¡Lo Tengo!

I love activities that can be used with any area of study, whether it be vocab or grammar. That is why I love, and my students love, “Lo Tengo”. This is a wonderful activity to use to practice any concept your students are learning or need more help with. Students must be the first person to call out “Lo Tengo” when their term is called.

Here’s what you need:
-post-its / blank notecards (enough for every student)
-two groups (I just divide my class in half)

Here’s how you play:

1.  Create a list of 15 or so vocabulary words, verb forms or whatever you want to practice. Sometimes I use simple vocabulary words, while other times I will use sentences. If you use sentences with names, make sure you repeat names so that student’s won’t think that their card is being called just because they hear the name “Rosa”.
2. Write those 15 words/phrases on TWO sets of post-its / notecards. You want to make sure that each set is identical. Sometimes I use one color post-it for one set and another color for the other set. This helps if you find a random post it on the floor.
3. Pass out at least 1 post-it / notecard to each side. If there are extras, I just ask for volunteers to take two. My kids love this game, so I will often have kids asking for two and even three post its.
4.  Instruct the students to say “Lo Tengo” when they hear their word called. When I call out a phrase, sometimes I use pictures or actions to represent vocabulary we have practiced. When using grammar I might say “yo (bailar)” for the term “bailo”. However, I think that using the English terms works well too. The beauty in this activity is that TWO students have each term you call. They have to be the first person to say “Lo Tengo” before the other student can do so.
5.  Change up the cards often! Every 5 or so terms I call, I instruct my kids to mix up their cards with their team. This prevents them from getting too comfortable with one term, and it forces them to practice more.

There you have it! A super, simple activity that can be applied to every chapter and every concept.
Enjoy!