This fun reading activity is designed for level II of higher Spanish students who have already seen comparisons and stem changing verbs. Students read through two columns of choices and mark their preferences on a cute diagram to determine if they are more "left brain" or "right brain". Good activity for a sub plan, or as a reading practice. Afterwards students can compare their drawings with friends or you can divide up the class to see who is more left or right.

This is a simple one page reference chart of common BUZZ words and cases for using either the preterite or imperfect tense. I usually photocopy it onto coloured cardstock where students can reference it quickly as they are slogging through my packet of fairytales deciding which verb to use. Its not rocket science, but my students tell me its been quite useful to them and that they have kept it through the years as they move on to higher levels.

If your students enjoyed Under the Same Moon, this film takes the same topic to the next level. 3 stories are intertwined in Mexico, Cuba and Morocco as three children and their families deal with different consequences from the departure of loved ones to the "other side". This film brings up MANY topics of discussion about immigration, dangers of their trips and life for those left behind. Movie guide contains 30 questions in Spanish and English and 7 topics for discussion follow-up. Movie is rated PG-13. A very good film and lots to talk about afterwards with your students!

This handout is useful for students who have seen Tu commands before and need extra practice or who are re-visiting them after some time away. It contains notes and guides students through the formation of both positive and negative tu commands, lists the irregular positive command verb forms and reviews spell change/stem change issues in the negative. There are 38 practice examples, 20 positive, 18 negative and they are linked to vocabulary based primarily on house and chores.

This 40 point quiz covers the basics of conditional tense conjugation and usage. It contains a box chart for the verb endings, a section asking students to identify irregular conditional stems. 10 practice sentences for conjugation and an open ended reponse section where student complete sentences in the conditional based on a hypothetical situation. Takes about 20-30 min to complete and works best as assessment for Spanish 3 or higher where students have been practicing the conditional for a few days.

This mini lesson takes one class period and it a fun way for students to practice asking questions of their peers through the forbidden venue of texting in class. Lesson includes the sheet for students to use to create their questions and record the answers they receive, step by step directions for you to explain the lesson and a three page list of popular abbreviations used by Spanish speaking teens in their communications. Lesson is best suited to finish a unit on interrogatives with a level of Spanish II or higher.

Getting ready to start a unit on Pablo Neruda? I use this worksheet to review students prior knowledge of poetry terminology while giving them the terminology vocabulary in Spanish. If you have a basic DVD in your schools library on English poetry, you can use this to accompany it, but its not required, and students can complete the terms with you in class. I created this after slogging through poetry for a couple of seasons while having to re-teach students necessary terms. It made a big difference at how quickly they were able to apply similar skills to poems in Spanish.

7 mini quizzes for conjugating irregular preterite verbs. SER/IR/HACER, PODER/PONER, TENER/ESTAR/ANDAR, QUERER/VENIR, DECIR/TRAER and LEER/CREER/OIR, SABER/HABER Each quiz has conjugation boxes, and simple sentences for students to choose the correct verb and conjugation in the preterite tense. Verbs are quizzed by spell change groups to help students get a grip on all the irregulars step by step. Each quiz takes about 10-15 minutes and work great as a warm up. Quizzes could also be used as study guides for a bigger preterite test.

This powerpoint works well to accompany El Pachuco y Otros Extremos by Octavio Paz. The powerpoint walks students through what a Pachuco is, some famous Pachucos, an contains links to some short video clips to illustrate various Pachucos. I created this powerpoint for a Heritage Speaker Spanish class where students have a high level of conversational Spanish but lack prior knowledge on the history of the Pachucho movement. Could also be used in a level 5 AP class where students already have a high level of comprehension.

I use this as a reference card for students when we start Preterite VS Imperfect. It covers formation of the tense in regular and irregular forms with a few practice examples, then provides a list of "buzz" words to help students identify when to use imperfect, on the back there is a detailed use of reasons for usage of the imperfect with lots of examples so students can see the tense in context. I print it up on green card stock and give it out as a reference. My students tell me that they have saved these cards and used them again when they went to college! Very helpful.

