Sample from new_sp_1_tg (1)

Capítulo uno
Lección 1
Teacher Tips
The first part of an oral story is background information. Background information is different
from Part 2 of the oral story in that the focus in not on a set storyline. The primary purpose of background
information is that it allows us to practice high-frequent vocabulary. “Practice” in this context means that
the students hear the word(s) in the form of a statement or question from the teacher. Students that are
new to the language all start off as slow processors. As they hear certain structures over and over through
repetitive statements and questions, they will gradually process the language faster. Over time they will
begin to speak. The purpose of the teacher asking constant questions is to give the students this mental
“practice” that eventually leads to fluency. As TPRS teachers, we are typically focused on one of two
things: A) working on comprehension via repetitive statements and questions, or B) developing storyline
(or some combination of the two). As students process language faster, we are able to dedicate more class
time to developing storyline and less on repetitive questions.
Multiple characters are an integral part of background information. They allow the teacher to
focus on comprehension without necessarily having to add additional storyline, which can impede
comprehension, especially for beginners. As we ask questions to compare and contrast one or more
characters, the students will get extra mental “practice” of the vocabulary. This practice will yield faster
processing and eventually fluency. The ultimate goal is to have students that can speak with confidence,
which means without hesitancy and with accuracy. This will happen over time as long as the students
understand at a high level.
A second purpose of background information is to add interest. Background information can
include any of the following: characters, names, locations, and any other related details. This information
does not have to have a storyline connection to part 2 of the oral story.
For beginning students, it will take a lot of circling (asking repetitive questions), for students to
be able to answer the questions and remember the words from one day to the next. As you circle,
remember to point to the words and speak slowly. Remember to write any new words on the board in
both Spanish and English.
The first chapter will have thorough sample scripts for both the oral stories and readings.
The scripts will include a lot of repetitive questions and teacher instructions. The purpose of the
scripts is for teachers to gain understanding on how to plan and teach the stories and readings,
including a feel for how repetitive they need to be so that their students are able to answer their
questions and understand at a high level. The ultimate evidence that students are understanding is
their ability to answer the questions out loud and chorally. If many students are not answering
your questions chorally, then you need to slow down and dedicate more time to focusing on
comprehension and less time on developing storyline.
The thorough scripts are only found in the first chapter. Chapters 2-4 have shorter,
modified scripts. You will need to ask a lot more questions than those that are written in the
scripts. Once the teacher has an understanding for asking repetitive questions and proper pacing,
then the scripts are no longer necessary for the purpose of asking repetitive questions. In chapter
5, the scripts shift exclusively to adding creativity and developing interesting storylines, which is

a major focus of TPRS. If you find that you need additional help asking repetitive questions, then
please refer to the sample scripts from chapter 1.
The term “circling” means to ask repetitive questions. Our goal is to ask repetitive questions with
any fluency structures that are novel or difficult. The purpose of these questions is twofold. First, we want
students to answer these questions out loud and chorally. As they answer the questions chorally, we have
evidence of comprehension. The second purpose is to build fluency, which happens over time, little by
little, one question at a time.
Below is a circling template that illustrates the idea of asking repetitive questions. The sentence
that will be used to illustrate is “Ana quiere comer un burrito.”
1) Make a statement. “Clase, Ana quiere comer un burrito.” Class says “oooohhhhh”
2) ? with a yes response. “¿Quiere comer Ana un burrito?” Verify the detail. (To verify the detail
means to repeat the correct answer after the class answers the question.) “Sí, Ana quiere comer un
burrito.” Class says “ooooohhhhhh.”
3) Either/or ?. ¿Quiere comer Ana un burrito o un taco?” Verify the detail. “Correcto, Ana quiere
comer un burrito.” Class says “ooooohhhhh.”
4) ? with a no response. “¿Quiere comer Ana un taco?” Verify the detail. “Correcto, Ana no quiere
comer un taco, quiere comer un burrito.” Class says “ooooohhhhhh.”
5) ? with an interrogative. ¿Qué quiere comer Ana?” or “Quién quiere comer un burrito?” Verify
the detail. “Correcto, Ana quiere comer un burrito.” Class says “oooohhhhh”.
6) ? with an interrogative. ¿Dónde? ¿Cuántos? ¿Por qué? ¿Cómo?
Remember, as we ask these questions, the responsibility of the students is to answer the questions out
loud and chorally. As they answer the questions, we have evidence that they understand. Circling is a
constant part of TPRS.
These types of circling questions will be listed throughout the teacher’s guide in the first few
chapters. There is a bigger emphasis on and need for circling with true beginners. As students process
language faster over time, the focus gradually shifts to developing storyline.
Part 1: Background information
Structures: (Write these words on the board with their translations. Repeat the Spanish words for the
students and tell them what each word means.)
Había un chico - there was a boy
Era / estaba - he/she was

Instructions for teaching the oral story:
SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR PART 1
Background information:
Ask for a volunteer to be your actor or choose a student actor. The student actor can stay in his
seat until it’s time to act or he can sit in front of the class off to the side. We don’t want the student actor
to act unless the teacher instructs him to do so. For this script the student actor’s name is Steve. You will
use the actual name or Spanish nickname of your student in class. Once you have a student actor, point to
the board and make the statement, “Había un chico”. (Prompt your students to respond with an expression
of interest. This can be an “ooooohhhhhh.” Remember to show a lot of enthusiasm yourself. The students
are more likely to be enthusiastic if the teacher is.)
Begin circling: (Remember to point to the words on the board and speak slowly. If not a lot of the
students respond, tell them that había also means “was there?” and that you are asking them a question.
Ask the same question again and listen for the response.)
¿Había un chico? (After the students answer each question chorally, your job is to verify the detail, which
means to repeat back the correct answer. So here you would say, “Sí, había un chico.” Prompt the
students to respond with enthusiasm.) ¿Había una chica? (Since chica is a new word, write it on the board
with its translation. This is best done before asking the question. Once they answer “no”, you will say,
“Correcto. No había una chica, había un chico.”) ¿Había un chico o una chica? ¿Había dos chicos? ¿Qué
había? ¿Cuántos chicos había?
You will now add a new detail by making a statement. Write the word “el” on the board with its
translation, then turn to the class and tell them, “Clase, Steve era el chico.” Prompt them to respond with
enthusiasm.
Begin circling: ¿Quién era el chico? (Once they answer, you verify the detail by repeating the correct
answer. “Sí, Steve era el chico.” Prompt students to respond with enthusiasm.) ¿Era Steve o Robert
(another student in your class) el chico? (Verify the detail by saying, “Correcto, Steve era el chico.” Point
to Quién and then pause to allow for processing time.) ¿Quién era el chico? (Point to Qué to allow for
processing time) ¿Qué era Steve? ¿Era una chica? ¿Era una chica o un chico? ¿Qué era Steve?
You will now talk to your student actor. Before doing so, you will write “eres” and “soy” on the
board with translation. When addressing your student actor, turn your shoulders towards him and ask him,
“Steve, ¿eres un chico?” If your student actor does not respond by saying, “Soy un chico” then prompt
him by pointing to the answer on the board. Once he answers “Soy un chico”, then you will verify the
detail twice. First, verify the detail with the student actor by saying, “Sí Steve, es correcto, eres un chico.”
Next, verify the detail with the class by saying, “Clase, Steve era el chico.” Notice that you verify the
detail with the student actor in the present tense but with the class in the past tense. Prompt the students to
respond with enthusiasm, like an “ooooohhhhh” or “¡Excelente!” Continue circling: Clase, ¿era Steve un
chico? ¿Quién era el chico? Turn to Steve and ask, Steve, ¿qué eres, un chico o una chica? Clase, ¿quién
era el chico?

Add a parallel character:
You will now introduce another character, called a parallel character. The new character will
either be a student in your class or a student playing the role of a national or local celebrity or an animal.
The purpose of the parallel character is to allow you to practice the basic verbs like “era, eres, etc.” in an
interesting way. Remember that “practice” in this context means that you will ask the students questions
and they will answer the questions. These questions give the students the mental practice that they need in
order to process the language faster and eventually speak. At this point, the focus is primarily on
comprehension and not on developing storyline. To add a parallel character, either tell the students the
new character (e.g., “Clase, había una chica. La chica era Beth.” (a girl in your class) ), or ask a question
and letting them guess (e.g., “Clase, ¿quién era la chica?”) A student may volunteer to be the girl or
students may suggest the name of a celebrity. You can take one of their answers or give one of your own.
If the parallel character is a student, then the girl would be herself. If the character is a celebrity or animal,
then a girl in the class would play the role of the character. Now you have two characters, Steve and the
girl.
You will now go through the same process of asking questions both to the class in the past tense
and to your new student actor in the present tense. This will take a lot of your class time. Below is a small
script of what this could look like. You could ask several more questions than those from the script
below. For the script below, we will assume that the parallel character is a girl in your class named Beth.
Begin circling:
Clase, ¿quién era la chica? (Verify the detail by saying, “Correcto, Beth era la chica.” Prompt the students
to say something like “oooohhhhhhh”.) ¿Era Beth la chica o el chico? (Verify the detail by saying,
“Correcto, Beth era la chica.”) ¿Era Beth un chico? (Once the class says no, you verify by saying,
“¡Correcto, es ridículo! Beth no era un chico, Beth era una chica.”) Write the word “tú” on the board in
front of eres and tell the students what it means. Then ask Beth, “Beth, ¿eres tú la chica?” Beth’s response
is “Sí, soy la chica.” If she doesn’t respond, then help her by pointing to the board. If she hesitates due to
lack of confidence in speech, then help her talk. You model correct pronunciation by saying, “Soy la
chica.” This may be helpful in getting her to respond in a complete sentence. Once she answers in a
complete sentence, then you verify this detail twice. First, you’ll say to your student actor, “Sí, tú eres la
chica.” Then turn to the class and say, “¡Clase, Beth era la chica!” Prompt students to respond with
enthusiasm.
You can continue circling by asking questions to compare and contrast the two actors. Sample
questions would include:
¿Quién era el chico, Beth o Steve? ¿Era Steve la chica? (Verify the detail and prompt the class to respond
with enthusiasm.) ¿Era Steve o Beth la chica? Ask a question to either one of your student actors and
continue circling as much as you want. Listen for how loud the choral responses from your students are. If
they are understanding at a high level then the majority or all of the students will be able to answer the
questions. If several students are not understanding then the responses will be fewer. Weak responses are
an indication that you need to continue circling. The primary purpose of circling is to get the students to
answer the questions chorally. The second purpose of circling is to build fluency, which happens over
time.
When your students are answering the choral responses with confidence, then you are ready to
add a new detail. The next detail we want to add is location. To add the new detail, you will either, a) Tell
the students the new detail (e.g. “Clase, Steve estaba en California.”) or b) Ask the class an open-ended

