nerves but gosh, it is fun! 

How this game came about was kind of a mix of a bunch of games put together and changed up. I like to call this game "Sinking Ships" 

Okay so here goes: 

1. First, you'll need to put your class into teams. Luckily, I ALWAYS have my class into teams because they are organized into Spanish Speaking countries :) We have rules about how no one is allowed to deport, no illegals, etc. The kids actually love it. 

2. All you need is your board, a marker, and a marker board eraser (I use old t-shirts). 

3. Tell your kids TODAY we're playing a review game WHERE you can build alliances with other countries, go against other countries, negotiate with each other, and so on. I tell the kids while I am drawing the "ships" on the board, I want you to get up, move around and make "deals". Decide who you want to be in alliances with, and just like smart business men/women make "DEALS" 

(First time you play, they may not do anything...they don't yet understand in the game why an alliance is important BUT they'll quickly learn YOU HAVE TO HAVE ALLIANCES.)

4. I divide my board into 6 blocks, dividers, whatever...see below. I then draw 6 ships (my ships aren't pretty LOL), I draw X's on their ships, and I put THEIR OWN PERSONAL NAMES by an X (This goes quicker than you would expect-don't worry about pretty hand-writing). 

NOTE: IF you have a group who has MORE people than other groups, you have to make sure EVERYONE has the same # to make it fair. Example) three groups have 6 people, and three groups have 5...you need to add 1 to the groups of 5 and calls them "EXTRAS" 

5. After you have the ships on the board, X's drawn, and each of their names by the X's, you're ready to play. 

6. Make everyone go back to their country/team area (the teams need to sit together). You are going to use review questions that you have put together on a piece of paper, or simply from the top of your head (that's your call - I usually just use their test and switch it up a little) hehe! :)

7. Ask team #1 a question, they get 20 seconds to answer, only ONE person can answer...I tell them to use strategy to decide who is going to answer. I tell my "weaker" kids to make sure to go on and speak up and answer IF you know it because you have to take turns to answer the questions. This keeps that ONE kid from answering every question. If they get it right, they can bump ANYONE from another team OFF or ADD someone back to ANOTHER team that was bumped previously (alliances). I simply erase their name, if bumped, NOT the X, and if they have been bumped off and added back, I write their name back. During the first round, it's only bumping off because no one has been bumped off to add back yet. 

Oh yeah, they CAN'T add anyone back to their OWN team..see...you need those ALLIANCES!

This is where it gets fun, alliances are built, and enemies are formed. 

8. We then go to the next team, ask a question, 20 seconds, same rules...but now, let's say they miss it...or simply don't know. I then give the action (where I throw my arm down like a "go") and say "ROBA" and this opens up the opportunity for ANY team to steal...whoever raises their hand first (ANY TEAM BESIDES THE ONE WHO ORIGINALLY ANSWERED) I call on them. They must know it asap (if they don't know, they get skipped). If they get it right, they get TWO things to do with the X's...they can bump 2 people off (I even allow them to do one from 2 different teams), they can bump a person/add one person back OR they can add back two people (if they have a good alliance). The steals REALLY make it interesting! 

Keep playing, erasing names, and adding them back. 

So let's take it up a notch and REALLY get it interesting...so the steals are what make it fun, right? To add excitement tell the kids that IF they have been personally bumped off, they can't steal at that moment. Once they are added back by an alliance, they can THEN steal. 

Lastly, the last 15 minutes of class, I tell them no more ADDING back, it's only take down. Also, ships will start to go down (everyone will get bumped off). STILL ALLOW THEM TO ANSWER THOUGH...they now have the power to bump off other teams. It's payback time and they love it!!! Also, sometimes they have to go against their alliances and it's entertaining. 

In the end, either only one name by an X will remain and that team is the winner OR the team that has the MOST names by their X's, win! 

Either way, this game is a blast, high energy, and you'll be amazed how many review questions you get in that day :) 

God Bless, 
Britt B. 

Video Details about Spanish Scavenger Hunt

Yesterday I released my Spanish Scavenger Hunt Game. Here is a little video explaining some suggestions, and how I personally build my scavenger hunt and play. 

Enjoy! Check out my previous post to learn how to build your own scavenger hunt, or to buy my version if you don't feel like doing all the work to put it together. 

God Bless! 

