A bundle of resources covering some of the important aspects of Volver in relation to the essay students will have to write. I have some free resources uploaded as well pertaining to the director himself, they would work well with this.
Printable quote cards with quotes covering all themes.
Grammar tasks including specific grammar items taken from the WJEC spec.
A flick quote PowerPoint with quotes linked to themes (ideal starter or filler)
Retrieval starters which are ideal for homework.
A themes based reading with subsequent locate and retrieve task and essay writing practice.
A three page resource on the use of music during key sequences and its desired effect as well as camera shot selection.
A free character analysis resource to track development over time and character effect in moving the plot forward. Includes a contrasting adjective worksheet for every character to be used in conjunction with the infinitive structures worksheet to begin writing evidence points relating to character traits.
Infinitive structures worksheet to be used in conjunction with the character analysis sheet, students can use the verbs to begin building points that evidence their selection of a certain adjective. e.g Sabemos que Raimunda es fuerte porque + infinitive structure
Event ordering activity to better understand the plot and sub-plot lines.
Basics booklet with all resources apart from the grammar worksheets in one lovely booklet with a very cool custom cover by my lovely year 12 student APD!
Quote index booklet for easy addition of quotes into essays with character tiles for recognition of character and all categorised by theme.
This Spanish Grammar Workbook covers every grammar point from main exam board specifications and goes beyond as well! It is my attempt at distilling everything into one workbook which will last the entire GCSE course (potentially starting in as early as year 7/8 and lasting into year 12). The workbook is designed to be used both in the classroom and at home and assumes zero/little prior knowledge, I often use it for feedback and providing interventions. A print version is available on Amazon!
All answers included, please leave a review!
Nouns
Gender and number +45 most high-frequency nouns
Definite and indefinite articles
Abstract nouns with lo plus adjective
Adjectives
Agreement and position + top 42 adjectives
Comparative and superlative (regular and mayor, menor, mejor, peor)
Demonstrative (this, that, these, those and those over there)
Indefinite (cada, otro, todo, mismo, alguno)
Short form possessives
Long form possessives
Interrogative
Quantifiers (muy, bastante, demasiado, poco, mucho).
Verbs
Top 15 verbs
Active and passive voice ®
Regular and irregular forms of verbs
Present simple tense
Present continuous
Preterite tense
Imperfect
Imperfect continuous
Imperfect tense weather phrases with estar and hacer
Imperfect and preterite together
Future simple
Immediate future
Present perfect
Conditional
The “me gustaría” structure
Complex “if structures” with the imperfect subjunctive
Pluperfect
Gerunds
Imperative (affirmative & negative tú commands)
Present subjunctive with wishes, opinions, obligations and possibilities
Present subjunctive with cuando
Impersonal verbs: most common only
Negation
Tú and usted
Reflexive verbs
Imperfect subjunctive ®
Quisiera
Prepositions
A, en, con, de, sobre, sin, desde/hasta, entre, the personal a
Conjunctions
Most common including: y, pero, o, porque, como, cuando
Number, quantity and dates
Days of the week
Months of the year
Numbers 1-100
Basic ordinal numbers (primero, segundo, tercero, cuarto, quinto, sexto)
Most common quantities
Time
Giving the time with “es la/son las” + hour
Stating what time something is done with “a la/las” + hour
Asking for the time/what time it is
Use of desde hace with present tense
Use of* llevar* + duration + gerund
Hacía + length of time + que + imperfect tense
Adverbs
Formation of -mente adverbs
Bueno and bien
Regular comparative and superlative adverbs
Adverbs of time and place
Common adverbial phrases (of manner, time and place)
Pronouns
Subject pronouns
Direct and indirect object pronouns + placement
DOPS/IDOPS used together
Reflexive pronouns
Relative pronouns (que, quien, lo que, cuyo, el que)
Disjunctive (conmigo, para mí)
Extras
Idiomatic expressions
Exclamations
Obligation structures
Infinitive structures
The speaking tool kit
Introducing and justifying opinions
Verbs w/prepositions
Irregular conditional tense
Sequencers
This is a 15 page document for students to use over the period of 3 weeks. Students read one act a week and complete the reading activities as they go or after their reading session. These completed activities then guide conversation in class the following week where the teacher checks that the student has understood the plot up as well as the students thoughts on certain characters and plot developments. There is room for conversation as well about cultural references which are important to understand about Spain in the 1930’s.
There is a writing task for each act, an opinion section, a tick list of events which includes a made up events which students have to spot and a table for students to note down any cultural references.
The end goal here is that students are fully aware of exactly what is happening in each act and how the plot is being developed by Lorca.
After a big success last year I am sharing my GCSE Speaking Toolkit.
This Powerpoint contains an introduction to the WJEC Unit 1 speaking exam, working memory and six functional chunks along with usability conditions, worked examples, translations, valid alternatives and what the chunk seeks to achieve (references to the past, present, future, subjunctive, easy idioms etc).
I made this due to post-mock analysis revealing a lack of complex structures and now introduce it early in the GCSE.
This year I have added some AI suggestions which students may add to the original six.
An eight page resource focused on themes in Volver, the carefully constructed soundtrak by Alberto Iglesias and shot selection for key parts of the film.
Page 1: Identifying the main themes in the film
Page 2: Authentic reading resource
Page 3: Questions
Page 4: Analysing the soundtrack and music of the film
Page 5: Analysing camera shots for key sequences.
Page 6: Essay writing skills and what/how/why
Page 7: Student directed task hunting for additional shots/sound effects.
