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Sweet Ideas to Build Spanish Vocabulary Find engaging Valentine's Day Spanish class activities to add to your lesson plans for learning vocabulary words and phrases! Valentine's Day Spanish Class Activities 1. Decorate your classroom with meaningful vocabulary. Fill your room with words of LOVE! Make a word wall of Spanish conversation hearts filled with Valentine vocabulary words and phrases. Post on a bulletin board, around the room, on the door or string together for a beautiful banner. This sweet display will spark students' curiosity! Students will want to know what these words mean. Spanish Word walls are a great way to visually support students on writing activities. 2. Discover meaning with word lists. Word lists are a great tool for learning vocabulary. Use Valentine's Day Spanish Vocabulary Lists to help students become familiar with new words. Have students look at your word wall to make a list of words they already know (hola, feliz) or make a list of difficult words. Choose several words (5 a day) that are important for students to know. Have them look them up in the dictionary and keep a list of new words in their notebook. Have students illustrate vocabulary, and write simple sentences or stories. This list is included with the conversation heart word wall! 3. Search for vocabulary. Have students "define and find" Spanish valentine vocabulary in a word search. Word searches are fun activities to improve word recognition and spelling. Students love them! (and don't even realize they're learning!) Use as a quick warm up at the beginning of class or wind down during the last few minutes. More no-prep Spanish Word Searches 4. Play Bingo. Another fun way to practice vocabulary is with Spanish conversation heart bingo! Simple translation activity where you call out a word or phrase in English and students look for the Spanish meaning. There are many ways to play. You can call out the letter at the top of the column for a longer version of the game or just call out the word. The winner calls "Lo Tengo!" when they have five words in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. There are so many of variations of winning! Give the winners candy hearts ~ Spanish conversation hearts if you are lucky enough to find some! This Spanish Valentine's Day Bingo Game is available as a printable AND digital activity for Google Slides. More ready-made Spanish Bingo Games 5. Play "I Spy." Play Valentine's Day I Spy! Print off several "I Spy" copies. (Print in color and laminate to use for years to come!) Have students search for vocabulary words and check them off the lists as they find them. Students work individually, in pairs or you can project onto your whiteboard for a group activity. More I Spy Activities Find ALL of these activities above in a money-saving Valentine's Day Bundle! Hope you've found some sweet ideas to build vocabulary this month! Thanks for stopping by my blog! I'd love to know how these ideas worked for you. I'm just an email away: senoralauralee@gmail.com Click for more Spanish Valentine's Day Resources Related Posts: 5 Reasons to Use Spanish Word Walls Spanish Cognates Activities Fun Activities for Teaching Spanish Adjectives Pinnable images:

Vocabulary building activities in Spanish to get students talking about Dr. King, reading and listening to his "I Have a Dream" speech —in Spanish! Find the resources you need to support beginning Spanish students learn about Dr. King during Black History Month. Have your students had the opportunity to read portions of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech in Spanish? These words are powerful - and timeless! Here are a few quotes to read and discuss in class: "Sueño que un día esta nación se levantará y vivirá el verdadero significado de su credo: "Afirmamos que estas verdades son evidentes: que todos los hombres son creados iguales". "Sueño que mis cuatro hijos vivirán un día en un país en el cual no serán juzgados por el color de su piel, sino por los rasgos de su personalidad." "Ese será el día cuando todos los hijos de Dios podrán cantar el himno con un nuevo significado, "Mi país es tuyo. Dulce tierra de libertad, a tí te canto. Tierra de libertad donde mis antesecores murieron, tierra orgullo de los peregrinos, de cada costado de la montaña, que repique la libertad" Y si Estados Unidos ha de ser grande, esto tendrá que hacerse realidad." "Cuando repique la libertad y la dejemos repicar en cada aldea y en cada caserío, en cada estado y en cada ciudad, podremos acelerar la llegada del día cuando todos los hijos de Dios, negros y blancos, judíos y cristianos, protestantes y católicos, puedan