I want to keep track of some basic activities I can do in any class period to strengthen oral proficiency.
Visual prompt:
- Start with an image on the screen. Ask students for “words” to tell what they see.
- After a few of these, ask for “statements” about what they see.
- After some statements, have the students create questions about what they do not see. “For whom is the girl making a sandwich?”
- Make notes on seating chart to indicate who is asking questions or making statements and use ± to record skill level.
- Possible extensions: Have students create negative statements or prediction statements.
Becuase it is a task they will be required to complete for AP, I want them to be able to speak extemporaneously from a prompt. A colleague shared something she does:
- Pass out topics, giving three or four to each group, but have the groups receive different topics.
- Allow them 8 minutes to prepare what they will say.
- Allow each student to present their speech verbally.
If you don’t assess it, students don’t value it. I am attending a Professional Development workshop on rubrics this week and want to use what I learn to develop rubrics for these oral practices.
Adventurous Educators 
This is a great activity for any language you are teaching. I used a similar activity to practice English in my bilingual elementary class. You can also have the students write statements about the picture (this was a very useful extension on complete sentences in my 2nd grade class).