Year 8 pupils in Spanish are rocking the start of the term. Their motivation to do well and attitude are impressive, and I am enjoying being their teacher.
They are excited about speaking in Spanish, particularly helped by the different games that we have played in the classroom.
In our “Trapdoor” activity, pupils are shown some sentences in Spanish. It is played in pairs. Each person chooses an option for each sentence given. One starts reading the text and trying to find out the other’s choices. If the choice is correct the person continues until they get it wrong. When one gets it wrong, the other person has to say “para” which means “stop” in Spanish and must start from the beginning. The aim of the game is to finish first. With the trapdoor activity, pupils utilise not only speaking but also listening skills.
“Stealing sentences” is another fun way to build confidence in speaking skills. I write examples of grammar patterns in sentences on the board for the pupils to drill. They are given four cards each and they choose any four sentences and copy them on the cards. The pupils walk around and try to guess what’s written on other pupils’ cards in order to steal them if they are right. They play rock/paper/scissors to see who has the right to read a sentence. After five minutes, the winner is the person with the most cards. This game works wonders for drilling pronunciation.
And not forgetting, we celebrated European Day Of Languages last week to raise awareness of Europe’s diverse mix of languages. We had a digital escape room quiz that included a video about reasons to learn languages, and tasks with greetings and idioms in different languages.
Finally, I just want to say “muy bien” to Year 8 students, you have highly impressed your teacher, keep up your hard work!
Categories: Languages News Phase 4 Year 8
