Sub-topic 6: ¿Qué opinas de mi casa?
Suggested Lexical Content
¿Qué?, ¿Para qué?,
Specific Learning Objectives
After completing this subtopic, the student will be able to:
- Understand descriptive paragraphs about a house or neighborhood.
- Understand short emails that express likings or comparisons.
- Understand stories about the process of building a house.
- Write descriptive paragraphs about their own house or neighborhood.
- Write paragraphs comparing their house with other houses.
- Write emails expressing liking for a friend's house.
- Write stories expressing the detailed process of building a house.
- Understand simple descriptions of a certain place.
- Understand when someone expresses preference about houses.
- Understand when two or more objects are compared.
- Understand when objects are described.
- Understand when others compare a present location with a past location.
- Describe neighborhood, and home.
- Name the different sections of his/her house.
- Express belonging.
- Express likes and preferences for objects.
- Compare house with others houses.
- Hold simple dialogues related to their home.
Suggested Activities
Oral Comprehension and Expression
Step 1
▪ Select a student from the class and ask the following question, in Spanish: ¿Cómo es tu casa? Based on previous knowledge students are expected to describe their house, specifying the material it is made of, the color, the location, the number of sections it has, the appearance, etc.; a description of their the neighborhood must be provided too.
Written Comprehension and Expression
Step 2
▪ Each student must complete exercise # 22 of the workbook. In this exercise the student is presented with a description of Roberto's house. This description provides the location, the material it is made of, the color, appearance, size, number of sections, and a description of the neighborhood, etc.
Written Expression
Step 3
Based on the description given in exercise # 22, each student will write an email to the teacher expressing their likes about Roberto's house alongside comparing it to their own house. Before doing this exercise, the teacher should provide students with a list of phrases and/or sentences, in Spanish and English, used to express likes and to compare houses. For example:
Me encanta
Me gusta
Es más bonita/fea que…
Es más grande/pequeña que..
Son iguales en…
La casa de ___ es _____; mientras que la mía no tiene…
La casa de ______ está en... La mía está en…
La casa de ______ tiene más/menos secciones que la mía.
Note: it is important to consider that all the vocabulary required to complete this exercise (describing, comparing and expressing what the student likes or dislikes) was already presented and practiced at level A2.1. It is at the discretion of the teacher to make a brief review before engaging students in this activity.
Written Comprehension
Step 3
Each student must complete exercise # 23 of the workbook. In this exercise, students are presented with a message describing and comparing houses. Students must complete “part 2” of this exercise.
Oral Comprehension
Step 1
Read to students a dialogue in which a businessman wants to buy a house; however, this businessman is indecisive on which one to buy; therefore, he decides to share the details of both houses with his wife. He describes the houses to her, by comparing and expressing everything he likes and doesn't like about each house. The wife tells him which house she prefers and why. Based on the dialogue, the students will have to answer 7 comprehension questions (exercise #24) in the workbook.
No sé cuál casa escoger (diálogo)
Pedro: Ya vine Ana
Ana: ¿Cómo te fue? ¿Compraste la casa?
Pedro: La verdad, no. No pude decidirme por una de ellas.
Ana: ¿Cómo así?
Pedro: Vi ambas casas y ambas tienen características buenas y malas:
Ana: Por favor, explícame…
Pedro: La casa que está en San Felipe está grande; es de cemento y está nueva; tiene 8 secciones muy amplias en donde pueden caber todos nuestros muebles y electrodomésticos; sin embargo, no me parece segura – tal vez porque está un poco retirado del centro de la aldea.
Ana: ¿Cómo es la de Sarteneja?
Pedro: La casa que está de venta en Sarteneja es un poco pequeña y vieja; es de madera y está pintada de color amarillo –bueno, el color no importa mucho-. Tiene 5 secciones. El baño está afuera de la casa. Lo que me gusta es que el lugar es tranquilo y muy visitado por los turista; sin embargo, no creo que quepan nuestros muebles y electrodomésticos en ella.
