Present Progressive in Spanish Lessons

Teaching the present progressive is one of my favorite topics for Spanish lessons. The context allows for a lot of fun activities and engagement.

I have created a bundle of activities. Below are some ideas for teaching the present progressive in Spanish in your class:

Day One. Start with the PowerPoint presentation. 

After you’ve introduced the PowerPoint presentation, do your first set of Immersive Quizzes. 

After you’ve completed your first immersive quiz, go to the puzzles, and go over the answers together. The last thing for day one is to hand out the verb chart (with answers). The homework is to prepare the oral presentation/show and tell for the next class.

Day Two. Start with your second set of immersive quizzes. 

The next activity is to have them do their oral presentations. 

When they’ve completed their oral presentations, have them do charades. You’re going to tear up scrap paper into tiny slips where they can write down a verb in the present progressive. For example, tú estás corriendo. Whatever they’re going to write, they’re going to write it in the tú form. They should give it to you so you can make corrections. After everyone’s completed, they’re writing down their verbs. Again, depending on the size of your class, you might want to have them each do four, or two, or six, or eight- this completely depends on the size of your class. You’ll get lots of duplicates, and so don’t worry about that. At this point it’s really practice and learning the form, that’s your focus. Students will then act these out, so you will hand them a slip (you may need to be corrections). The students will guess what that person is doing, using the right form. They might say él está corriendo. It’s very fun. 

Students should be prepared to take the quiz the next day on the chart (blank).

Day Three. Do another set of immersive quizzes. 

After the immersive quizzes are over, have the students do an interview. They’re going to create a short list of questions. For example, they might write ¿Qué está haciendo Julia ahora?.  I like to do this in pairs or small groups. 

When they’re done, I like to bring everyone together. I write down all the students names on the board. You can even take a Google doc and do a table with a space for each student’s name. You can write it as you talk about that student (as in Language Experience Approach), in another column with a blank space to write what they’re doing. Anything where they can see. Technology works, but old-fashioned works just fine too. You’re going to write down the correct forms of the things they say. 

After they’ve completed this, play Concentration. Students are going to turn them all over and they’re going to be looking for pairs.

For the next class, students should be prepared for the final assessment on this unit, which is going to be writing one paragraph about three things that they are doing in that moment they are taking quiz, and then another paragraph where they are required to write at least five things that one or more people are doing in class at that moment.

Present Progressive in Spanish LessonsSpanish Activities: Present Progressive Centers

Here’s a cleaned-up and streamlined version of your lesson plan for teaching the present progressive in Spanish:

Present Progressive in Spanish: Lesson Plan

Teaching the present progressive in Spanish is an exciting and engaging topic. This plan uses a variety of interactive activities to ensure students fully understand and can use this grammatical structure effectively.

Day One: Introduction and Practice

1. PowerPoint Presentation
   
   • Introduce the present progressive using the provided PowerPoint.
   • Emphasize the structure: estar + present participle (e.g., estoy hablando, estás comiendo).
2. Immersive Quiz (Set 1)
   
   • Test comprehension with an initial set of immersive quizzes.
3. Puzzles
   
   • Work on puzzles together as a class to reinforce learning.
   • Review the answers as a group to clarify any doubts.
4. Verb Chart (with Answers)
   
   • Distribute the verb chart to summarize the conjugation rules.
   • Assign homework: Prepare a short oral presentation or show-and-tell for the next class.

Day Two: Interactive Practice

1. Immersive Quiz (Set 2)
   
   • Begin with the second set of quizzes to build on day one’s learning.
2. Oral Presentations
   
   • Students present their prepared show-and-tell using the present progressive.
3. Charades
   
   • Activity Setup:
     • Provide small slips of paper for students to write verbs in the tú form (e.g., tú estás corriendo).
     • Collect and correct their submissions as needed.
   • Game Instructions:
     • Randomly distribute the slips to students.
     • Students act out the verb, while others guess using the correct form (e.g., él está corriendo).
   • Focus: Repetition and form mastery.
4. Prepare for Quiz
   
   • Announce the next day’s quiz: Students will complete a blank verb chart.

Day Three: Advanced Practice and Application

1. Immersive Quiz (Set 3)
   
   • Start with another set of quizzes for reinforcement.
2. Interviews
   
   • Students create a short list of questions (e.g., ¿Qué está haciendo Julia ahora?).
   • Conduct interviews in pairs or small groups to practice the present progressive in conversation.
3. Class Collaboration
   
   • Write students’ names on the board or create a collaborative table in a Google Doc.
   • As students share, write the correct present progressive forms next to their names.
   • Focus on real-time correction and collective learning.
4. Game: Concentration
   
   • Create pairs of sentences and verbs using the present progressive.
   • Students play a matching game to reinforce their memory of the forms.

Final Assessment (Next Class)

1. Written Paragraphs
   • Paragraph 1: Write about three things they are doing at the moment of the quiz.
   • Paragraph 2: Write about five things that one or more classmates are doing during the class.