Spanglish Fantástico is a set of video lessons. They use a mixture of strong Spanish cognates and English to present the learning. The videos have text and the sound together learners can get a good grasp of pronunciation.
These are lessons that I am teaching in class, and teachers can watch them and copy the lessons easily. There is a strong focus and emphasis on speaking Spanish in these lessons.
My learners access the videos in 2 ways: either they watch the videos before the classes to boost their confidence in class and in preparation for speaking; or they watch the videos after class to review what we have done, and to give themselves time to take it all in at their own pace. (A third way they are using the video books is to catch up with lessons that they are unable to attend).
If you are a teacher and want some ideas for your classes, or if you want to recommend some easy to watch videos to your students, then I would love to share my work with you.
Children learn to say we give thanks, who to give thanks to - Mother Earth in this case, and what to give thanks for - fruit in this case. They sing a song and make a greetings card.
There is a youtube video of me teaching this lesson to 3 puppets (!) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBMPqk4Pybk
A block of 4 lessons based on farm animals.
Children learn to say "I like your cow/ pig/ duck/ dog" through song, and in another song they learn "there is" and that adjectives come after the noun.
They practice rhythm, learn about nouns, gender, and that the word for "the" is different for each gender. They also play a game in which they practice saying "I want" and another game in which they practice numbers 1-6.
By the end of the block lower differentiation learners will be very familiar with the animals, and upper differentiation learners will be familiar with several key pieces of transferable language. Throughout the block children learn and practice items of British Sign Language to accompany the translations from English to Spanish, engaging children in movement, and illustrating meaning and word order.
Present or review numbers 1 to 24. Talk about advent calendars, and present the idea of making a chain 24 loops long to be reduced by a loop a day until Christmas. Give teams the strips and ask them to arrange the strips in order before using sellotape or stickers to make them into a chain. Strengthen the chain by laminating sheets back to back. The child who removes the loop on a given day can wear it like a bracelet for the day/ lesson. Learners can have their own print outs to take home, decorate and make up into a chain.
Talking about what you like and agreeing or disagreeing with peers
Studying how to talk about personal data, comparing with peers, and writing a paragraph
Looking at the past tense with gustar
Learn phrases for giving directions and words to describe landmarks. Draw your own map to include the given landmarks and direct people around. An introduction to using the imperative.
Using first and third person parts of the verb the worksheet provides practice for learners to talk about when and where they were born, and the things that they like.
Book yourself into a hotel with your teacher playing the role of receptionist.
Listen to someone booking a hotel room and answer questions in English.
Listen to descriptions of houses and answer questions about them in English.
Read about car hire, directions and shops, and answer questions in English.
Write letters saying what you are like and what your routines are
Write a letter to Pedro. Include 3 time frames and appropriate greetings.
Have a conversation with a Spanish friend about what to do, as you are feeling unwell.
Read about Spanish around the world and answer questions in English.
Write to the Spanish family you are going to do a language exchange with, telling them about the county (eg. Devon) where you live.
A revision of the present perfect, with 2 tasks: review what you have done since you won the lottery, and write to a friend saying what you have done so far to get ready for Christmas.
Medical problems, suggestions, and saying what you have done to yourself. A good look at how to use reflexive verbs in the present perfect and how to say you have hurt your arm.
Finding past tense endings
Past tense battleships
Some irregular past tense verbs
What you did yesterday
Talking about your last holiday
Using direct object pronouns in the past
Gloria Estefan sings in the past tense
Words and expressions for weather
A telephone conversation about the weather
A postcard about the weather
A narrative about the weather through the year in a place you know well (invention allowed, as always)