Jane M. Tarwacki,
GWATFL President
Prince George’s County
Public Schools
 Many
of these ideas are not my own, I
learned them from different people at
various conferences
 All of these ideas are tried and true
 Students
are interested in politics and are
tired of U.S. politics
 Be careful of what you say
 They are particularly interested in the
rations, the many attempts on Fidel Castro’s
life, and the embargo
Cuba PowerPoint
Daily Life in Cuba
 Students
of all ages like to get up and move
 Students will raise their hands again and
again to catch the ball
 Anything we do that is different from other
teachers in the building gives us an edge
 Establish the rules ahead of time
 Make
“tomatoes” out of red construction
paper
 Establish the rules first: You can only throw
“tomatoes”, you can not move from your
tile, you can not throw the “tomatoes” at
the teacher
 Go about three rounds
Many teachers do a dream house project to
review household vocabulary
 Add a twist by having the students insert
“wacky” items. They will take more risks with
the language.
 Add another twist by bringing them to the
computer lab to work on their dream house
 Can take 1-2 mods, depending on class time and
your students. If students are done early, give
them another online assignment like the
textbook website or a scavenger hunt.
Dream House Project

 Use
it to review the vocabulary or grammar
 Fold a paper into six squares
 Students will write a sentence in the target
language and draw a picture that shows the
meaning of that sentence.
 Allows students to write without feeling like
they are writing.
Six Square Example
 Talking
Tom repeats everything you say
 Use it on iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches
 Can record it and post it on the internet or
e-mail it yourself or the teacher
TalkingTom Me Duele
 It
is a website to create cartoons
 All the characters and scenes are there to
use
 Use with DonQuijote to show comprehension.
 For my project, my students had to take
what they had read in Don Quijote and
change the setting, but keep the same
meaning.
 It’s
a great way to quick check
comprehension
 Each group can be responsible for a
particular question
 Jig-saws can be done for readings
 Use them to play jeopardy
 Use them for games where groups get points
 From
TeachersDiscovery.com ($11.95)
 I use it to review gusta/gustan
 Me gusta/No me gusta
 With or without showing the cards
 Use it with the whiteboards as a class, or
with groups, or use the game to review with
small groups who need extra work or are
more advanced
 Use
it to review shapes
 Can use bread
 We will use play-doh since it is reuseable and
cleaner
Got this idea from an MFLA conference swapshop
 It is a puzzle to review vocabulary
 Students match up the sides with the English
and Spanish word
 The puzzle only fits one way
 Use scrapbook paper (it’s thicker and comes
in many colors) so as not to mix up sets.
 Groups of 2 work best
Vocube Template
Vocube Example
 Great
for tener/tener que and to review
subject-verb agreement
 Write out the sentences and cut them up into
parts (i.e. subject, stem, ending)
 Students put the sentences together
 Color code them for low-ability students or if
students need extra reinforcement
Tener/Tener Que Review
-AR Verb Sandwiches
 What
is one of the main features of
children’s stories: Repetition
 Give the students the basic sentence, and let
them build a book from there.
 Have them illustrate the book.
 Example:
¿Dónde está la mochila? ¿Está debajo del
escritorio? No, no está debajo del escritorio.
¿Dónde está la mochila? ¿Está encima de la
silla? No, no está encima de la silla.
 It
is an online poster
 It has lots of great features, including
animated icons, student account
management, and it’s free
 50 free accounts per e-mail account
 Print out your account list twice. Give the
students an account and write on your sheet
who is assigned to what account.
 Got
this idea at ACTFL in Orlando
 In general, people recognize more light-skin
Latinos than dark-skin Latinos
 Latinos come in all colors
 Do a project on Afro-Latinos for Black History
Month
\\Afro-Latinos Project
 Play the game Name That Latino!
Name That Latino
 Use
it to review food, clothing, numbers, and
adjectives at the end of the year
 The students plan a Quinceañera as a group
Quince Plan
 Separates
you from other teachers
 Reviews vocabulary, builds listening
comprehension skills, expands vocabulary,
sets the mood
 Llama al Sol
 Sensación del Bloque
 Contact
Information:
jane.tarwacki@pgcps.org
 Wiki space: