This lesson was designed for a lower-level Spanish course in a way that activates students’ previous knowledge of family members through interactive activities that engage and promote active learning.

Intended Level

The intended level for this activity is Novice intermediate/high, or for students who are at the end of Spanish 1 and moving up to Spanish 2.

Modality

This lesson is intended for an asynchronous course where students work individually at their own pace to complete the task at hand.

Objectives / Outcomes

• Reinforce students’ knowledge of family members
• Practice identifying different family members

Primary Content

As mentioned before, this activity is intended to be completed in an asynchronous course where students have the liberty to engage with the content at their own pace. This specific task is comprised of 3 activities, two mandatory and one optional. The first activity is intended to activate students’ previous knowledge of what they have already learned through a mix-and-match game. Once students complete this activity, they will have an opportunity to look over their answers to be able to see what they got right and what they need to work on. After reviewing their answers, students will then move on to the next activity where they will analyze a family tree and then use it to answer questions about specific family members on it. Students will have to answer 7/10 correctly to obtain full credit for this activity. The next activity is optional and consists of a memory game where students can practice memorizing the names of family members.

• Activities:
  • Mix and match to assess what they remember
  • Answering questions on a family tree
  • Memory game with vocab in English and Spanish

Primary Activity

For this lesson,  I start with a mix-and-match game in the target language that could be used as a warm-up activity where students have the opportunity to access prior knowledge to help get them ready to interact in the next (primary) activity.

The primary activity involves students looking at a family tree and then answering questions regarding who is in the family tree and how they relate to one another. This activity tests students’ ability to identify and comprehend key vocabulary which they will then use to complete the activity to the best of their ability.

• Activity 1.5 (el árbol familiar) –

Optional Activity

This activity is 100% optional. It resembles a memory game, but on this occasion, instead of having similar images or words on both cards, one will have a word in English and the other will have the same word but in Spanish. This activity could be open to students at all times, that way they can feel free to engage in it at any given time and use it to their advantage.

• Activity 2 (Optional: Memory game) –

Reflection Questions

To conclude, students will be asked a couple of questions to assess their learning and have them reflect on the activities that they just completed. These questions could be aimed at having them think about the way that they learn, things that they might need to work on, and possible suggestions for their instructor on how the activities could be designed differently to accommodate their individual learning styles.

**Since this is a lower-level class, questions could be in English with Spanish translations attached to them, teachers could then have students attempt to answer the questions in Spanish if it’s something that they wish to have them talk about in-class*

Questions for students:

• Was there vocabulary that you struggled to identify/remember? If so, which one?

• • ¿Hubo vocabulario con el que batallaste en identificar/recordar? ¿Si lo hubo, cual fue?

• Do you think you could create and label your family tree accurately?

• • Crees que podrías crear y etiquetar tu propio árbol familiar correctamente?

Tips and Instructions for Instructors Using this Resource

Language learning is a daunting task for students, especially at the beginning level. They tend to be on edge and dread taking assessments, especially those that affect their grades. Low-stakes activities through games, such as the ones provided in this lesson, are effective ways of promoting students’ interaction in language courses. These types of activities reduce the stress of needing to be correct 100% of the time and allow students to ease up and relax a bit by giving them enough time to process materials in a way that’s meaningful. That said, I suggest this activity be graded as complete/incomplete, this way students don’t have to worry about right or wrong answers, rather, they are graded on trying. Also, I would suggest leaving the mix-and-match and memory game up for students to access at any time, this way they can access them and practice whenever they have time.

Author: Jonatan Roacho

Hello everyone, my name is Jonatan Roacho. I have lived in Kansas long enough that I would say that  I am “from” Kansas, although I have lived in a lot of different places. I attended and completed my undergrad at KSU in the Spring of 2022, where I earned a dual degree in Education and Spanish. Immediately after completing my undergrad, I came right back to KSU the following fall, but this time as a GTA. I was a GTA at K-State during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic school years where I had the privilege to work alongside an amazing group of colleagues, both GTA and Professors included. During my first year at K-State, I taught Spanish 2, and in my second year, I taught Spanish 3. When it comes to this specific lesson or activity, please feel free to pick and choose from it and to adapt it to match your individual teaching style. I hope that it serves you well!

• Lesson created: April, 2024