Saint Valentine’s Day is on February 14th; it is a holiday that celebrates love and romance. On this day, lovers around the world profess their love for one another. Stores sell candy, chocolates, stuffed animals and heart-shaped gifts. Florists sell out of roses, a common symbol of this holiday.
The week of Valentine’s Day, I reviewed Spanish vocabulary with my students covering the theme of love. Phrases that were on the list included: my love, my darling, and I love you with all of my heart. When the students came into the room I had the following poem written on the board:
Roses are red
Violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet
And so are you.
The students recognized this poem from when they were in elementary school. They remember this poem because it is short, simple and has a rhythm to follow. After reading the poem in English, we translated it into Spanish. Then the students were challenged to create their own short poems in Spanish. The activity was fun because they were able to use their new vocabulary lists and write cheesy, romantic poems or funny ones, it was their decision. In my opinion, holidays provide teachers with plenty of different opportunities to create learning experiences.
Vocabulary Words
Saint Valentine’s Day- a holiday celebrated on the fourteenth of February
Profess- declare, announce
Gifts- presents, items given without payment
Florists- people who sell flowers
Symbol- letters or images that represent meanings
Rhythm- a pattern of beats
Cheesy- overly sweet or emotional
Vocabulary Activity-
Part 1. Write the vocabulary word under the category of which it belongs. The categories include: Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives.
Part 2. Write your own sentences using the vocabulary words. You can use one word in a sentence or more than one if you are able.
Grammar Point-
Identify all of the descriptive words (adjectives) in this blog entry. Don’t forget in English adjectives typically come before nouns (people, places, things).
Grammar Activity-
Write your own short Valentine’s Day Poem using a simple rhythm. You can use the website below to give you some ideas. http://www.brownielocks.com/valentinepoems.html
I think using poems as a form of writing in the classroom is such a great way to get students to be creative and use language in an interesting way!
ReplyDeleteI love the activity you created for your Spanish class. I think poetry is such an essential part of language learning.
ReplyDelete