unir sus manos y cantar las palabras del viejo espiritual negro: "¡Libres al fin! ¡Libres al fin! Gracias a Dios omnipotente, ¡somos libres al fin!" IDEAS FOR USING QUOTES IN CLASS Search for cognates and highlight them! Circle words you know. Underline verbs. Put a question mark on words you do not know. Choose volunteers to read aloud. Role play. Missing words. Scrambled sentences. READ Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech in Spanish El Discurso Completo de Martin Luther King Por: Univision WATCH Dr. King's speech with Spanish subtitles on YouTube PRELIMINARY ACTIVITIES FOR BEGINNING SPANISH STUDENTS: POST COGNATES Post a Spanish word wall with 65 Spanish cognates from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" / Tengo un Sueño speech on your bulletin board to get students talking and writing about civil rights. Meaningful visual resource to support Spanish students on reading & writing activities with instant comprehensible input. Teachers are saying: "Great way to incorporate MLK, Jr.'s work and increase student input!" INTRODUCE VOCABULARY Honor and remember the life of Dr. King with this activity en español! Learn the vocabulary needed to get students talking about civil rights. Define & find 35 words from Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech in a challenging Spanish word search. Great for a warm-up! Teachers are saying: "This was a perfect resource for a lesson on MLK Jr." POST DR. KING'S WORDS IN YOUR CLASSROOM "La oscuridad no puede expulsar a la oscuridad: sólo la luz puede hacer eso. El odio no puede expulsar el odio; sólo el amor puede hacer eso." "Darkness cannot drive out darkness only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." Meaningful Spanish class décor. Dr. Martin Luther King Quote in Spanish FREE bilingual poster! Hope these ideas help you and your students honor and remember the life of Dr. King. May the activities make your lesson plans comprehensible AND meaningful! Related Blog Posts: Spanish Cognates Activities for the First Day of Spanish Class 5 Reasons to Use Spanish Word Walls Pin images to save these ideas for later:

Updated Post: Cultural activities for teaching students about Christmas traditions in Mexico in Spanish class! December 16th is the first day of Las Posadas! I love teaching my middle school students about the rich traditions of Christmas in Mexico. I wish I could show them first hand. Until then, I have a video that I purchased from Teacher's Discovery years ago. It's called "Moo - Las Posadas: Christmas in Mexico." I love this video for so many reasons! One, it is filmed in Mexico City & Puebla. Two, it is narrated by Esther, a Mexican high school student. And three, my students LOVE it! This video describes the holiday of Virgen de Guadalupe, Las Posadas, the history of piñatas, the making of tamales, Three Kings Day, and more! Watching this short video is like taking a quick field trip to Mexico - something many of my students will never do. It opens their eyes to a different culture and creates a sense of understanding as we compare and contrast Christmas traditions in Mexico and in the United States. So, if you're looking for a way to help students understand Christmas in Mexico, download the video, serve some atole, and enjoy learning all about Las Posadas! You will love these vocabulary-building activities for your Christmas in Mexico unit! Word Wall - Word walls visually support students as they read and write in class. Students will refer to this Christmas in Mexico Word Wall over and over again! Bingo Game - Play Christmas Bingo - Introduce 24 Christmas in Mexico / Las Posadas vocabulary words. Read simple sentences in English or Spanish describing each object or person. Excellent listening comprehension activity. Color By Number - Reinforce basic Spanish colors and numbers with 4 color by number activities. Color a Poinsettia, a pair of shoes, a Las Posadas celebration, and a piñata. Each differentiated activity comes with a short, simple reading about the picture that uses cognates, present tense verbs, and novice-level vocabulary. Word Search & Crossword - Kids LOVE word searches! Use them to introduce new vocabulary at the beginning of a unit. Students first define the word, then find it. The crossword includes a vocabulary list and definition activity / guided notes to go along with the video. Vocabulary includes: Atole, El Día de Reyes, Feliz Navidad, Juan Diego, Misa de Gallo, Nacimiento, Nochebuena, Piñata, Las Posadas, Rosca de Reyes, Tamales, Virgen De Guadalupe Thanks for stopping by my blog! Hope you find the resources you need to enrich and support your unit on Las Posadas. Make learning fun!

