Working on Imperfect tense and childhood vocabulary? This 25 question grid gets students moving around the rooming interviewing classmates using the imperfect tense. Students ask the questions and try to find one each student can answer. They record their answer and have the student initial the box. First student to get all their boxes signed by different classmates wins. This activity works best if you model how to interview with a student volunteer. Penalty for speaking English if you catch them. All questions are in the imperfect and link habitual childhood activities to imperfect tense. Activity takes about 20 minutes to run in a large class and is best suited to Spanish II or higher who have studied formation of imperfect. You could easily follow this up with a discussion in group asking students to share specific pieces of information (name of favourite toy, what they were afraid of etc)

A four day lesson plan for the short story EL HIJO includes: Pre-reading questions for discussion in small group, chart for drawing the story as students listen to the audio version on the cold read, activity for students to complete as they re-read the story in pairs, 2 essay prompts for students to choose for final assessment, and link to a good version of the story narrated. El Hijo is available on line for free from a variety of sources if you don't have the text, and is best for a level IV class or higher or Heritage speakers as the vocabulary is complex. Lesson takes about 4 days to complete with time in class for reading and discussion. Preview file contains a suggested plan for how to teach this story with my activities. This lesson does not contain an answer key because the students will create their own discussion, reactions, ideas and they will vary depending on how they interpreted the story.

This 90 minute documentary from PBS chronicles the life and career of Frida Kahlo, explains her work and her relationship with muralist Diego Rivera. If you are teaching Mexican art to Spanish students and don't want to show "Frida" because of its R rating and evocative scenes, this film gives all the information necessary to understand Frida's life, love and works, with beautiful up close visuals of many of her greatest paintings. Movie guide contains 30 questions that follow the film and two follow up topics for class discussion or to be assigned as an essay for homework. This film works well for Level III teaching Realidades unit on Art, or AP curriculum as well as for an art or social studies class. Movie will take 2-3 days to complete, depending on if you stop to discuss questions with students ( PBS documentary is available for purchase on Amazon starting at $10 or directly from their website for $24.99)

Roy Germano PhD in poli sci visits small Mexican towns to interview people about why many people risk their lives to leave for work in the US. Germano talks with workers, farmers, spouses, families and municipal employees to discover reasons people leave and what happens to their families when they go. This compelling documentary is 55 minutes long and fits neatly in 1 class. It is an excellent companion to one of the many movies about undocumented immigrants and their journeys to the US. Most of this film is in Spanish w English subtitles and works well with any level high school Spanish or Social Studies where you have spent time discussing the immigration. This film is very well made, not rated, and has won awards at film festivals, available on Netflix or for purchase on Amazon. Movie guide contains 22 questions that follow the film. I divide students into small groups and assign each group sections to answer, then share out. Questions included in Spanish and English.

Fictional film based on true events, the Bolivian Water Wars of 2000 when the govt tried to privatize the water supply, raising rates 300% making clean water inaccessible for a large sector of population. A Spanish director filming a movie about Columbus conquest in Bolivia is an interplay between scripted scenes where the Spaniards exploited the Taino under Columbus, and Bartolome de las Casas defends them, while in modern day scenes villagers are exploited by the government and even by the film makers, until one man helps them mobilize and stand up for their rights. An excellent movie, It opens discussion for how little has changed for indigenous poor in much of Central & South America and parallels between the initial exploitation and modern day inequities. Best suited for older/higher level high school students studying the cutural aspects of Latin America as well as language. Contains questions, answer key, topics for discussion and a list of topics for follow up research.

This project is designed for the end of level III or the beginning of level IV Spanish class. Students are introduced to relevant thematic vocabulary and then use it to track the events in a soap opera of their choice for 5 days. Students then have a choice of 2 oral projects to present the main events of the soap and to voice their recommendations to their peers. Great review for preterite vs imperfect while introducing students to the popular culture Hispanic telenovelas. Project includes vocabulary, guidelines, note taking template and rubric.

This powerpoint covers step by step negation and other indefinite words. Each slide introduces a different combination and in between there are lots of examples for practice that students can do either orally as a group or on paper. Presentation takes one full class period with time included for practice and checking Best suited for a level II class where students are being introduced to this tricky concept.

This lesson is designed to get students thinking about cultural "norms" and all the different ways good etiquette, customs and rituals are practiced around the world. There are 48 simple statements on a chart for students to ponder in small groups and then guess as to where these practices are considered the norm. Survey is written in English so it will work for teachers of any foreign language, as well as ELL classes. The survey will open up students minds for the wide variety of cultural diversity, and for ELL students give them an opportunity to share out cultural norms from their home countries. This activity would be excellent for the first day of school to open the dialogue and get students interacting. Download also includes an answer key for you to share with students afterwards.

