In my classes I have learners practice their reading and writing in every lesson. Usually I have them do this by providing them with a writing prompt that meets a very specific list of criteria:
1. The prompt must be simple and must require the learners to use the target vocabulary or grammar.
2. The prompt must give the learners a specific task to perform.
3. The task should involve each learner reading and understanding what the previous learner wrote, and writing something for the next learner.
4. The task should be as gamified as possible.
5. The task must require the learner to provide information known only to themselves.
In my experience, learners find these tasks quite enjoyable and helpful.
In the hopes of helping other educators, here is the list of writing tasks that I currently use in my Elementary Spanish 1 and 2 courses. I would love to get feedback on my current tasks and / or more ideas for new tasks. (Note: These tasks are set up to be used in my current courses, and thus are very much based on the content from the textbook that we are currently using at NSU. Nevertheless, they should provide some good ideas no matter that grammar and vocabulary you are covering.)
Vocabulary tasks:
Greetings: Greet the person before you. Answer their question. Ask a question for the person after you.
Example: Hola, me llamo Dr. Wendorf. ¿Cómo estás?
Classes: Indicate whether you agree or disagree with one thing the person before you wrote. Write out at least three statements about your opinion about different class subjects.
Example: El español es fácil. La informática es interesante. La literatura no es mi favorita.
Descriptions: Guess who the movie character is the person before you was talking about. Share a screenshot from Adivina showing several different movie characters. Secretly choose one of them and write at least three sentences describing them.
Example:
Foods: Indicate whether you agree or disagree with one of the statements from the person before you. Write at least three sentences talking about HOW you like or dislike certain foods.
Example: Me gusta sopa con pan. Me gusta ensalada con pollo. En mi familia, nos gustan papas con queso.
Family: Guess who the person before you is talking about. Share a screenshot from The Family. Secretly choose one of the people and write at least three sentences talking about how they are related to other people in the family.
Example:
Home: Read what everyone before you wrote about our class' dream home. Write at least three sentences describing our class' dream home. Do NOT contradict what anyone else has said about our dream home!
Example: El baño es muy grande. Tiene piscina azul. Está en las afueras de la ciudad.
Clothing: Guess who or what the outfit the person before you described is for. Then write at elast four sentences describing of a prototypical outfit for a specific situation or a specific group.
Example: Bata marrón de lana. Botas marrones de cuero. Cinturón de cuero marrón. Camisa marrón de manga larga de lana. Sable láser azul o verde.
Sports: Guess which sport the person before you is talking about. Write at least four sentences describing your favorite sport.
Example: Hay una pelota blanca. Hay seis personas en cada equipo. Hay una red. A veces hay una playa.
Holidays: Guess which holiday the person before you is talking about. Write at least 5 words you associate with your favorite holiday.
Example: otoño, pavo, comida, familia, descanso
Jobs: Guess which job the person before you is talking about. Write at least four sentences describing a profession.
Example: Trabajan en todas las ciudades. Tienen que estudiar para la licencia / certificado. Hablann con muchas personas. Trabajan con las manos. Ayudan a las personas a ser más guapas.
Food: Guess which food the person before you was talking about. Share a screenshot of Adivina showing several foods. Secretly choose one of the foods and write at least four sentences to describe it.
Example:
Grammar Tasks:
Adjectives: Answer the question from the person before you. Write at least two sentences in which you describe yourself. Ask a question for the person after you.
Example: Soy creativo. No soy romántico. ¿Eres optimista?
Prepositions: Guess which item the person before you is talking about. Share a screenshot of The Storage Room. Secretly choose one of the items and write at least three sentences describing its position with relation to other items in the room.
Example:
Numbers 0 - 99: Google what business the number from the person before you goes to. Write out the phone number (in pairs of digits) for a local business.
Example: Noventa y uno, ochenta y cuatro, cincuenta y seis, cincuenta y cinco, once.
Telling Time: Guess which item from the previous person is a lie. Write out at least three times and the things you do at those times. One of them should be a lie
Example: A las seis y veinte de la mañana - get up. A las seis de la tarde (más o menos) - dinner. A las diez y media de la noche - bedtime.
Questions: Answer at least one question from the person before you. Write out at least two open-ended questions for the person after you.
Example: ¿Dónde trabajas? ¿Qué estudias?
Estar for feelings and locations: Answer the question from the person before you. Ask the next person about how they feel in a specific place.
Example: ¿Cómo estás en la biblioteca?
