This activity will help beginning or advanced students understand the limitations of language translators and encourage them to build fluency by using these and other tools for the right reasons. The temptation of an online translator is irresistible to many new language students who lack the patience or drive that it takes to learn another language. Not only will this lesson help your students to see why you WILL KNOW if they use a translator, but it will help you to set ground rules as to the use of these and other tools both inside and outside of the classroom. Students will begin this activity by learning about several online tools that may help students studying a foreign language and the appropriate use of each. Then they will compare/contrast two of those tools - an online Spanish/English dictionary and Google Translate - by first looking up underlined words in 30 sentences in the dictionary and then comparing that to what the translator says. By the end of the lesson, students will clearly see situations in which the translator was not able to make correct decisions on word choice and the increased control that using a dictionary offers. This Product Includes: -Foreign Language Student Toolbox Handout -Dictionary vs Translator Activity -Questions for Discussion & Reflection

This integrated performance assessment will help you gauge the proficiency level of your students in the areas of interpretive reading, interpretive listening, interpersonal speaking, presentational writing, and presentational speaking. The assessment tasks that students will be asked to perform align directly to following ACTFL performance indicators for Novice-Mid and Novice-High learners: Novice-Mid -I can answer questions about what I like/dislike -I can list my favorite free time activities and those I don't like -I can say which sports I like/dislike Novice-High -I can talk about my favorite musical group, actor, or author -I can talk about others likes/dislikes The interpretive reading and listening tasks utilize authentic resources that were carefully selected and aligned to the above performance indicators. links to scoring rubrics are provided. This Product Includes: -Guide for Educators -Links to Resources and Rubrics -Interpretive Reading task -Interpretive Listening task -Interpersonal Speaking task (4 versions) -Presentational Writing task -Presentational Speaking task -Student Self-Assessment task -Teacher Feedback Form -Answer Keys for Interpretive Reading and Listening tasks

These activities are meant to help students learn how to talk about what "we" do in Spanish using present tense nosotros verb forms. These activities go along with the song "Ay Vamos" by J. Balvin, a 2015 Latin Grammy award winner for Best Urban Song. This song is readily available on YouTube and iTunes and a link to the song is referenced. These activities may be completed without the music video, so please make sure that the video is appropriate for your students before playing it. After reviewing a brief biography of J. Balvin, students are asked to listen to the song several times and fill in the lyrics that have been removed. Then, students are given an overview of the concept of the nosotros form in the present tense and asked to complete two inductive grammar activities based on their observations of the song lyrics. Students then are asked to find some additional items within the lyrics of the song in a Lyric Scavenger Hunt activity. Included in this download: -Guide for Educators -Artist Biography -Link to the song/video on YouTube -Clozeline Activity -Nosotros Form Inductive Grammar Activities -Lyric Scavenger Hunt -Answer Keys for all objective activities

Present Tense Irregular verbs like Dar, Ser, and Ir can be hard for students to master, but with these song activities, your students will learn them in a context that will help them remember them for a long time. These activities go along with the song "Complemento" by Los Aterciopelados, a Grammy nominated Colombian alternative rock group. This song is readily available on YouTube and iTunes and a link to the song is referenced. Students are asked to listen to the song several times and fill in the lyrics that have been removed. Then, students are given an overview of the verbs dar, ir, and ser, including their meanings and present tense conjugation. Students then are asked to find and copy certain verses of the song. Students then use their new understanding of these three verbs to manipulate the meanings of those verses. Finally, students are asked to complete a writing activity that deals with the theme of their "complemento" and what that person is like (ser), where they go (ir), and what they give (dar). Included in this download: -Aterciopelados Artist Bio -Clozeline Activity -Dar, Ir, Ser Present Tense Tutorial -Lyric Identification Activity -Lyric Manipulation Activity -Writing Activity (¿Qué haces para las personas que les amas?) -Answer Keys for all objective activities

This integrated performance assessment will help you gauge the proficiency level of your students in the areas of interpretive reading, interpretive listening, interpersonal speaking, presentational writing, and presentational speaking. The assessment tasks that students will be asked to perform align directly to following ACTFL performance indicators for Novice-Mid and Novice-High learners: Novice-Mid -I can talk about my house or apartment -I can talk about my room and what I have in it -I can write a to-do list -I can check off words and phrases on a to-do list Novice-High -I can sometimes understand if people are talking about their homes -I can understand very basic information from a real estate ad The interpretive reading and listening tasks utilize authentic resources that were carefully selected and aligned to the above performance indicators. links to scoring rubrics are provided. This Product Includes: -Guide for Educators -Links to Resources and Rubrics -Interpretive Reading task -3 Interpretive Listening tasks -Interpersonal Speaking task -Presentational Writing task -Presentational Speaking task -Student Self-Assessment task -Teacher Feedback Form -Answer Keys for Interpretive Reading and Listening tasks

