August 30, 2009
The Performance
Here is where I completely contradict Idea #1.
There is a danger in exposing students to a new song with a low-energy activity. Filling in lyrics sheets is a safe and simple way to introduce a song, but students also perceive it as work. Sometimes that lack of energy can set a tone that is nearly impossible to break.
When I introduce a song that is dramatic by nature (¿Puedo ir al baño?, Los Quehaceres, Me Duele, etc.), I often find it’s best to present the song with a performance. I turn on the non-vocals version of the songs that is included on my CD and I sing my heart out. I sing with my eyes closed, climb on desks, and scream in students’ faces. Of course, students think I’m absolutely out of my mind, but they usually love the performance.
Following this, we might segway into a more low-energy activity like filling in the blanks. However, the tone for the song has been set. Later, when I ask students to perform, most will imitate my performance and energy.
Of course, this is my personality. You have to teach to your personality, and if this doesn’t sound like something you can pull off (or want to pull off), you probably shouldn’t try. It’s kind of like dancing. You can be a terrible dancer, but as long as you do it with confidence, everyone has a great time with you. But if you try to do it halfway so as to not be noticed, everyone will notice.
If you don’t want to do a live performance, showing my music videos will also serve the same purpose. I have music videos for Billy la Bufanda, ¿Adónde Vas?, ¿Puedo ir al baño?, and Me Duele.
- Page 1 – Introduction
- Page 2 – Lyrics Sheet
- Page 3 – The Performance
- Page 4 – Concrete Instructions
- Page 5 – TPRS
- Page 6 – Verbally Fill in the Blanks (and a game)
- Page 7 – Karaoke Videos
- Page 8 – Closing
Too much clicking? Combine everything onto one page
Gracias Sr. Wooly,
Your tips are great. We have been enjoying your songs in class and the students request it daily, but now you offer some great advice and I look forward to applying them. Especially the “crawling all over the desks” part. jejeje.
Keep up the incredible work.
Sr. Kent de la Chalupa
I fully agree with you about setting things to music that you want them to remember. My principal last year in one of his visits, took up some maracas and sang with us. He reminded me this fall that he still knew “fui, fuiste, fue.”
I found that some verbs can also be learned with the Mexican Hat Dance main refrain music. Verbs like “Estoy, estás, está…” fit to the rhythm — but only if one includes the vosotros form.
I do admit to the kids that they’ll hate me forever, but music works!
Thanks for the great ideas! My students LOVE “Guapo”. We draw Victor and talk about what he’s really like. We sing it and the boys take turns acting out Victor’s role and the girls are the “Victorettes”. This quarter I think I’ll have them bret out into groups and perform the song with props of course, as a presentational assessment. They will videotape it and then we’ll watch them all in class. Gracias Sr. W!
One of my classes found an explanation for “Sam” not having enough time to get to el baño before class…he was talking with friends at the supermarket while looking for a special pink apple that could “rap” “Feliz Cumpleaños” to give to Mr. Bill, his math teacher. He finally found the special apple at Disney World, where a vacationing classmate sold him the apple for $250. Mr. Bill estaba muy contento…pero Sam no tenía la oportunidad para ir al baño antes de la clase de español. Now that you know the background, you can see that “le traeré una manzana” is quite an offer from Sam! Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi! I just wanted to share something that has worked really well in my class. We did the invitation song and after listening and singing the original, I put them in pairs and then they changed the lyrics to other vocabulary words–like jugar al futbol, ver la tele, etc. Then they presented to the class–with fake phones, props, etc. It has been so fun!!!!