Need students to follow your commands in Spanish class? Play a game of Simon Says! Find the resources you need to support your Spanish commands unit and make learning fun! Can We Play A Game Today? When I think about games for Spanish class, the one that my students love the most is "Simon Says" or "Simón Dice." (These are middle school kids!) It does not matter what unit we are working on, students will ask to play. I usually introduce this game at the beginning of the year when we are learning or reviewing class commands. I love it because it involves TPR, has lots of repetition and it's FUN. This is a game where everyone will want to participate. It's also a great way to quickly assess students' comprehension of class commands. You'll be amazed at how quickly they learn! List of Spanish Commands Post a Command Word Wall on a bulletin board to support learners at the beginning of the year. Use these basic commands when giving daily classroom instructions. There are many more commands you can add to the list! Print an extra copy of the word wall cards to use during the game as you give commands. List of Spanish Formal Commands: Games for Spanish Class - Simon Says abran el libro (hold hands like an open book) cierren el libro (close hands shut) bailen (do a dance move ~ salsa, merengue, floss, or nae nae!) busquen (hold hand over brow to search around) canten (hold a microphone with two hands) escriban (write in the air) escuchen (hold one hand behind ear) hablen (point to mouth while mouthing hablo español) lean (hands like an open book but closer to your face) levanten la mano (raise hand) levántense (stand back up) miren la pizarra (point to eyes) presten atención (hold hands to frame the sides of your face - like a horse wearing blinders to tune out all distractions) siéntense (actually sit down) tomen apuntes (hold palm out flat & write with other hand) trabajen (pound your fist into palm like a hammer) Act It Out To begin, act out a motion or gesture that corresponds with each command. Students imitate and repeat several times. It is much easier to learn when you associate an action with a word. I find myself automatically acting out these commands whenever I give directions to the class. (Muscle memory!) Next, do a practice round to help students get comfortable with the gestures and routine of the game. Alternate saying or not saying "Simón dice" throughout the game. No one is called out this round. This is pantomime, so students are not speaking, but listening. Before starting the game, remind the class that we play games for two reasons: to learn & have fun! Call Students Out You may notice students pointing out others' mistakes and saying, "They're out!" So remind students "If you call someone out, you are out." That usually settles it quickly. A student is out when they perform an action that is not preceded by “Simón dice.” When calling someone out say, "Oh, lo siento, siéntate por favor" and they can play again next round. Ojos Cerrados Also, some students will copy what others are doing. I allow that initially for a very short time. It only works until the one being copied makes a mistake. Then, both students are out. (Move native speakers to the back of the room before you begin.) After several rounds it is time for the "eyes closed" or "ojos cerrados" round. This part is really fun! Gradually increase the speed of the game until you are giving rapid commands and students are following along. Be tricky! I like to pause and say "Ok, good job...siéntense." They'll think you are done with the game, but you did not say, "Simón dice!" Once you've led the class in a few rounds, assign a student to be Simon. Playing Simon Says is a great way to add MOVEMENT in Spanish class. It's also fun early in the morning to help students wake up or to use in the middle of class as a brain break. For another great movement activity, try "Stand Up If..." Hope you've found a game that you and your students LOVE to practice basic Spanish commands! Happy teaching. Need more resources for teaching Spanish classroom commands? Spanish Commands Bundle Spanish Commands Bingo Spanish Commands Word Search More Games from Señora Lee: Find Someone Who Speaking Activities Bingo Games Word Searches Crossword Puzzles Related Posts Spanish Cognates - Activities for the First Days of Spanish Class 5 FUN Activities for Teaching Spanish Adjectives Pinnable Image to Save for Later:

Engaging activities for teaching numbers to 100! Get students actively engaged and learning Spanish numbers with fun activities for football season and the Super Bowl! Updated February 2022 I love looking for ways to bring football into Spanish class. Not fútbol, but fútbol americano! As a girl brought up in the south, I was raised watching football. So when it comes to teaching numbers 1 to 100 in Spanish, I turn to football. Have you ever had a class that is so quiet? I mean, you cannot get them to talk. I am having conversations with myself in front of them, trying to figure out a way to get this early morning class of middle school students to engage with me. Our usual warm up topics (like the date and weather) is just not that exciting. It's football season and many students are wearing jerseys of their favorite