Middle School Spanish / Spanish 1 Lesson Plan

Conjugating Regular –Ar Verbs in the Present Tense

90 Minute Block Period, or Two 45 Minute Periods

Objetivos:
Students will be able to interpret and produce conjugations of regular –ar verbs in Spanish.
Students will be able to ask and express what they and others are doing at the moment.

Remedial Objectivos (Background knowledge students need to have previously mastered):

Students will be able to interpret and produce subject pronouns.
Students will be able to identify –ar, -er, and –ir verbs.

Materials:
Marker Boards, Markers, and Erasers; Beanbag or other stuffed animal(s)
Copies of Visual Instruction Plan, Venn Diagrams, and Independent Practice

Opening:
Hacer Ahora (Do Now): Students will list 5-10 –ar verbs in Spanish, and then translate to English. Teacher will
ask students to share out. Teacher will recycle previous structure by asking students, ¿Qué te gusta hacer?
(What do you like to do?), and students will answer by saying Me gusta...

Teacher will then ask students what kind of verbs there are in the Spanish language. Students will answer by
saying that there are –ar, -er, and –ir verbs. Teacher will ask students if anyone knows what it means to
conjugate a verb, and explain that we do it in English. Teacher will give several examples in English, including
to be, to listen, to speak, etc. Today, we are going to learn how to do that in Spanish, and therefore be able to
say full sentences to express what we are doing right now in the present.

Intro:
Students will be provided with the following Visual Instruction Plan (VIP) on a handout, or be given
approximately 4 minutes to copy it down from the board:
Título: Conjugating Regular –AR Verbs in the Present Tense
Fecha:
Objetivo: You will be able to interpret and produce conjugations of regular –ar verbs in Spanish.
You will be able to ask and express what you and others are doing at the moment.
______________________________________________________________________________

To conjugate a verb in Spanish means to: ______________________________________________

hablar: to _________________
yo nosotros (as)
tú vosotros (as)
él ellos
ella ellas
usted ustedes

Step 1: ___________________________________
Step 2: ___________________________________
Step 3: ___________________________________
Step 4: ___________________________________
Teacher will walk the students through the steps of conjugating a verb. As teacher fills in the VIP, either on the
board or on a projector, students will fill in the blanks on their own using the following answers:

Título: Conjugating Regular –AR Verbs in the Present Tense

Fecha:
Objetivo: You will be able to interpret and produce conjugations of regular –ar verbs in Spanish.
You will be able to ask and express what you and others are doing at the moment.
______________________________________________________________________________

To conjugate a verb in Spanish means to: to change the ending of a verb to reflect who we are
talking to or about

hablar: to speak
yo hablo nosotros (as) hablamos
tú hablas vosotros (as) habláis
él ellos
ella habla ellas hablan
usted ustedes

Step 1: Drop the last 2 letters.

Step 2: That leaves us with what is called the stem (all the letters of a verb except for the last 2).
Step 3: Write the stem in each box.
Step 4: Then add the correct endings.

As teacher shows students each step, she/he will perform the steps.

Helpful hint: It really helps to use different colors for the stem of the verb, the ending, and a separate color to
underline each ending. Have your students use different colors as well, if possible, with markers or colored
pencils!
Teacher will then show one more example, using the verb practicar.

Guided Practice:
Teacher will then ask a student volunteer to come to the board. Teacher will ask the class to walk the student
through each step. Have another student volunteer to call out each step as she/he performs them. Then, have
the class check over the students´ work.

Repeat the same with 1-2 more students.

Then, teacher will have 3 students pass out a marker board, marker, and eraser to each student. Teacher will
remind students of marker board norms: no drawing on boards, hold up when they have their answer, etc.

First, teacher will give the students an –Ar verb and they will conjugate it in all forms of the present tense.
Then, teacher will say a sentence in Spanish, and students will translate it to English. Finally, teacher will say a
sentence in English, and students will translate it to Spanish.

Teacher will then have 3 students collect the materials.