Page 8: Example essay question and answers + practice question
Thanks Josh S for proofreading!
Students can translate them, discuss who said them in which context and to whom.
The colour coded set are coded by character, the other set are all one colour so no clues are given away. Last page are misc and unsorted.
A booklet ideal for GCSE French revision, transition or in class teaching. A page per grammar point with two practice exercises per grammar item. This is an editable PDF meaning when opened with Adobe Reader students will be able to write their answers in the boxes provided and save and send to you.
If you have any issues let us know. A massive thank you to @saraherowland for teaching herself InDesign just to get the French down for this edition!
It’s not cheap I know but have a look at the preview copy and you’ll understand. Please leave a review if you purchase!
Resource includes:
Character analysis
Themes
Social and historical context
Director and cinematic techniques
Quote index
Essay aides
Character analysis
A 23 page section which focuses on Ofelia, Vidal, Mercedes, Carmen, Ferreiro and the Faun.
Each character has an analysis sheet, an adjective continuum with character specific adjectives and their antonyms and a follow up writing task. There is an infinitive verb classification ask to build knowledge of the film and character specific vocabulary and evidence and a whole page dedicated to answering character relationship style questions. Plenty of room for writing practice and feedback.
Social and historical context
This section is centered around a reading task featuring texts on 1944, las mujeres, la resistencia, la dictadura, el olvido y el fascismo.
There is a pre-reading vocabulary builder and a post-reading comprehension question task as well as links to further independent study.
Following this a page on how to evaluate cultural and societal contexts includes evaluative language to be used in essays and a follow up task in which students try to place the message/opinion of the director and evaluate it with evidence from the film. They will do this in relation to el franquismo, la posguerra, la desigualdad, la rebelión, las mujeres y la obediencia.*
Director and cinematic techniques
This 13-page section starts with a working glossary of both cinematic and director techniques, students translate the words as they appear in the following pages.
We then take a tour of the sound used in the film, when it was used and for what purpose (all whilst building writing practice) and then an extended reading on director techniques with a follow up reading true/false/correct in Spanish style exam question.
Following that is a match-up of symbols and a nice activity on the fairytale elements in the film called Making a Fairytale. Each element described with a small reading and gap-fill exercise. Lastly, a section called Breaking a Fairytale will get students thinking about how the film diverges from the path set out by traditional fairytales.
If that wasn’t enough we then go on to explain the What/How/Why acronym and students will get the opportunity to practise their analysis skills using evidence from the film. A final section focuses on the use of allegory in the three Faun’s tests, an open ended task based on the allegory in the story Ofelia tells her younger brother in the womb and a final introductory task to essay writing.*
and more but I’ve hit the character limit on here.
Varied tasks for lesson starters or homework to retrieve information about key scenes, quotes and essay writing point practice. Ideal for any candidates doing the WJEC exam who are in A2 and retaking the AS Unit 2.
Timer at the top is 4 minutes but you can allow as much time as you need.
Answers to the quotes section is in the notes of each slide.
A new overhauled version of this resource is now available here. It covers every single grammar point from the AQA, Edexecel and WJEC specifications and is designed for classroom and independent study.
This is a scaffolded five page resource with a text at its heart which is focused on the main symbols in La Casa de Bernarda Alba.
On subsequent pages students are introduced to the what/how/why style of writing which leads to well-structured paragraphs, the language is given in English/Spanish with exam style questions and match-ups and a space for students to note down any symbolism references for future use.
This year I am trying to move away from PEEL as a writing aid acronym and I want students to write more about the literary devices that authors use and their intended effect on the audience. By the end of this resource students will be able to say whether the author has used a simile, metaphor, repetition or simply a word, how they have used it and what the author wants us to question, understand, imagine or feel. This is taken from the QUIF acronym taught to me by the English department.
I have designed this to be as usable as possible and I hope it strikes the balance between form and function.
Thank you Sara for being patient with proofreading everything!
Two pages per character. One page on development, relationships, goals and motivations and a second one containing 17 contrasting adjectives to develop descriptions of characters.
I’ve included this free in the LCDBA bundle I have for sale
Theme index with categorised quotes, I went through the whole book and categorised everything relevant.
Also attached are quote cards which are not sorted by character or theme, these can be used for a multitude of activities.
Update: New look to the cards (2019)
83 quotes from LCDBA with a theme or essay link on a flick PowerPoint.
Each slide has a reveal button to press, before pressing it ask students who said each quotes, to whom, when and any potential links they can make to the main themes.
(To stop PowerPoint slides flicking presss left arrow key)
This is a resource to check how well students have understood the plot and the characters in the book. I recommend that firstly students match up the infinitive structures which are already conjugated in the 3rd person, afterwards use different coloured highlighters to categorise the infinitive verbs by the character which they correspond with.
This is an ideal task as a follow up to the character analysis two-page sheet, if a student for example says that Adela is rebelde you may ask them ‘how do we know?’ and they have to write a sentence explaining why they think Adela is rebelde giving examples from the text, this infinitive structure and verb sheet could form the basis of one of those exemplary points.
Two pages per character. One page on development, relationships, goals and motivations and a second one containing 17 contrasting adjectives to develop descriptions of characters. I’ve included this free in the Volver bundle I have for sale.
Hopefully this formats okay although I suspect the font (New Atten Round) is protected. If it looks awful then let me know and I’ll re-upload with print screens of each slide pasted over the slides themselves.
I have been teaching es bueno que sea (where bueno can be substituted for any adjective) for a few years now and it has been successful so decided it was time to take it a small step further.