players. I love football. I love talking about football with students before or after class ~ but during class? Students know if they want to get me off-task they can simply ask if I went to the game on Saturday. And I can talk football. But I'm thinking to myself, "I need to stay in the TL. I need to focus on our objective. It's not part of the curriculum. I should be teaching about fútbol instead." But I have got to generate some enthusiasm here and get these kids talking about something! So I pull up ESPN Deportes and start asking questions about the game on Saturday. That really wakes them up. Students who rarely participate in class begin to speak - in Spanish! This is something new, something that appeals to many of them. They love talking about football outside of class so why not bring football into Spanish class? So I decide to review numbers using scores from college football. Light bulb moment. Football season is the perfect time to talk numbers! I have created many activities each season using jersey numbers from local college teams and NFL teams to get students excited to use numbers in Spanish. They have been such a hit with my students that I've continued to create them to promote my love of football & Spanish! Hopefully you will experience the excitement in your classroom that comes from talking about football in Spanish! (And you don't need to know anything about football to talk about scores!) So, are you ready for some football?! It is time to talk about the top two teams in the NFL. This year it's the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams. My favorite? I'm pulling for the Bengals! The Super Bowl is always a hot topic, especially in the days leading up to kickoff. You can talk about your favorite teams, players and make game day predictions. ¿Quién va a ganar? Team Rosters My favorite activity for reinforcing Spanish numbers use team rosters. I find rosters for each team, project them onto the board and ask who wears which number. "¿Quién lleva el número dieciséis? or ¿Qué número es Joe Burrow? The boys in the room light up! The competition to answer the question is intense. Students love to show off their football knowledge. The girls get into it as well. I love this activity because everyone is engaged, learning, & having fun. As a written activity, students choose their favorite of two teams and use a roster to write the jersey numbers of popular players. This requires a lot of prep work for me. So, I do my football homework ~ with a little help from my husband! I look over the team rosters to find popular players from each team and create a worksheet. (Not your ordinary worksheet!) Students beg for this activity. They get great practice writing numbers up to 99. For me, it's worth the work because students love it. I made an update for Super Bowl 2022 to save you some time! Team rosters are packed with information! (See links below.) There are so many interesting things to talk about. You can review descriptive adjectives and comparatives while talking about height. ¿Quién es más alto? ¿Tee Higgins o Ja'Marr Chase? Or compare ages. ¿Quién es mayor? ¿Thaddeus Moss o Riley Reiff? Practice tener with ¿Cuántos años tiene Joe Mixon? Students really engage. NFL Scoreboard The Monday following the big game, the topic is still hot. I project the final score on the board and ask, "¿Cuántos puntos tienen?" and ¿Cuál es tu equipo favorito? During the regular season I pull up scores from other teams around the nation. This is a regular Monday warm-up each fall (especially with college football!) If I forget to bring it up, students remind me. There are so many variations you can do with these activities. When football season ends, switch to basketball to practice numbers over 100. Talk about the teams from your school. This communicates that you're interested and paying attention to the things that matter to them. The goal is to find what interests your students and make a way to talk about it in Spanish. What I love most about these activities is they're a great way to connect with students. It's fun to find things we have in common (favorite teams, players or sports) and have something to talk about - that is interesting to them. Topics like these build relationships. As my favorite coach says, "Football unifies. In a world that is very divided, nothing brings people together like football." -Dabo Swinney There should be a lot to talk about after all of the commercials and the halftime show! Be sure to check out ESPN Deportes for authentic resources. I hope you enjoy these ideas and have fun implementing them in your classroom! I'd love to see how these activities work for you. Tag me on social media: @senora.lee on Instagram or @SenoraLauraLee on Facebook. Thanks for stopping by and for spreading the LOVE of Spanish (and football!) Helpful Links: NFL Rosters - Cincinnati Bengals NFL Rosters - Los Angeles Rams ESPN Deportes Weekly Scores: NFL Scoreboard Ready Made Resources: Students LOVE these football activities! Use them throughout football season and into February as it gets time for the BIG Game. Spanish Number Resources Super Bowl 2022 - Roster Activity Create Your Own Roster Activity Top 10 Rankings & Scores Templates Pin this idea for later!