Conjugation of regular -ar verbs: Guess the lie from the person before you. Write at least three sentences using -ar verbs talking about the habits of people in your life. One of the sentences should be a lie.
Example: Bailo mucho. Mi esposa habla en la universidad todos los días. Muchos de mis amigos trabajan en la universidad.
Conjugation of regular -er and -ir verbs: Answer one of the questions from the person before you. Write at least two yes/no questions using -er -ir verbs about the people in the life of the person coming after you.
Example: ¿Lees mucho? ¿Tus padres comen pizza?
Articles: Guess what the items from the person before you are for. Write out at least three items for, including their articles, for a specific activity.
Example: la mesa, la computadora, el libro
Gender and Number Agreement: Guess which of the sentences from the person before you is a lie. Write at least two sets of sentences in which you compare things that people in your life own. One of the statements should be a lie.
Example: Yo - mi auto es bueno. Mi papá su auto es grande. Mi famillia - nuestra computadora es rápida. Mis amigos - Sus computadoras son nuevas.
Ser + adjectives: Guess who the movie character is the person before you was talking about. Share a screenshot from Adivina showing several different movie characters. Secretly choose one of them and write at least three sentences describing them.
Example:
Ser vs. estar: Try to match up the sentences from the person before you. WRite at least two descriptions of how people in your life normally are, and how they are different than that in certain situations.
Example: Yo soy trabajador. Pero, estoy....
Mi amigo es fuerte. Pero está....
débil en la mañana.
perezoso los domingos.
Possessives: Try to guess who goes with each sentence. Write at least three sentences saying what different people / groups possession(s) are like. Include the list of people.
Example: Nuestra clase es fácil. Mi mesa es pequeña. Sus ojos son bonitos.
yo, nosotros, mi esposa
Gustar: Try to guess the lie from the person before you. Write at least four sentences talking about what people in your life like and don't like. One of the sentences should be a lie.
Example: Me gusta el amarillo. Me gusta nadar. A mis estudiantes les gusta sacar buenas notas. A mi esposa le gusta el otoño.
Ir and Ir + a + inf: Guess the lie from the person before you. Write out at least four sentences about your plans for the next break. One of them should be a lie.
Example: Voy a tocar el piano. Voy a descansar. Mi familia va a ir a la ciudad. Los jóvenes en mi familia van a leer mucho.
Por vs. para: Try to guess the movie character from the person before you. Share a screenshot from Adivina showing several different movie characters. Secretly choose one of them and write at least three sentences talking about them. Each sentence must contain por or para.
Example:
Camina por mucho tiempo. Camina por un camino amarillo. Camina para llegar a casa.
-Go verbs: Answer the question from the person before you. Write at least three sentences using -go verbs to discuss your routines. Ask a question for the person after you.
Example: Hago la cama en la noche. No salgo con mis amigos mucho. No traigo comida al trabajo normalmente. ¿Traes comida al trabajo?
Numbers 100 - 2,000,000: Try to write out in digits the numbers the person before you wrote out in words. Try to guess which number goes with which item. Write out in words three numbers (one between 100 and 1,000, one between 1,000 and 100,000, and one between 100,000 and 2,000,000). Write a list of three things those numbers represent
Example: ciento noventa y cinco, dieciséis mil setecientos treinta y ocho, doscientos treinta y ocho mil novecientos
the number of countries in the world, the number of miles to the moon, the number of people living in Tahlequah in 2018
Saber vs. conocer: Answer the question from the person before you. Write at least two things you know / know how to do, and two people / places you have interacted with. Write a question for the person after you.
Example: Sé hablar español. No sé cantar muy bien. Conozco Tahlequah. No conozco China. ¿Conoces China?
Tener + que + inf: Write a sentence saying what someone the person before you talked about has to do in order to fix their problem. Write at least two problems people in your life have.
Example: La esposa de mi amigo es loca. El hijo de mi amigo come mucho.
Stem changers: Try to guess which character the person before you is talking about. Share a screenshot from Adivina showing several different movie characters. Secretly choose one of them and write at least three sentences talking about them. Each sentence must contain a stem changer.
Example:
Duerme en la noche. Viene de un planeta muy sucio. Quiere estar con su amiga.
Reflexives: Try to guess the lie from the person before you. Write at least four sentences using reflexive verbs talking about people in your life. One of them should be a lie.
Example: Mi hermana se maquilla mucho. Mis hijas necesitan mucho tiempo para vestirse. Mis hijos se duermen a las nueve. Me afeito todos los días. Mi papá no se peina.
