Creative Inventions - English Template, Intermediate Low

Created Feb. 7, 2024 by Amber Hoye, Camille Daw, Mimi Fahnstrom

Please Note: Many of the activities on the Pathways Project OER Repository were created by upper-division students at Boise State University and serve as a foundation that our community of practice can build upon and refine. While they are polished, we welcome and encourage collaboration from language instructors to help modify grammar, syntax, and content where needed. Kindly contact pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu with any suggestions and we will update the content in a timely manner.  — The Pathways Project

Looking for the Spanish Version of this activity to adapt for your language?, CLICK HERE

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The activities provided by the Boise State World Languages Resource Center (WLRC) serve as foundational activities which can be adapted by any language and scaled up or down on the proficiency scale. Many of these activities offer an English Version that is “language-agnostic” to provide language instructors from around the country a platform to remix these instructional materials, infusing them with their target language and culture! The activities within the Pathways Project OER Repository seek to help students solidify their interpersonal speaking and interpretive skills through task-based situations or communicative activities. These activities should be facilitated in the target language for approximately 90% (or more), per the recommendation of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

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1. Use the Activity as is:

Before you begin:

  • Most activities are 30 minutes in duration, unless otherwise specified.
  • Be sure to read through the activity description, and review the list of required materials. You will notice that the activity materials are also highlighted in yellow throughout the activity instructions.

If you have any suggestions about grammar, syntax, and content, please kindly contact pathwaysproject@boisestate.edu.

2. Remix for Your Language Classroom:

When you are ready to begin remixing the activity, in order to adapt it for the needs of your language classroom, simply click the blue “Remix This Resource” button at the top of your screen. This will then take you to a screen with a NEW, editable version of this activity. The text provided in purple is a suggestion of what you might say to your students in the target language, and may be altered for different levels and age groups. All activities have “NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do” statements, a warm-up, a main activity, and a wrap-up.

Many of the activities include printable cards and other instructional materials such as Google Slideshows. If you would like to make changes to these materials for your classroom, follow the instructions below:

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Creative Inventions

Description:

Students will use their imaginations to create inventions and describe their usage to their classmates in the target language. Students will describe preferences and use reasoning to support their argument as to why their invention should be developed. 

Proficiency Level:

Intermediate Mid

Keywords:

Shark Tank, inventions, creative, useful, technology, investment

NCSSFL-ACTFL World-Readiness Standards:

  • Standard 1.1 Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
  • Standard 1.2 Students understand and interpret spoken and written (target language) on a variety of topics.
  • Standard 1.3 Students present information, concepts, and ideas in (target language) to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
  • Standard 2.2 Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of (target culture).
  • Standard 3.1 Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through (target language).

Idaho State Content Standards for World Languages:

  • COMM 1.1 - Interact and negotiate meaning (spoken, signed, written conversation) to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions
  • COMM 2.1 - Understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics.
  • COMM 3.1 - Present information, concepts, and ideas to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate on a variety of topics using appropriate media in the target language.
  • CLTR 2.1- Analyze the significance of a product (art, music, literature, etc...) in a target culture.
  • COMP 2.1- Identify, describe and compare/contrast products and their use in the target culture with the learner’s culture.

NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements:

  • I can describe objects and the benefits they have. (Intercultural)
  • I can provide reasons to support an argument.
  • I can exchange preferences.
  • I can talk about products related to everyday life. 

Materials Needed:

To edit materials for you language, make a copy of the materials and edit the copy, not the original materials. 

Warm-up

1. Begin by introducing the Can-Dos for today’s activity and opening the Google Slideshow. 

“Good morning/afternoon! Today, we are going to talk about creative inventions.”

2.  Split students into pairs.

“Find a partner. Make sure you are in a group of 2.”

3. Show first Warm-up slides and have students try to sell and/or describe products from the target culture. (The slides use Spanish-speaking, but you can adapt them for your language) 

Main Activity

1. Introduce the activity to students. In groups of two, students will have 10 minutes to create their products. They will then present the product to the class. 

“Have you ever seen Shark Tank? There is a similar program in Spain that is called “Your Opportunity”. You all have been invited to present a new invention or technology. You and your partner have 10 minutes to create a new invention. After, you all are going to present your ideas to the “shark”. I am the shark, and I am going to choose the product that I want to invest in.”

2. The students must make sure that their product has:

Make sure you include the following in your presentation: 

What is the name of your product?

What does the product do?

How does this product better the everyday life?

How much does the invention cost?

Why should the investor invest money in the product?

Examples: It can be an app, product, website...    

3. Each pair will present their inventions to the group.

4. The lab assistant chooses the one that they would like to invest in.

Wrap-up

Ask the following questions to your students to finish the lab: 

1. What was your favorite invention from today and why?

2. Why is it important to know about technology in a second language?

End of lab:

• Read Can-Do statements once more and have students evaluate their confidence. 
(Use thumbs up/thumbs down or download our student cards.) 
• Encourage students to be honest in their self-evaluation.
• Pay attention, and try to use feedback for future labs!

NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements:

  • I can describe objects and the benefits they have. (Intercultural)
  • I can provide reasons to support an argument.
  • I can exchange preferences.
  • I can talk about products related to everyday life. 

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