My students love this ridiculous preterite verb practice that accompanies the first two scenes of the film Napoleon Dynamite. You will need the video in order to complete the practice but any one of your students probably already owns it if you don't. Run the film, you can put the dialogue into Spanish for SP III classes or higher and have the students conjugate the verbs in the preterite as they watch. This activity works well at the end of the Preterite unit for level II or as a quick review for levels III and IV. It doesnt even feel like work because the scenes are so funny. I know your students will enjoy the practice!

This sheet reviews the basics of -CAR -GAR -ZAR verbs in the preterite tense. It contains an explanation, 3 box charts for models and 24 verb conjugations for students to practice. There is also a list by family of the most commonly used verbs. Answer key also included. This practice works best for SP 2 students who have already been practicing regular preterite -AR verbs for a few days and are familiar with conjugation patterns. Answer key included.

This puzzle consists of 16 sentences using reflexive verbs and vocabulary. The sentences are ordered randomly and students cut them apart to reorganize them sequentially and read about Javiers morning routine. This activity is good for students who have only been using the reflexive vocabulary for a few days or as a warm up before a quiz on reflexives. Activity takes 10-15 minutes to complete. Answer key is also provided.

This is a standard A/B partner practice that incorporates preterite verb conjugation with party vocabulary. Students ask each other about 2 different parties that happened yesterday and answer each others questions using preterite regular verbs and SER. Practice takes about 15 minutes to run in pairs. Vocabulary is provided beneath the pictures to allow students to focus on preterite verb conjugation in their answers. this practice is best suited for level II or higher practicing preterite or as a review activity for level III.

This partner practice has students asking their friend about their school schedule. Students question their partner about what class, teacher and room number for each subject, and record their answers on their own paper. 8 classes per student. Activity takes about 10-15 minutes depending on their ability level. Best suited for Spanish I or II. Makes a good warm up activity if you are in the chapter about school.

Four practice worksheets for irregular preterite verbs: 1) decir and traer 2) tener, andar, estar 3) poder and poner 4) irregular preterites Also included is an in class activity that works well after a weekend or the upcoming Christmas break to get students asking questions of their peers in the preterite. Activity takes 15 minutes to run in class. There never seems to be enough practice for these verbs, so here are a few more.

This film describes the civil war in the 1980's in El Salvador and Archbishop Romero's struggle to bring an end to the violent acts perpetrated on the Salvadoran people by the military government. The movie is excellent, carries a PG 13 rating, and is suitable for students at the Spanish II level or higher. The film is in English and could also be used in a social studies class. Starring Raul Julia in one of his last films before he died, this film evokes a lot of discussion about "disappeared/desaparecidos"and US involvement in sticky political situations. Study guide contains questions, and discussion/essay topics, secondary list of questions in Spanish for higher level/native speaker students.

These are two quick activities to practice using GUSTAR with basic vocabulary of foods, clothing and some basic verbs. The first activity is an interview grid for students to interview peers in a large group. Students inital boxes to record their preferences. Second activity is a shopping mall survey where students record their preferences and then question a partner to compare answers. Surveys are good as a review of GUSTAR or as extra practice when introducing the concept. Best suited for lower levels (I and II)

This worksheet is designed to be follow up examples to my other lesson on Direct Object pronouns. Two pages of examples look at DOP usage in 1 and 2 verb sentences, answering questions using DOP's and managing DOP's with Tu commands in positive and negative. This works well for extra practice or as a warm up/review activity for level III or higher.

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.