It happened in 2016 / Speaking activity: Coexistence

This activity has been designed for my Spanish students, therefore most of the responses will be in Spanish and focused in the IB exam format.
Activity:
1.- Look at the image in this post and describe the scene [be as specific as you can, to the detail]
2.- Mention the topic this image is related to and justify it
3.- Give your personal point of view
4.- Develop your ideas and don't forget about supporting details 
5.- End with a personal reflection
Think about these three questions, they can help you develop your ideas:

• What's going on in this picture? / ¿Qué está pasando en esta foto?
• What do you see that makes you say that? / ¿En qué te apoyas para decir eso?
• Do you find any connection to your own culture? / ¿Encuentras alguna conexión con tu propia cultura?

Then, join the conversation by posting comments below and responding to the comments of others. Your teacher can give you personalized feedback replying to your comments below.
Context information for the image:
A Muslim woman wearing a Hijab stands in the waters in the Mediterranean Sea as an Israeli stands nearby on the beach in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Image's source: 
Website: Reuters
Photographer: Baz Ratner
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel.
Date: Tuesday, August 23, 2016.

Relax and learn!

Related links:

• Interactive oral activities for Spanish B SL
• Individual oral for Spanish B SL
• Resources for the Individual Oral

Idea based on: The Learning Network, New York Times.

Lunaprofe 1/30/2017  2 comments

IB Profile in Spanish: Informados e instruidos

Another masterpiece from my students, thanks Amelia and Guillermo!
In this case my students explored the concept Knowledgeable in Spanish through four main activities:

1. Making a poster that represents the concept
2. Find a celebrity that models this attribute with her/his behaviour, way of living...
3. Define the attribute with their own words, so they can internalize the meaning of it and incorporate it to their vocabulary range.
4. Find an example in class, somebody that represents this concept.

As always, they excelled beyond my expectations and the result is this great poster that now you can benefit from to learn in your class.

Activity/Idea to work the IB Profile in your class:

• Sequence:

1. Break the concept down into ideas
2. Give examples using patterns.

1. Break the concept down into ideas and have your ideas in different lines [to differentiate them visually] like this:

Ser una persona informada e instruida es:

- explorar conceptos

- explorar ideas

- interesarse por las noticias locales y mundiales

- adquirir conocimientos

- profundizar en el conocimiento

- conocer muchas disciplinas/asignaturas

2. Giving patterns to your students to give examples:

1. [Nombre del estudiante] es informado/instruido porque __[idea]________
2. [Nombre del alumno] es una persona informada/instruida. Lo demuestra + [verbo en gerundio -ando - iendo] ___[idea]_____

Adding more ideas:

1. [idea] y [idea]
2. [idea] también [idea]

Example:

Arjun es una persona informada porque explora nuevas ideas y profundiza en el conocimiento en varias disciplinas. 

Thanks again to Amelia and Guillermo ;)

Related links:

• IB Profile in Spanish
• More IB Profile attributes
• IB Profile activities

Lunaprofe 1/28/2017  No comment

It happened in 2016 / Speaking activities: Refugee children are still kids

This activity has been designed for my Spanish students, therefore most of the responses will be in Spanish and focused in the IB exam format.
Activity:
1.- Look at the image in this post and describe the scene [be as specific as you can, to the detail]
2.- Mention the topic this image is related to and justify it
3.- Give your personal point of view
4.- Develop your ideas and don't forget about supporting details 
5.- End with a personal reflection

Think about these three questions, they can help you develop your ideas:

• What's going on in this picture? / ¿Qué está pasando en esta foto?
• What do you see that makes you say that? / ¿En qué te apoyas para decir eso?
• Do you find any connection to your own culture? / ¿Encuentras alguna conexión con tu propia cultura?

Then, join the conversation by posting comments below and responding to the comments of others. Your teacher can give you personalized feedback replying to your comments below.

Context information for the image:
Refugee children play with a stuffed toy at a muddy makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the village of Idomeni, Greece.

Image's source: 
Website: Reuters
Photographer: Alexandros Avramidis
Location: Idomeni, Greece
Date: Tuesday, March 15, 2016.

Relax and learn!

Related links:

• Interactive oral activities for Spanish B SL
• Individual oral for Spanish B SL
• Resources for the Individual Oral

Idea based on: The Learning Network, New York Times.

Lunaprofe 1/23/2017  9 comments

El imperativo

What do we use "Imperativo" for? 
To command something to someone.

After you learn/review Imperativo try some writing using these writing prompts. Remember to read carefully the instructions first and then include all details required.

This topic can be covered at the very beginning of the school year. I actually do it pretty soon because I usually use it to teach my students how to come up with their own class rules in Spanish.
Along with this, we work with the song La flaca [Andrés Calamaro] to internalize these structures. These lyrics are formidable to work on Commands in Spanish. There is a very interesting packet available online to work along with the song [B1 CEFR]. The melody of this song is also very sticky and help the students memorize these forms. 
Activity: From this verse [below] Find the command forms in Spanish and tell me if they are affirmative or negative.

Flaca [Andrés Calamaro]

Aunque casi me equivoco y te digo poco a poco

no me mientas, no me digas la verdad

no te quedes callada, no levantes la voz

ni me pidas perdón.

Activity: Home connection.
Look at the image provided in this post. Those are personal reminders for me [Levántate, Sueña, Lucha...] think of your own personal and if you want/need private reminders write them down and put them up in your desk so when you are studying or doing something else you can always see them and remember your own personal goals.

Activity: try these conversation cards to practice your commands in Spanish, it is also funny to actually do what you are requested and that demonstrates comprehension.


There are also resources at the bottom of this post [in Resources] that will help you explain commands to your class, worksheets, visual activities... don't miss them out!

The activity ¡A los pasillos! is usually very attractive for the students because it includes a scavenger hunt and their own interpretation of an image, creativity. Give it a try and get back to me with your students impressions!

Some of most important irregularities when using commands in Spanish can be found in the table below:

Infinitivo Afirmativo Negativo decir hacer poner salir ser tener valer venir di haz pon sal sé ten val ven no digas no hagas no pongas no salgas no seas no tengas no valgas no vengas

Sometimes we can also use the infinitive as a command in Spanish. They are actually very common structures. So, maybe it would be a good idea to memorize these couple of cases not to interfere with your learning of commands in Spanish.

Another way of commanding in Spanish is using the following structure: a + infinitivo

¡A jugar!

¡A dormir!

Atención

When the subject is impersonal the infinitive can be used as a command form. It is also very common to find the structure participle + infinitive in the public regulations signs.

Example: 

No fumar / No hablar / No gritar / No hacer ruido / ...

Prohibido fumar / Prohibido nadar / Prohibido jugar a la pelota / ...

Resources:
- Worksheet Imperativo #1 [pdf] 
- Worksheet Imperativo #2 [pdf]
- Worksheet Imperativo #3 [pdf]
- Presentation El imperativo [pdf]
- Activity ¡A los pasillos! [pdf]
- Poster [jpg]
- Theory, El imperativo [html]
- Gramática intensiva [html]
- Writing prompts [pdf]
- Kahoot: Imperativo #1
- Kahoot: Imperativo #2
- Kahoot: Imperativo #3

Lunaprofe 1/09/2017  No comment