![]() ![]() Rather than performing a rehearsed skit, interpersonal activities ask students to gather information from each other, give each other directions and interact in authentic ways. Interpersonal: Students can use colors to communicate with one another in spontaneous ways-not following a memorized script.Presentational language includes both speaking and writing, and tends to make students nervous if you haven’t created a comfortable learning space. These activities can include making a PowerPoint or poster, giving a memorized (or semi-memorized!) speech, and role playing as part of a scripted activity. Presentational: Students can use the colors in a rehearsed situation.These are usually pretty easy to incorporate into your classroom, since you’re used to talking and your students are used to listening. Interpretive activities include having students follow oral or written directions, listen to a story or play a game following rules that incorporate the target language. Interpretive: Students can understand colors when they hear or read them. ![]() In case you’ve forgotten these standards from your student teaching days, here’s a quick reminder: Teaching Spanish Colors for Mastery: You Need to Hit All the ModesĪ great way to make sure your students really master their colors-so they’re able to use them when it counts-is to incorporate all three modes of communication into your lesson plans. You can also capitalize on your students’ good will to get them to do some pronunciation exercises with the colors to work on their accents (a notoriously difficult thing to get middle and high schoolers to do!). When your students feel comfortable, they’ll approach Spanish with lower inhibitions and be willing to take more risks-a crucial trait that gets kids using the target language without worrying about making a mistake or sounding silly. Playing games that tap into the joy of learning is a great way to do some team building while still learning Spanish. If you’re not totally convinced that you should take some extra time to teach colors at the beginning of the school year, consider this: Starting out with something fun will engage your students and give you a chance to get to know them in a low-key way. Helps your classroom remain Spanish-onlyĬolors are also very useful for circumlocution, as students can ask a question like, “ ❼ómo se dice la cosa amarilla?” (How do you say the yellow thing?) to remain in the target language even when they’re not sure how to say something. Because colors are so visual, they’re a natural way to build connections. For example, you can introduce new clothing vocabulary by labeling a visual, then immediately get students pronouncing and using the new words by describing what color their clothes are.Ĭonnecting new vocabulary to words students already know also helps build neural pathways and makes learning the language easier than it would be to memorize a list of words in isolation. When students have mastered their colors, they can use colors to describe new vocabulary items as you teach them. (Download) Why You Should Spend More Than a Day Teaching Colors in Spanish Students make connections to new vocabulary This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that youĬlick here to get a copy. Surely, given the time constraints, a day to pronounce the colors and practice them in class will be enough? Instead, we’re itching to get to the “meat” of the language: classroom vocabulary and grammar, common conversation starters and (of course!) verb conjugations. Too often, though, we feel pressured to rush through the words that-from a developmental standpoint-come first in language development (think colors, numbers, family members and farm animals, etc.). Learning colors reminds students of the sense of playfulness that they used to have about learning.įor a little while, they get permission to feel like little kids again as they practice something that most toddlers who are native Spanish speakers can do effortlessly. Pop quiz: What are the most fun words for Spanish students to learn? JanuDo You Spend Enough Time Teaching Spanish Colors? ![]()
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