The number one fear in the world is public speaking! People are more afraid of speaking in public than they are of death, snakes, spiders, zombies, and clowns. Jerry Seinfeld said that means “you would rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy.” Now imagine trying to speak another language in public — in middle school! Even scarier. This is how many students feel when stepping into Spanish class for the first time. The anxiety is at an all-time high. What's so scary? There is fear of failure, fear of the unknown, and fear of making a mistake and being laughed at by peers. Fear is destructive. It keeps people stuck in their comfort zones and prevents growth. In Spanish class, it prevents language acquisition and learning. Teachers play the primary role in eliminating students' fears. It's our job to create a classroom environment where learning occurs. How do we create an environment where students overcome the fear of speaking Spanish and feel comfortable expressing themselves in front of their peers? ONE. Communicate that mistakes are OK. Mistakes are a necessary part of learning. Students should not be concerned with speaking perfectly — they need to just begin speaking. The most important thing is to try. Meaning is the focus, not grammar. Every mistake made is progress! TWO. Get students speaking Spanish - challenge them to leave their comfort zone. Discomfort causes us to change. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Do one thing that scares you every day.” First conversations in Spanish can be scary. Encourage students to embrace fear, take a risk, and do something uncomfortable. With every attempt to speak in the target language, speaking becomes easier and fears diminish. Every experience builds student confidence. THREE. Create community in your classroom. Language learning happens in a social context. Help students get to know each other and find connections with other students through cooperative learning activities. This is done best with icebreakers. Activities like "Find Someone Who," “Stand Up If…” and “4 Corners” help students immediately find people who share their likes and dislikes. Students become more comfortable speaking with others when they know them better. Find ready-made Community Building Activities. FOUR. Practice in pairs. We can’t communicate as well when we are experiencing anxiety. Students panic if they have to perform a task without preparation. Give students time to work in pairs or small groups to practice conversation before presenting orally. One-on-one conversations are much easier than speaking before a large group. These types of low-anxiety interactions build confidence and help students feel more at ease. FIVE. Play a game! Not only do games reduce anxiety, they also provide a necessary break from the routine, provide meaningful context, and motivate students to learn and use the language. Students will enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and competition against classmates. My favorite activity to get students speaking is "Find Someone Who" - a quick and easy game that is great for novice learners. It gets students out of their seats and speaking with one another about their favorite subject — themselves! They answer questions about favorite foods, their family, likes / dislikes and so much more. Students receive a chart full of simple questions and find someone who can answer the questions affirmatively. They must speak Spanish to receive a signature. Everything they need to communicate is on their paper. It involves a lot of repetition so students focus on asking the questions and finding the right people. The classroom becomes filled with the wonderful sound of students speaking Spanish! It is a great icebreaker and helps students learn about each other. It gives students time to practice the language and build confidence. Find a bundle of 15 no-prep Spanish Speaking Activities! As you incorporate these ideas, you will quickly build student confidence within your classroom and get students speaking Spanish! More Spanish Speaking Activities: Related Posts 5 Get to Know You Activities for Spanish Class Games for Spanish Class - Simon Says #spanishspeakingactivities #findsomeonewho #spanishicebreakers

Here are five bundles of some of the best Spanish activities to keep novice students engaged and having fun in Spanish class! Word Wall Bundle Word walls are an effective way to display and reinforce vocabulary! Fill walls with cognates, high frequency words, pronouns, interrogatives to visually support students on reading and writing activities. This bundle includes four word walls with more than 200 words! Students of all ages will continually refer to these vocabulary words. "These are all over my room. I love them!" Spanish Speaking Activity Bundle Get students out of their seats and speaking with each other about their favorite subject—themselves! This bundle of "Find Someone Who" activities will generate interest and build confidence in speaking Spanish. Teachers have found these conversation starters to be infinitely reusable and easy to use. Includes 15 no-prep activities for talking about birthdays, adjectives, class schedules, clothing, food, family, likes and dislikes. Watch your classroom become filled with the wonderful sound of students speaking in the target language! Must have resource for novice learners. "This was definitely a lifesaver for me. I'm in my first year teaching and it helps to have smart activities to generate interest and get students talking." Word Search Bundle Need a fun way to introduce or review vocabulary? Students LOVE word searches! Includes fourteen puzzles with 396 vocabulary words. Students first define the word, then find it. Use as a warm up, in stations, as an after-the-test activity, for fast finishers, or instant, no-prep SUB PLANS! Teachers say these activities have helped when “substitutes couldn't figure out the book lessons.” This bundle includes: cognates, Spanish speaking countries, greetings & goodbyes, high frequency words, numbers to 100, class objects, class commands, false cognates, calendar, and colors. "Great to incorporate in sub plans, stations, and extra work for test days." Adjective Bundle Get students describing themselves and others! A bundle of five challenging & fun activities to practice descriptive adjectives used with ser. Includes two speaking activities, two word searches (with 47 adjectives), bingo, crossword puzzle & four vocabulary lists. Everything is no-prep. Simply print & go! "Lots of challenging and fun practice activities included!" Bingo Bundle Everyone loves bingo! Here are 9 games to pull out on a moment’s notice to practice important vocabulary. This bundle includes: greetings, commands, adjectives, numbers 0-39, calendar vocabulary, classroom objects, classes, time, and clothing. Each bingo game has 40 printable cards and word list. "Fun vocabulary practice for my students!" Hope you have found time-saving activities that you and your students will LOVE! For more BUNDLES click on the image below.

