level2revisions

=Suggested Revisions for Spanish Level 2=

Unit 10

 * General Notes:**

-need to practice stating origin > -need to practice stating and asking for age > -the difference between ser and estar is troublesome > -using vocabulary to discuss character is very difficult at this level because it isn't something you can see > -colors haven't been mastered because there was never a context for them > -need to discuss size and other features > -FOCUS ON THE FOLLOWING TOPICS > *PERSONALITY > *PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION TO MORE DETAIL > *SIZE > *USING SER, TENER AND MAYBE ESTAR > EMAIL RUTH ABOUT A LIST OF WORDS
 * Too many traveling units - condense and vary themes.
 * Kids don't remember how to talk about weather, but it is needed for story telling unit.
 * Need to revisit Hay / Habia for general use and maybe even compare to Ser.
 * DO NOT teach commands with pronouns before teaching pronouns first.
 * Pronouns better taught and understood when they can see them all side by side. Focus on the meaning of the pronouns. Maybe start them earlier.
 * **Unit 1B** - After finishing the unit I realized that the vocabulary didn't serve our needs very well. Here were some observations I made:
 * -Students hadn't mastered descriptions from the year before

FYI - Students are interested in knowing their nationalities, but I don't think they should have to know all of them. I found a list online that is a good resource for this unit. 1. This year I created a list of pastimes and activities. It was a fairly extensive list. We have used it and reused it throughout the semester and we are now using it to discuss things in the past tense. One of my students who has complained about her inability to learn vocabulary just said this Thursday that she really knows those words well. So, what if as language teachers we should give either shorter lists that can be mastered faster or one or two lists that will be used for extended periods of time. LIST IDEAS: -people -descriptions -actions -places -objects 1. Working on a conversational activity today and realized that they haven't really ever thought about __what they are saying__. That is why they struggle with structure. They have been allowed to reproduce structure, but never to CREATE structure before. > 2. They need more opportunities to explore HOW TO USE verbs, not just to CONJUGATE verbs. They don't really know what the purpose of conjugation is or when to do it or when not to. > 3. They need more practice deciding which question word to use to ask a question, then actually asking that question and getting the response. > 4. They love and need to talk to each other about HOW TO do these tasks. It really seems to help them. > 5. By doing this type of activity, they are really discovering how the language is constructed and what it means. So, later they understand how to put other ideas together with similar constructions. > > 1. I am not teaching the typical lessons for Spanish 2. I have to envision the conversation I want them to be able to have and then design lessons and activities to support that. 2. Teaching them how to ask questions is more important than make statements. Making statements is the easy part. 3. Teach connectors and transitioning - picture cards: deal them out, show a transition word on screen, make them incorporate it into their speaking?
 * Vocabulary Acquisition**
 * Observations of my students:**
 * What and how to teach for Task Based Instruction**

1. Allows them opportunities to learn how to put the language together in a lower risk atmosphere. 2. Critique them as they present to learn how these activities lead into the assessments. Discuss how they can improve their presentations, language, and overall performance. 3. Discuss how they can be more creative and how it will help them. 4. Have students who are in the audience give their own critiques of the presentations. This also provides opportunities to hear the same vocabulary and phrases over and over again so they learn the terms faster and understand them better.
 * Scripting for Daily Skits or Writing Prompts**

Assign a value to each color of poker chips for example: Red = Statement = 1 peso Blue = Detailed Statement = 2 pesos White = Question = 3 pesos A set of topic cards related to the context of your unit.
 * Poker Chat**

Have the students play in groups of 3-4. Someone flips a topic card and initiates the conversation. They earn poker chips for each communicative task they perform (related to topic) until all the chips are gone.

The winner is the student who has the most chips when all the chips are gone.

This is a play off of a sketch I saw once on Who's Line is it Anyway?. PREMISE: To get your students to incorporate phrases, structures or transitional words into their speech as quickly as possible. MATERIALS: Topics (family, daily routine, yesterday's activities, etc.) and Word Cards
 * What's My Word?**
 * ACTIVITY 1 - CHALLENGE: Choose a topic for your students to discuss and give them a Word Card. They have to try to include that word into their conversations as many times as they can in the correct way. Every time they do it effectively, they get a point for their team. The conversations with others will last for a minute. Whoever can use their word the most times correctly wins the round for their team.
 * ACTIVITY 2 - MIX AND MINGLE: Pick a topic and post it where everyone can see it. Give each student a Word Card. Now, have them mix and mingle and converse with others in the room about the topic much like as if they were at a party. Once they've used their word logically in the conversation, they can trade cards with the person they were speaking with and close the conversation and move to the next person

MATERIALS: Have the students draw one of each and now they have to talk to the class or converse in pairs about that topic with that mood or emotion
 * Crazy Conversations**
 * mood and emotion cards or situation cards like: arguing, whining, complaining, dreaming
 * topics (family, school, food, etc)