Then, students will do a chain drill. It is important to be clear on your expectations of this activity, and to time
your students. Make it a contest between your classes, to see which class can do it the quickest! This is a great
way to get students to remember conjugations. Looking at the verb chart, have the first student conjugate the 1st
person of a verb (yo), the next person the 2nd person singular (tú), the next person the él form, then ella, usted,
nosotros, vosotros, ellos, ellas, and finally, ustedes. For the first couple of rounds, use verbs that you have
already conjugated that may already be written on the board.

Helpful hints: Make sure the students know the order in which they are going (it makes the activity go faster).
Time the students and turn it into a competition between classes. Allow students a practice round to get their
verb down. The first time you do it, you may want to say the subject pronoun and have students say the verb
conjugation.

In the next activity, a beanbag toss, students will continue to practice speaking the conjugations. It runs just
like the chain drill, except students will form a circle in your room. The first student begins by saying the first
person singular form of a verb in a given tense (I/yo/je/ich, etc.), and then tosses the ball/beanbag to another
student. The second student continues by giving the next form (second person singular). When all forms of
that verb have been correctly stated, start over and speed up the throwing or switch to another verb. Since
students don´t know who will be picked to go next, they stay on task thinking about the next form.

Helpful hints: Be very clear about how you want your students to form a circle. The first time you do the
activity, be specific about how you want them to make the circle, and time them. If they don´t do it right, make
them go back to their seats and do it again. Time them to see how fast they can do it. Also, be very clear about
not throwing the beanbag or stuffed animal. Have a student model how to toss it underhand, and tell them that
if they can´t handle it, they will go back to their seats and conjugate many verbs on paper.

Next, have students practice asking and answering questions. Teacher will explain that when we ask a friend
something, we ask in the tú form. When you respond, you usually respond in the yo form. Teacher will write a
sample question on the board, ¿Tú hablas español? Teacher will then write 2 possible answers on the board, Sí,
yo hablo español. / No, no hablo español. Teacher will go around the room and ask each student that question,
and they will answer in a complete sentence. Teacher will repeat the same with another question, ¿Tú practicas
deportes? Teacher will then write the beginning of each response on the board: Sí, yo and No, yo no... Students
will respond on their own. Teacher will then ask a student to fill in the blanks. Teacher will go around the
room and ask students the question, and students will respond in complete sentences. Finally, teacher will add a
third and final question on the board: ¿Tú montas en bicicleta? Students will respond on their own. Teacher
will go around the room and ask each student, and students will respond in complete sentences in Spanish.

In the next activity, students will continue to practice speaking, and asking and answering questions. Give
students a copy of the Venn Diagram on the next page, or have them draw a large one in their notebook.
This activity is great for orally practicing verb conjugations, and helps them to make sense to your students.
Make a list of verbs that you want them to practice conjugating on the board. Have them write their name on
the bottom left hand line. Each student should write his or her partner´s name in the bottom right hand line.
They should both write ¨we¨ on the top line in the middle (nosotros or nosotras). Each student should pick 5
things that they do out of the list of verbs that you have provided, and write them in the yo form underneath
their name. Give them 3-4 minutes to do so. Partner one should ask partner two if partner two does what
partner one does, by conjugating each verb they have under their name to the you form. Partner two responds
appropriately, and partner one adds the appropriate verbs in the correct form underneath his or her partner´s
name and in the we column (in the we form). Then, the activity is repeated and partner two asks partner one if
he or she does what he or she does.

____________________________________

____________________________________ ____________________________________
In the next activity, students will again continue to practice speaking, in a line speaking activity. Have
students count off by twos. Have ones line up in a straight line. Then have twos line up, pairing off so that
each two faces one of the students in the first row. The student that starts (one of the students at the end of one
of the lines) asks a question, and the next student across from that student answers, and asks the question to the
student opposite from him or her. This activity is great to practice memorized phrases, like where are you from
and the appropriate response, in the target language.