Sweet Ideas to Build Spanish Vocabulary Find engaging activities to add to your lesson plans for Spanish class on Valentine's Day! 1. Decorate your classroom with meaningful vocabulary. Fill your classroom with words of LOVE! Make a word wall of Spanish conversation hearts filled with Valentine vocabulary. Post on a bulletin board, around the room, on the door or string together for a beautiful banner. This sweet display will spark students' curiosity! They'll want to know what these words mean. Word walls are a great way to visually support students on writing activities. 2. Discover meaning with word lists. Word lists are a great tool for learning vocabulary. Use vocabulary lists to help students become familiar with new words. Have students look at your word wall to make a list of words they already know (hola, feliz) or make a list of difficult words. Choose several words (5 a day) that are important for students to know. Have them look them up in the dictionary and keep a list of new words in their notebook. Have students illustrate vocabulary, write simple sentences or stories. This list is included with the conversation heart word wall! 3. Search for vocabulary. Have students "define and find" valentine vocabulary in a word search puzzle. Word searches are fun activities to improve word recognition and spelling. Students love them! (and don't even realize they're learning!) Use as a quick warm up at the beginning of class or wind down during the last few minutes. More no-prep Spanish Word Searches 4. Play Bingo. Another fun way to practice vocabulary is with conversation heart bingo! Simple translation activity where you call out a word in English and students look for the Spanish meaning. There are many ways to play. You can call out the letter at the top of the column for a longer version of the game or just call out the word. The winner calls "Lo Tengo!" when they have five words in a row horizontally, vertically or diagonally. So many of variations of winning! Give the winners candy hearts ~ Spanish conversation hearts if you are lucky enough to find some! This bingo game is available as a printable AND digital activity for Google Slides. More ready made Spanish Bingo Games 5. Play "I Spy." Print off several "I Spy" copies. (Print in color and laminate to use for years to come!) Have students search for vocabulary words and check them off the lists as they find them. Students work individually, in pairs or you can project onto your whiteboard for a group activity. More I Spy Activities Hope you've found some sweet ideas to build vocabulary this month! Thanks for stopping by my blog! I'd love to know how these ideas worked for you. I'm just an email away: senoralauralee@gmail.com Click for more Spanish Valentine's Day Resources Pinnable images:

Updated January 2021 I love looking for ways to bring football into Spanish class. Not fútbol, but fútbol americano! As a girl brought up in the south, I was raised watching football. So when it comes to teaching numbers 1 to 100 in Spanish, I turn to football. Have you ever had a class that is so quiet? I mean, you cannot get them to talk. I am having conversations with myself in front of them, trying to figure out a way to get this early morning class of middle school students to engage with me. Our usual warm up topics (like the date and weather) were just not that exciting. It's football season and many students are wearing jerseys of their favorite players. I love football. I love talking about football with students before or after class ~ but during class? Students know if they want to get me off-task they can simply ask if I went to the game on Saturday. And I can talk football. But I'm thinking to myself, "I need to stay in the TL. I need to focus on our objective. It's not part of the curriculum. I should be teaching about fútbol instead." But I have got to generate some enthusiasm here and get these kids talking about something! So I pull up ESPN Deportes and start asking questions about the game on Saturday. Well that really wakes them up. Students who rarely participate in class begin to speak - in Spanish! This is something new, something that appeals to many of them. They love talking about football outside of class so why not bring football into Spanish class? So I decide to review numbers using scores from college football. Light bulb moment. Football season is the perfect time to talk numbers! I have created so many activities each season using jersey numbers from local college teams and NFL teams to get students excited about using numbers in Spanish. They have been such a hit with my students that I've continued to create them to promote my love of football & Spanish! Hopefully you will experience the excitement in your classroom that comes from talking about football in Spanish! (And you don't need to know anything about football to talk about the scores!) So, are you ready for some football?! It is time to talk about the top two teams in the NFL. This year it's the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. My favorite? I'm pulling for the Chiefs! The Big Game is always a hot topic, especially in the days leading up to kickoff. You can talk about your favorite teams, players and make game day predictions. ¿Quién va a ganar? Team Rosters My favorite activity for reinforcing Spanish numbers use team rosters. I find rosters for each team, project them onto the board and ask who wears which number. "¿Quién lleva el número dieciséis? or ¿Qué número es Patrick Mahomes? The boys in the room light up! The competition to answer