Layers of Lyrics
Songs are a wonderful way to connect with students...but I want to do more than "hook" them. I want to use the songs to dig channels of language patterns in their minds and create pools of vocabulary for them to draw from. Gestures are just a starting point.
So here are some examples of what I am doing with Eres Tú. Writing them down will help me to develop more activities and to evaluate whether the ones I am using are really language-builders and not just entertainment.
1) The Match Game
This is an activity that Karen created where the students and I answer a series of questions. Then we compare answers to see who has answered questions in the same way I have....then they have the (structured) opportunity to share with each other and find out who is thinking in the same way that they are. It's a great activity on many levels, and last year I came up with a way to incorporate the lyrics to this song.
In Eres Tú, the singer compares his love to a number of different things...it is a song full of similes. So I came up with 10 questions for the kids to answer.....based on the concept of circling. For example:
Are you like a lion or a kitten?
Are you like a sea or a river?
Are you like a breeze or a hurricane?
Are you like a fountain or a fire?
I used words from the lyrics, words that we have been acquiring, and cognates to create the 10 questions. (This year I added a powerpoint w/ pictures which was fun!) I asked the questions (which were written on the paper and on the powerpoint) and the students wrote their answers.
When we had finished, I went back over the powerpoint and answered the questions for myself out loud with the class. If they had written the same answer that I had, they circled the answer. After all ten questions were answered, I asked who had matched the most with me (my twin) and who had matched the least (my opposite). Then they compared their answers with other students. (this is done in a very structured way so that no one is ever left out and everyone is talking with several different kids in class, not just their "friends".)
Those conversations take less than five minutes to complete, and then we have TONS of information to talk about in Spanish!!!
2) At the bottom of the paper is a five line poem with blanks to be filled in. It looks like this:
I am like __________________(animal)____________________ and _____________________ (adjectives)
I am like___________________(color) _____________________and ______________________(adjectives)
I am like __________________(an element of nature) ________________________ and __________________ (gerunds)
I am like___________________(plant) ____________________and ____________________(adjectives)
I am like___________________(their choice) _________________and ______________________(their choice)
We fill in the blanks and for homework they create a document/final copy to hand in. They can add up to 5 additional lines for extra credit.
I can then use this format when we read a novel or watch a movie and they can create a piece about one of the characters. Whoo hooo!!!
with love,
Laurie
So here are some examples of what I am doing with Eres Tú. Writing them down will help me to develop more activities and to evaluate whether the ones I am using are really language-builders and not just entertainment.
1) The Match Game
This is an activity that Karen created where the students and I answer a series of questions. Then we compare answers to see who has answered questions in the same way I have....then they have the (structured) opportunity to share with each other and find out who is thinking in the same way that they are. It's a great activity on many levels, and last year I came up with a way to incorporate the lyrics to this song.
In Eres Tú, the singer compares his love to a number of different things...it is a song full of similes. So I came up with 10 questions for the kids to answer.....based on the concept of circling. For example:
Are you like a lion or a kitten?
Are you like a sea or a river?
Are you like a breeze or a hurricane?
Are you like a fountain or a fire?
I used words from the lyrics, words that we have been acquiring, and cognates to create the 10 questions. (This year I added a powerpoint w/ pictures which was fun!) I asked the questions (which were written on the paper and on the powerpoint) and the students wrote their answers.
When we had finished, I went back over the powerpoint and answered the questions for myself out loud with the class. If they had written the same answer that I had, they circled the answer. After all ten questions were answered, I asked who had matched the most with me (my twin) and who had matched the least (my opposite). Then they compared their answers with other students. (this is done in a very structured way so that no one is ever left out and everyone is talking with several different kids in class, not just their "friends".)
Those conversations take less than five minutes to complete, and then we have TONS of information to talk about in Spanish!!!
2) At the bottom of the paper is a five line poem with blanks to be filled in. It looks like this:
I am like __________________(animal)____________________ and _____________________ (adjectives)
I am like___________________(color) _____________________and ______________________(adjectives)
I am like __________________(an element of nature) ________________________ and __________________ (gerunds)
I am like___________________(plant) ____________________and ____________________(adjectives)
I am like___________________(their choice) _________________and ______________________(their choice)
We fill in the blanks and for homework they create a document/final copy to hand in. They can add up to 5 additional lines for extra credit.
I can then use this format when we read a novel or watch a movie and they can create a piece about one of the characters. Whoo hooo!!!
with love,
Laurie
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