I developed this assessment as a tool for gathering data as to student's proficiency levels during their first and second years of language study in Spanish. This assessment is directly aligned with the ACTFL progress indicators for Novice-Mid fluency. This assessment addresses all skill areas; Interpersonal Speaking, Presentational Speaking, Presentational Writing, Interpretive Listening, and Interpretive Reading. This assessment can be used in a variety of ways: 1. As an exit test or final exam for Spanish 1 2. As an entrance exam for Spanish 2 3. As a placement exam for students newly entering your language program from private or out of state institutions 4. As a progress indicator given to students at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year to demonstrate growth 5. As smaller, individual assessments given throughout the course of the school year This Product Includes: - Educator's Guide & Instructions for Test Administration - Resource Links to ACTFL rubrics and progress indicators - 11 Activities to assess Interpersonal & Presentational Speaking / Writing - 4 Activities to assess Interpretive Listening - 3 Activities to assess Interpretive Reading - Answer Keys for Listening and Reading Activities - Answer Keys for Writing activities unless answers may vary

This is a low prep game that will get your students speaking on the topic of "La Casa" (House). Students will challenge each other to be the first to earn all the ingredients for their taco as they attempt to say longer and more detailed sentences in Spanish that contain a particular word. This game is easily differentiated (instructions included) for any level of Spanish class. It also easy to create your own additional cards with the blank template if you would like to focus on additional vocabulary words. This game is great for working with current and recycled vocabulary as well as raising student proficiency levels by encouraging incremental increases in the complexity of their spoken language. It also requires listening to the other members of the group which keeps students focused and on task. More important to the kids, it is just fun. This product includes: -Guide for Educators -Visual instructions to share with students -Taco Template -24 game cards -Blank Template for the creation of additional cards by the teacher or students

These activities were created to give students the practice they need learning and pronouncing the letters of the Spanish alphabet. With these activities, students will be able to begin building interpretive listening and presentational speaking skills while becoming comfortable with partner work. This Product Includes: -Guide For Educators -Phonetic Alphabet Handout -5 Alphabet/Spelling Partner Activities -2 Partner Interview Activities

This series of 11 activities are designed to give students an accurate cultural view of the celebration of Las Posadas while acquiring new vocabulary and using reading skills in the target language. Students will explore the traditions and celebrations of Las Posadas with cultural information provided on each page. Students will also learn the lyrics to the popular villancico "Pidiendo Posada" and complete activities to demonstrate comprehension and understanding of various cultural, grammatical, and vocabulary related aspects of this song. The final summative activity asks students to synthesize all of the information they have learned to create an invitation to their own Posada party, create a to do list with things they must do or buy in preparation for the celebration, and complete a drawing of the inside and outside of their house all decorated for the holiday! This Product Includes: -Educator's Guide -Vocabulary Activity -9 pages that each contain cultural information about the holiday and pertinent vocabulary, a verse of the villancico "Pidiendo Posada", and accompanying questions/activity -Closing Activity or Assessment Note: Although some religious beliefs are referenced in the information provided, this activity is appropriate for public school students as well as private. As a public school teacher myself, I am careful with my presentation of religious information so as not to offend any of my students or their families.

This two week long storytelling unit focuses on the story of Los Tres Cerditos (The Three Little Pigs). It can be used with students of all ages to build their skills in the 5 modes of communication and acquire new vocabulary. Included in this mini-unit are not only the story of Los Tres Cerditos, but also reading, listening, speaking, writing, and assessment activities. There is also a Guide for Educators which explains each activity and the recommended sequence of instruction. Included in this Resource: -Guide for Educators -Los Tres Cerditos Visual Story Presentation -Los Tres Cerditos Illustrated Text -Cloze Listening Activity -Vocabulary Acquisition Activity -Story Sequencing Activity -Reading Comprehension Questions -Loco Lib Alternate Ending Activity -Interpersonal Speaking Partner Activity - (2 Versions) -Illustration Only Pages for Story Re-Telling

This inductive grammar lesson leads students to discover the rules behind using both informal and formal affirmative commands in a variety of situations in Spanish. Students will follow a 4 step inductive process to make learning grammar more meaningful. Step 1: Students will see examples of correct usage and create rules based on what they observe. Step 2: Students will test those rules against additional examples of correct language usage. Step 3: Students will make adjustments and additions to their rules based on more observations. They will summarize what they have discovered by creating their own graphic organizer using the included template. Step 4: Students will apply the rules while producing their own language. These scaffolded activities promote higher order thinking skills and represent the method of grammar instruction that is recommended by national organizations like ACTFL.