question and let them guess (e.g. “Clase, ¿dónde estaba Steve?”) Either take one of their suggestions or
simply tell them the answer. Circle the new detail. Sample questions include:
Clase, ¿dónde estaba Steve? ¿Estaba Steve en California o Utah? (verify the detail) ¿Estaba Steve en
Utah? (Once the class answers, verify the detail by saying, “Correcto, Steve no estaba en Utah, estaba en
California.”” Prompt them to respond with enthusiasm.) ¿Quién estaba en California? Write “estás” and
“estoy” on the board with translations. Ask Steve, “Steve, ¿dónde estás tú?” Steve’s response is “Estoy en
California.” Once he gives this answer, you verify the detail twice. “Sí Steve, tú estás en California.”
(present tense) Turn your shoulders to the class and say in the past tense, “Clase, es correcto, Steve estaba
en California.” Prompt them to respond with enthusiasm.
Add a contrasting detail to Beth by telling the class where she was or by asking the class an open-
ended question and letting them guess. Once the new detail has been established then circle the new
detail. Remember to compare and contrast the details by asking questions like: Clase, ¿dónde estaba
Beth? (Idaho) ¿Estaba Steve o Beth en California? Beth, ¿estás en Idaho o California? Steve, ¿dónde estás
tú? Etc.
Once you have circled these details and the students are answering with confidence, then you are
ready to add a new detail. The next detail to add is a city. You will add the new detail by telling the class
the new detail (e.g., “Clase, es increíble, Beth estaba en Boise, Idaho.”), or by asking them an open-ended
question and letting them guess (e.g., “Clase, ¿exactamente dónde en Idaho estaba Beth?”) You either
take one of the guesses from the students or tell them the answer. If you accept a student answer, then you
must first make a statement with the new detail before asking follow-up questions. By making a statement
with the new detail, it is now clear to the class what the answer is. At this point, circle the new detail. Add
a contrasting detail about Steve (Steve estaba en Death Valley, California or ask the class where he was in
California). Circle the new detail and compare and contrast the new details or any previous details.
Once you’ve practiced the new details and reviewed any previous details by asking questions,
then you can add another detail. New details are always added by telling the class the new detail (e.g.,
“Clase, Steve estaba en Walmart en Death Valley, CA.”) or asking the class an open-ended question and
letting them guess (e.g. “Clase, ¿exactamente dónde estaba Steve en Death Valley?”).
You can add more characters and contrasting details if you’d like. If you do, then you’ll want to
continue asking a lot of compare and contrast questions to give the students a lot of practice with the
words.
Remember, at this stage your primary goal is to practice the language with limited vocabulary,
i.e., to work on comprehension rather than to storyline. If you do this then the students will be able to
answer your questions. Over time, they will process the language quickly and eventually master these
verbs. If you practice high-frequency verbs like ser and estar, then your students will reach the point
where they will understand them without you having to write them on the board. Once this happens, then
you will be able to use those words frequently and they will already understand them. This is what it
means to teach for mastery. If you do this day by day, week by week, then even after a couple of months
the students will know a lot of language, which makes it much easier to develop interesting storylines in
class.

Part 2: Ask-a-story
Teacher Tips
The structures are the key phrases that will be practiced via circling. You will write these phrases
on the board with their translations. Before you start circling, read the words out loud in Spanish for your
students and tell them what the words mean. There are typically 3 structures per story, but this story has 5
structures because these are the most common verbs in the language and they will be used in several
stories. Your goal is to circle these verbs a lot so that the students are able to answer your questions with
confidence. Over time, they will process the language faster and eventually be able to speak.
Additional Structures:
Había un chico - There was a boy
Era / estaba - He was
No tenía - He didn’t have
Fue a - He went to
Le dijo - said to him/her
Storyline
Había un chico. George era un chico y estaba en California. George no tenía un gato. No estaba
contento.
Fue a Green River, Wyoming. Había una chica en Green River. El chico le dijo:
-¿Tienes un gato?
La chica en Green River le dijo:
-No tengo un gato.
George no estaba contento. El chico fue a Brooklyn. Había un gato en Brooklyn. El chico levantó
el gato. George estaba muy contento porque tenía un gato. El chico dijo:
--¡Excelente! Tengo un gato. Estoy contento.
Instructions for teaching the oral story
You can use the same actor and locations from part 1 of the story or you can choose a new
student actor and establish new details (If this story is taking place over more than one school day, then
start the second day by reviewing yesterday’s details. It’s best to review by asking questions rather than
telling the storyline so that your students can answer the questions and therefore get the mental practice of
the language that they need.). Remember that any of the details from the oral story can change. Since your
students have not seen this story beforehand, they do not know the details. A detail is only added when
you make a statement or ask a question and let the students guess. When they guess, you either take one

of their suggestions or you just tell them the answer. Our goal is to have as many surprise details as
possible. Surprise details make the stories more interesting. When planning your oral stories, you must
decide which details to change from the original storyline that is provided.
First location
Select a student actor and make the first statement. “Había un chico.” Circle the new detail.
¿Había un chico? ¿Había un chico o un elefante? ¿Qué había? Add a new detail by telling the class the
name of the boy (You can use the real name of the boy or he can play the role of a celebrity.) or by asking
the class for his name and letting them guess. For this script, we’ll insert the name George. Continue
circling. “Clase, ¿el chico era George o Johnny Depp? (Remember to verify the detail after each
question.” Sí, es correcto, el chico era George.”) Ask your student, “Chico, ¿eres tú George?” The boy
responds, “Sí, soy George.” You then verify the detail twice, once with the student actor in the present
tense (“Correcto, tú eres George.”) and a second time in the past tense to the class (“Clase, el chico era
George.”) Prompt the class to respond with an expression of interest, like “ooooohhhhhh”.
Add a new detail by telling the class where George was (e.g., “Clase, George estaba en
California.”) or by asking them a question and letting them guess (e.g. “Clase, ¿dónde estaba George?”).
Take a good suggestion from one of your students. If a student were to suggest Mexico, you can take that
answer if you like it. If you decide to take that answer, then you must make a statement in order to
establish Mexico as the correct answer. You would say, “Correcto, el chico estaba en México.” (Prompt
your students to respond with enthusiasm.) Even though the written storyline says that George was in
California, you changed that detail by allowing the class to guess (this is similar to a group Mad Lib).
When you teach these stories, you are constantly deciding which details from the original storyline to
change and which ones to keep. The students do not know the storyline beforehand so there is not a
predetermined answer. Since the stories are more interesting when students suggest details and the teacher
accepts them, your goal is to change several of the original details by asking open-ended questions and
accepting answers from your students. The goal is to ask questions that do not change the structures or
storyline itself (again, if you are familiar with a Mad Lib, then a TPRS story is similar to a group Mad
Lib), but rather the details of the story. We want to practice all of the structures by asking a lot of
repetitive questions, so those will not change, but will remain central to your story. The structures in
many of the stories pertain to the verbs. So, generally speaking, you want to include the verbs in the story,
and change as many of the other parts of the story as you’d like.
Circle the new detail. ¿Estaba George en México o California? ¿Estaba George en Oregon? ¿Quién estaba
en México? ¿Dónde estaba el chico? Ask your student actor, “George, ¿dónde estás?” George responds,
“Estoy en México.” You verify the detail twice, first to the student actor in the present tense (“Sí George,
tú estás en México.) and then with the class in the past tense (“¡Clase, es increíble, George estaba en
México!”) Prompt your students to respond with enthusiasm.
You can add a new detail by telling the class exactly where George was in Mexico or by asking
an open-ended question and letting them guess. Continue to circle and verify the new detail. For
additional practice, you can add a parallel character and add contrasting details about the parallel
character. Compare and contrast the two characters.

When you are ready to introduce the problem, tell the class, “Clase, había un problema.” Prompt
students to put their hands to their head and say, “¡Oh no, oh no, es terrible!” Then tell the class the
problem. “Clase, George no tenía un gato.” Class responds with an expression of distress like “oh no!”
Circle the new detail. ¿George no tenía un gato o un elefante? ¿Tenía George un gato? (Remember to
verify each detail. “Correcto, George no tenía un gato.”) ¿Quién no tenía un gato? ¿Qué no tenía George?
Write “Tienes – (do) you have” and “Tengo – I have” on the board and then ask George. “George, ¿tienes
tú un gato?” George responds, “No tengo un gato.” Verify the detail twice. “Correcto George, tú no tienes
un gato. Clase, George no tenía un gato.” Class says “oh no, oh no!” Make the statement, “Clase, George
no estaba contento.” (Turn to your student actor and prompt him to show “not happy”. Involving your
student actors with emotion is an important part of TPRS). Circle the new detail. ¿Estaba contento
George? ¿Por qué no estaba contento? Ask your student actor, “Estás contento?” Verify the detail.
Continue circling as long as you’d like. Remember that your goal is to give your students mental
practice of these verbs. The twofold purpose of circling is 1) for students to answer the questions out loud
and chorally, and 2) to build fluency. As you ask questions, listen for how loud the students’ responses
are. Scan the room with your eyes and look for students who are not answering the questions. Your goal
is for everybody to answer the questions so that they are engaged in learning. Over time, they will process
the language faster and eventually speak.
When you are ready to go to the second location, you will tell the class where the boy went or ask
the class where he went. The detail in your story may be different than Green River, Wyoming. Once you
decide on the new detail, make a statement to establish the new detail as a fact of the story. “Clase, el
chico fue a Green River, Wyoming.” Have your student actor physically go to a different place in your
classroom that represents the new location.
Second location
Circle the new detail. ¿Fue el chico a Wyoming o a Oregon? ¿Fue a Casper, Wyoming o a Green River,
Wyoming? (Verify that detail). Write “fuiste – (did) you go and fui – I went” on the board and then ask
your student actor, “George, ¿adónde fuiste? George responds, “Fui a Green River, Wyoming.” Verify the
detail twice. “Sí George, tú fuiste a Green River. Clase, George fue a Green River.” Prompt your class to
respond with enthusiasm. (In this instance we asked the student actor a question in the past tense and not
the present since he was already in a new location.)
Add a new detail/character by saying, “Clase, había una chica en Green River.” Select a student
actor to play the role of the girl. There is going to be dialogue between the two characters. You want them
to face each other and have them stand at a place in the room that allows for maximum visibility for the
class. Once they are in the proper position, you narrate the storyline by adding details one at a time (e.g.
”El chico le dijo a la chica”), and then you voice the speaking lines for them, one line at a time, and then
they repeat their lines after you. You say, “El chico le dijo a la chica, ¿Tienes tú un gato?” (student
repeats the line). La chica le dijo: “No tengo un gato.” (student repeats the line. To ensure that the class
understands, you can also have them translate as you go.). You continue by narrating the story, “El chico
no estaba contento.” (Prompt your student to act not happy.) Circle these details. ¿La chica tenía un gato o
no tenia un gato? ¿Qué no tenía la chica? ¿Estaba contento el chico? ¿Quién no estaba contento? ¿Por qué
no estaba contento el chico? Ask your student actor, “George, ¿por qué no estás contento?” Verify the
detail twice.