Helpful tips: This activity requires really good classroom management in order for it to be successful. If you
do not have good classroom management, this activity can be done sitting down, in rows. To increase student´s
confidence, allow them to write down whatever phrase they are practicing and bring it with them. This will
help to avoid management problems. Have them practice it with a partner before lining up. Time your
students how long it takes for them to get all the way to the end of the line and all the way back up the front.
This can be turned into a competition between your classes!

Independent Practice:
Students will complete a worksheet where they will conjugate each verb given by filling in the verb charts.
Then, students will complete a second worksheet where they begin to conjugate verbs in context.

Closing:
Students will complete an exit slip, where they are asked to conjugate an –ar verb in all forms. For higher level
students, have them conjugate the verbs in context. For native speakers, have students fill in the blanks with the
correct verb in the correct form.

Adapting Lesson Plan to Conjugation of Regular –Er and –Ir Verbs

You can use the same lesson plan as the one above to teach your students to conjugate regular –er and –ir verbs
in the present, as well as –ar verbs in the preterite, and –er and –ir verbs in the preterite. You only have to make
slight adaptations... the Visual Instruction Plan and the independent practice! The following are Visual
Instruction Plans for each of the previously listed categories of verbs.

Visual Instruction Plan for Regular –Er and –Ir Verbs in the Present
Título: Conjugating Regular –ER and –IR Verbs in the Present Tense
Fecha:
Objetivo: You will be able to interpret and produce conjugations of regular –er and -ir verbs in
Spanish.
You will be able to ask and express what you and others are doing at the moment.
______________________________________________________________________________

To conjugate a verb in Spanish means to: ______________________________________________

The endings of regular –er and –ir verbs in Spanish are the same in all forms but:
______________________ and ______________________!

comer: to _________________
yo nosotros (as)
tú vosotros (as)
él ellos
ella ellas
usted ustedes

Step 1: ___________________________________
Step 2: ___________________________________
Step 3: ___________________________________
Step 4: ___________________________________

vivir: to _________________
yo nosotros (as)
tú vosotros (as)
él ellos
ella ellas
usted ustedes

Step 1: ___________________________________
Step 2: ___________________________________
Step 3: ___________________________________
Step 4: ___________________________________
Filled Out Visual Instruction Plan for Regular –Er and –Ir Verbs in the Present
Título: Conjugating Regular –ER and –IR Verbs in the Present Tense
Fecha:
Objetivo: You will be able to interpret and produce conjugations of regular –er and -ir verbs in
Spanish.
You will be able to ask and express what you and others are doing at the moment.
______________________________________________________________________________

To conjugate a verb in Spanish means to: to change the ending of a verb to reflect who we are
talking to or about

The endings of regular –er and –ir verbs in Spanish are the same in all forms but:
nosotros and vosotros!

comer: to eat
yo como nosotros (as) comemos
tú comes vosotros (as) coméis
él ellos
ella come ellas comen
usted ustedes

Step 1: Drop the last 2 letters.

Step 2: That leaves us with what is called the stem (all the letters of a verb except for the last 2).
Step 3: Write the stem in each box.
Step 4: Then add the correct endings.

vivir: to live
yo vivo nosotros (as) vivimos
tú vives vosotros (as) vivís
él ellos
ella vive ellas viven
usted ustedes

Step 1: Drop the last 2 letters.

Step 2: That leaves us with what is called the stem (all the letters of a verb except for the last 2).
Step 3: Write the stem in each box.
Step 4: Then add the correct endings.
Visual Instruction Plan for Regular –Ar Verbs in the Preterite
Título: Conjugating Regular –AR Verbs in the Preterite Tense
Fecha:
Objetivo: You will be able to interpret and produce conjugations of regular –ar verbs in the
preterite in Spanish.
You will be able to ask and express what you and others did in the past.
______________________________________________________________________________

To conjugate a verb in Spanish means to: ______________________________________________

The preterite is: __________________________________________________________________

We call it the preterite, because: _____________________________________________________

Examples in English: _______________________________________________________

hablar: to _________________
yo nosotros (as)
tú vosotros (as)
él ellos
ella ellas
usted ustedes