the question is intense. Students love to show off their football knowledge. The girls get into it as well. I love this activity because everyone is engaged, learning, & having fun. As a written activity, students choose their favorite of two teams and use a roster to write the jersey numbers of popular players. This requires a lot of prep work for me. So, I do my football homework ~ with a little help from my husband! I look over the team rosters to find the most popular players from each team and then create a worksheet. Students get great practice writing numbers up to 99. For me, it's worth the work because students love it. (I have created a version for 2021 to save you some time!) Team rosters are packed with information! (See links below.) There are so many interesting things to talk about. You can review descriptive adjectives and comparatives while talking about height. ¿Quién es más alto? ¿Patrick Mahomes o Tyreek Hill? Or compare ages. ¿Quién es mayor? ¿Matt Moore o Mecole Hardman? Practice tener with ¿Cuántos años tiene Sammy Watkins? Students really engage. NFL Scoreboard The Monday following the big game, the topic is still hot. I project the final score on the board and ask, "¿Cuántos puntos tienen?" and ¿Cuál es tu equipo favorito? During the regular season I pull up scores from other teams around the nation. This is a regular Monday warm-up each fall (especially with college football!) If I forget to bring it up, students remind me. There are so many variations you can do with these activities. When football season ends, switch to basketball to practice numbers over 100. Talk about the teams from your school. This communicates that you're interested and paying attention to the things that matter to them. The goal is to find what interests your students and make a way to talk about it in Spanish. What I love most about these activities is they're a great way to connect with students. It's fun to find things we have in common (favorite teams, players or sports) and have something to talk about - that is interesting to them. Topics like these build relationships. As my favorite coach says, "Football unifies. In a world that is very divided, nothing brings people together like football." -Dabo Swinney There should be a lot to talk about after all of the commercials and the halftime show! Be sure to check out ESPN Deportes for authentic resources. I hope you enjoy these ideas and have fun implementing them in your classroom! I'd love to see how these activities work for you. Tag me on social media: @senora.lee on Instagram or @SenoraLauraLee on Facebook. Thanks for stopping by and for spreading the LOVE of Spanish (and football!) Helpful Links: NFL Rosters - Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL Rosters - Kansas City Chiefs ESPN Deportes Weekly Scores: NFL Scoreboard Resources: Students LOVE these football activities! Use them throughout football season and into February as it gets time for the BIG Game. Spanish Number Resources Super Bowl 2021 - Roster Activity Create Your Own Roster Activity Top 10 Rankings & Scores Templates #futbolamericano Pin it!

Have you ever started a new teaching position only to find that there are no resources? Either the teacher before you did not leave anything behind or you are building the Spanish program from scratch. I have been there. At least 5 times in my eighteen years of teaching Spanish! Whether you are a new Spanish teacher or you are looking to find new resources to engage students, here are 5 must-have bundles of activities that save time and make learning fun! 1. WORD WALL BUNDLE Word walls are an effective way to display vocabulary. Fill empty classroom walls and bulletin boards with cognates, high frequency words, subject pronouns, and interrogatives to visually support students on reading and writing activities all year long. Students of all ages will refer to these vocabulary words again and again. They will depend less on you and learn to use resources found in the classroom instead. This Spanish Word Wall Bundle includes four word walls with over 200 words! "This bundle includes so many high-frequency words. I have noticed my students looking at my word wall and using it how it should be used." 2. SPANISH SPEAKING ACTIVITIES BUNDLE Want to ease students into speaking Spanish gradually? These quick and easy speaking activities will get students out of their seats and speaking with one another about their favorite subject—themselves! Generate interest and build confidence in speaking Spanish with a bundle of fifiteen "Find Someone Who" activities. "This was definitely a lifesaver for me. I'm in my first year teaching and it helps to have smart activities to generate interest and get students talking." Teachers have found these conversation starters to be infinitely reusable and easy to use. Includes 15 no-prep activities for talking about birthdays, adjectives, class schedules, clothing, food, family and likes & dislikes. Watch your classroom become filled with the wonderful sound of students speaking in the target language! Must have resource for novice learners. 3. ADJECTIVE BUNDLE Get students describing themselves and other people! A bundle of five challenging & fun activities to practice descriptive adjectives used with ser. Includes 2 speaking activities, 2 word searches (with 47 adjectives), bingo, crossword puzzle & 4 vocabulary lists. Everything is ready to use. Simply print & go! "...fantastic resource for my middle schoolers! They loved the activities!" 