After circling, you are ready to go to the third location. To add this location, either tell the class
where the boy went or ask them where he went and let them guess. Once you have an answer, then you’ll
make a statement, “Clase, George fue a Brooklyn (your detail may be a different one).” Have your student
actor physically walk to a different place in your classroom that represents the third location.
Third location
Circle the new detail. ¿Fue el chico a Kansas? ¿Fue a Brooklyn o fue a Harlem? ¿Adónde fue el chico?
Ask your student actor, “Chico, ¿adónde fuiste?” Verify the detail twice. Add a new detail by telling the
class the new detail. “¡Clase, es increíble, en Brooklyn, había un gato!” (Prompt your class to respond
with a lot of enthusiasm, something like “Increíble” or “Fantástico”) El chico levantó el gato. (Write
levantó on the board with translation if they do not understand. Prompt your student actor to pick up the
cat.) To add the speaking lines of the student, you will narrate it to the class and then have your student
repeat the lines after you. “Clase, el chico dijo, Excelente. Tengo un gato. Estoy contento.” The student
repeats the lines after you. Circle the details. ¿Estaba contento el chico? ¿Por qué estaba contento? ¿Tenía
un gato o no tenía un gato? ¿Tenía un gato o un perro? ¿Quién tenía un gato? ¿Qué dijo el chico? Ask
your student actor, “¿Chico, por qué estás contento? Verify it twice.
READING OVERVIEW
Teacher tips
A key for the Read and Discuss step to be successful is 100% comprehension for your students.
As you ask questions, pay attention to how many students are responding chorally to your questions and
how loud the responses are. If the class is understanding at a high level, then they will be able to answer
your questions. You will notice strong responses and ample engagement as a result. Conversely, if several
students do not understand then the choral responses will be weak. If there are weak responses by the
students, then you need to “slow down”. Slowing down will result in increased comprehension and strong
choral responses. One way to slow down is simply by speaking slower and writing any possible unknown
words that you are circling on the board. A second way to slow down is to point at the words on the board
as you ask questions. When the focus is on comprehension and not storyline, then speaking slowly and
pointing to the words on the board will help the students answer the questions chorally. Even during the
reading phase, you may need to limit vocabulary and focus on circling limited vocabulary in order to
yield strong choral responses. Your primary goal is 100% comprehension.
Read and Discuss
The steps for read and discuss are:
1. Teacher reads and translates the embedded readings with the class. Teacher reads one sentence in
Spanish and the class chorally translates it. Students have the option of writing the translations of
unknown words as they go. A second option is to have the students underline unknown words before
translating. If you walk around the room to see the words they are underlining, this will give you a
good idea of the amount of unknown words. Once students are at a point in the year when they know
most of the words in the embedded readings, then this step would be skipped and you would go right
to step 2.

2. Volleyball translation by students.
a. Students sit in pairs in groups of 4 or 6. (A class of ten would have one group of six and one
group of four.) Assign each student a number within the group. Students will change partners
within their groups when you tell them to rotate. When they rotate, only the students with odd
numbers rotate.
b. Students read/translate in the following manner in pairs. Student A reads sentence one in Spanish.
Student B translates sentence one into English and then reads sentence two in Spanish. Student A
then translates sentence two into English and then reads sentence three in Spanish. They continue
this pattern for about 2 or 3 minutes. Once the time expires, the teachers says, “rotate” and all of
the students who have odd numbers rotate within their groups so that everyone now has a new
partner.
c. With his/her new partner, each person indicates how far s/he read with the previous partner. The
partner who read less establishes the starting point of the new pair.
d. This process continues until the slowest students have finished the reading at least once.
e. For volleyball translation, all of the embedded readings are treated as one story. This means that
when a pair finishes the first reading, they go onto the second embedded reading. When they
finish all of the embedded readings they start over.
3. Extended Reading
f. Translate a part of the first paragraph or the entire paragraph by reading a sentence in the target
language and having the class chorally translate. Whatever the students are unable to translate,
the teacher translates for them. The students write in translations of the words they don’t know.
Students now focus on the paragraph for meaning. Since all of the words in the paragraph have
been translated, the teacher is able to make the story comprehensible.
g. Ask the facts. Begin assessing comprehension by asking the facts of the paragraph to both the
class and to the actors. As you ask the facts of the story, the students are answering the questions
chorally and out loud.
h. Make the paragraph more interesting. Our primary objective is to enhance interest by making the
reading more interesting. Ways to do this include parallel characters, surprise details,
personalization, dramatizing storylines, dialogue, acting out events, personalized questions and
answers (PQA), props, technology, and teaching culture. This teacher’s guide will offer different
suggestions with various readings. The expectation is not to do every single one of these things
with each reading.
i. Repeat steps f, g, and h with the other paragraphs until you finish the extended reading.
j. Read, translate, and dramatize the extended reading with student actors.
k. Volleyball translation with the extended reading.
l. Students retell the story.
Instructions for teaching the reading:
Unlike the oral stories, we don’t write predetermined structures on the board during the readings.
However, if you decide to write some vocabulary or phrases and their translations on the board at any
time during the reading step, then that would be at your discretion and is totally fine. Reasons for doing
this would be to enhance the processing time and comprehension of the phrases for the class. It would be
a good idea to ask repetitive questions (circle) for those phrases that you choose to write on the board.
Remember, the goal is to focus on structures that are highly frequent in the spoken language, including
the most frequently used verbs.
While the below script is for the extended reading, you could do similar things with the
embedded readings. In some instances, it may be a better use of class time to spend more time on the

embedded readings. Spending more time on easier stories (embedded readings) could certainly result in a
higher level of comprehension and additional practice that might not be achieved to the same degree with
the extended reading. According to student needs, the teacher has discretion for determining exactly how
much time to spend on both the embedded readings and the extended reading.
Part 3: Embedded Readings
Each student will need a copy of the embedded readings and the extended reading. The embedded
readings are found in the student book of New Mini-Stories for Look, I Can Talk! and also as
reproducibles from the CD Embedded Readings for New Mini-stories for Look, I Can Talk.
The steps for teaching the embedded readings are found on page 9. If you prefer to spend more
time on the embedded readings, then any of the ideas used to teach the extended reading could be applied
to the embedded readings.
Part 4: Extended Reading
All students need a copy of the extended reading. The extended readings are found in the student
book of New Mini-Stories for Look, I Can Talk. Teacher reads and students translate the first paragraph or
just a couple of sentences. The rule of thumb for deciding whether you want to read and translate the
entire paragraph or just part of the paragraph is determined by how well your students can answer the
questions following the translation. If you translate the entire paragraph and then ask questions about the
entire paragraph but the students give weak responses, then it would be better to translate less (as little as
a sentence or two) and then do the questions. By asking questions about only one or two sentences as
opposed to a full paragraph, the comprehension of the students should be higher since you are asking
about less information. If necessary, remember to talk slowly and point to the words on the board. Once
they are able to answer questions at a high level after translating an entire paragraph, then it is fine to
translate the stories one paragraph at a time.
Select a student actor or ask for a volunteer. The student actor will play the role of Bart. After
reading and translating the first paragraph (or less if you decide to do less), start circling just the facts of
the story. The initial focus is simply comprehension. Ask you ask questions, listen for how strong the
choral responses from your class are. If several students are not answering the questions, then you’ll need
to speak slower, write and point to the words on the board, and possibly do some comprehension checks
in English.
First paragraph
After translating with the class, begin circling.
¿Hay una chica o hay un chico? (After they answer the question, remember to verify the detail. “Sí clase,
hay un chico.” Then prompt your students to respond with an expression of interest like “oooohhh” or
“¡Fantástico!” ) ¿Hay una chica? (After they answer, teacher says, “Correcto. No hay una chica, hay un
chico.”) Prompt students to respond with interest. ¿Qué hay? ¿Es el chico Fred? ¿Es el chico Fred o Bart?
¿Quién es el chico? Write “eres / estás” and “soy / estoy” on the board with their translations. Ask your
student actor, “Chico, ¿quién eres tú?” He responds, “Soy Bart.” Verify the detail by saying “Sí, tú eres

Bart. Clase, el chico es Bart.” Prompt your class to respond with enthusiasm. Clase, ¿el chico es Bart o
Kyle? ¿Dónde está Bart? ¿Está Bart en Oklahoma? ¿Está Bart en California o Oklahoma? (Verify each
detail and prompt your students to give an expression of interest.) Ask your student actor, “Bart, ¿dónde
estás?” He responds, “Estoy en California.” (If he just says “California” then point to the word “estoy” on
the board to remind him to answer in a complete sentence. If he struggles with the response, then you first
model correct speech by saying it out loud for him and then he repeats it after you.) Verify the detail by
saying, “Es correcto Bart. Tú estás en California. Clase, Bart está en California.” Prompt students to yell
“¡Es increíble!” ¿Exactamente dónde está Bart en California? (If “exactamente” is a new word, then write
it on the board with its translation) ¿Está Bart en Los Angeles, California? ¿Está Bart en Los Angeles o en
Barstow? (Verify the detail.) ¿Exactamente dónde está Bart en California? Ask your student actor, “Bart,
¿exactamente dónde estás en California?” He replies, “Estoy en Barstow.” Verify the detail, “Correcto
Bart, tú estás en Barstow. Clase, el chico Bart está en Barstow, California.”
Parallel character
Add a parallel character. The character will typically either be a student from your class, an
animal, or a national or local celebrity. One of your students will play the role of the new character. To
add a parallel character, you either A) Tell the class the new character (e.g. “Clase, también hay una
chica. La chica es _____ (name of a girl in your class or name of a celebrity)” or B) Ask a question and
let the students guess the new character. (e.g. “Clase, es increíble, también hay una chica. ¿Quién es la
chica? You can either take a suggestion from the students or just tell them the answer. The parallel
character is sometimes an actual student from your class and other times it is a national or local celebrity
like Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber, the principal of your school, the mayor of your city, etc.).
Once you have established a parallel character and a student to be that character, then continue
circling. We will use the name “Lisa” for the parallel character in this script. Clase, ¿también hay una
chica? ¿Cuántas chicas hay? ¿Quién es la chica? (Remember to verify the detail.) Ask your student actor,
“¿Quién eres tú?” Student responds, “Soy Lisa.” Verify the detail by saying, “Correcto, tú eres la chica
Lisa. Clase, la chica es Lisa.” Prompt the students to respond with an expression of interest. ¿Quién es el
chico? ¿Quién es la chica? Continue to ask additional questions if your students need more practice.
Add a new detail. The new detail will be where Lisa is. Since Bart is in California, we want to
find out where Lisa is. To add this detail, you either A) tell the class the new detail (e.g., “Clase, Lisa está
en Oregon.”) or B) Ask an open-ended question and the students guess. (e.g., “¿Clase, dónde está la chica
Lisa?”) As the students guess, you either take one of their responses or you give your own. For this script,
the detail will be Washington, but the detail in your story may be different. Circle the new detail. ¿Está
Lisa en California? Verify the detail. “Correcto, Lisa no está en California, está en Washington.” ¿Quién
está en California? ¿Dónde está Lisa? Ask your student actor, “Lisa, ¿dónde estás?” She responds, “Estoy
en Washington.” (If she needs help with her answer, then prompt her by either pointing to the word
“estoy” on the board or by saying the answer for her and then she repeats it after you.) Verify the detail.
“Correcto, tú estás en Washington. Clase, Lisa está en Washington.” Prompt the class to respond with
enthusiasm. ¿Está Lisa o Bart en California? ¿Dónde está Lisa? Ask your student actor, “Bart, ¿estás tú en
Washington?” He responds, “No, estoy en California.” Verify the detail. “Correcto Bart, tú no estás en
Washington, tú estás en California.” Ask Bart, “¿Exactamente dónde estás en California?” He responds,
“Estoy en Barstow, California.” Verify the detail. Add a contrasting detail to Lisa. Add this detail by
telling the class where Lisa was in Washington or by asking the class exactly where she was in
Washington. If someone in the class suggests an unexpected answer, then take it. If no one gives an
unexpected / surprise answer, then just tell the class the answer. (By giving the class an unexpected
answer, you are modeling for the class that you want unexpected answers. As you modeled unexpected /

