Adventures in Teaching the Spanish Super 7 Verbs
December 2021 –
Phew. We’ve made it to the break. If you’re anything like me, you’ve let go of the last semester and you’re already thinking of how to either start over with new classes or how to pick up where you left off. It can be exhausting. I’ve got a simple (though not unique nor created by me) suggestion for you.. why not use the Super 7 Verbs in Spanish? You might have a few questions.. and that’s okay. I’m going to do my best to answer as many as I can up front.
1 – What are the Super 7 Verbs in Spanish? Not too many moons ago, Terry Waltz wrote about which verbs allow you to communicate the most (and are most used to communicate)… this gave us the Super 7 verbs. These verbs aren’t exclusive to Spanish, they’re in any language!
2- Which verbs are they? They are the verbs used to communicate: Location, Existence, Possesion, Identity, Preference, Motion, and Volition. In Spanish that gives us: estar, haber, tener, ser, gustarle, ir, and querer.
3 – Why are these verbs important? Well, you could argue that there are other important verbs. You could also argue that there are verbs that are more important… and you may be right on both counts. BUT, I can say from experience that these verbs are powerful for communication and understanding.
Teaching the Super 7:
I don’t teach the Super 7 verbs all at once. I introduce “hay” first alongside “ser”, then I introduce “gustarle”. About a month into Spanish 1 I introduce “ir” and “estar” and I close out the super 7 with “querer” and “tener” last. By December in Spanish 1 I have introduced and I am constantly providing input for the Super 7 verbs.. and most importantly (to me) my students are using them well and beginning to provide quality output in writing using the Super 7 verbs.
I like to kick off back to school in January in Spanish 1 with a Super 7 Mini-Unit that I wrote. The unit has two funny stories and a few comprehension activities for each story. Why? Because it’s a great way to get students back into the words they need for communication. It’s a great way to start “re – providing” input in Spanish.
Reviewing the Super 7:
I already said that I teach the Super 7 a few at a time and that mid-way through Spanish 1 my kiddos are pretty fluent in the Super 7 verbs… so when to review? I kick off Spanish 2 with a Super 7 past tense unit and quick present tense story. My students are not “tense sheltered” but Spanish 2 back to school is a great time to remind them of the past tense and the Super 7 verbs.
What if I don’t teach with stories?
While I wish everyone could and enjoyed teaching with stories, it doesn’t fit everyone’s agenda or options. If you don’t teach with stories I still highly recommend reviewing the Super 7 verbs in Spanish! Most textbooks cover the Super 7 verbs in Spanish 1, so starting Spanish 2 with a few review activities is a great method! When I used the Realidades series, my students covered all of the Super 7 verbs before we ended Spanish 1. You could review with Lotería / BINGO, a verb maze, Boom Cards, straight up practice pages, or even a Connect 4 game.
I definitely recommend grabbing this FREE Super 7 Lotería to review the present tense Super 7 Verbs in Spanish.
Super 7 Resource Round-up:
Comprehensible Resources:
Super 7 Unit: 2 Stories & Activities
Super 7 Individual Stories (Perfect for a quick review): La chica y Zoom, El Perezoso
Super 7 Pre-Unit: Not ready to tackle all of the Super 7, start with va and hay with this 2 story and activities unit
Super 7 Pre-Unit 2: Not ready to tackle the Super 7, start with tiene, va, and está with this story and activities set
Super 7 Create you own adventure stories with a Story Creator: Present Tense or Past Tense
Super 7 MovieTalk / ClipChat / Photo Talk: Looking for a great way to practice listening skills? MovieTalks are a great way to keep kiddos engaged and interested!
Super 7 Lotería game: This freebie is a great way to review and get listening practice!
More Grammar Based Resources:
Super 7 Maze: Looking for identification and conjugation practice, this maze will bring the fun into it for you and your students! Available in the present or past tense
Super 7 Practice Pages: These present tense or past tense pages will give your students tons of practice identifying means, conjugating, and writing sentences with the Super 7 Verbs.
Super 7 Boom Cards: This set ranges from identification, conjugation, writing sentences, and more skills needed to master the grammar basics of the Super 7 verbs in the present tense. Not looking to use them digitally? You can print off Boom Cards and use them as task cards instead!
Super 7 Connect 4: A fun game to give students practice listening and conjugating verbs!