Reciprocals: Identify the action from the person before you that you think is best. Write at least three sentences talking about reciprocal activities people in your life do.
Example: Mi esposa y yo nos abrazamos. Mi papá y yo no nos hablamos mucho. Mis hijos se ayudan a veces.
Hace + time + que + V: Say which sentence from the person before you you think has been going on for the most excessive amount of time. Write at least four sentences using the formula in which you say how long people in your life have been doing things.
Example: Hace nueve horas que trabajo hoy. Mi hija duerme la siesta hace una hora. Mi esposa habla por teléfono hace diez minutos. Hace una hora que quiero comer.
Present progressive: Try to figure out which picture goes with which sentence for the person before you. Share a screenshot from Adivina showing several different verbs. Write sentences about at least three of them talking about what is going on in them.
Example:
Tener feeling expressions: Try to identify the lie from the person before you. Write at least three sentences using tener expressions in which you identify when people in your life have the indicated feeling.
Example: Tengo sueño en la mañana. Mi esposa tiene miedo de serpientes. Mis hijas tienen mucho frío en el invierno.
Direct Object Pronouns: Try to identify which place the person before you is talking about. Think of a place or thing in your house. Write at least three sentences saying what you do to it using direct object pronouns to replace the "it".
Example: No me gusta limpiarlo. Lo uso todos los días. Cuando estoy en mi dormitorio, lo veo.
Demonstratives: Try to guess which character the person before you is. Share a screenshot from Adivina showing several different characters. Secretly choose which character you are in one of the corners. Write at least three sentences that use demonstratives to talk about the other characters in a straight line from your character. (Pay attention to how close or far away they are from you.)
Example:
Adverbs: Try to guess who the person before you is talking about. Share a screenshot from Adivina showing several different characters. Secretly choose one of the characters and write at least three sentences using adverbs saying how they do certain activities.
Example:
Ser vs. estar: Try to guess the correct verbs and verb forms for the blanks from the person before you. Write a short story which uses ser and estar at least once each. Replace these uses with blanks.
Example: Mi amigo 1. _____ muy inteligente, pero 2. _____ muy tonto hoy porque no estudia para su examen. El examen 3. _____ muy difícil y después mi amigo va a 4. _____ triste.
Indirect Object Pronouns: Try to guess which sentence goes with which person. Write at least four sentences saying what people in your life give as gifts to you, or that say what you give to other people. No one should be identified in these sentences. Write a second list of all the people from the sentences.
Example: Les doy Legos. No le doy nada. Me da juegos. Me da galletas.
Mi hermano, mi esposa, mi papá, mi mamá, mis hijos
Gustar-type verbs: Try to identify the lie from the person before you. Write at least five sentences about the opinions of people in your life using gustar-type verbs. One of the sentences should be a lie.
Example: A mi hijo le encanta llevar calcetines. Me gusta mi impermeable. A mi esposa le parece lógico llevar pantalones cortos en el invierno. A mi hijo le gustan los zapatos de tacón. No me interesan los RomComs.
The Preterit: Guess the movie from the person before you. Summarize the main actions in the plot of a famous movie by using the preterit to write at least four sentences.
Example: El chico salió de su casa. El chico nadó lejos de su papá. El papá buscó a su hijo. Al final, el papá encontró a su hijo.
The Preterit of ir and ser: Guess the traveler of the person before you. Write at least four sentences using ir and ser in the preterit to talk about a famous traveler.
Example: Fue muy malo. Fue a muchos planetas. Fue al templo. Fue muy fuerte con la Fuerza.
The Preterit of Reflexives: Try to guess the story of the person before you. Write some key events of a famous story using reflexive verbs in the preterit.
Example: El papá se enfadó con el niño. El niño se atrevió a ir solo. Se encontró con un dragón. El niño se arrepintió de atacar el dragón.
The Preterit of -er / -ir verbs whose stem ends in a vowel: Try to guess the lie of the person before you. Write at least five sentences in the preterit talking about things that happened last week. One of the sentences should be a lie. At least three of the sentences should contain -er / -ir verbs whose stem ends in a vowel.
Example: Me levanté temprano un día. Leí un libro de Brandon Mull. Construí un juego para la clase de español. Mi familia nadó en la piscina. Mis hijos jugaron con sus Legos.
The Preterit of Stem-Changers: Answer the question the person before you asked about your story. Write a story using the preterit and at least three stem-changers. Write a follow-up question for the person before you about the story they wrote.