surprise details, some students in the class will start suggesting similar types of answers. Surprise details
enhance the class by making it more interesting.)
Once you have a new detail, then circle it some. The answer for this script will be Wala Wala,
Washington, but the answer in your class may vary. ¿Está Lisa en Spokane? ¿Está en Wala Wala?
¿Exactamente dónde está Lisa en Washington? Ask your student actor, “Lisa, ¿exactamente dónde estás
en Washington?” She replies, “Estoy en Wala Wala.” Verify the detail by saying “Correcto, tú estás en
Wala Wala. Clase, Lisa está en Wala Wala, Washington.” Prompt them to respond with an expression of
interest like “ooooohhhhhh” or “¡Excelente!”. Compare and contrast the two characters. ¿Está Lisa o Bart
en California? ¿Quién está en Washington? ¿Está Lisa en Barstow o en Wala? ¿Exactamente dónde está
Bart en California? Continue to ask additional questions if your students need more practice.
You can add a more specific location for Bart and Lisa. This is done by A) telling the class the
new detail (e.g., “¡Clase, es increíble, Lisa está en Walmart en Wala Wala, Washington!”) or B) by asking
an open-ended question and letting them guess (e.g. “¿Clase, exactamente dónde está Lisa en Wala Wala,
Washington?”). Once the new detail is established, circle it. The same can be done with Bart. Ask
circling questions to compare and contrast the new details.
If you read and translated just a couple of sentences and not the entire paragraph when you started
this part, at this point you would read and translate the rest of the paragraph and ask circling questions
about the facts. If you already translated the entire paragraph then ask circling questions about the rest of
the paragraph. ¿Está contento Bart? ¿Quién no está contento? Bart, ¿estás contento? ¿Tiene Bart un gato?
¿Qué no tiene Bart? Bart, ¿tienes un gato? (Write “tienes” and “tengo” on the board with translation. You
may need to help the student actor with his response by modeling the response for him or by pointing to
the board). ¿Quiere Bart un gato? ¿Quiere Bart un gato o un perro? ¿Qué quiere Bart? Bart, ¿qué quieres?
(Write “quieres” and “quiero” on the board with translation.) Bart responds, “Quiero un gato”. (Verify the
detail with Bart by saying “Sí, tú quieres un gato.” Then turn to the class and verify the detail with them,
“Clase, Bart quiere un gato.” Prompt the class to respond with enthusiasm.) ¿Por qué va Bart a Google?
¿Va a Google porque quiere un gato o un perro? ¿Quiere un gato en Alaska? ¿Dónde quiere un gato?
Bart, ¿dónde quieres un gato? ¿Hay un gato extra en California? ¿Cómo está Bart? ¿Por qué no está
contento? Bart, ¿por qué no estás contento?
Below are sample questions about the facts of the story starting with
paragraph two.
This book is written to help you discuss each paragraph of the story. Dialogue does not start a
new paragraph in this teacher’s guide. It is intended that the questions be asked after the choral translation
with the class and also after the dialogue has been translated and dramatized per the instructions found
below.
Second paragraph
¿Adónde va Bart? ¿Va Bart a Boston o Philadelphia? ¿Quién va a Boston? Bart, ¿adónde vas? ¿Hay un
chico o una chica en Boston? ¿Qué hay en Boston? ¿Bart va al apartamento o a la casa del chico? ¿Quién
va al apartamento del chico? Bart, ¿adónde vas? ¿Qué le dice Bart al chico? ¿Tiene el chico un gato
extra?

Dramatize the conversation between Bart and the boy in Boston. When there is dialogue and
dramatization, remember to have the students face each other so that they can be seen and heard well by
the rest of the class. You repeat the Spanish one sentence at a time and out loud for the class to hear and
the student actor then repeats it after you. If the class may not understand what is being said then have the
class translate it after you say it the first time. When it’s time for the second actor to speak, follow the
same pattern. Encourage the students to be melodramatic actors. Model melodramatic acting for them if
that helps.
Third paragraph
¿Está contento Bart? ¿Por qué no está contento? Bart, ¿estás contento? ¿Quiere Bart o gato? ¿Tiene el
chico en Boston un gato extra? ¿Adónde va Bart? ¿Va a Atlanta o New Orleans? ¿Quién va a Atlanta?
Bart, ¿adónde vas? ¿Hay un chico o una chica en Atlanta? ¿Qué hay en Atlanta? ¿Quién es la chica? ¿Va
Bart a la casa o al apartamento de Gladys? ¿Qué le dice Bart a Gladys? ¿Tiene Gladys un gato extra?
Gladys, ¿tienes tú un gato extra? ¿Quién es el gato? ¿Es Dirk un gato normal o excelente? ¿Cómo es el
gato Dirk?
Dramatize the conversation between Bart and the girl in Atlanta using the same procedures from the 2nd
paragraph.
Fourth paragraph
¿Quién tiene el gato? ¿Le da el gato a Bart? ¿A quién le da el gato? ¿Tiene Bart el gato? Bart, ¿tienes el
gato? ¿Adónde va Bart? ¿Quién va a California? ¿Está contento Bart? ¿Por qué está contento Bart? Bart,
¿por qué estás contento?
Dramatize Gladys giving the cat to Bart. Coach your student actors to be enthusiastic and melodramatic.
Pop up grammar
“Pop ups” are asking students about meaning. These questions are typically asked in English and
the students respond in English. Our objective is to teach them how language works so that they can see
patterns and hopefully acquire some of the nuances of the language. For example, students need to know
what the “r” does in vivir (it makes it to live). They need to know the difference between está and estoy.
Ask the difference between vive and vivir. (Don’t ask them the difference between es and está since both
mean the same word in English. Let them hear, in thousands of repetitions, how you use those words,
with the idea they will acquire a feeling of the differences.)
Suggestions to Enhance Interest:
In TPRS stories and readings, one way to enhance interest is by adding surprise details. Surprise
details are added by A) telling the class the new detail, or B) asking the class an open-ended question and
letting them guess. The teacher will either take a suggestion from a student or just tell them the answer.
As TPRS teachers, we are always doing one of two things: 1) Working on comprehension, or 2)
Developing storyline. The less language the students know, the more time we dedicate to working on
comprehension. As a result, our stories will have fewer surprise details. As beginning students process
language faster and faster, then we are gradually able to spend more time on developing storyline. Many

of the ideas presented in the Suggestions to Enhance Interest sections throughout this Teacher’s Guide
pertain to developing storyline.
Because adding surprise details enhances interest considerably, the teacher must decide how
many new details to add in each reading and story.
Since this is just the first reading, then it may be best to add only a few surprise details and spend
more time on comprehension (i.e., asking repetitive questions). As the year progresses, more and more
surprise details will be added as more time is spent on developing storyline.
Other ways to enhance interest include parallel characters, props, technology, dramatizing
dialogue and storyline, acting out events, and melodramatic acting. Different ideas to enhance creativity
will be shared throughout this teacher’s guide. For the first few readings, you will spend most of your
time working on comprehension by asking repetitive questions. In order to enhance interest, you can add
some surprise details, use props and/or technology, dramatize the dialogue in the reading, and also by
having melodramatic acting.
Part 5: Novel and timed writing
Timed writing. Have your students do a five-minute timed writing. Have them re-write a story. This is
the first timed writing. The timed writings are graded on the number of words. It is not expected that
students will write 100 words at this time. You want most of your students to get 80 points or above, so
you will have to curve the grading on timed writings for a few months until you can give each student a
point per word.
Instructions for teaching the novel:
When teaching the novels, the teacher reads a sentence in Spanish and the class chorally translates it. The
teacher translates any words that the class cannot. The teacher will typically translate and discuss by
paragraph. Sometimes it may be best to translate part of the paragraph instead of the entire paragraph in
order to help the students answer the questions quicker. Use your best judgment when deciding how much
to translate. Once the students are able to read and translate a paragraph at a time and answer the
questions at a high level, then that becomes the norm.
Novel Pobre Ana. Read and translate the first paragraph of Pobre Ana. Choose a student to be Ana. Ask
factual questions about the paragraph.
¿Ana es una chica o un chico? ¿Qué es Ana? ¿Tiene problemas Ana? Ana, ¿tienes tú problemas? ¿Quién
tiene problemas? ¿Tiene muchos problemas? ¿Tiene problemas con su papá? ¿Tiene problemas con sus
amigas? ¿Con quiénes tiene problemas?

