Are you looking to add a some fun routines to your week? Try arte martes! It’s quick, pretty low prep, and goes with whatever unit you are teaching! I first got this idea from none other than the Nebraska CI star Jamie Demson (formerly Honke), but I don’t know if she originated it. If you learned it somewhere else, drop a comment and set me straight!
STEP 1: FIND AN IMAGE AND PROJECT IT ON THE BOARD
Find an image, preferably with lots to see. It does NOT have to be art, but it can be! I also like to use images taken of everyday life in Spanish-speaking countries. I try to find images that reflect cultural and ethnic diversity. Sometimes I use images that are demonstrating a custom or tradition. Try finding (or AI creating!) images that relate to a class novel or that complement your current unit of study!
STEP 2: SET THE TIMER
I explain to the students that they will have 2 minutes to study the image. I invite them to come up to the board to get a closer look. I tell them to etch every detail on their brain because it’s a contest who remembers the most.
STEP 3: QUESTIONS
Remove the image and have the students get out a pen and paper. Proceed to ask them questions about the image in the target language. Some good questions are: where does this take place? how many people are in the image? Are there any animals in the image? What color is the sky? What does the man have in his hand? Preparing your questions doesn’t take long – I have even done them during the 2-minutes the students are looking at the image! However with level 1 it can be helpful to project the questions after you read them aloud to reinforce what they heard.
STEP 4: JUDGMENT TIME!
Students either trade papers or you redistribute them. Project the image again. Read each question again in Spanish and verify each’s answer with the class by looking at the image. When done, pass back the papers and ask how many got 5 right? and so on until you find who wins. I just give them a sticker 🙂
Click below for a presentation I use to lead my Spanish 2 students step by step through 2 arte martes examples.
What do you think? Will you give arte martes a try?
Storytime con Sra. Jensen 