The second of our GIANT Board Games, Culturopoly focuses on teaching students about the important people, products, and places of the countries of Mexico, Spain, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Cuba, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Venezuela. This is a great whole-class game that transforms the floor of your classroom into a giant board game. With a style of game play similar to Monopoly, students travel around the game board collecting cultural facts about the various countries. Once they gather enough facts, if they land on a "maleta" space, they can answer some trivia questions about a particular country in order to earn a "boleto de ida y vuelta". The team with the most "boletos" at the end end of the game wins. The best part of this game is that it is easily adaptable to any age group and proficiency level. With three different difficulty levels (Easy, Medium, Hard), it is perfect for an exploratory or Latin American Studies class all the way through an upper level Spanish class. While the Easy mode allows for students with no knowledge of Spanish, the Medium mode starts to introduce target language terms for students with minimal Spanish language proficiency, and the Hard mode focuses on play completely in the target language. This is a great way to review for culture portions of midterm or final exams, or for any day that you just need something different. In the future, there will be expansion packs to add different Spanish-speaking countries to the game. Either way, any teacher will get a LOT of use out of this one game. This Resource Includes: -Complete Set-up and Game Play Instructions for each mode -Fifty 8 1/2 x 11 Game Spaces with pictures representative of cultural items -12 Boletos de Ida y Vuelta (one per country) -12 Easy Difficulty Country Challenge Cards w/ answer keys -12 Medium Difficulty Country Challenge Cards w/ answer keys -12 Hard Difficulty Country Challenge Cards w/ answer keys -36 Culture Fact Cards

This is a free sample containing 2 vocabulary sorting activities. Sorting activities help Foreign Language, Elementary and ESL/ELL students make connections between words, brainstorm for writing, or practice new vocabulary. Their versatility, ease of use, and the fact that they differentiate themselves make them one of my favorite things to use in my own classroom! Each activity contains 4 different categories which students must complete with words that they know and fit each category. These are a quick, easy way for students to recycle vocabulary that they have previously learned or integrate vocabulary they are currently studying. They can also be used to gauge a student's progress in acquiring language when compared over the school year and they differentiate themselves! These work well as a class starter or closing activity. Once students have completed an activity, it is easy to use their work as a jumping off point for writing tasks or inspiration for oral drill and conversation. Use them when you need a sub plan and ask students to write a paragraph or sentences as a follow up activity! These are low prep and ready to print and go! You can even skip the print step and just display them for students! The full length product includes 30 activities and is available in both Spanish and English.

The crime rate has been soaring in the small town of Puebla Panqueques, but no need to worry, Policía Pacho is on the job! Your students will read witness statements and help Policía Pacho pick out the correct suspect from a line up. After all the suspects have been captured, your students will use the included game cards and "suspect page" to complete a variety of fun activities to practice speaking and writing physical descriptions. There is also a listening activity in which students must figure out the names of all the suspects based on what you tell them. Lot's of fun, themed, activities in context! This Product Includes 7 Different Activities: - 3 Police Line-Up Reading Activities - Instructions for 3 related games - 12 game cards - A "suspect" page - Listening Activity 7 Answer Key

This puzzle helps Spanish students to produce words related to color in the target language in a fun and engaging way. Students will take turns using a letter grid to spell out color words in Spanish, earning one point for each letter used. The student with the most points at the end wins!

Sixty-Three 8 1/2 x 11 Posters that each feature a learning goal for Level 2 language learners. These learning goals align with the ACTFL goals for Novice-Mid learners and are written in student-friendly language that will help you focus the learning in your classroom. These are perfect for bulletin boards, showcases, borders, or to post. Administrators and parents love to see goals posted in classrooms as it helps them see exactly what students are learning and should be able to do.

Thirty-Four 8 1/2 x 11 Posters that each feature a learning goal for Level 1 language learners. These learning goals align with the ACTFL goals for Novice-Low learners and are written in student-friendly language that will help you focus the learning in your classroom. These are perfect for bulletin boards, showcases, borders, or to post. Administrators and parents love to see goals posted in classrooms as it helps them see exactly what students are learning and should be able to do.

Sixty-Two 8 1/2 x 11 Posters that each feature a learning goal for Level 3 language learners. These learning goals align with the ACTFL goals for Novice-High learners and are written in student-friendly language that will help you focus the learning in your classroom. These are perfect for bulletin boards, showcases, borders, or to post. Administrators and parents love to see goals posted in classrooms as it helps them see exactly what students are learning and should be able to do.

Seventy-Four 8 1/2 x 11 Posters that each feature a learning goal for Level 4 language learners. These learning goals align with the ACTFL goals for Intermediate-Low learners and are written in student-friendly language that will help you focus the learning in your classroom. These are perfect for bulletin boards, showcases, borders, or to post. Administrators and parents love to see goals posted in classrooms as it helps them see exactly what students are learning and should be able to do.

Sixty-Seven 8 1/2 x 11 Posters that each feature a learning goal for Level 5 language learners. These learning goals align with the ACTFL goals for Intermediate-Mid learners and are written in student-friendly language that will help you focus the learning in your classroom. These are perfect for bulletin boards, showcases, borders, or to post. Administrators and parents love to see goals posted in classrooms as it helps them see exactly what students are learning and should be able to do.