Add a parallel character. Tell the class, “Clase, es increíble, hay dos chicas.” (Prompt the students to
respond with enthusiasm.) Establish who the new girl is by A) telling the class the name of the girl (e.g.,
“La chica es Carol.” Carol would be the name of a student in your class), or B) asking the class an open-
ended question and letting them guess (e.g., “¿Quién es la chica?”). Now you have two characters, Ana
and Carol. Add new details about both girls. (The new details are added by telling the class the new
information or by asking them questions and letting them guess.) Below is a sample script with new
details. Possible teacher responses are optional and they are included in parenthesis following the
questions:
¿Tiene Ana problemas? ¿Tiene Carol problemas? (No, Carol no tiene problemas. Carol es perfecta.) ¿Es
perfecta Ana? (No, Ana no es perfecta, tiene problemas.) ¿Quién es perfecta? Carol, ¿eres perfecta?
¿Cómo es Ana? (Ana no es perfecta.) ¿Tiene Ana un elefante? (Sí, es obvio, Ana tiene un elefante.
Whatever animal you decide to use, this is a great time for props or use of technology.) Ana, ¿tienes un
elefante? ¿Cómo se llama el elefante? (Take a good student suggestion or provide your own.) ¿Es
perfecto el elefante? (No, Ana no es perfecta pero el elefante no es perfecto.) ¿Tiene Carol un elefante?
(Sí, es obvio. Give the girl an elephant or use technology to illustrate the elephant.) ¿Cómo se llama el
elefante? (Take a good student suggestion or provide your own.) ¿Es perfecto el elefante? (Sí, es obvio.
Carol es perfecta y su elefante es perfecto.) Carol, ¿tienes un elefante? Carol, ¿cómo es tu elefante?
As you add details, remember to ask circling questions to assess comprehension and practice the
language. You can add additional details about either of the girls or their elephants. You can add dialogue
between the girls or their elephants. Dramatize the dialogue. Remember to write any unknown words on
the board with translation.
If you’d like you may add a second parallel character. This could be another girl that is almost
perfect. Her elephant is also almost perfect. Add any surprise details about the new girl and her elephant.
Another way to enhance interest of Pobre Ana is PQ&A, or Personalized Questions and Answers.
After reading and translating a paragraph, you simply ask personal questions. For example, after reading
and translating the second paragraph of Pobre Ana, you could ask any of the following questions to your
class:
¿Quién de la clase tiene quince años? (If no one in the class is 15, then you would want to ask a different
question.) Once a student raises his/her hand, ask the question, ¿Tienes tú quince años? Continue PQ&A
by asking several students their age. Ask circling questions to the class throughout the process. The
paragraph says that Ana is not very tall and that she has long brown hair and blue eyes. You could ask any
of the following questions to the class: ¿Quién de la clase es alto? ¿Quién de la clase no es alto? ¿Quién
tiene ojos azules? ¿Quién tiene el pelo largo? As students raise their hands and answer your questions,
continue to practice the language by asking circling questions both to the class and to the students that
volunteer. These PQ&A sessions can take as long as you’d like them to. When you are done, then read
and translate the next paragraph.

Lección 2 Capítulo 1
Teacher tips:
If your students are true beginners or close to true beginners in Spanish then you will want to
spend a lot of your class time working on comprehension by asking circling questions. Asking a lot of
repetitive questions to your students will help them become faster processors. As they process the
language faster, it will be easier to add creative details and storyline to the stories and readings. The
second story starts with some of the same phrases as the first story. If your students are beginners then
they will still need a lot of practice of these basic verbs.
Structures:
Había una chica - There was a girl
Era / estaba - He/she was
No tenía - He/she didn’t have
Ask for a volunteer to be your actor or choose a student actor. The student actor can stay in her
seat until it’s time to act or she can sit in front of the class to the side. We don’t want the student actor to
act unless the teacher instructs him to do so. For this script the student actor’s name is Elena. You will use
the actual name or Spanish nickname of your student in class. Once you have a student actor, point to the
board and make the statement, “Había una chica”. (Prompt your students to respond with an expression of
interest. This can be an “ooooohhhhhh.” Remember to show a lot of enthusiasm yourself. The students
are more likely to be enthusiastic if the teacher is.)
Begin asking circling questions: ¿Había una chica? ¿Quién era la chica? Elena, ¿eres una chica? (Write on
the board soy and point to it so Elena will answer you correctly.) Clase, ¿era Elena una chica? ¿Qué era?
Elena, ¿qué eres? (When you ask Elena a question with eres, continue to point to soy until you see that
she doesn’t need to look at the board to answer correctly.) Clase, ¿quién era la chica? (Continue to
practice here with era, eres and soy.)

Add a Parallel character:
The parallel character is either a student in your class or a student playing the role of a national or
local celebrity or possibly an animal. Add the parallel character by either telling the class the new
character or asking them question(s) and letting them guess. If you want to add Johnny Depp as your
parallel character, it would look something like this. “Clase, también había un chico.” (write también on
the board if they don’t already know it. Prompt your students to respond with enthusiasm.) Ask for a
volunteer to be the actor or call on a student. He can remain in his chair at this point since he isn’t acting.
Once you have an actor, point to him and tell the class, “¡Clase, es increíble, el chico es Johnny Depp!”
(Have students respond with a lot of enthusiasm!) Compare and contrast the two characters by asking
circling questions. ¿Había un chico? ¿Quién era el chico? Chico, ¿eres tú Johnny Depp o Orlando Bloom?
(Write “soy” on the board with its translation so that he can answer your question). ¿Quién era la chica?
Elena, ¿qué eres tú? ¿Clase, quién era el chico? ¿Era un chico o chica? ¿Eres un chico o chica? (Go back
and forth between the characters for as long as you want. At this point you are working on
comprehension.)
In order to practice estaba, add a new detail of location to both characters. Add the detail one at a
time by telling the class the detail or by asking them a question and letting them guess. For example, you
could ask, “¿Clase, dónde estaba la chica Elena?” If you hear a suggestion that you like, then accept by
saying “Correcto” and then make a statement. “Clase, es correcto, Elena estaba en California.” Prompt the
class to respond with enthusiasm. Continue circling. ¿Estaba en California o en Idaho? ¿Quién estaba en
California? Elena, ¿dónde estás? Add a contrasting detail about Johnny Depp. Clase, ¿Dónde estaba
Johnny Depp? Take an answer from a student or provide your own. Once you have the new detail, circle
it. ¿Estaba Johnny en Oregon? ¿Dónde estaba Johnny? Johnny, ¿dónde estás? Compare and contrast the
two characters by asking these types of questions.
When you are ready to add new details to each character, then you could add a specific city and
then a specific location within the city. For example, Elena was in Anaheim, CA. She was in Disneyland.
Johnny was in Portland, Oregon. He was in WalMart. You add these details just like you added the
others, by telling the students the new information or by asking open-ended questions and letting them
guess. As you add the new details, circle them by asking repetitive questions. Your goal is to get your
class and student actors to answer your questions with confidence. Remember to pay attention to how
loud their responses are. Scan the class as you teach to see who doesn’t understand. If you see a student
not answering the questions, call him/her by name and ask him/her some questions. It will take a lot of
practice to get your students answering with a lot of confidence. When the time comes, introduce tenía.
Add something that each character has, preferably an animal. When you add an animal, have students
come up and play the parts of the animals or use props of stuffed animals. This whole process of adding
these details and asking repetitive questions can take a lot of time, but it is very good practice for your
beginning students at this point.

Part 2: Ask-a-story
Teacher tips:
When you write the structures on the board, it’s recommended that you write the Spanish in one
color and the English translation in a different color. It’s also not a bad idea to write the Spanish directly
below the English instead of to the side. This helps the students remember what each word means. If the
students are struggling to answer your questions, remember to continue pointing to the words and do
some quick translations to help them.
The translation below includes “she was”. Your preference may be to write “he/she was”. It’s
listed as “she was” only because the main character is a girl. We want the students to understand that it
can mean he/she/it was, but we’ll explain that as it comes up in different contexts during the story rather
than all at once in the beginning.
Había una chica - There was a girl
Era / estaba - She was
No tenía - She didn’t have
Quería - She wanted
Le dio - gave to him/her
Storyline
Había una chica. La chica era Elena. Elena estaba en Omaha, Nebraska. Tenía un gato. El gato
tenía un problema. El gato no tenía teléfono. Elena no estaba contenta porque su gato no tenía teléfono.
Quería un teléfono para su gato.
Fue a Nueva York. Había una chica en Nueva York. Elena le dijo:
— ¿Tienes un teléfono para mi gato?
La chica dijo:
—No tengo.
Elena no estaba contenta. Fue a Chicago. Había un chico en Chicago. Elena le dijo:
— ¿Tienes un teléfono para mi gato?
El chico le dijo:
—Sí, tengo uno. El chico le dio el teléfono a Elena. Elena estaba contenta. Ahora su gato tenía
un teléfono.
Instructions for teaching the oral story
Remember that most of the details from the oral story can change. When you plan your stories,
you must decide how many of the details you want to allow your students to change. To change any of the
details, you simply withhold the information and ask the students an open—ended question and let them
guess. If the students don’t guess, then just tell them the answer. The answer that you tell them can be the
same detail from the prepared storyline or one that you think of yourself. The only part of the storyline

that will not change is the structures. We want all of the structures to be a part of the oral story because
these structures are high frequent words and therefore necessary for fluency.
First location
Select a student actor or ask for a volunteer. The actor can sit up in front of the class off to the
side. She answers the questions just like the rest of the class. When it’s time to act something out, then
you will tell her what to do. The name of the girl in the story is Elena. For your story, you can use the
actor’s real name or Spanish nickname. Point to the board and make the statement, “Había una chica.”
Prompt the students to respond with enthusiasm. Start asking circling questions. ¿Había una chica?
¿Había un chico o una chica? ¿Qué había? (Remember to verify the details as the students answer your
questions). Make the statement, “Clase, Elena era la chica.” ¿Era María o Elena la chica? ¿Quién era la
chica? Elena, ¿eres la chica? Clase, ¿qué era Elena? Elena, ¿qué eres? Add a new detail by telling the
class where Elena was or by asking them where she was. ¿Clase, dónde estaba Elena? (Take a good
suggestion from a student if you hear one. This script will use the actual locations in the written storyline
but those may be different in your story.) Circle the new detail. ¿Estaba Elena en Oregon o Nebraska?
¿Estaba en Washington? ¿Quién estaba en Nebraska? Elena, ¿dónde estás? Add a city by telling them the
city or by asking a question. ¿Clase, exactamente dónde estaba en Nebraska? (Take a suggestion from the
class or tell them the detail if they don’t give a suggestion that you like.) Circle the new detail. ¿Estaba
Elena en Omaha, Nebraska? ¿Estaba en Omaha o Lincoln? ¿Exactamente dónde estaba en Nebraska?
Elena, ¿dónde estás? (If she does not respond in a complete sentence then point to the “Estoy” on the
board to prompt her. Say the correct answer for her and have her repeat it if necessary.) Add a new detail
by telling the class that she had a cat. It’s best to use a stuffed cat or a picture of a cat for your prop.
“Clase, Elena tenía un gato.” (Prompt students to respond with enthusiasm) Circle the new detail. ¿Tenía
un gato? ¿Tenía un gato o un elefante? ¿Qué tenía Elena? Elena, ¿qué tienes tú? (Her response is “Tengo
un gato”, which is written on the board.) Introduce the problem by saying, “¡Clase, había un problema!”
(Whenever you say there was a problem, have the class chorally react by saying, “¡Oh no, es terrible!”)
Clase, el gato no tenía teléfono. (The class will say, “Oh no!”) ¿Tenía el gato teléfono? ¿Qué no tenía el
gato? Elena, ¿tenía tu gato teléfono? Clase, es obvio, Elena no estaba contenta porque su gato no tenía
teléfono. (If the words su and porque are unknown words, write them on the board with translation.
Always write unknown or difficult words on the board with translation.) ¿Estaba contenta Elena? ¿Quién
no estaba contenta? ¿Por qué no estaba contenta Elena? Elena, ¿estás contenta? ¿Por qué no estas
contenta Elena? Clase, Elena quería un teléfono para su gato. (If para is a new word, then write it on the
board with translation). Circle the new detail. ¿Quería un teléfono para su mamá o para su gato? ¿Para
quién quería un teléfono? Elena, ¿quieres un teléfono para tu mamá? (Write both quieres and quiero on
the board with translation and explain to the class that the s on quieres makes it “(do) you want” and the o
on quiero makes it “I want”.) Once your student actor says “Quiero un teléfono para mi gato.”, remember
to verify the detail twice. First verify the detail by repeating to Elena, “Sí, tú quieres un teléfono para tu
gato.” And then to the class in the past tense, “Clase, Elena quería un teléfono para su gato.”)
When you are ready to go to the second location, you will tell the class where the girl went or ask
the class where she went and let them guess. The detail in your story may be different than New York.
Once you decide on the new detail, make a statement to establish the new detail as a fact of the story.
“Clase, la chica fue a Nueva York.” Have your student actor physically go to a different place in your
classroom that represents the new location.

