Take Your Spanish Class Outside

Inside: Take your Spanish class outside, get some fresh air and have some fun while learning. End of the year ideas to save your sanity in Spanish class including Outdoor Classroom Day or Aprendiendo al Aire Libre.

Take your Spanish class outside

I do not know about other parts of the country and world, but Spring in the Midwest is literally a breath of fresh air. After six months of bone-chilling cold, wind, and snow, in Iowa, we have earned some warm weather. Personally sunshine and being outside gives me life, so any excuse to be outside in May and June is fine by me. Normally all it takes in the afternoon is a student asking if we can go outside and I am easily convinced. (It is too bad for the morning classes since it often starts out pretty chilly, but by the afternoon it is perfect for outside time).

Outdoor Classroom Day

My classes do know that going outside for Spanish is still time for learning and not just a free for all. For spontaneous and randomly beautiful days, it might be as easy as bringing activities outside on clipboards to sit on the sidewalk or grass and work. Or you can have a planned day and celebrate Outdoor Classroom Day on May 18, 2023. Since 2012 there has been a movement to have all classes outside for a day. You can learn more on their website, with resources available in Spanish & other languages.

Here are ideas that you can use to celebrate this day, or anytime you want to plan or spontaneously just go outside for class.

Read outside

This can be as easy as taking your free reading books to read in the sunshine. With a class novel, I like to have scrap paper by the door and instruct students to grab scrap paper, a clipboard, and their novel, read a chapter, and do one of the following on the fly:

Write a 10 question True/false quiz (& then give this quiz out loud to 3 friends)
Come up with 5 comprehension question quiz in Spanish (& then work with a partner to discuss)
Free write to retell the chapter
Smashdoodle or storyboard to visually show comprehension

See this post for more ideas for reading outside, with examples from the novel Tumba.

Find Someone Who

Grab a clipboard or notebook, a pencil, and your paper Find Someone Who.

I have tons ready for you to review before the end-of-the-year assessments.

Or get this Find Someone Who you are looking for an engaging activity for the last day of Spanish class. Update, you now have the option to get the same last day find someone who in my website store as well.

Chalk

Have students write or draw to retell something in Spanish. Or write questions in Spanish for students to walk and talk about. this would be great as a final review. Use Spanish Question Cards to write the questions, or just post them around.

Spanish Class Scavenger Hunt

Have clues in the target language around the school and outside. I would recommend letting admin and other teachers know that students are out and about and you do need to set the expectations of behavior expected outside of the room. For example, we did this Internado Muffin Hunt to review Internado and get kids out and about. The students loved it!

Cardboard Gloves

If you are teaching a unit on sports or the book Felipe Alou, making cardboard gloves and going outside to use them is perfect for right now. Check out this blog post to learn more about making Cardboard gloves.

Brain Breaks

If you can not take your classes outside for the whole period, take them outside for a brain break. Have a race when talking about comparatives or do a couple of yoga or dance moves outside. There are more brain break ideas here.

Walk and Talk

Basically, just walk around the school and talk in the target language! Learn more about a WalkTalk from Sarah Breckley here. Or if you need more structure post big Question Cards outside around the school.

Campus Clean Up

Talk about the environment in your classes and then spend a day with gloves and garbage bags walking around school and cleaning up. This would be perfect around Earth Day. While you are cleaning you can chat in the target language as well.

Need more ideas? Check out these posts & Take your Spanish class outside

Take your Spanish Class Outside - End of School Year Activities for Spanish class

originally posted 5.16.19 by Allison Wienhold – most recently updated 4.19.22

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Allison Wienhold

Allison Wienhold of Mis Clases Locas has a decade of experience as a #deptof1 secondary Spanish teacher in Iowa. She enjoys creating curricula using novels, films, and music. Allison provides professional development to World Language teachers, including being the keynote speaker at MALT and Comprehensible Iowa, and workshop presenter at dozens of state & regional organizations, school districts, AEAs, and virtual conferences.