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I started out using the Futurama activities with my third year class, and it worked out so well that I was able to move on to using it in all of my classes. Using the same material but adjusting either the task or the instruction, I have been able to use this in all of my classes. The first time that the students participated in these activities, they watched the episode with Spanish audio and Spanish subtitles and then summarized the episode in English. As we progressed with these activities, the students again watched an episode with Spanish audio and Spanish subtitles, and then summarized the episode in Spanish. Ultimately, I decided to give them a questionnaire for each episode regarding the major plot points so that they could pick out the details from the episode.
This activity has worked for me in more than one way. Academically, it has given the students an opportunity to listen to Spanish and see Spanish words in a different way than just from the textbook or from the board. In addition, the students have used this activity as a great way to use the preterite and the imperfect tense to describe the action that happened in the episode, as it was in the past. Behaviorally, these activities have given the classes an incentive to stay on task throughout the week. If I notice that the behavior is not what it should be or if the noise level starts to escalate, I begin a countdown by holding my hand in the air, and counting down from five to zero. If I get to zero, they lose their privilege to watch an episode for the week. The students have responded to these activities in a positive way. They find the program funny even though they don’t understand the complexity of some of the jokes. Some of them were already familiar with the show, so they had a higher interest in the activities. Those who were not familiar with the program have grown to like it, and a few may still not like the show, but they still do the work, and they don’t misbehave during the show. All in all, this has been a good activity that I have grown accustomed to using every Friday. I would use it again for any level of Spanish class because it could easily be adjusted to suit any group of students, regardless of their ability levels. |