QR Code Scavenger Hunt

WARNING NOTE: I was told by a reader-friend that many are coming here to simply "BUY" the scavenger hunt. IF you are one of those, you can simply bypass my blog entry (below) and click the link at the bottom of this post :) My blog entry simply tells about the experience and how to do it yourself! 
Love my readers, they keep me so filled in!!! LOL 

So today we just did an activity in Spanish 2 that was probably without a doubt, one of my most favorite things we have done in my six years of teaching. I like to pride myself that my students (I believe) tend to "like" my class. I TRY to always keep it very engaging and "fun" for the kids. 

I love shows like the Amazing Race, and I am sucker for a good Scavenger Hunt....hmm, maybe I am just competitive. Anyways, I wanted to build a fun scavenger hunt for the kids and I finally pushed myself to do all the ground work behind it to get it going. 

My Spanish 2 kiddos were in the process of learning the "Ir" verb past tense preterite: Fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron. (If you are a different language teacher, this means: I went, you went, he/she went, we went, and they/you all went). I thought it would be fun to incorporate those words into popular places around the school and use a QR Code Reader where the Spanish isn't just randomly wrote on a piece of paper, taped on a wall. A little more, Sherlock Holmes ;) 

I went to this cool website: http://www.classtools.net/QR/ 

You can make your own QR Codes! How fun! So I went to word, and created 10 sentences using "Ir" preterite and popular places around the school. I then went in and entered my sentences. (Be sure to read the directions. There is a certain way they must be entered). After that, I saved all my qr bar codes it produced and put them on one big word document (make sure to put in order) 

(At this time, I would personally download the QR Code Reader on your own phone. It's free!) 

After that, I simply printed the qr codes (keep them in order), and I would even write a little # of each qr code in the top corner or on the back. I wouldn't write it big enough the students can see it, go out of order, and write down the translation. 

Also, make a worksheet where your students can write down each translation or you can have them use their own paper. 

It was SOOO much fun! 

The winning team: 

Here is the link to my game if you don't want to do all the work to create the game: 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spanish-QR-Code-Scavenger-Hunt-Places-around-School-2289894

God Bless,
Britt B. 

Tracking Formative Assessment Data

So our school tried something new this year that I have to admit I wasn't very hot on at first. They announced to our staff that they wanted us to track our daily formative assessments, and turn these into our administration. It was so our staff was more meaningful with our assessments, and could really track where our students were at the time. I'll be honest...I was really upset. I knew how my kids were doing, I knew what they knew or did not know. I thought to myself...the work, the time, how in the world am I suppose to have a life? 

So, as usual, I got kind of worked up, frantic, fretting, and went to look for a solution. I tried doing the simple check-marks on one class roster, but I honestly found that harder than it seemed. 

I sat down, and thought about....in a perfect world...what would happen? What would it look like? I came up with my Weekly Check-Up Sheets. Now, they aren't perfect but I will say it's a vast improvement to just giving daily check-marks (my opinion). I will admit I don't do these EVERY week, and even EVERY day but I know teachers that do and they rave about it. 

You can easily turn this into your administration if you are being asked to track your formative assessments and report, you can use it as personal data collection, or if you are a first year teacher having to track data for an intern program this would work great. 

I have 4 days on the sheet (Monday through Friday), and each day has about 5 questions. I will put 5 questions directly related to what we are learning in class in a word document, PPT, or simply write it out on the board. Sometimes, I even do a listening so no need to write anything. 

During the class, I give these 5 questions to the kids, and allow them time to write the answers. After I see that the students have tried each question, we go over the correct answers. If the students get any questions wrong, they simply put the correct answer. If they get it right, they just check it off. Each day, they can see what they have missed & need to focus on. I also put all my flashcards on quizlet so therefore the students can go and quiz themselves. 

Now, there are several choices...I can personally collect each sheet and look over them at the end of the week/turn them in, I can go around and write the # of how many they got correct on a roster (you can print blank rosters on your infinite campus), or I can have the students use these as a study guide for a future quiz. 

Either way, I feel like my students are winning and SO.AM.I 

Now, the formative assessment tracking doesn't really bother me and yes, they have made me be more meaningful with my teaching ;) 

Here is the FREE link to the weekly check-ups, enjoy!!!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Weekly-Check-Up-Sheets-2285580

God Bless,

Brittany B.