4. WORD SEARCH BUNDLE Need a fun way to introduce or review vocabulary? Students LOVE word searches! Includes fifteen puzzles with more than 400 vocabulary words. Students first define the word, then find it. Use as a warm up, in stations, as an after-the-test activity, for fast finishers, or easy Spanish SUB PLANS! Teachers say these activities have helped when “substitutes couldn't figure out the book lessons.” "Great to incorporate in sub plans, stations, and extra work for test days." This bundle includes puzzles on the following topics: cognates, Spanish speaking countries, greetings, high frequency words, numbers to 100, class objects, class commands, false cognates, calendar, colors 5. BINGO BUNDLE Everyone loves bingo! Here are 9 printable games to pull out on a moment’s notice to practice important Spanish 1 vocabulary. Fun activity for those last minutes of class! This bundle includes: greetings, commands, adjectives, numbers 0-39, calendar, classroom objects, classes, time, and clothing. Each bingo game has 40 cards and word list. "My students have loved playing bingo to review vocab." Also find digital bingo games for distance learning! Hope you have found some time-saving activities that you and your students will LOVE! Click here for more BUNDLES Pinnable images:

Spanish resources to enrich and support the teaching of Christmas traditions in Mexico. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I love teaching about the holidays in Spanish class, especially Las Posadas. There are so many interesting conversations that take place when students compare and contrast Christmas traditions in Mexico and in the United States. Here are three fun vocabulary building activities to keep kids engaged and learning during those last days before break! Color By Number Color by Number activities are a low stress way to review basic Spanish colors and numbers. This Las Posadas Color by Number includes four differentiated activities with a short, simple reading filled with cognates, present tense verbs and novice level vocabulary. Color a poinsettia, pair of shoes, a Las Posadas celebration, and piñata. Students LOVE this activity. Teachers love that it's no-prep and saves time! Word Wall - Word walls make meaningful Spanish class decor! They are such an effective way to display and reinforce vocabulary. Fill walls or bulletin boards with 24 vocabulary words related to Christmas in Mexico and visually support students on reading and writing activities. You'll love using word walls because students refer to them over and over again. Christmas Bingo - Students LOVE playing Bingo! This is not your average bingo game. It's an engaging listening comprehension activity with clues in simple English or Spanish sentences that describe each image. Fun addition to your Las Posadas unit. More Christmas resources Digital Resources for Google Slides Find Spanish resources you'll love that enrich & support your teaching to MAKE LEARNING FUN!

Here are five bundles of some of the best Spanish activities to keep students engaged and having fun all year long in Spanish class! 1. Word Wall Bundle I love using word walls. They are such an effective way to display and reinforce vocabulary! Fill your walls with cognates, high frequency words, pronouns, interrogatives and visually support students on reading and writing activities all year long. This bundle includes four word walls with over 200 words! Students of all ages will refer to these vocabulary words again and again. 2. Spanish Speaking Activity Bundle Get students out of their seats and speaking with one another about their favorite subject—themselves! This bundle of "Find Someone Who" activities will generate interest and build confidence in speaking Spanish. Teachers have found these conversation starters to be infinitely reusable and easy to use. Includes 15 no-prep activities for talking about birthdays, adjectives, class schedules, clothing, food, family and likes & dislikes. Watch your classroom become filled with the wonderful sound of students speaking in the target language! Must have resource for novice learners. "This was definitely a lifesaver for me. I'm in my first year teaching and it helps to have smart activities to generate interest and get students talking." 3. Word Search Bundle Need a fun way to introduce or review vocabulary? Students LOVE word searches! Includes fourteen puzzles with 396 vocabulary words. Students first define the word, then find it. Use as a warm up, in stations, as an after-the-test activity, for fast finishers, or instant, no-prep SUB PLANS! Teachers say these activities have helped when “substitutes couldn't figure out the book lessons.” This bundle includes puzzles on the following topics: cognates, Spanish speaking countries, greetings & farewells, high frequency words, numbers to 100, class objects, class commands, false cognates, calendar, colors 4. Adjective Bundle Get students describing themselves and others! A bundle of five challenging & fun activities to practice descriptive adjectives used with ser. Includes 2 speaking activities, 2 word searches (with 47 adjectives), bingo, crossword puzzle & 4 vocabulary lists. Everything is no-prep. Simply print & go! 5. Bingo Bundle Everyone loves bingo! Here are 9 games to pull out at a moment’s notice to practice important vocabulary. This bundle includes: greetings, commands, adjectives, numbers 0-39, calendar, classroom objects, classes, time, and clothing. Each bingo game has 40 cards and word list. Hope you have found some time-saving activities that you and your students will LOVE! For more BUNDLES click on the image below.