Website of Elizabeth Wolfson-Ruiz
Uses of PowerPoint in the World Language Classroom 1.) PowerPoint can be used as an initiation or hook to a lesson by showing one to three images that are relevant to the lesson. This type of hook is called “Mysterious Possibilities” or it can be used as a brainstorming activity to have students talk about what they think the unit or lesson is about. An example would be to show three different slides of people in different moods and students will have to come up with that they will be describing moods in the target language. 2.) Another use would be to check students pre-existing vocabulary knowledge by creating one slide for each main category of vocabulary and by having a blank slide in between each category slide where students can use an interactive Smart Board to type in vocabulary words they already know into the blank sides. An example would be the category of food vocabulary. 3.) I have also used PowerPoint by showing pictures to introduce new vocabulary. The new words can be narrated by the teacher so that pronunciation and choral repetition can be used for large class student practice or for individual practice at home, if the teacher posts the PowerPoint as a resource link on his or her Web page. 4.) PowerPoint can also be used to introduce the culture and characteristics of a new country of study. This PowerPoint can be narrated and can include sound and video samples of certain cultural aspects such as traditional dances, music, dialects and customs. An example of this would be a PowerPoint on Galicia where students can see the “jota” being danced, they can hear the “gaita” being played and they can hear a brief conversation between two people in “Gallego” to see what they can understand. See the link to my Galicia PowerPoint on my web page. 5.) An additional use would be to use PowerPoint to have students create their own presentation as a formative or summative project to demonstrate what they have learned about the unit objectives. I also show students a teacher created sample and two or three student samples of a project, so that they can see a variety of ideas. An example of this would be to create an infomercial to sell a health and fitness product to the class. 6.) PowerPoint can also be used to create review activities, such as “Jeopardy” or “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”. My Teacher Assistants have created various Jeopardy Power Points, which I use in collaborative groups to review for chapter tests, the midterm exam and the final exam. 7.) I also use PowerPoint with images and text to present new grammar topics in a short bulleted fashion, and I include some practice examples that can be done orally or in writing to demonstrate that students have grasped the new concept. I like to do this with grammar concepts that students have to decide which verb to use based on the rules of that particular verb and the context of the sentences given. I have used Power Points for “Ser” versus “Estar” and for “Conocer (a)” versus “saber”. 8.) PowerPoint can be used as a speaking or writing activity with images alone. An example would be that if the class objective is students will be able to describe people, objects and places uses the verb “ser” and noun adjective agreement, then they can demonstrate their knowledge by doing this verbally or in writing based on the various pictures shown of people, places and things. I always make sure that I have enough slides so that I hear from each student and I like to use cartoon characters and relevant people that my students can identify. 9.) PowerPoint can also be used to display the directions to students when they are working in stations. This will save time and free up the teacher to be able to assist students at the stations instead of having to reiterate directions multiple times. 10.) Lastly, one can use PowerPoint to create a classroom short story about any topic embedding the vocabulary and grammar learned in a lesson or unit. An example would be to have the class create a book titled “Our Town” or “Nuestro pueblo” and each student would create a slide with a picture and a sentence in Spanish to describe that picture.
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©Elizabeth Wolfson-Ruiz | Last revised: 12/1/2009