Chatting about childhood in Spanish 2!

Spanish 2 students are progressing really well with the current unit on the imperfect tense.  As noted in a previous post, the imperfect is a past tense used to speak about actions/events that happened habitually (or “used to” happen).  One practical context to use this tense is when talking about our childhood experiences.

Today Spanish 2 students practiced speaking, listening and writing with the imperfect tense by interviewing each other about their childhoods.  First, students explored some new targeted vocabulary about childhood activities and learned words like swings, action figures, hide and seek, and jump rope.  Then, they created 10 different questions to ask their peers about their own childhood experiences (using the tú or you form).

Then, they circulated around the room and only in Spanish asked, answered and recorded results using various forms of the imperfect tense.  To end the class, we sat in a big circle and I prompted students in Spanish to identify peers that did certain activities as kids.  For example, “¿Hay alguien que jugaba con muñecas?” (Is there someone who used to play with dolls?) and students would check their sheets to report who did/did not do various actions.

I liked that the students had the opportunity to repeatedly practice with the tense and its endings before they had to utilize their speaking skills.  I think it helped them to build confidence with the tense and made them more willing and confident to speak.  Looking forward to more fun with the imperfect after vacation!