A really difficult very tense for students to integrate into their spoken vocabulary, this A-B partner practice has students asking their partners what they would do under a certain set of circumstances. Best suited for a Level IV or V AP class, this exerise is also fun for Heritage Language Speaker students who seldom get the practice they need in past subjunctive tense. Takes about 15-20 minutes to run in class and you will enjoy sharing out some of their answers large group afterwards to hear how they responded.

This comprehensive unit test covers conjugation and usage of preterite verbs. There are short sentences for completion, trivia on specifics of irregular preterite verbs, an essay with prompts and a rubric and a speaking section where you insert 5 of your own questions to ask students. Exam works best as a conclusion assessment to a unit on preterite verb conjugation and usage at level II or higher. Sentences are not linked to any specific thematic unit and can be easily understood by students. Test takes one full class period to complete and includes an answer key for applicable sections.

This movie is made in Puerto Rico and is like a combination of Mean Girls + Election with a hint of GLEE in the directing style. Emilio decides to run for student council in order to capture the attention of his big time crush. Its a funny film that deals with a lot of issues that students face in any country regarding acceptance, popularity, friendship and integrity. The movie guide is broken into 11 scene episodes that you could show weekly to students like a serial or all at once. Film is in Spanish with subtitles. Movie guide has35 questions, all in English, as this film is best suited for a Spanish I or II class where the audience is middle school or high school underclassmen. Answer key also included. Total film is about 90 minutes, PG rated and available on Amazon or Netflix.

This powerpoint is designed as an introduction to Indirect Object Pronouns and works best for level II where students have already had some experience with DOP's or reflexive pronouns and where placement of pronouns in relation to verbs is somewhat familiar. This presentation walks students through idenitification of IO's and replacement with IOP's in 1 verb and two verbs sentences. It also introduces students to clarifiers and how they are used with IOP's in sentences. Takes about 30 minutes to present and practice in class. Works great with white boards if kids like to practice as you present.

These are simple step by step notes on how to tell time in Spanish. Each section has practice examples for students to write time on the hour, half hour, quarter hours and random in between times. Page two has blank clock faces where students can practice writing times you read to them, and there is a partner practice where students can ask and answer times in Spanish speaking capital cities. Four pages total to practice telling time reading, writing, listening and speaking. This lesson is best suited for students that are just beginning telling time, or for those students in 2nd year re-visiting the topic for a day to brush up their skills.

A simple lesson plan for beginning students to use expressions with GUSTAR to describe personal likes and dislikes. Directions for students step by step in Spanish and English. No rocket science here, but a great way for students to practice GUSTAR and related verbs in a differentiated way while acquiring vocabulary to describe their personal interests. Takes one class period to complete, you will need a stack of old magazines or access to the computer lab to download images. This lesson is easily adaptable to a powerpoint presentation if your students have easy access to computers.

This simple project works best for beginning SP I students who have completed SER, TENER and Adjective agreement. Students chose a famous person and present them to the class reading their clues. Classmates try to guess the person before they reveal their choice. Presentations become game day as kids try to stump their classmates and earn points for their team. Project includes directions for completion, example for students, and rubric for grading.

This exercise based on the famous fable by Aesop gives students 38 opportunities to practice choosing preterite or imperfect verbs in a manageable context. Story contains both regular and irregular verbs and should prompt some good discussions in class as to why a particular tense should be used. Download contains an answer key in addition to the story and works best when used with Spanish II students or higher who have been working with preterite vs imperfect for some time.

Whether you are just learning preterite vs imperfect or reviewing it with higher level classes, this presentation takes you through the usage step by step for all cases involving preterite and imperfect tenses. There are 45 questions sprinkled throughout the lesson for students to choose the correct tense. This lesson was written to accompany classroom clickers remote learning systems but could easily be completed with a pencil and paper if you don't have access to remote learning systems. Takes one full class period to complete if your students are taking notes while you present.

This assignment is ideal for Spanish I or II learners. Students explore the meanings behind coats of arms, then create their own personal shield which they describe to peers in Spanish. An excellent review/cultural activity which incorporates colors, characteristics, animals, symbols, and SER usage. Students present their projects while classmates listen in target language to track details. This lesson could be easily adapted for other foreign languages. Worksheets are primarily in Spanish, additional differentiated scaffolded plans and extra links for enrichment are included.

How well you do know the countries of Latin America? 16 short descriptions of interesting facts about each country lead students on an internet guessing game. Great for beginners, practicing countries and capitals, and learning about Spanish speaking countries in general. Webquest is in English so it could be used for a social studies class studying Latin America as well. Students can do this activity in the computer lab or as homework outside of school. I recommend the CIA world factbook website as an excellent resource to find the information listed in the clues. Webquest takes about 30-40 minute to complete.

The famous story of the ant and the grasshopper by Aesop serves as inspiration for this preterite vs imperfect practice that works best for Spanish II or III after students have been working with choosing preterite vs imperfect in sentences. Fable includes 33 blanks for practice and an answer key for you.