Ana: Me gusta la de San Felipe por ser grade y de cemento, mas prefiero la de Sarteneja, ya que me encanta ser parte del turismo. Me quedo con la de Sarteneja aunque tenga que vender algunos muebles.
Pedro: No se diga más…nos vamos a vivir a Sarteneja.
Oral Comprehension and Expression
Step 1
Ask students to print the image of two houses on different sheets of paper (8X10” color); one they like and one they don't like.
The students must bring both images to class to present them.
In the presentation (without reading), the student will describe each of the houses (location, neighborhood, material, color, appearance, number of sections it has, etc.); at the same comparing and expressing their likes and dislikes about each house.
At the end of the presentation, select two students to ask the presenter a question about the content of their presentation; for example: ¿Por qué no te gusta la primera casa?
The student who asks must do so in Spanish and in complete sentences; in the same way the one who answers these questions.
Introduction of Vocabulary
Step 1
Write the following vocabulary:
Primero
Luego
Posteriormente
De igual forma
De la misma forma
Finalmente
Step 2
Ask students if they know the list of vocabulary, in English. If the students knew, write the respective translation next to each word. In the event that the students do not know, the teacher must provide the translation.
To reinforce the vocabulary, provide examples of its use, in complete sentences, for proper understanding in Spanish, always focused on the vocabulary of the house; for instance:
Primero compró el cemento, luego la arena.
Primero pintó la pared, luego las puertas y las ventanas; seguidamente, pintó el techo.
Puso luces en la sala; de igual forma en el corredor.
Pintó la cocina de la misma forma que pintó el comedor.
Primero construyó la sala; luego el comedor y la cocina; finalmente, los dormitorios.
Written comprehension
Step 1
Each student must complete exercise # 25 of the workbook. In this exercise, students will be presented with 10 fill in the blanks sentences.( A word bank will be provided)
Note: For this activity, the teacher must assist the students with the words they do not know, in Spanish.
Oral Comprehension
Step 1
The teacher will read to the students a text that describes, step by step, the process of building a house. The students will have to answer some questions based on the text that the teacher read.
Note: learning about the construction process of a house is intended to prepare students to describe the process of anything else; for example: a cooking recipe or a special event.
Written Expression
Step 1
Each student should complete exercise #26 of the workbook. In this exercise, the student should write two paragraphs where explaining the process of house construction (factual or real). The student should start from the time the materials were bought until the end of the construction.
This work should be done in class. The teacher will assist the students if they don’t know a word in Spanish.
Oral Expression
Step 1
Using the same text from exercise #26, each student should prepare an oral presentation (without reading). They are to present step by step, the process of a house construction. After each presentation, select a student to ask a question to the presenter. Both the question and the answer should be in Spanish an in a complete sentence.
Oral Comprehension and Expression
Step 1
Prepare an oral dialogue based on the following situation.
- El alumno hoy vive en una casa diferente que hace un año.
- El alumno conoce cómo fue construida su nueva casa.
- El alumno sabe comparar su casa anterior con la actual.
- El alumno sabe expresar lo que le gusta y no le gusta de su casa actual y de la anterior.
To carry out this dialogue, the student must be ready to answer the following questions:
- ¿En dónde vivías?
- ¿Y tú?
- ¿Cómo era tu casa?
- ¿Cómo es tu casa?
- ¿Cómo construyeron tu casa?
- ¿Y la tuya?
- Compara ambas casas.
- ¿Qué es lo que te gustaba de tu antigua casa?
- ¿Qué es lo que te guata de tu casa actual?
- ¿Y a ti?
- ¿Qué es lo que no te gustaba de tu antigua casa?
- ¿Qué es lo que no te guata de tu casa actual?
- ¿Y a ti?
For this dialogue, assign a partner to the student when presenting. All students must participate in this activity.
Note: Through this kind of activities, we prepare the students to have a real conversation in the target language, since they don’t know who they will be conversing with.