Second location
Ask circling questions. ¿Fue Elena a Montana o a Nueva York? ¿Fue a Virginia? ¿Adónde fue la chica?
Elena ¿adónde fuiste? (Since she already went to New York, then it may feel more natural to ask her this
in past rather than present tense. If that’s the case, then write “fuiste” and “fui” on the board with
translation. If you prefer to ask in the present tense, then write “vas” and “voy” on the board with
translation.) ¿Clase, adónde fue Elena? Introduce a new character by telling the class, “Clase, en Nueva
York, había otra chica.” (If otra is new, write it on the board.) Have a girl in your class play the role of
the new girl. ¿Quién era la otra chica? (student choice). You will now direct the dialogue between the two
girls. Have them face each other so that the class sees and hears them well. If necessary, explain to your
students that you will say a speaking line for them and then they will repeat it after you. You continue the
story as the narrator by saying, “Clase, Elena le dijo: — ¿Tienes un teléfono para mi gato?” The student
actor repeats this line. If you sense that the class doesn’t understand, translate it before she repeats it. Give
the second girl her line by continuing the narration. “La chica le dijo: —No tengo.” She repeats it after
you. Tell the class, “¡Oh no, oh no, Elena no estaba contenta!” (Tell Elena to act not happy / sad.) Ask
some circling questions to the class about what just took place. ¿Tenía la otra chica un teléfono para el
gato? ¿Qué no tenía la chica? ¿Estaba contenta Elena? ¿Por qué no estaba contenta Elena? Elena, ¿estás
contenta? ¿Clase, adónde fue Elena ahora? (If ahora is new, write it on the board with translation.) Once
you decide where Elena went, then have the other girl sit down and have Elena go to a different place in
your classroom that represents the third location. In the storyline, the third location is Chicago, but the
location in your story may be different.
Third location
¿Quién fue a Chicago? Elena, ¿adónde fuiste? ¿Por qué fue a Chicago? Clase, había un chico en Chicago.
(Prompt them to respond with a lot of enthusiasm or have them yell something like “¡Excelente!”) Ask a
boy from your class to play the role of the boy. ¿Había un chico en Chicago? ¿Quién era el chico?
(student choice). Chico, ¿quién eres tú? You are ready to add the dialogue. Again, have the actors face
each other where there is good visibility for the rest of the class. Begin by narrating the storyline. “Clase,
Elena le dijo al chico, — ¿Chico, tienes un teléfono para mi gato?” She repeats the line. Continue
narrating. “El chico le dijo: —Sí, tengo uno.” He repeats the dialogue. Make the next statement and have
the students act it out. El chico le dio el teléfono a la chica. (You could say something like “¡Excelente!”
to add an extra dose of enthusiasm. Prompt your students to follow suit.) Elena estaba contenta. (If your
actor does not automatically act happy then prompt her to do so.) Ahora su gato tenía un teléfono. Ask
some circling questions about what just happened. ¿Tenía el chico un teléfono? ¿Quién tenía un teléfono?
¿A quién le dio el teléfono? ¿Por qué le dio el teléfono a Elena? ¿Cómo reaccionó Elena cuando el chico
le dio el teléfono? Elena, ¿por qué estás contenta ahora? ¿Qué tenía el gato ahora? Etc.
If there is time, do a similar story with the parallel character.
Part 3: Embedded Readings
Teacher tips:
Follow the instructions found on page 9 for the embedded readings. Each student will need a
copy of the embedded readings. If your student needs more practice with shorter stories then you may

choose to spend more time on these readings than what is suggested in the instructions. If you choose to
do so, then you could do circling questions with the embedded readings and use any of the suggestions to
enhance interest found in the instructions to teach the extended reading.
Each student will need a copy of the extended reading. This is found in the student book of New
Mini-Stories for Look, I Can Talk. Instructions for how to teach the reading are found on page 10 for your
reference.
Select a student actor or ask for a volunteer. The student actor will play the role of Juana.
First paragraph
¿Hay un chico o una chica? ¿Qué hay? ¿La chica se llama Juana o María? ¿Cómo se llama la chica? ¿Está
la chica en Topeka o Kansas City? ¿Quién está en Topeka? Juana, ¿dónde estás? ¿A Juana le gusta o no le
gusta Kansas? Juana, ¿te gusta Kansas? (Write her response on the board and explain that she is literally
saying, “Kansas is pleasing to me.”) ¿Hay un problema? ¿Cuál es el problema? (Write her response on the
board and explain that she is literally saying, “Kansas is pleasing to me.”) ¿No hay chocolate en
Oklahoma o Kansas? ¿Dónde no hay chocolate? ¿Está contenta Juana? ¿Por qué no? Juana, ¿por qué no
estás contenta? ¿A Juana le gusta el chocolate? Juana, ¿te gusta el chocolate? ¿A Juana le gusta la pizza o
el chocolate? ¿Tiene Juana un problema? ¿Tiene chocolate? ¿Qué no tiene Juana? Juana, ¿qué no tienes?
¿Qué quiere Juana? ¿Quién quiere chocolate? Juana, ¿quieres tú chocolate o pizza? ¿Por qué no está
contenta Juana?
Parallel character (see page 12 to review the information about the parallel character and instructions on
how to add the parallel character).
We will call the parallel character Stan, but the character in your story will either be an actual student in
your class, a national or local celebrity, or maybe an animal.
¿Clase, cómo se llama el chico? ¿Clase, dónde está Stan? (student choice / this script will say Oklahoma)
¿Stan o Juana está en Kansas? ¿Dónde está Stan? Stan, ¿dónde estás? Juana, ¿dónde estás? ¿Clase, quién
está en Oklahoma? ¿Exactamente dónde está Stan en Oklahoma? (student choice / this script will say
Norman) ¿A Stan le gusta o no le gusta Oklahoma? (student choice / this script will say yes) Stan, ¿te
gusta Oklahoma? ¿Clase, por qué a Stan le gusta Oklahoma? (student choice / this script will say because
there is chocolate there) ¿Hay chocolate en Norman, Oklahoma? ¿Dónde no hay chocolate? ¿Dónde hay
chocolate? ¿Está contento Stan? ¿Por qué está contento? Stan, ¿estás contento? ¿Quién no está contento?
¿Por qué no está contenta Juana? ¿Por qué está contento Stan? ¿Tiene Juana chocolate? ¿Quiere Juana
chocolate? ¿Tiene Stan chocolate? (student choice / this script will say yes) ¿Quiere Stan chocolate?
(student choice, answer could be yes or no / this script will say yes) Stan, ¿tienes chocolate? Clase, ¿por
qué está contento Stan?

Your goal is for your students to answer the questions chorally at a high level. If they are
answering well that tells us that they are understanding. If they are not answering the questions well, then
you need to go slower by writing any unknown or difficult words on the board and pointing to them when
you ask questions. Another option is to translate only part of the paragraph and go through it slower. You
could also add several parallel characters and contrasting details about them. This would allow you to
compare and contrast between several characters. It would allow your students to hear the language a lot,
which will yield faster processing over time. When you decide to move on to the second paragraph, you
will no longer need your parallel character(s). At that point you can have them sit down. You will ask for
additional volunteers to act when the time comes to dramatize the rest of the reading.
Second paragraph (This book is written to help you discuss each paragraph of the story. Dialogue does
not start a new paragraph in this teacher’s guide.)
¿Necesita Juana pizza o chocolate? ¿Qué necesita Juana? Juana, ¿necesitas pizza? ¿Qué no necesita
Juana? ¿Tiene Juana pizza? ¿Tiene Juana pizza o chocolate? ¿Le gusta o no le gusta la pizza? Juana, ¿te
gusta la pizza? ¿Juana no tiene pizza o chocolate? ¿Qué necesita ella? Juana, ¿necesitas pizza o
chocolate? ¿Por qué no está contenta?
Third paragraph
¿Quién va a su computadora? ¿Qué hay en Google? ¿Dónde hay chocolate? ¿Hay chocolate en
California? ¿Dónde tiene Juana un amigo? Juana, ¿dónde tienes un amigo? ¿El amigo se llama Bert?
¿Cómo se llama el amigo? ¿Dónde está el amigo? ¿Está el amigo en Boise o en Pocatello? ¿Adónde va
Juana? Juana, ¿adónde vas? ¿Quién va a la casa de Parker?
Dramatize the dialogue between Juana and Parker. When there is dialogue and dramatization, remember
to have the students face each other so that they can be seen and heard well by the rest of the class. You
repeat the Spanish one sentence at a time and out loud for the class to hear and the student actor then
repeats it after you. If the class may not understand what is being said then have the class translate it after
you say it the first time. When it’s time for the second actor to speak, follow the same pattern. Encourage
the students to be melodramatic actors. Model melodramatic acting for them if that helps them.
Fourth paragraph
¿Está contenta Juana? ¿Por qué no? Juana, ¿por qué no estás contenta? ¿Tiene chocolate? ¿Tiene Juana
una amiga? ¿Dónde tiene una amiga? ¿La amiga está en Colorado o Vermont? Juana, ¿dónde está tu
amiga? ¿Cómo se llama la amiga? Juana, ¿cómo se llama tu amiga? ¿Va Juana a la casa de Ruby May?
¿Adónde va Juana? Juana, ¿adónde vas?
Dramatize the dialogue between Juana and Ruby May.
Fifth paragraph
¿Ruby May le da un elefante a Juana? ¿Qué le da Ruby May a Juana? ¿Está contenta Juana? ¿Está muy
contenta? ¿Por qué está muy contenta Juana? Juana, ¿cómo estás?

