A Blank Canvas

Every unit of study provides the opportunity to create a project. One of my favorite things about teaching Spanish is that projects are an integral part of the curriculum. Often time, it is not what to present, but how. This easy to make triangle display (see below for instructions) is a great vessel for any number of topics, whether in the World Language Classroom or beyond.

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For my current unit, my 4th graders are studying animals in a few different land and water habitats. For this presentational activity, students were instructed to choose one land and one water habitat to present to the class. Students fill their habitats with an appropriate background and a few animals. Once the habitats are complete, students will share with the class, focusing on our vocabulary and the learned phrase of "(The animal) lives in (the habitat)". 

While this presentation works well for a novice low student, it can also work at the higher levels as well. 
For higher proficiency students: 

• Require more language from the presenter. Students do not have to put more items in the triangle, but rather give more detail.
• Audience members ask questions of the presenter. (Which also takes this project to the interpersonal mode).
• Students switch projects and talk about a friend's. 
• Students describe the project without showing it to their classmates. The classmates draw the project based on what they hear. (Now it is interpretive, too!)

Use with the following topics/themes:

• The house, family and chores (Use each triangle as a room in a house.)
• Meal planning and healthy eating (Create a healthy meal.)
• Winter/summer activities
• All About Me (The students make a scene with all of their favorite things and their classmates can guess who it is).
• And much, much, more!

To create the triangle diorama:

Use a square paper. Fold the paper in half on the diagonal to make a triangle.

Fold the paper in half again to create a smaller triangle.

Open the paper and choose one line. Cut the paper on the line to the center point. Do not cut any further!

Color and decorate. Take one of the cut triangles and pull it over the other. Glue the top triangle to the bottom.