Some of you have responded to me about the cocktail party idea. I can’t claim it as an original idea, but I also have no idea where I first saw it! I’ve been using it for years. Anyway, it can certainly be converted to a multiple of uses. I will say that it is always more authentic (and certainly more fun) if you actually do have food and beverages for the activity.
Working in small groups, each student selected a celebrity without sharing. They then thought about what that celebrity had done yesterday, today, and would do tomorrow. They shared that information with their group, and the group tried to guess who they were. The next step was to not share information voluntarily with their group; rather the group had to ask them questions.
The cocktail party came a few days later. I gave each student an index card with a musical celebrity written on it. For this activity, I chose only English speaking artists. Some of the celebrities I matched intentionally with students, others were just random. Some were current celebrities, others were older or even dead. I used all genres of music. It did not matter if the student was male or female or if they received a male or female. I did have one student who was given the name Elton John and she claimed she had no idea who he was?! I did have backup cards just for this purpose! As I said earlier, I did provide them with cheese and crackers and sparkling grape juice. They wandered around the room with their “guessing paper” and talked freely with one another. I would like to say that all talking was in Spanish, but I did hear some English. However, the percentage of Spanish use was quite high. I allowed about 30 minutes for the activity, but it could have gone longer. I circulated constantly, serving the drinks and food, but also eavesdropping on their conversations. I did give an informal assessment grade following the activity. I considered the activity a hit, and will be repeating it the day before spring break this week with famous historical figures.
This is what the instructions looked like for them:
Nuestra Fiesta de Cóctel
- Mira tu ficha. NO DIGAS NADA!!!! Tú eres esta persona ahora!
- Tienes que hablar con muchas personas que están contigo en la fiesta. Tienes que encontrar información de ellos y ellos necesitan encontrar información de ti.
- Puedes hablar de
- dónde vienes
- cuántos años tienes
- tu familia, esposo/a, hermanos, padres, hijos/as, etc.
- tu estilo de música
- tu vida (¿estás vivo o muerto?)
- qué haces hoy día
- qué has ganado
- cosas buenas o malas que has hecho
- dónde viajas o a dónde has viajado
- 4. NO puedes decir ningún título de una canción que has escrito/cantado/performado.
Mi Mejor Advinanza: ¿Quién es……..