1st Day After Winter Break for Spanish

• First in Spanish, welcome students back and show them a couple of pictures of my break, describing it in Spanish. 

• Next, give students a couple of minutes to brainstorm something they did over the break (and write it if they would like). During this time I will write some common phrases on the board as an example. I know even in a couple of weeks they lose confidence and I do not want to put students on the spot. 

• Then, discuss a few volunteers’ answers, circling and repeating the high-frequency phrases.

• Pass out different versions of the find someone who sheet or question cards depending on the class.

Variations for Spanish 1/2 on 1st day back from Winter break

• Spanish 1/2 could use the new version just focusing of fue or my new fue question cards. It is better to ease them in with just one verb in the past tense. The question cards have many options all using the same questions. You could post the big questions and have students sign under them, or break students into small groups with sets of all the questions. (Or even do all of them to get lots of repetitions in!). 

• Spanish 3 will use the holiday break FSW with the yo form listed, as to help with confidence using the correct yo form in the past tense, and a word bank of possible s/he forms on the back. 
• Spanish 4 will use the holiday break FSW with the least support and will come up with the yo and s/he forms on their own. 

• Before setting them loose, students will get a chance to look through the possible questions and make sure they know what everything is asking. We will clarify as needed, so once the activity starts, it can be in all Spanish. 

• With a clipboard, sheet and pencil, students will go around asking each other the questions in Spanish. They will add in elaborating details and sign each others’ sheets. 

• Once they have all squares signed, students will practice the s/he forms by writing about what their class did. Depending on the class, you can see above how much assistance they get with the writing. All students will also write about what they did. 

Optional Extensions on 1st Day after Winter break

• Discuss as a class who did what. 
• Make a giant Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting students, or the teacher and a student. (This would be a good way to add in the plural forms).
• Have students draw what a classmate did. Put these up around the room or project with a document camera and guess who the picture is describing. 
• Have students draw what they did. These could be used to have them describe to each other in Spanish. Or have the teacher use them to describe what they did. 
• Play 2 Truths and a Lie (students write two things they actually did and one lie. The teacher then reads these and the class guesses who it was and what their lie was). 
• Do a free write where students write what they did and what a classmate did.