What is a cognate?
Cognates are words that look and/or sound the same in two languages.
Cognates are a great way to introduce Spanish to students in a safe, low-risk way. As middle school or high school language teachers, it’s really important to set the tone that learning a language doesn’t have to be hard. Helping kids feel successful on the first day of Spanish class and over the first few weeks makes all the difference! Not only does it help you build trust and relationships with students, but it also facilitates easier classroom management and fun for everyone!
Cognate activities
Musical Chairs Seating Chart
Print off 2 sets of these free cognate cards. Tape one set to your desks and pass out the other set to students as they enter the room during the first week. Students find their seats based on their cognate cards. Each day they have a new card, so they are exposed to more and more cognates.
Cognate Stories
If you feel creative, ask for 3-4 volunteers to come to the front of the room with their cognate cards. Use those cards along with these Sweet 16 verb posters to tell a story to the class. Speak slowly and use lots of repetition and pointing to the visuals to help students understand.
For something more structured, try one of these pre-written Spanish cognate stories.
Start by reading the story aloud to the students using the slides. For extra engagement, you can ask students to hold up their cognate cards when they hear them mentioned in the story. Then pass out the printed version of the story and re-read it while students follow along. Finally, students answer the reading comprehension questions. This can be an exit ticket or just a discussion, but it serves 2 purposes: a formative assessment and proof to your students that they will survive their first year in Spanish class!
Things to remember about the first week of Spanish class
- Kids are anxious. We have to build their confidence. In some cases, they already have experience with language learning and you need to rebuild that confidence.
- Students are still in summer mode. Ease them in slowly.
- Spanish is an elective. They chose to be here, so give them a reason to stay.
- Class can be rigorous while still being fun.
- Students remember how you made them feel more than anything you will teach them.
