Nine worksheets to help teachers provide their students with an overview of the new Spanish GCSE course, an overview of the speaking and the writing exams (both at foundation and higher level) and four sheets to provide the students with immediate, personalised feedback for their mock or practice speaking and writing papers.
UPDATE: the feedback sheets now include the 2018 grade boundaries, to make it easier for teachers to estimate a grade.
A very comprehensive set of sentences (suitable for all abilities) and paragraphs (mainly higher) to translate from Spanish into English. The resource includes 120 sentences and 6 long paragraphs and they cover the following aspects of Theme 3 (Current and future stydy and employment), organised as follows:
Part 1: My studies
Part 2: School life
Part 3: Education post-16
Part 4: Jobs, career choices and ambitions
Finally, the six longer paragraphs include language related to all four categories.
The sentences include references to a variety of tenses (present, preterite, imperfect, present perfect, conditional, future), as well as a wide range of complex structures (negatives, comparatives, conditional clauses…).
UPDATE: I have added to the resource a translation into Spanish of the two translation activities (at foundation and higher tier) of the 2018 French GCSE AQA exam.
Two practice writing papers (one foundation, one higher) following the format of the new GCSE writing exam, and focusing on the topics covered in Theme 3 (Current and future study and employment).
The foundation paper includes four questions (describe the photo, 40 words question, translation and 90 words question) and the higher paper includes three (90 words question, 150 words question and translation).
I have also included two feedback sheets (one foundation, one higher) that include"check-lists" (based on the AQA mark scheme for writing) to provide quick, personalised feedback for each of the questions. The check lists provide the students with feedback on what went well (WWW) and what they need to do to improve further (TIF).
Also available in French: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/new-french-gcse-theme-3-current-and-future-study-and-employment-writing-exam-and-feedback-sheets-11750989
A 13 pages booklet to help higher ability GCSE students to work independently and and to include a wider variety of structures in their written work.
There are two sections in the booklet:
Section 1 focuses on tenses, and it includes a summary of how to conjugate the present tense, the preterite, the imperfect, the future simple and the conditional, as well as verb tables for AR, ER and IR verbs in those tenses, including tables for six irregular verbs (ser, tener, estar, ir, poder and haber). This is followed by a explanation on how to conjugate and use a further four tenses: the present perfect, the present continuous, the pluperfect and the conditional perfect.
Section 2 focuses on other structures that will help the students include variety and complexity:
- lo + adjectives
- comparatives and superlatives
- negatives
- conditionals ('si' clauses)
- the infinitive
- the present subjunctive
- object pronouns
- other useful structures
Finally, the booklet includes a "check list" or a guide of the kind of structures that the students would be expected to include in work that is graded 4-5, 6-7 or 8-9.
This booklet contains eight questions that follow the format of the 90-word questions in the new Spanish GCSE writing exam. They cover all aspects of Theme 2 (Local, national, international and global areas of interest), and they can be used in lessons, but also as an easy way to set useful homework activities for the students.
All questions include four bullet points that the students are prompted to cover, and they explicitly require them to include references to three time frames and opinions (as per the AQA mark scheme). When possible, one of the bullet points starts with 'qué hiciste', a question which appears in many of the AQA samples and that some students often fail to understand.
A similar booklet including questions for themes 1, 2 and 3 can be found in this link:
https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/new-spanish-gcse-writing-exam-practice-90-word-questions-11820179
Three booklets to prepare students for papers 2 and 3:
Paper 2 (writing) - Volver
Paper 2 (writing) - La casa de Bernarda Alba
Paper 3 (speaking)
Each booklet includes a wide range of questions to provide the students with plenty of practice, as well as detailed explanations of the paper's requirements, assessment objectives and mark schemes.
The fourth booklet contains a very comprehensive (118 pages) overview of the main aspects of Spanish grammar that the students are expected to be able to use on their A Level course.
A listening, reading and writing activity that can be used while discussing the topic of Franco’s dictatorship in Spain. It is based on Miguel Gila’s famous monologue “¿Es el enemigo?”, which can be easily found online, and on an article from El País about the day when the comedian survived his own execution during the Spanish Civil War.
The activities include a listening gap-fill, a true, false or not mentioned reading activity and a short translation.
A reading activity based on the new Spanish A Level, specifically the sub-theme Los movimientos populares. Based on an article from El Mundo, the activity is based on the “escrache” that Gallardón was subjected to as a consequence of his failed attempt to modify the abortion laws in Spain.
This resource contains a lot of factual information about Spanish society, focusing on the three topics that cover the sub-theme Artistic culture in the Hispanic world in the new Spanish A Level course (La influencia de los ídolos, La identidad regional en España and El patrimonio cultural). I wrote this resource to help my students revise for their upcoming speaking exam (Paper 3), specifically to ensure that they include enough information to score well in AO4 of the paper.