Step 1: ___________________________________
Step 2: ___________________________________
Step 3: ___________________________________
Step 4: ___________________________________
Filled Out Visual Instruction Plan for Regular –Ar Verbs in the Preterite
Título: Conjugating Regular –AR Verbs in the Preterite Tense
Fecha:
Objetivo: You will be able to interpret and produce conjugations of regular –ar verbs in the
preterite in Spanish.
You will be able to ask and express what you and others did in the past.
______________________________________________________________________________

To conjugate a verb in Spanish means to: to change the ending of a verb to reflect who we are
talking to or about

The preterite is: the simple past tense

We call it the preterite, because: there is more than one past tense in Spanish

Examples in English: I spoke, I practiced, I rode my bike

hablar: to speak
yo hablé nosotros (as) hablamos
tú hablaste vosotros (as) hablasteis
él ellos
ella habló ellas hablaron
usted ustedes

Step 1: Drop the last 2 letters.

Step 2: That leaves us with what is called the stem (all the letters of a verb except for the last 2).
Step 3: Write the stem in each box.
Step 4: Then add the correct endings.
Visual Instruction Plan for Regular –Er and –Ir Verbs in the Preterite
Título: Conjugating Regular –ER and –IR Verbs in the Preterite Tense
Fecha:
Objetivo: You will be able to interpret and produce conjugations of regular –er and –ir verbs in the
preterite in Spanish.
You will be able to ask and express what you and others did in the past.
______________________________________________________________________________

To conjugate a verb in Spanish means to: ___________________________________________

The preterite is: ___________________________________________

We call it the preterite, because: ___________________________________________

Examples in English: ___________________________________________

The endings of regular –er and –ir verbs in Spanish are the same in ___________________!

comer: to _______________
yo nosotros (as)
tú vosotros (as)
él ellos
ella ellas
usted ustedes

Step 1: ___________________________________________
Step 2: ___________________________________________
Step 3: ___________________________________________
Step 4: ___________________________________________

vivir: to _________________
yo nosotros (as)
tú vosotros (as)
él ellos
ella ellas
usted ustedes

Step 1: ___________________________________________
Step 2: ___________________________________________
Step 3: ___________________________________________
Step 4: ___________________________________________
Filled Out Visual Instruction Plan for Regular –Er and –Ir Verbs in the Preterite
Título: Conjugating Regular –ER and –IR Verbs in the Preterite Tense
Fecha:
Objetivo: You will be able to interpret and produce conjugations of regular –er and –ir verbs in the
preterite in Spanish.
You will be able to ask and express what you and others did in the past.
______________________________________________________________________________

To conjugate a verb in Spanish means to: to change the ending of a verb to reflect who we are
talking to or about

The preterite is: the simple past tense

We call it the preterite, because: there is more than one past tense in Spanish

Examples in English: I ate, I lived, I drank

The endings of regular –er and –ir verbs in Spanish are the same in all forms!

comer: to eat
yo comí nosotros (as) comimos
tú comiste vosotros (as) comisteis
él ellos
ella comió ellas comieron
usted ustedes

Step 1: Drop the last 2 letters.

Step 2: That leaves us with what is called the stem (all the letters of a verb except for the last 2).
Step 3: Write the stem in each box.
Step 4: Then add the correct endings.

vivir: to live
yo viví nosotros (as) vivimos
tú viviste vosotros (as) vivisteis
él ellos
ella vivió ellas vivieron
usted ustedes

Step 1: Drop the last 2 letters.

Step 2: That leaves us with what is called the stem (all the letters of a verb except for the last 2).
Step 3: Write the stem in each box.
Step 4: Then add the correct endings.
Other Verb Conjugation Activities:
Index Card Matching
Index cards can be used for a variety of other objectives. You can use them to create a
matching activity. For example, write out each subject pronoun on different index cards.
Then, conjugate several verbs in all forms. Students then match the correct conjugation
to the correct pronoun. You can also use this activity to match pictures to words, and to form sentences.
 Helpful tips:
o Make the subject pronoun cards a different color from the others.
o Give students a time limit.
o If you have students working in groups, make sure to give guidelines as to
how you want them to all participate.
o This activity can require a large amount of prep, so get students to
help you out in making them... Have a native speaker make them for you
during Bingo!

