Coming back from winter break can feel like a struggle! Students haven’t heard or used language in two weeks (or more); so how can we get them back on track? Keep reading for some ideas on celebrating the New Year in Spanish Class.
1. Create a Vision Board (in Spanish) for the New Year
One of my favorite things about teaching Spanish? We can talk about pretty much ANY topic as long as it’s in the target language.
I love to create vision boards with my students. I ask them to come up with 10 things they would like to achieve in the New Year and then share them with the class.
This is a great activity to encourage speaking and get students using Spanish again! My students loved doing these last year.
For more details on this, check out this post.
2. Write New Year’s Resolutions in Spanish
Many times this sounds like a great idea in theory but gets lost in execution. After doing this mini project for many years, I have come up with a solid foundation for writing New Year’s Resolutions in Spanish.
First, I ask students to reflect on what they did last year. We review a little past tense, we brainstorm key phrases and write ten things we did (or did not get to do) last year.
Then, we brainstorm what we’d like to do this year. This can be a want or a desire, it doesn’t have to be something that will definitely happen.
For example: In 2020, I did not travel much. In 2021 I want to travel more.
I then invite students to level up and add on to this with a reason; WHY do you want to do this? It’s a great review of common phrases that they may have forgotten over the break.
If this sounds like something you’d like to try- grab my already done for you version here.
3. Make a Wish List in Spanish
This is a great activity to do with lower level classes! I ask my students to create a wish list of things they would like to accomplish in the New Year. Depending on the level, you can provide students with supporting phrases such as: I wish, I want, I would like, I hope.
Then, I have my students come up with 10-20 wish list items they would like to accomplish in the New Year. This is a fun spin on New Year’s Resolutions and allows them to look at goal setting in a more positive and fun way!
How do you celebrate a new year in your Spanish class?
