This cute, short story is ideal for beginners who are just getting started with -AR verbs.
Learners can build confidence as they repeat the refrain, «y el gato ayuda» and perhaps read along with the rest as they wait for the next hilarious cat gif!
This blog post includes the video story as well as a free PDF activity sheet.
Expansion activity: Students can write a similar story about another animal that helps (el elefante ayuda, el pingüino ayuda, el oso ayuda, etc.).
If you share this with your students, I would love to know how it goes! Any feedback is always welcome and appreciated 🙂
In this video we’ll learn about stem-changing verbs in the preterite. Then we’ll practice making sentences with verbs in the preterite to talk about what people bought on their shopping trips.
There is a printable PDF document of Guided Notes that you can fill out as you watch the video posted below this video link.
Have you ever found it difficult to tell the words apart when you’re listening to authentic Spanish? When you’re speaking, do you feel that your words just don’t flow like they’re supposed to?
Practicing with word linking, understanding how sounds combine to link words together, can really help you improve in these areas!
In this video, we’ll explain some examples of word linking. Samuel, a native Spanish-speaker from Zacatecas, Mexico, will pronounce the examples several times at a faster and faster pace. Practice listening and try saying the examples along with him!
With consistent practice, you WILL make progress over time! Keep listening to authentic Spanish in ways you enjoy and are meaningful to you.
Let us know if you have any questions or video suggestions in the comments!
This activity is designed for beginning learners to get introduced to regular preterite verb conjugations while practicing with vocabulary for food & drinks. It also invites students to learn more about Puerto Rican food.
The first half of the video introduces regular preterite verb conjugations for -ar & -er/ir verbs. It also explains “spelling change” verbs (-CAR, -GAR, -ZAR –> -QUÉ, GUÉ, CÉ) with the examples llegar – yo llegué and pagar – yo pagué.
Note: This activity does not include any irregular or stem-changing verbs.
The read-along story begins at minute 5:48 of the video. It is narrated by a Spanish-speaker from Zacatecas, México.
The free PDF activity sheet features prompts for pre- and post-viewing discussion, charts & brief questions about regular preterite conjugations based on the video, and a cloze activity with the story.
Any comments or suggestions are welcome!
If you use this with your students, I´d love to hear how it goes!
Algunas fechas importantes en la historia del mundo hispano: Una actividad para practicar los años y el pretérito
In this video lesson, we begin with how to say years in Spanish. Next, we practice while learning about some of the many important dates in the history of the Spanish speaking world. We´ll also practice preterit verb forms while we talk about these historical feats.
Los mandatos informales, informal «tú» commands, can be a bit challenging at first because you must remember to conjugate the verb differently depending on whether the command is affirmative (Yes! Do it! ¡Sí! ¡Hazlo!) or negative (No! Don´t do it! ¡No! ¡No lo hagas!) This cultural presentation will take you on a journey of table manners around the world while practicing affirmative versus negative tú commands.
Objectives:
Practice conjugating affirmative and negative tú commands
Share your reflections and what you´ve learned in the questions at the bottom of the handout. Do you think any of these tips for international table manners will come in handy someday?
If you would like to share these materials, please do so by providing a link to this blog post. Thank you!
Update: A typo in the handout has been corrected (10-8-2018)!
Update: This post has been changed & updated to include the video lesson (5-21-2020)! We re-posted to the front page of the blog for visibility without deleting the previous link for those who may have saved it.
Many of our students have gotten to know the fantastically colorful and imaginative alebrijes of Mexican folk art through the film Coco. This video-story allows students to build upon that background knowledge and acquire new language while watching compelling film coverage from the Desfile de los alebrijes, an annual parade sponsored by the Museo de Arte Popular in which hundreds of alebrijes come to life throughout the streets of Mexico City.
I play this video first with no volume and lead students in identifying what they see. After watching and discusisng the video, students design their own alebrijes by drawing and writing a detailed description. Finally, students share their unique alebrijes with their classmates in lively, small group discussions.
You can click «CC» in the lower right corner of the video to turn on accurate Spanish subtitles. Also, here is a full transcript of the story if you would like to use it for reading activities: El desfile de los alebrijes Full Text Transcript (PDF)
Enjoy the video! Any comments are welcome and appreciated. I’d love to know if you share this video with your students!
estudiafeliz 