Conjugation Races
Verb conjugations have never been as fun as they are with conjugation races. This activity is a great way to
review verbs. It forces those that are iffy on conjugations to get them down in order for their team to win! Tape
up 2-3 verb conjugation charts on the board before class. This is so that the chart doesn´t get erased each round.
Break your class up into as many teams as there are charts. It works best to break them up by rows (if you have
rows!) so that they are lined up behind the chart. The teacher gives the class a verb to conjugate (and a tense).
The first student to go up writes the first conjugation in the top left hand box (I/yo/je/ich, etc.). Students must
write the subject pronoun. The first student sits down and hands the marker to the next student. Student one
must be in his or her seat before student two gets up. If student one made a mistake, student two must use hir or
her turn to correct student one´s mistake. Then student two sits down, and student three takes his or her turn. If
student two had to correct student one´s work, then student three proceeds with the next box (you/tú, etc.). The
team that correctly finishes all 6 conjugations first wins the point. Make sure that if a student has to make a
correction, that is his or her turn (ie, they cannot add another conjugation).
Helpful tips:
o Some students may not want to participate. Make sure you have a very boring
conjugation worksheet handy, because most students will choose to participate
over the worksheet.
o Make sure to model expected behaviors beforehand, because this activity can get
out of control!
o Do this activity for the last 15-20 minutes of your class period, because they will
be very excited!
o For wilder classes, a variation of this activity is to pass a marker board back
through each row and keep students in their seats.
o Another variation is to call it basketball, and for an extra point, after the
conjugation is complete and correct, the next player on the team can shoot a ball
into a makeshift hoop (like a trash can).
Choral Response
This activity is exactly what it sounds like. Have your students recite or chant a list of information together.
This activity is a really great way to get students to memorize information, such as a new verb.

Dice
Divide your class into groups, either partners or teams of 3-4. Use two dice, if possible different colored dice
and a stack of 3x5 index cards with verbs (infinitives) written on them. The first student draws a card with a
verb, and throws a dice. One die will tell which subject pronoun they need to use (make sure to put a chart on
the board: 1 means I/yo/je/ich, etc.). The other die is for the tense (1 for present, 2 for command, 3 for
preterite/passé). For first year, you can list 6 infinitives instead. If the student writes the verb correctly (or says
it, depending on the variation that you are playing), he or she (or the team) gets a point.
Helpful tips:
o Make sure someone keeps track of points!
o Make sure that students are checking each other and making corrections of
necessary, ie not getting points for wrong answers.

Speaking – Did I Really Say That?

Many of our students speak and write in very short sentences, and are unwilling and enthusiastic to increase the
length of those sentences. This activity helps to do exactly that, and students are amazed at what they can
produce. After doing this activity several times, students will be able to give rapid oral responses without cues.
However, when it is first introduced (and for 3-4 times after), the teacher should write question words and
responses as they are given on the board, so that students can see how sentences are ¨built¨. After students are
able to respond pretty quickly, visual cues should be eliminated, and the activity should be completely oral.
Students will be come very proficient, and doing this activity for 15 minutes or so once a week will be very
beneficial to their speaking ability.
Example:
Teacher – ¿Quién escucha? (Change verbs, tenses, persons, etc.)
Student 1 – Juan escucha.
Teacher – ¿Qué escucha Juan?
Student 2 – Juan escucha la radio.
Teacher – ¿Cuándo escucha Juan la radio?
Student 3 – Juan escucha la radio ahora.
Teacher – ¿Dónde escucha Juan la radio ahora?
Student 4 – Juan escucha la radio ahora en su coche.
Teacher – ¿Con quién escucha Juan la radio ahora en su coche?
Student 5 – Juan escucha la radio ahora en su coche con su amiga María.
Teacher – ¿Por qué escucha Juan la radio en su coche ahora con su amiga María?
Student 6 – Juan escucha la radio en su coche ahora con su amiga María porque hay buena
música que les gusta.