As the school year begins to come to a close, I pondered about how my own 8th grade students can keep their Spanish language abilities going in a time when I will not have them in class each day. I came up with a long list of “activities” that they may do on their own or with their classmates to keep themselves immersed in the Spanish language, in hopes that the two months away from the language will not hurt how far they have each come this year.
I plan to share this summer activities list with the students next week and also hand out my traditional, “Success in Spanish II” packet for the individuals moving onto level two as freshman in high school. The packet serves as a nice transitionary tool for students and I have received feedback from former students who were grateful to have it as they continued their Spanish learning journey.
I encourage other teachers to also consider how to keep their own students motivated and engaged in the study of a foreign language throughout the summer. I’m certain that there are additional ways than what I have listed and encourage any readers of this blog to add more suggestions to this list. Also, please feel free to share with your own students or other teachers!
Keep your SUMMER/VERANO sizzling with SPANISH/ESPANOL!
A variety of ways (and some techie) to ensure that you keep practicing your Spanish over the summer break!
(1) Download a Spanish Learning app onto your mobile device. (iTunes University*)
(2) Set a calendar reminder to view or play a game in Spanish each day!
(3) Send a message to a friend on Twitter, Instagram, etc. in Spanish, see if this turns into a Spanish conversation 🙂
(4) Tweet to Srta. Rodriguez in Spanish @srtanrodriguez
(5) Log into Edmodo and post to our classroom page in Spanish.
(6) Listen to a Spanish music using the radio or internet. (Pandora, iHeartRadio, Songza- all have custom “Latin” stations to choose from)
(7) Watch television in Spanish, Univision, Telemundo (check your cable provider for channels) or watch online! (TV en directo: http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/tve/la1/)
(8) Send an email to a friend, family member or Srta. Rodriguez about what you did during the summer srta.nrodriguez@gmail.com
(9) Visit quizlet.com and do a search for “Spanish flashcards” (topic is your choice!)
(10) Go to weather.com/es and view your local forecast or international forecast in Spanish.
(11) Create an original meme in Spanish. Later, publish on Edmodo so we can all see!
(12) Create a Spanish speaking Voki by visiting www.voki.com.
(13) View “Plaza Sesamo”, “Doki”, “Oh Noah!” or “El Perro y El Gato” on youtube.com (all childrens series in Spanish!)
(14) Create your own “Spanish learning” Pinterest board.
(15) Visit your local library and stop in the childrens section. See if there are any Spanish childrens books that are of interest and check them out!
(16) Text or call a friend to communicate in Spanish- make it part of your weekly catch up!
(17) Test your knowledge & try out a National Spanish Examination (Exam Preparation → Past examination → Level 1).
(18) Sign up with the BBC for free, online learning classes in Spanish. http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/ or with Verbling: https://www.verbling.com/
(19) Play “I spy” but in Spanish! (try any other fun summer games but in Spanish, too!)
(20) Visit a local art museum and see if you can identify works by Spanish speaking artists we have studied in class. (you can visit art museums virtually too!)
(21) Re-create a song that we learned in Spanish with some of your friends. Record your performance, edit & share it with the world! (or post it just to Edmodo so we can see!)
(22) Create your own digitally animated story. Collaborate with your classmates, if possible! Some free websites include: Little Bird Tales, Animoto, StoryBird, Kerpoof
*No matter what your summer plans are, you can always find a way to listen to or communicate using the Spanish language. Remember to practice each day when you can!*
