Your students know that you are into something when you start the class with a game. Not just any game, but one in which they have to draw a snowman! And not any snowman!
It all started when I remembered about a resource I came across a few years ago (I am sorry but I do not know who posted this idea!). Here is a copy of the prompt:
“What is the name of your snowman? My snowman is called ‘Botón Inolvidable’ (Unforgettable Button),” I said. The name of each snowman would be a combination of the month of a student’s birthday and the first letter of their first name. Some other snowmen this year were ‘Campana Luminosa’ (Lighted Bell), ‘Zanahoria Típica’ (Typical Carrot), and ‘Bufanda Generosa’ (Generous Scarf).
The tricky part for students was drawing the snowman because it had to reflect its new name. I handed a blank sheet of paper to each student and I gave them time to think how to draw their snowman. The results were amazing! Students loved the challenge and enjoyed the game. They were so creative! A student was absent that day so I asked her to draw it directly in her OneNote. She would print it and would be able to participate in class the next day.
The following class, each student shared the name of their snowman. I wrote on the board the starting phrase so that they could start talking. ‘What is your snowman’s name?’ I would ask. I continued asking questions such as, ‘What does he like?’ ‘What does he want?’ ‘What does he need?’ Their imagination started to fly.
Then, I asked students what they could say about their snowman if I asked them, ‘What is he like?’ I gave examples such as, ‘He is creative’ or ‘He is intelligent.’ They immediately got it and I could see their brains at work. They were ready now to attempt to describe their snowman to each other, which they did quite successfully. Next, they wrote the description of their snowman and continued learning how to talk and ask about others.
After working with the snowman, we talked about important people in our lives. We talked about students’ own teachers, other adults in their lives, and characters in books they read, games they play or movies they watch. The snowman, however, was never forgotten!