Subject
Pronoun Song (To the tune of The Farmer in the Dell)
Yo means I
Tú means you
Usted is the
formal word that means you, too
Él means he
And ella
means she
Nosotros and
nosotras both mean we
Vosotros
means you all
Vosotras
does, too.
They are informal
words in Spain for plural you
Ustedes means
you all
We use it
everywhere
Ellos and
ellas both mean they
Here and
there
Our 5th through 8th graders are now doing a sinópsis at the beginning of every class period. So far, they have just been for fun, but eventually we will be doing them as quizzes. What is a sinópsis, you ask? For the purposes of our classes, it means taking a verb and a subject and writing out the conjugations in Spanish and English of all the tenses and moods that we have learned up to this point. Often, they include expressions with other verbs that are not actual tenses, but still important ways to express ideas. I can't take credit for the original idea, but I have modified them for our middle schoolers. Here is an example of what our 8th graders are doing:
1. Present
|
|
(inglés – 1)
|
|
2. Near future (ir +a+inf)
|
|
(inglés – 1)
|
|
3. Preterite
|
|
(inglés – 1)
|
|
4. Progressive
|
|
(inglés – 1)
|
|
5. Affirmative Tú
command
|
|
(inglés – 1)
|
|
6. Imperfect
|
|
(inglés – 1)
|
|
7. Gustar
|
|
(inglés – 2)
|
|
8. Obligation (tener que + inf)
|
|
(inglés – 1)
|
Having to give the English meanings for each of these verb forms makes sure that the students do more than memorize a list of endings, and that they are able to make the connections to communicate effectively.
These activities keep material fresh in their minds, even when we are concentrating on a different verb tense. It also allows us to target tricky verbs with irregular forms or spelling changes across tenses, and helps to keep the third person forms from getting mixed up. Already, I am seeing faster recall of the verbs and greater accuracy.
Vocabulary is important, but the structure of Spanish is what allows our students to frame their ideas and build effective communication. I am so pleased with their progress!