METHODOLOGY CAROUSEL - Ideas gathered at previous ATS Workshops
TRIPS
- NST/GTI/Steinstudyabroad/Budget Travel/Grasshopper/Donegal Language and Adventure/PPLI/Eurolanguages Camp
- Students save money in advance to help fund trips(cross curricular)
- Fund raising might be necessary for big trips
- Delibes
- Camino de Santiago – Irish agency offering tours for schools
- Cervantes
- E-twinning
- Exchanges
- Garda vetting is an issue…Spanish are culturally resistant to Garda vetting. There is the possibility for the Spanish families to get a background check from the Spanish police that they have not done anything wrong (un certificado de antecedentes penales) – very simple to do….takes about a week. Onus is on the school management to make the call….. do you need to use an agency or not? Agency will give you an extra level of security.
- Department of Education herein Ireland specifies Garda vetting is needed….. but not compulsory in Spain. DES also specifies you need to use an Irish travel agency to book the trip.
- IFI Film Institute
- Tapas trips
- Art based trips: Reina Sofía, Prado. Or here in National Gallery there are a few pictures. (Dublín en Español) ….. students can listen to Spanish audio even though here in Dublin. Could combine with tapas café in town?
- Teachers can apply for Becas ..Leargas (14 page form is long but worth it!) / Delibes.
- Erasmus Plus
DRAMA TECHNIQUES IN THE CLASSROOM
- Charades – to reenact scene from a film/soap opera in Spanish.
- Cluedo – murder mystery … like CSI idea, but digitalised
- Eurovision
- Noche de Talento
- Dialogue construction (act out with props)
- Musical chairs
- Thriller in Spanish
- Acting out role plays with props, can be used for directions, shopping, dialogues etc
- Give props, students create a character
- Interview with a famous/controversial person
- Simon says….. Spanish version ‘Amanda manda’
- Presentation of a topic on smart phone / device – mi barrio etc. Don’t forget to film, edit and add credits (credit the music).
- Writing out soap operas, scripts.
- Fashion show – bring in own clothes and describe them.
- Presentation/tour of 'mi barrio'/'mi instituto' in Spanish on phone/device
- Act/mime reflexive verbs
DIFFERENTIATION
- Group work – mixed levels
- Vary presentations (audio/visual)
- Learning diaries for motivation
- Think-pair-share
- Written copy of their work.
- Keyword sheets, with visuals
- ICT – including online grammar exercises
- Menu – starter, main course, dessert – give them choice of activity
- Figure out the rule (for HL students). Figure out the next step by yourself.
- What would happen if it was this verb instead?
- Posters – cross curricular – often weaker students good at art – opportunity to shine. Stronger ones can do the writing.
- Five items about TV personality …. On one piece of paper. Descriptions can be pitched at different levels. Provide vocab/verbs
- HL homework – write letter. OL homework – unscramble sentences.
- Differentiation in classroom can also be how you the teacher behaves …. Give instructions, pick out a student to ask them to do something, then (s)he understands
- Content – what are they going to learn? (different levels …. A nosotros, nos gusta muchísmo. For lower level ‘me gusta chocolate’ ) …what must everyone know, what will some know, what will very few know … this is all differentiation.
- Worksheet – from easy to difficult
- At LC, one working on opinion and another (OL) working on the letter but on the same topic.
- What is end product? 5 sentences for some, 2 for others. A lot of what we do is differentiation.
- Scaffolding – eg.provide vocab on a card, for tasks
- Envelopes of key words: make sentences or phrases so everyone can do something…. Stronger students can elaborate.
- Just even knowing your class and what level they are, giving instructions and what tasks they are ready for … this is differentiation.
TRANSITION YEAR MODULES
- Food – friendly tapas bar contact, gives the students a special deal. (JP McMahon Galway) Small tutorial on tapas and Moorish food. Spanish breakfast. Spanish cooking (cross curricular) : paella/tortilla/ churros/tapas. Writing recipes.
- TY newsletter in Spanish/magazine articles.
- Treasure Hunt.
- Poetry writing (see Claire’s ideas in her presentation)
- Fashion show – through ICT (Vine) to show parents or use Animoto.
- Use ICT to create Eportfolio, either record themselves on their phone, or use UTube/iVideo to record pictures and speech. Great feedback from parents re one project undertaken, as kids were outside and learning during midterm. Could also use Prezi, Storybird or revert to traditional scrapbook with oral topics (to cover familia/barrio/colegio)…. Traditional but good and effective learning
- Geography – including Latin America. (could revise comparatives – río más largo etc)
- Spanish Dance: Zumba – collaborate with PE teacher, instructions in Spanish. Flamenco/Salsa classes.
- Spanish exchange
- Skype penpal or encuentro Skype (Mystery Skype)
- Drama – write their own play – murder mystery etc. Develop CSI further (see Claire’s presentation)
- Cinema – films; Maria Llena de Gracia, Lengua de la mariposa, Pan’s Labyrinth etc.
- Telediario – 4 minutes – listen for information.
- Introduction to Spanish art/history of art …. Chronological approach: from Las Cuevas de Altamira to Miro.
ORAL COMMUNICATION IDEAS
- Rollcall – get each student to call out a word from a topic you have just covered
- Birthday – each student has to stand in a line (zigzagged to fit the room) according to their dates of birth but can only ask each other in Spanish
- Dominos – each student gets a card divided into 2 – one side with a Spanish word or phrase and the other side is the English translation or answer to another student’s card.
- Verb cards – each student gets either the root or ending of a verb. The teacher calls out a verb in English and it is up to the students to stand up with the correct root and verb ending. Can also do this as a competition, dividing the class in 2 and each group having to do this against each other.
- Snakes and ladders – each square has a word to translate, a question to answer, a topic to discuss (depending on level) and in small groups they work through the board.
- Blockbusters – Using the sample board, each section has a letter of the alphabet/picture/verb/topic and the students must make their way across the board answering these.
- Trivial Pursuits – students talk for 30 seconds on a topic or just answer the question. They must answer a question from each coloured card. Sample is French here.
- Speed Dating – give each student a card with info on it and they must then ask and answer questions about themselves with the person in front of them. Or using the role plays, students play the role of the examiner or the student, once completed the student moves on to the next role play and the examiner stays. Good to have some of the weaker students (or simply those who havent heard them) act as the examiner as they get to hear the same roleplay many times.
