After learning the conjugations of ser and estar, students should focus on understanding the basic difference between the two. Creating a storyboard like this is a powerful tool for illustrating the common uses of ser and estar.
Have students create original storyboards like this model to practice and demonstrate their understanding of ser and estar. Instruct students to make a cell for each category, label it, and provide a sentence below the image using ser and estar correctly. Since there are more ser categories than estar, students should use the extra cells to practice various conjugated forms of estar while alternating between examples of emotion and location.
Categories:
Alternate Activity 1: Students create storyboard to focus solely on ser—6 cells, one for each use of ser.
Alternate Activity 2: Students create storyboard to focus solely on estar—2 cells, one for each use of estar.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Design brief role-play activities where students use ser and estar in context. This helps them practice making choices between the two verbs in authentic, everyday situations.
Provide sentence frames like 'Yo soy...' or 'Ella está...' to help students begin their responses. Sentence starters support hesitant speakers and reinforce correct verb selection.
Use images or flashcards that clearly depict scenarios tied to ser (like identity or profession) and estar (like emotion or location). Visual cues help students connect context with verb choice.
Ask students to hold up cards or give a thumbs up/down after hearing a sentence to show if ser or estar is correct. Immediate feedback allows you to address common errors right away.
Ser is used for permanent or essential characteristics (like identity, nationality, profession), while estar is used for temporary states and locations (such as emotions or physical place). Remember: ser describes what something is, estar describes how or where it is.
Use interactive activities like creating storyboards, where students illustrate and label examples of both ser and estar in context. Encourage them to use sentences for each category (identity, emotion, location, etc.) for hands-on practice.
Examples: Ser: "Ella es profesora" (She is a teacher). Estar: "Ella está cansada" (She is tired). These show permanent identity versus a temporary state.
Use ser for identity, nationality, personality, physical attributes, profession, and date/time. If the characteristic is seen as permanent or defining, ser is the correct choice.
Have students create storyboards with cells for each use of ser and estar, labeling each category (like emotion, location, profession), and writing a sample sentence below each image to illustrate the rule in context.