Breaking through all of the (literal) barriers this year has been a tough one. Building classroom community in your Spanish class may feel like an impossible feat. You’ve tried every new digital tool on the planet but yet, you still feel disconnected.
Don’t worry- there is a simple solution! One quick and easy activity that you can adapt to pretty much any level Spanish class. It will spark interest, create community and start some great conversations.
What is it?!…..Drumroll……This or That!
Think of it like Instagram-Are you familiar with those Poll questions that people put in their stories? The ones where you are given two choices (sometimes totally random!) and you just can’t resist answering?! It’s that exact activity.
How to Set it Up:
You want to present your students with two options. It’s up to you, but I make them choose between the two (because it’s more fun that way!). I like to give them between 10 and 20 questions each time we play. I will keep it related to our unit of study but it’s also important to sprinkle in some random and fun options.
You can simply put two pictures in a Google Slide and have them choose by indicating with one or two fingers, left or right hand, or when life goes back to normal, physically moving to one side of the room.
If you are comfortable with Pear Deck, there are so many ways you can engage students using the Pear Deck add on. This works great for hybrid or fully virtual classes as you can engage all of your students and project their results on the board or your shared screen.
So how does this build community?!
That is the work you have to put in after you present them with the two options. The follow-up questions are everything. Let’s look at an example.
My this or that question is: ¿Cuál prefieres: mirar la tele en casa o ir al cine? (Which do you prefer: watching TV at home or going to the movies?
Next students will indicate their choice. Before moving on to the next set of options, engage them in a follow-up conversation!
Some follow up questions can be: Why? What’s your favorite show? When do you usually watch TV? Do you watch TV alone or with your family? When do you go to the movies? Who do you go to the movies with? Is there a movie you MUST see in the theater? What is it? Which is your favorite movie theater?
From one basic this or that question, I draft at least 5 follow-up questions to engage my students. Sometimes I ask the question and call on the students who volunteer and sometimes I will call directly on a student to answer.
These questions are key to building community (and so important for Spanish Class). Here’s why:
- I am learning all about their likes/dislikes. I am getting to know my students as people- I can then ask them about their favorite show another day and they feel seen. They feel like you are invested in them and they feel comfortable. This will pay itself forward later on when they want to do work for you because they feel a genuine connection.
- This fosters spontaneous conversation. My students don’t know what I am going to ask as a follow-up question. They have to speak and think on their feet. It is natural and authentic. Do they get stuck? Sometimes! It’s ok to offer help or rephrase when you need to.
- Students learn about each other. Students start to form bonds with other classmates over common interests they may not have discovered. This goes a long way- especially amongst quieter students or students who are not in the same circle. They start to see similarities they didn’t know existed and your class starts to form a “family” like bond.
- It is engaging. Your students will not be able to resist answering. Also, making the activity polarizing causes instant engagement (think those amazingly addicting Instagram polls).
- It’s pretty low-prep! Just find two images, words, or logos, put them into your presentation and you are ready to go! Like I mentioned before, you can use your topic to drive your questions or it can be just a totally random and fun activity. Listen in to what your students are talking about (in a non-creepy way, of course!) and take note. Include their interests in your next activity. Now it’s even less prep (because less thinking of engaging questions!) and even more engaging.
Are you ready to try this in your classes now?! If you want to get started right away- grab your free copy below.
If you feel like you’re ready for more and looking for other activities to build community and engage your students in authentic conversations, I highly recommend Socratic Seminars. You can read more about those here!