In TPRS stories and readings, one way to enhance interest is by adding surprise details. Surprise
details are added by A) telling the class the new detail, or B) asking the class an open-ended question and
letting them guess. The teacher will either take a suggestion from a student or just tell them the answer.
As TPRS teachers, we are always doing one of two things: 1) Working on comprehension, or 2)
Developing storyline. The less language the students know, the more time we dedicate to working on
comprehension. As a result, our stories will have fewer surprise details. As beginning students process
language faster and faster, then we are gradually able to spend more time on developing storyline. Many
of the ideas presented in the Suggestions to Enhance Interest sections throughout this Teacher’s Guide
pertain to developing storyline.
Because adding surprise details enhances interest considerably, the teacher must decide how
many new details to add in each reading and story. Since this is just the second reading, then it may be
best to add only a few surprise details and spend more time on comprehension. As the year progresses,
more and more surprise details will be added as more time is spent on developing storyline.
Other ways to enhance interest include parallel characters, props, technology, dramatizing
dialogue and storyline, acting out events, and melodramatic acting. Different ideas to enhance creativity
will be shared throughout this teacher’s guide. For the first few readings, you will spend most of your
time working on comprehension by asking repetitive questions. In order to enhance interest, you can add
some surprise details, use props and/or technology, dramatize the dialogue in the reading, and also by
having melodramatic acting.
Novel and timed writing
Timed writing. Have your students do a five-minute timed writing. Have them re-write a story. The
timed writings are graded on the number of words. It is not expected that students will write 100 words at
this time. You want most of your students to get 80 points or above, so you will have to curve the grading
on timed writings for a few months until you can give each student a point a word.
Novel Pobre Ana
Review the facts established last week about Ana and about your parallel characters. Add more
surprise details. Talk about how Ana’s penguin goes to school and studies French. Talk about the perfect
girl’s penguin who studies Spanish.
Read through the rest of the chapter and pick out things you would like to discuss. Add more
details to the facts of the book. Where does Ana go shopping? Where do her friends go shopping?
Ask questions about Ana’s family. Add surprise details about her brother and sister. What do they
study at school?
Dramatize the dialogue between Ana and her mom.
Read and translate the rest of the chapter.

Lección 3 Capítulo 1
Teacher tips:
The overreaching goal of TPRS is fluency. Specifically, we want students who can speak with
confidence, which means speaking with accuracy and without hesitancy. As the school year progresses,
students will process the language faster and faster. As they process the language faster, you will be able
to add more details to the stories and focus more on storyline. In the early stages of the year with
beginning students, more class time is focused on comprehension. This simply means that we ask more
repetitive questions on fewer structures (verbs, etc.) than we will as the year progresses. The purposes of
the circling questions is twofold. First, questions yield student choral responses. If the class is not
answering your questions chorally, then they are not understanding. If they are not understanding, then
you need to point to the board more frequently, write unknown or difficult words on the board, ask for
translations, and most importantly, speak slower. The students need processing time in order to
understand. The second purpose of the circling questions is to build fluency. Fluency does not happen
overnight, but students will begin to speak once they’ve acquired enough language. When you talk to
your student actors, pay attention to how quickly they are able to respond to your questions. If there is a
lot of hesitancy in their responses, then they need more practice. If they are responding quickly and with
accuracy, then that is a very good sign. The structures at the beginning of this story are the same from the
first two stories. The reason for repeating the same structures is because our goal is to give the students a
lot of practice with ser/estar. Even if these are not listed as structures on a word list, it’s in your best
interest to continue practicing these basic, high frequent verbs like these and others throughout the course
of the year. It’ll allow your students to improve their fluency.
Structures:
Había un chico - There was a boy
Era / estaba - He was
Character #1: Daniel (name of your student. Have him come to the front of the class off to the side.)
Make a statement by telling the class, “Clase, había un chico.” Begin circling. ¿Había un chico o una
chica? ¿Qué había? ¿Cuántos chicos había? ¿Quién era el chico? ¿Era Daniel una chica? Daniel, ¿eres un
chico? ¿Qué eres? Clase, ¿qué era Daniel? ¿Dónde estaba? (student choice / this script says Alabama)
¿Estaba en Arkansas o Alabama? Daniel, ¿estás en Arkansas? ¿Clase, exactamente dónde estaba en

Alabama? (student choice / this script says Beehive) ¿Estaba en Montgomery o Beehive? ¿Quién estaba
en Beehive? Daniel, ¿exactamente dónde estás en Alabama? ¿Clase, dónde estaba Daniel? ¿Exactamente
dónde estaba en Beehive, Alabama? (student choice / this script says McDonalds) ¿Estaba en McDonalds
o Subway? ¿Estaba en McDonalds? Daniel, ¿exactamente dónde estás en Beehive?
Parallel character: A girl (page # 4 has information about how to add a parallel character)
Clase, también había una chica (prompt them to respond with enthusiasm). ¿También había una chica?
¿Quién era la chica? (either a student in your class or a national or local celebrity / this script will say
Jennifer Lawrence. Have a girl in your class play the role of Jennifer.) ¿Era la chica Jennifer Lawrence o
Jessica Alba? ¿Quién era la chica? Jennifer, ¿quién eres tú? ¿Dónde estaba Jennifer? (student choice / this
script says Alabama) ¿Estaba Jennifer en Florida? ¿Dónde estaba ella? (write ella on the board with
translation if this is new. Tell the class what it means.) Jennifer, ¿dónde estás? ¿Exactamente dónde
estaba Jennifer en Alabama? (student choice / this script says Dogtown) ¿Estaba en Mobile? Jennifer,
¿exactamente dónde estás en Alabama? Clase, ¿exactamente dónde estaba Jennifer en Dogtown? (student
choice / this script says Dogtown Dillards) ¿Estaba en Dillards o Target? Jennifer, ¿exactamente dónde
estás en Dogtown? ¿Estaba Jennifer o Daniel en McDonalds? ¿Quién estaba en Dillards? ¿Dónde estaba
Daniel? ¿Daniel, dónde estás? Jennifer, ¿dónde estás tú? Etc.
Remember to do a lot of compare and contrast questions. Ask the class several questions about
Daniel and Jennifer. For more practice, add one or two more characters. You can add people or animals.
Go through the same questions again. Always compare and contrast the different characters. Your
objective is to give the students a lot of mental practice of these verbs so that they are answering the
questions chorally and your student actors are answering your questions with confidence and accuracy. If
there is a lot of hesitancy, then make a mental note that you have to spend more time practicing, both
today and in future classes.
Pop ups:
Remember to constantly ask your students about meaning. What is the difference between tiene and
tengo? What is the difference between estaba/está? What does the s do in tienes?
Part 2: Ask-a-story
Teacher tips:
You will notice that the same structures in the first few stories are repeat structures. Since these
words will be used throughout the entire year in many of the stories, it’s important that we practice them
so much that the students understand them really, really well. Once they have heard them enough to the
point that they are easily recalled them then we no longer have to write them on the board. This is a key
principle in TPRS, we only write words on the board that are either A) novel, or B) difficult. Difficult
simply means that many students cannot remember what the word(s) mean without seeing it written on
the board. As the year progresses there are more and more words that we can use in our stories (without
having to write them on the board) because they have been exposed to them from previous stories. If we
say something that they were exposed to in a previous story but we find out that they don’t remember it,
then we write it on the board again and practice it some more. As they recall more and more words, it will

allow us to add more creativity to the stories, but for now, the focus is on them practicing these key repeat
structures.
No tenía - He/she didn’t have
Quería - He/she wanted
Fue a - he/she went to
Le dio - gave to him/her
Storyline
Había un chico. El chico era Daniel. Daniel estaba en Beehive, Alabama. Estaba triste. No tenía
un Play Station SVita. Quería un Play Station Vita.
Daniel fue a Jennifer Lawrence y le dijo:
—Jennifer, quiero un Play Station Vita.
Jennifer le dijo:
—No tengo un Play Station Vita. Tengo un Xbox pero no tengo un Play Station Vita.
Jennifer le dio a Daniel el Xbox. Daniel tenía el Xbox pero no estaba contento porque no tenía un
Play Station Vita.
Fue hacia una chica en Frog Eye, Alabama. Le dijo:
—Hola chica. Tengo un problema. No tengo un Play Station Vita. ¿Tienes un Play Station Vita?
—Sí, tengo un Play Station Vita pero no me gusta. No quiero el Play Station Vita. Quiero un
Xbox.
Daniel le dijo:
— ¡Excelente! Tengo un Xbox pero quiero un Play Station Vita.
Ella le dio a Daniel el Play Station Vita y Daniel le dio el Xbox. Los dos estaban muy contentos.
First location
¿Dónde estaba Daniel? ¿Quién estaba en Beehive? Daniel, ¿dónde estás? ¿Estaba contento o triste? ¿Por
qué estaba triste? ¿Qué no tenía Daniel? Daniel, ¿qué no tienes? ¿Quería un Xbox? ¿Qué quería el chico?
Daniel, ¿qué quieres tú?
Second location
¿Adónde fue? (Have him physically go to another place in the classroom that represents where Jennifer
Lawrence was.) Dramatize the dialogue between the Daniel and Jennifer. Ask follow-up questions. ¿Qué
le dio Jennifer a Daniel? ¿Qué tenía Daniel? ¿Estaba contento Daniel? ¿Por qué no estaba contento?
Daniel, ¿por qué no estás contento?