Tortilla Soup is a cute little movie that examines the relationships in a Mexican American family and intertwines the theme of food. This is an excellent film to show after finishing a unit on either food or family to show students the importance of meals and family relationships. This film is rated PG-13 and contains no bad language, only one mildy suggestive scene and overall is really enjoyable. Students will recognize many of the actors from other films and TV shows. Movie guide contains 20 questions chronologically orderd and 2 follow up themes for discussion or out of class writing. Film and questions are in English.

Need a quick and entertaining formative practice for E--> IE stem changer verbs? Number the stations in your room, have students grab a sheet of paper and fire up this game! Powerpoint includes detailed instructions and enough e--ie verb practices for 20 minutes of practice. Perfect before a quiz on Stem changer verbs. Everyone is engaged 100% of the game and it provides instant feedback as to if they "get it". Rock scissors tie-breakers are hilarious to watch too.

This quick partner practice gets students using regular and irregular preterite verbs to share information about what they did yesterday in an out of school. Students complete their own information and then take turns sharing answers. Practice takes about 15 minutes to run and is a great review before a quiz or after learning a variety of preterite verbs. Best suited for Spanish II or higher.

This assignment is excellent for students just beginning their study of Spanish. I assign it as homework on the first day of school as a contest. Students use friends, family, internet to research and discover dozens of connection of Spanish to their own country and surroundings. 10 in-depth questions with multiple answers send kids looking for all kinds of geographical, literary, cultural and historical information. You could also do this assignment in pairs in a computer lab. Students enjoy the challenge and discovering how many Spanish words are part of our lives already. Answer key also included so you have no homework tonight!

This quiz covers conjugation of ER verbs. It contains a listening section for students to identify what subject they hear in verb endings, a conjugation box for ER verb endings, 10 short sentences to conjugate verbs, conjugated verbs where students read and convert meanings back into English and several questions in Spanish for students to answer using an ER verb. Download also contains an answer key.

Students never seem to get enough practice with interrogatives in the text book generated materials. These practice pages give an introduction to the different ways to form questions in Spanish, to answer questions negatively and positively and to practice selecting the correct interrogative to complete a question. Four pages of different kinds of practice with question words. These work best when students have already been working with interrogatives for a couple of days or as a review in second year Spanish.

This game pits students in the room against each other with a different partner every round. Students compete to come up first with the right answer and then everyone rotates chairs after each round. Powerpoint comes with instructions for teachers and a slide of instructions for students, 7 slides of SER vs ESTAR examples and answers for a 28 round game. Kids bounce around the room until a winner returns to their seat winning. Great fun, no non participators and all you do is run the mouse and discuss the answers when necessary. Game takes about 30 minutes to play.

A quick little interview grid for students to practice using preterite verbs in class as they return from break. Students interview classmates and obtain signatures in Spanish. You can play along, or run it as a contest, NO INGLES and first one to obtain all the signatures wins. Uses a wide variety of preterite verbs and easy vocabulary so students can "review" while they get back into the swing of speaking Spanish in a "safe" venue.

This newest 20 episode of Radio Ambulante addresses the issue of beauty, through the eyes of Gabi who is very self critical and those around her who have criticized and mocked her for her ugliness since childhood. In the interview Gabi explores the topic of ugliness/beauty and how she sees herself, those around her and how others have treated her. This podcast is excellent for a Heritage Learner class or a Level V Spanish AP class as one of the AP themes is beauty and aesthetics. There are a couple of questions the interviewer poses that may make some students uncomfortable (references to body parts) so its best to listen to the podcast and decide if your audience is mature, or if you want to make a brief comment prior to beginning the listening practice to avoid discomfort. Download includes 13 questions in chronological order and 4 follow up topics for discussion or as writing prompts for students to react. Answers to podcast also included and a link on top to podcasts for absent students. Radio Ambulante never disappoints and this topic is spot on for AP test prep.

This partner practice has students answering questions about their study habits and class behaviours and then surveying 2 classmates. Takes about 20 minutes to run and is great for practice with school vocabulary and frequency words (siempre, a veces, nunca) This practice works best with level II students and lines up nicely with Realidades 1A vocabulary.