Are you looking for ways to build community within your classroom every Monday and Friday to get to know your students better? Do you want structures such as "I went", "I saw", and "I played" to flow effortlessly from their mouths? You need Weekend Chat! This is my go-to activity on Monday and Friday once we finish FVR (Free Voluntary Reading). Here is why Weekend Chat needs a … [Read more...] about TGIF! Personalize Learning with Weekend Chat
Free Resources
Arrrrr! How to Lead Your Students on a Treasure Hunt
I do this treasure hunt as a stand-alone activity. However, it would be a great supplement to one of the Fluency Matters pirate novels. Los piratas del Caribe y el Triángulo de las Bermudas by Carol Gaab and Christine Tiday, Piratas del Caribe y el mapa secreto by Mira Canion and Carol Gaab and Nordseepirat by Robert Harrell are all great choices for level one or two … [Read more...] about Arrrrr! How to Lead Your Students on a Treasure Hunt
Desert Island Survival Scenario to Teach the Conditional Tense
I love using hypothetical scenarios to teach the conditional tense. The very nature of activities like these encourage endless "what if" questions from the teacher and the class. In this scenario, the student can only bring four items from the list. The catch is that there is an opportunity cost associated with each choice. If the student only chooses items used to procure and … [Read more...] about Desert Island Survival Scenario to Teach the Conditional Tense
¡Corre! El Encierro (The Running of the Bulls)
What language teacher doesn't love a good Rick Steves video of the Running of the Bulls? This is a good activity if you need to take a break from providing the input for about 20 minutes and want to cover one of the more intriguing cultural spectaculars of Spain at the same time. I made discussion questions in English and in Spanish. The video runs 6:23. I don't imagine that … [Read more...] about ¡Corre! El Encierro (The Running of the Bulls)
Personalize Learning by Taking Special Person Interviews to the Next Level
"Special Person" (Persona Especial) interviews can serve as the backbone of any level class from novice to advanced. This is hands-down the most effective and compelling way that I know to personalize learning and acquisition in the world language classroom. Bryce Hedstrom is the hands-down guru of this process. You can check out what he has to say about it here. Finding out … [Read more...] about Personalize Learning by Taking Special Person Interviews to the Next Level