#916. Teaching verb conjugation in a foreign language

Language, level: Senior
Posted Thu Mar 25 18:12:17 PST 1999 by Kelly Cook (zeppy@sprintmail.com).
USD 205 Bluestem High School, Leon, Kansas Butler County
Materials Required: a pair of dice, one red and the other green
Activity Time: Sponge Activity or a practice activity
Concepts Taught: Verb conjugation

I teach Spanish I and II at a small high school in rural Kansas. One of the popular warm up activities we do is the "Dados Game". Students pair up and I give each partnered group one red dice and one green dice. To practice a new verb conjugation, we will make a list from #1 to #6 under the red column. In that column will be pronouns, people, etc. In the other column, under the green dice, is the rest of the sentence. Then students are to practice saying this sentence and connecting it with the verb that we are practicing.

For example:

Rojo:
1. Yo
2. Tu
3. Ellos
4. Pedro y Juan
5. Elena y yo
6. Alfredo y tu

and now connect that first part of the sentence with this column

Verde:
1. al tenis
2. al baloncesto
3. al futbol americano
4. al golf
5. al voleibol
6. al frisbi

The verb that connects the two columns is "JUGAR". Students roll the dice. If the red dice lands on 4 and the green dice lands on 2, then the sentence is "Pedro y Juan juegan al baloncesto". Students love this game! We play it often and race each other or we will spice up the red column by using people in the school like our principal's name or the football coach's name! Try it today!