Example: Ayer jugué videojuegos con mis hijos. Nos divertimos mucho jugando a Mario Kart. Mis hijos se rieron mucho cuando ganaron. Cuando mi hijo perdió, no se rio.
Post-prepositional Pronouns: Answer the questions from the person before you being sure to use a pronoun in place of the person in the question. Ask two questions for the person after you being sure to have a person after a preposition in each question.
Example: ¿Cuándo hablas con tu mamá? ¿Cuánto dinero recibes de tus abuelos para tu cumpleaños?
Irregular Preterits: Guess where the person before you went on their trip. Write the story of things that happened on a trip you took using the preterit, and being sure to use at least three irregular preterits. You should not identify where you went on your trip.
Example: Fui con mi familia. Estuvimos allí por un día. Pudimos ver un palacio famoso. Unos caballos nos trajeron al palacio. Supimos mucho sobre Rey Ludwig II.
The Imperfect: Guess whether the person before you is talking about themselves or on of their parents. Write about how things were either in your childhood or the childhood of one of your parents using the imperfect.
Example: Vivía lejos de la ciudad. Tenía dos hermanos. Trabajaba mucho.
Preterit vs. Imperfect: Try to guess which story the person before you is writing about. Use the preterit and imperfect to summarize a famous children's story.
Example: El papá murió. La madrastra era mala. La chica fue al baile. La chica y el chico hablaron mucho.
Comparisons of Inequality: Try to guess which ninja the person before you is talking about. Share a screenshot from Ninjaed showing several different ninjas. Secretly choose one ninja. Write at least four sentences using comparisons of inequality to compare your chosen ninja to the other ninjas.
Example:
Comparisons of Equality: Try to guess which ninja the person before you is talking about. Share a screenshot from Ninjaed showing several different ninjas. Secretly choose one ninja. Write at least four sentences using comparisons of equality to compare your chosen ninja to the other ninjas.
Example:
Extremes and superlatives: Answer the follow-up question from the person before you. Share a picture. Write at least 3 sentences about your picture using extreme and superlative forms. Write a follow-up question for the person after you.
Example:
¿Te gusta World of Warcraft?
Preterit vs. Imperfect: Guess which movie the person before you is talking about. Write at least 4 sentences describing a famous movie using the preterit and imperfect.
Example: Estaba oscuro cuando las personas se conocieron. Un hombre quiso matar a otro hombre. Muchas personas mataron a otras personas. No podían aprender la verdad. Por fin uno supo qué pasó.
Direct Object Pronouns and Indirect Object Pronouns: Try to guess the careers from the person before you. Write at least three sentences related to different careers. Each sentence should contain a direct object pronoun or an indirect object pronoun.
Example: Me mandó el documento legal. Te sacó del incendio. Nos vendió la comida.
Double Object Pronouns: Answer one of the questions from the person before you about your most recent experience dining out. Your answer must contain a double object pronoun. Write at least one question for the person after you a question about their most recent experience dining out. The question must contain a direct object and an indirect object.
Example: ¿Te sirvieron el agua rápidamente?
Formal Commands: Write at least two sentences using formal commands telling the person before you what they need to do in order to fix their problems. Write at least two sentences about problems you have in your life.
Example: Tengo un examen el lunes. Nuestro auto no funciona muy bien.
Impersonal Se: Guess what the recipe that the person before you wrote is for. Write at least four steps in a common, simple recipe using the impersonal se.
Example: Se sacan dos rebanadas de pan. Se pone mantequilla de maní en una rebanada. Se pone mermelada de fruta en la otra rebanada. Se combinan las rebanadas.
The Present Perfect: Guess what the lie is from the person before you. Write at least five sentences about things that people in your life have or have not done during your life. One of them should be a lie.
Example: He nadado en el mar. Mi familia ha mirado muchos partidos de fútbol americano. Mi esposa ha comido ranas. He vivido en tres países. Mi hermana ha estudiado tres idiomas.
Using participles as adjectives: Guess the lie from the person before you. Write at least three sentences to talk about the current state of places in your life using participles as adjectives.
Example: Mi habitación está desordenada. Mi oficina está decorada. Mi casa está adornada para la Pascua.
Informal Commands: Write at least two sentences using informal commands telling the person before you what they need to do in order to fix their problems. Write at least two sentences about problems you have in your life.
Example: Tengo mucho trabajo. Mi esposa quiere un gato.