Third location
¿Adónde fue el chico? (student choice / this script says Frog Eye). ¿Quién estaba en Frog Eye?
Dramatize the dialogue between Daniel and the girl and ask follow-up questions. ¿Qué tenía la chica?
¿Tenía un Xbox o un Play Station Vita? ¿A la chica le gustaba el Play Station Vita? ¿Qué quería la chica?
Chica, ¿qué quieres? ¿Qué le dio la chica a Daniel? ¿Le dio un Play Station Vita o un Xbox? Daniel, ¿qué
te dio la chica? ¿Qué le dio Daniel a la chica? ¿Le dio un Xbox? ¿Qué quería la chica? ¿Ahora Daniel
estaba contento o triste? ¿Cómo estaba la chica? ¿Por qué estaban muy contentos los dos? Daniel, ¿por
qué estás muy contento? Chica, ¿por qué estás muy contenta?
One way to enhance interest is to change some of the details from the storyline and insert your
own surprise details. Remember, a story is like a group mad lib. You must decide either beforehand or on
the spot what details to change. To change a detail, you simply withhold the information and then add a
surprise detail orally by either, A) making a new statement that includes your surprise detail, or B) asking
an open-ended question and letting the class guess. For example, you could have your story be about a
boy who wanted something else, like a car or money. If he wanted a car, then you could add some more
details about the kind of car, the color, or anything else that adds interest. By changing this detail, notice
that you are not changing any of the structures. You will still ask a lot of repetitive questions with the key
structures that are written on the board. You are only changing the details, not the structures themselves.
Try changing some of the details in your own class and see how the students respond. If they don’t give
you good suggestions, then simply supply the answers yourself. Over time, they should give better and
better suggestions as they learn more Spanish and they learn to be more creative. Remember, when
students give suggestions, we want them to be in Spanish or English proper nouns.
Part 3: Embedded Reading
Follow the instructions found on page 9 for the embedded readings. Each student will need a
copy of the embedded readings. If your student needs more practice with shorter stories then you may
choose to spend more time on these readings than what is suggested in the instructions. If you choose to
do so, then you could do circling questions with the embedded readings and use any of the suggestions to
enhance interest found in the instructions to teach the extended reading.
Each student will need a copy of the extended reading. This is found in the student book of New
Mini-Stories for Look, I Can Talk. Instructions for how to teach the reading are found on page 10 for your
reference.
Select a student actor or ask for a volunteer. The student actor will play the role of Bertita.

First paragraph (This book is written to help you discuss each paragraph of the story. Dialogue does not
start a new paragraph in this teacher’s guide.)
¿Hay una chica o chico? ¿Qué hay? ¿Cómo se llama la chica? Chica, ¿cómo te llamas? ¿Vive Bertita en
Oregon o Washington? ¿Exactamente dónde vive ella en Oregon? Bertita, ¿dónde vives tú? ¿Está
contenta? ¿Por qué no está contenta? ¿Tiene su gato un iPhone? Bertita, ¿por qué no estás contenta? ¿Por
qué quiere su gato un iPhone? Gato, ¿por qué quieres un iPhone? ¿Cómo se llama el gato? ¿Se llama Stan
o Floyd?
Parallel character (see page 12 to review the information about the parallel character and instructions on
how to add the parallel character).
We will call the parallel character Betty, but the character in your story will either be an actual student in
your class, a national or local celebrity, or an animal.
¿Quién es la otra chica? (student choice / this script says Betty) ¿Dónde vive Betty? (student choice / this
script says Florida) Betty, ¿dónde vives? ¿Exactamente dónde vive Betty en Florida? (student choice / this
script says Orlando) ¿Vive Betty en Miami o Orlando? Betty, ¿exactamente dónde vives en Florida? ¿Está
contenta Betty? (student choice / this script says no) ¿Por qué no está contenta Betty? (student choice /
this script says Betty has a bad iPhone) ¿Tiene Betty un iPhone bueno o malo? Betty, ¿tienes un iPhone
bueno? ¿Cómo es el iPhone de Betty? ¿Por qué es malo su iPhone? (student choice / this script says the
iPhone walks a lot) ¿Anda mucho el iPhone? ¿A Betty le gusta o no le gusta el iPhone que anda mucho?
¿Por qué no le gusta el iPhone que anda? (student choice / this script says when someone calls her, her
iPhone walks away. This could be dramatized with student actors.) Compare and contrast Betty and
Bertita. ¿Quién vive en Oregon? ¿Dónde vive vive Betty? ¿Qué problema tiene Bertita? ¿Qué problema
tiene Betty? ¿Quién tiene un iPhone malo? ¿Quién no tiene un iPhone? ¿Por qué es malo el iPhone de
Betty?
Second paragraph
¿Qué quiere Bertita? ¿Para quién quiere el iPhone? ¿Quiere el iPhone para su gato o para su amiga?
¿Adónde va la chica? Bertita, ¿adónde vas? ¿Por qué va a Las Vegas? ¿Quién está en Las Vegas? ¿Cómo
se llama el chico? ¿Qué tiene Rex? ¿Tiene Rex un iPhone extra? ¿Tiene Rex un iPhone para Bertita?
Third paragraph
¿Adónde va? ¿Va Bertita a Boston o Cambridge? Bertita, ¿adónde vas? ¿Quién está en Boston? ¿Va al
parque en Boston? ¿Hay un chico o una chica en el parque? ¿Qué hay en parque? ¿Qué tiene el chico?
Chico, ¿tienes un iPhone? ¿Quién tiene un iPhone?
Dramatize the dialogue between Bertita and the boy. (If you need to review instructions on how to
dramatize the dialogue, refer to the bottom of page 13.)
Fourth paragraph
¿Le da el chico el iPhone a Bertita? ¿Qué le da el chico a Bertita? ¿A quién le da el iPhone Bertita?
¿Bertita le da el iPhone a su mamá o al gato Floyd? ¿Por qué le da el iPhone a Floyd? ¿Está contento
Floyd? ¿Cómo está Floyd? Floyd, ¿cómo estás? ¿Cómo está Bertita?

If there is time, go through a similar story with your parallel character. Also read and translate the
entire story either chorally or with just one student. Do either a student retell or have the students write
out the story. For homework have them do the written exercises in the book.
Novel and timed writing
Timed writing.
Have your students do a five-minute timed writing. Have them re-write a story. The timed
writings are graded on the number of words. It is not expected that students will write 100 words at this
time. You want most of your students to get 80 points or above, so you will have to curve the grading on
timed writings for a few months until you can give each student a point per word.
Novel Pobre Ana
Until now your students have had almost no reflexive (other than se llama.) In chapter two of
Pobre Ana the story starts out with: Un día Ana se levanta a las siete de la mañana. This is a great way to
practice the reflexive with your students.
Ana
¿A qué hora se levanta Ana? ¿Dónde se levanta? ¿Quién se levanta a las siete? ¿Ana, a qué hora te
levantas? (Write te levantas and me levanto on the board with translation.)
Parallel character
Establish a parallel character and the time he/she gets up. Ask where she gets up. Compare and
contrast Ana and the parallel character.
Personalized questions and answers (PQ&A)
Ask your students what time they get up. Ask what time they get up on school days compared to
weekends. Compare and contrast several students and the various times that they get up.

Capítulo tres
Lección 1
Teacher Tips
Starting with this chapter, the heading of Background Information will no longer be used. The
primary purpose of the heading and related information found in the first two chapters was to place
emphasis on the importance of focusing on comprehension as opposed to working on storyline. By
focusing on limited vocabulary, repetitive questions, and parallel characters, your students are hopefully
processing the language a lot faster at this time. If they are understanding at a high level and processing
faster, then you will be able to gradually dedicate more class time to developing storyline and enhancing
the creativity in your classroom. There are several ways to add creativity to storylines. Adding surprise
details and parallel characters are two ways to add creativity. Personalization is another. A fourth is a
term called an “event”. An event will be defined below. Starting in this chapter, sample events will be
included in the teacher’s guide for every oral story and extended reading.
TPRS in its best form allows for maximum creativity. Events add tremendously to the creativity of
the TPRS classroom. Below are the guidelines that seek to define an event:
 An event consists of “extra information” that was not part of the original story. The primary
objective of an event is to embellish a storyline.
 Allows us to show it rather than just talk about it. According to brain research, it’s much more
interesting and engaging for us to see the action rather than just talk about it.
 There are no time limitations for an event. Some events go back in time, others take place in the
present time, and they can also take place at a future time. When going back in time, an event
often starts by saying something like, “One day . . .” or “Two years ago . . . “ or some other time
reference. This narrows our focus to a specific time period.
 The goal is to use words they know. Write unknown words on the board.
 Circling is not the focus of the event, but it can take place during an event whenever you sense
that the students don’t understand.
 As the event evolves, new details are added by the teacher telling the details and/or asking the
class for details.
 Dramatize whatever can be dramatized. Add dialogue. Dramatization and dialogue are high
interest.
 Events can be planned, improvised, or a combination of the two.
 Events can get more elaborate as students learn more language. Events are simpler with
beginning students because they know less language. A simple event could take as little as 5
minutes. An elaborate event could take as long as 45 or 50 minutes. Other events could take any
amount of time in-between.
Each oral story and reading will have at least two sample scripted events. You can use the events
exactly as they appear or you can change them as you see fit. Also, you can add additional events to your
stories and readings as you like.

So far we have practiced a lot of structures that will be in a lot of our stories. (i.e., había, tenía, se
llamaba, vivía, quería, era, estaba). If the students can remember these words without you having to write
them on the board, then you are able to use them freely since they know them. If you notice that some
students do not remember one of these verbs, then you’ll want to continue to write them on the board with
translations until they can remember them. If students are struggling to remember certain verbs then
you’ll also want to remember to ask plenty of repetitive questions using those verbs so that their retention
with improve over time.
Structures:
Quería tener - She wanted to have
No podía hablar - She was not able to (could not) talk
Ask-a-Story
Storyline
Había una chica que vivía en Buford, Wyoming. La chica se llamaba Julie. Julie tenía muchas
amigas pero tenía un problema. No podía hablar con sus amigas porque no tenía un iPhone. Julie quería
tener un iPhone. Julie fue a Walmart en Buford.
En Walmart había un chico. Julie habló con el chico. Le dijo:
—Hola chico. Tengo muchas amigas pero no puedo hablar con mis amigas. No tengo un iPhone.
Quiero un iPhone.
El chico le dijo:
—No tengo un iPhone. No hay iPhones en Buford.
Julie fue a Laramie, Wyoming. Había un chico en Laramie. El chico tenía un iPhone. Julie habló
con el chico. Le dijo:
—Necesito un iPhone. No puedo hablar con mis amigas. ¿Tienes un iPhone extra?
—No, sólo tengo un iPhone. Walmart en Laramie tiene muchos iPhones— le dijo el chico.
La chica fue a Walmart en Laramie. Había un chico en Walmart. Habló con el chico. Le dijo:
—Necesito un iPhone. ¿Tienes un iPhone?
—Tenemos muchos iPhones. Es Walmart. ¿Quieres uno o dos?
—Quiero dos. Quiero uno para mí y otro para mi familia.
La chica estaba muy contenta porque por fin tenía un iPhone.
First location
Character #1: Julie (name of your student)
¿Qué había? ¿Dónde vivía ella? Julie, ¿dónde vives? ¿Cuántas amigas tenía Julie? ¿Tenía Julie un
problema? ¿Cuál era su problema? (no tenía un iPhone) ¿Julie, cuál es tu problema? ¿Por qué no podía
hablar Julie con sus amigas? Julie, ¿por qué no puedes hablar con tus amigas? ¿Qué quería tener?

Sample from new_sp_1_tg (1)

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