There are two types of teachers: The one who has their entire week planned when they return from winter break (their desk is probably really organized, too!) and the other who left the building running at 3:00 on the last day before break.

I won’t say which one I am.

No matter which teacher YOU are, just make sure that whatever you have planned for your students on day one back from break will be as engaging as possible.

Chances are your students have been staying up all night playing video games, sleeping in, and their diet (like mine) has consisted of all things sugar related. The last thing any of our students want to do when they return to school is sit at a desk all day.

Here are my 3 favorite activities to get students MOVING and SPEAKING SPANISH on the 1st day back after winter break:

ACTIVITY #1 – CALENDAR TALK

This is my go-to activity for engagement and one of the easiest ways to incorporate repetition of months of the year, days of the week and numbers in the target language. I plan to use the January Calendar Talk to discuss New Year’s celebrations around the world. For extra input I show the three minute video clip (linked in Calendar) about New Year’s Celebrations around the world.

GET IT HERE

ACTIVTY #2 ¡FIRME, POR FAVOR!

Here is another great activity to get students up moving and SPEAKING on day one back from break. The best part is, there is LITTLE PREP – just make the copies

Begin with a review of the winter activity vocabulary (I always assume my students have not practiced Spanish in a while). Pass out the vocabulary handout and have students look up the words they do not know and translate to English.

There are three versions included in the Winter Break Speaking Activities resource:

For more advanced students use one of the two preterite versions:

Student 1 – “¿Miraste Netflix o Disney+ la semana pasada?
Student 2 – “Sï, miré Disney+.” or “No, no miré Disney+.”

For novice-low students practice with gustar + infinitives

Student 1 – “¿Te gusta jugar en la nieve?
Student 2 – “Sí, me gusta jugar en la nieve.”

Students walk around asking and answering questions IN SPANISH. You could decide ahead of time how many boxes you want students to have signed.

The first student to reach the goal could receive a prize or another incentive. I usually just say “get as many as you can”. The reason for this is that I want my students speaking Spanish rather than be concerned with getting the activity done quickly.

ACTIVITY #3 CUATRO ESQUINAS (Four Corners)

This is a staple activity in my classroom with TONS of variation opportunities. First, print and hang the four gustar posters in your classroom. Next, I have some vocabulary words prepared related to winter break. For example, la navidad, el frío, la nieve, esquiar, patinar en hielo, ver películas, jugar en la nieve, tomar chocolate caliente, etc.

In the target language teacher says a vocabulary word and students move to the corner of the classroom that corresponds to how they feel about that activity. From here, you can vary what you want students to do. Sometimes, I ask students to say a complete sentence using the vocabulary word and category that corresponds to corner they are in. This is what it would look like: student says, “No me gusta nada tomar chocolate caliente.” or “Todos los días yo juego/jugaba en la nieve”. Obviously, what students are capable of saying will depend on their level of language. I ask students to say their sentence to at least two different classmates who are in the same corner. Then repeat with different vocabulary words. This is great to keep students MOVING and SPEAKING!

Another option is to play for “outs”. For this I will have the four posters hanging in the corners, but also have them written out on a card and placed in a bowl or jar. Teacher says the vocabulary word and students move to corner like previous option. This time after students say their sentence, the teacher pulls out one of the cards and all the students in that corner are out and must return to their seats. You continue playing until there is one student remaining.