ALEX Learning Activity

In this activity, students will use the preterit tense to tell others about things that have happened in their past. Using the free online tool provided by Read Write Think, students can easily create a graphically appealing timeline that features photos and vocabulary relevant to their individual lives.

This activity was created as a result of the World Languages COS Resource Development Summit.

Students can:

• visually present information about their past using past tense actions and date/time related phrases.
• orally present information about their past using a variety of words, phrases, and simple sentences in the past time frame.
• recite short, memorized sentences in the preterit tense.

Bell Ringer: Brainstorm

1. Give students 5 minutes to create a list of important events that have occurred in their life. This activity can be completed in the student's native language.
2. Ask students to look over the list and circle at least 5, but no more than 10, actions that they know they can identify in the target language.

Preparation:

1. Ask students to select 5 of their circled actions and to write one sentence for each. Remind students to keep their sentences simple. Examples include: I moved to Alabama. I started school. I visited the beach.
2. For each of the 5 sentences, ask students to write the date on which the event occurred. (If they are not able to remember specifics, ask them to write at least the month and year in the target language.)

Creation of Visual Presentation:

1. Use the tech instructions posted below to help students create a timeline with their key events. Students should post 5 events on their timeline. If they have more sentences, encourage them to choose the best 5.
2. Instruct students to save their files in a predetermined location. 

Presentation Practice:

1. Have students work in pairs or groups to practice presenting their timelines. The timeline visual provides the key verb (conjugated in the preterit), the date, and a photo. Students should orally fill in other details to give simple sentences in the past time frame.

Oral Presentation:

1. Students will take turns orally presenting information about their past using the created timeline as a visual for other students to follow.
2. During the presentation, students may look at their timeline but they are responsible for adding in other needed information. For lower level learners, these will be short recited sentences. 

Tech Instructions for creating the visual presentation:

To create the slide:

1. Visit the provided web link and ensure that Flash is enabled.
2. Enter Student's Name (First name and last initial) and project title.
3. Click START
4. Click somewhere on the timeline to start.
5. In the LABEL box, enter the preterit conjugation of the verb used in the sentence. Do not write the entire sentence.
6. In the SHORT DESCRIPTION write the date of the event in the target language.
7. Select CHOOSE IMAGE and upload an image to correspond with the action.
8. Click on the CHECKMARK to submit the information.
9. Repeat the process with the other 4 sentences.

To save the project:

1. Select FINISH.
2. SAVE DRAFT will allow students to continue editing later.
3. SAVE FINAL will finalize the presentation allowing no further edits. The final presentation will be saved as a PDF.

• Evaluate each timeline to determine if students correctly presented information about their past. Check for correct conjugation of the preterit verb and correct formation of date phrases.
• Evaluate the oral presentation to determine if students presented information about their past using a variety of words, dates phrases, and simple sentences in a comprehensible way.
• Evaluate the oral presentations to determine if students were able to recite memorized facts. 

• Before introducing this activity, students must be familiar with basic preterit tense conjugations. 
• If using this lesson in the Spanish classroom, remember to focus only on completed actions in the past. This activity should create a visual reminder that the preterit tense is used with timeline actions, unlike the imperfect tense.
• If using this lesson in the Spanish classroom, remind students to use only completed action words. At early stages of preterit introduction it will be helpful to tell them to avoid using the following words: Was, Have, Wanted, Able to, and Knew.

• Consider giving students a '"heads-up" on this assignment. Encourage them to discuss this assignment with their parents as they try to determine the most significant events in their lives.
• For a longer lasting visual reminder, have students write their presented sentences on sentence strips (cut in half). Use duct tape to hang the sentence strips around the room, creating one long timeline. This timeline can hang on the wall throughout the year as a reminder of past tense conjugations and as an illustration of things important to your students.
• For more advanced learners, encourage them to not focus on memorization but rather encourage them to focus on providing content. The content does not always have to be spoken the same way, a skill that moves students toward more impromptu speaking.

Photo Tips:

Photos are important and make the presentations more memorable for visual learners. Students can choose to upload either royalty free clip art or personal photos. I have found that students are more likely to be engaged when I allow them to access their social media accounts during class so that they can upload personal photos. 

Tech Tips:

• The Read Write Think timeline generator requires Adobe Flash Player to run. You can install Adobe from the site posted below. If using a Chromebook, simply change your setting to allow flash to run.
• More information on how to use the timeline generator tool can be located at their main website: http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/timeline-30007.html