The file also includes a detailed overview of the course and of Paper 3.
A series of lessons to talk about the city or town where you live. It includes some exam like questions (translation and photo card). It also provides the students with opportunities to practise "se puede + infinitive".
Update: I have now included a PowerPoint version of the main file, converted from the original Notebook file. I recommend whenever possible to use the original version, as the file conversion has changed the layout of some slides and some features work less effectively on Power Point.
A (big) set of resources covering all aspects of health and lifestyle:
- food
- healthy and unhealthy habits
- giving advice
- illness and going to the doctor
- daily routine
A (very large) set of resources to cover all aspects of the topic of jobs and careers, guiding the students towards beign able to write and speak about the topic using a variety of tenses (preterite, imperfect, the expression "tenía que" + infinitive and future simple), as well as the relative and other complex structures.
The set also includes an introduction to the subjunctive (with expressions such as "No creo que" + subjuntive).
All supported by 15 corresponding worksheets that also include reading activities.
Two practice writing papers (one foundation, one higher) following the format of the new GCSE writing exam. The foundation paper includes four questions (describe the photo, 40 words question, translation and 90 words question) and the higher paper includes three (90 words question, 150 words question and translation). The papers focus on Theme 1 of the new spec (Identity and culture) and they cover family and relationships, technology and leisure.
I have also included two feedback sheets (one foundation, now higher) that include"check-lists" (based on the AQA mark scheme for writing) to provide quick, personalised feedback for each of the questions. The check lists provide the students with feedback on what went well (WWW) and what they need to do to improve further (TIF).
The resource also includes an explanation of the requirements of the Foundation and the Higher writing papers and a copy of the mark scheme for each question.
Also available in French: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/new-french-gcse-practice-writing-paper-and-feedback-sheets-theme-1-identity-and-culture-11668337
A very comprehensive set of resources to help students revise Theme 1 (Identity and culture) of the new Spanish GCSE and prepare for the speaking test.
The pack i ncludes:
- Role plays booklet, with 14 role plays at both foundation and higher level.
- Photo cards booklet, with 40 cards (each of which includes four foundation and four higher questions).
- General conversation questions, with 45 questions altogether at both foundation and higher level.
- Foundation and higher mark schemes / feedback sheets.
A very comprehensive set of resources to support your students in preparation for the new GCSE exam. The bundle includes:
- Speaking exam resources (three booklets -one covering each theme of the new course- with a minimum of 15 foundation and higher Role Plays, three booklets with Photo Cards and a further booklet with a lot of questions to prepare the General Conversation thoroughly).
- Writing exam resources (three sets -one covering each theme of the new course- of writing papers, both at foundation and higher level; additionally, each set includes an overview of the requirements of the exam and a feedback sheet).
- Reading exam resources (three booklets with Spanish to English translations).
- a booklet with twenty-four 90-word questions, covering all three themes of the new GCSE course (NEW)
a Trivial Pursuit game to practise questions for the general conversation (ADDED JULY 2019)
Three booklets to help students of AS (A Level year 1) Spanish prepare for paper 3 (speaking).
As well as an overview of the requirements of the exam and the mark schemes, the main booklet includes the sample cards from AQA and a lot of questions for the students to further develop the topic.
The other two booklets include a total of 36 discussion cards covering in a lot of detail all the topics in Theme 1 and Theme 2 (Aspects of Hispanic society and Artistic culture in the Hispanic world).
The final booklet includes a very detailed overview of the grammar required for A Level with a lot of activities for the students.
A three-page file with a lot actual information about Spanish culture and society, focusing on the topic of Equal Rights, part of the theme Aspects of Hispanic culture of the new Spanish A Level. It provides students with facts and statistics, which should be very helpful in preparation for Paper 3 (the speaking exam).
The information contained in the resource can also be easily adapted and used in a variety of reading and translation activities.
This three-page file includes a lot actual information about Spanish culture and society, focusing on the topic of Spanish regional identity (festivals, gastronomy and regional languages), part of the theme Artistic Culture in the Hispanic World of the new Spanish A Level. It provides students with facts and statistics, which should be very helpful in preparation for Paper 3 (the speaking exam). The information in the file can also be easily adapted to reading or translation activities.
This resource contains 18 pages full of information (facts and statistics) covering all aspects of the themes covered in year 1 of the new Spanish A Level course. There are nine pages about Aspects of Hispanic society (three pages about Traditional and moden values, three oabout Cyberspace and three pages about Equal rights) and nine pages about Artistic culture in the Hispanic world (Modern day idols, Spanish regional identity and Cultural heritage).
I wrote this resource to help students include enough cultural information to score well in AO4 in paper 3 (the speaking exam), but information included in the resource can be easily adapted to a variety of reading and translation activities.