Play the game!

This is my first year having a Spanish class completely using TPRS.  I was not sure it would be the correct thing to do since I have no experience yet, no colleagues close by who use the method, and I am not sure what else to do in class besides class stories and reading.  So far I have been doing stories every week, retells and reading successfully.  However, I am teaching level 3 and I haven't been able to incorporate past tense consistently in class. That is a concern.  I am lucky to have met some brilliant teachers during NTPRS Las Vegas 2012, who have held my hand during my transition into TPRS.  They have become my friends and mentors! I can't be thankful enough.  One of those teachers is Cynthia Hitz, a Spanish teacher in Pennsylvania.  She has helped me in a way that I never thought possible.  Her generosity and warmth is out of this world!  Her blog (one of them!) is a wonderful resource that I use every day:   http://palmyraspanish1.blogspot.com/
I asked her how to overcome that issue with the past tense in my class.  My students are retelling stories in Spanish every day, and they are speaking in Spanish very well all block but it is only in present tense.   Today I did what she adviced:  Before we began what I had planned as the agenda for the day, I posted on the board:  "Qué comiste ayer?" and translation.  Also, I listed along with translations:  I ate, you ate, we ate.  I first stated in Spanish:  "Yesterday I ate pasta with tomato sauce.  My husband is a good cook and he prepared it for us.  What did you eat, Aaron?" He responded pizza.  I asked "what kind?" "Pepperoni and Sausage".  Oh! Class! Aaron ate pepperoni and sausage pizza yesterday!"  I proceeded to circle every part of the statement, and asked where he ate, and who was with him when he did. 
Then added a different student, who responded she ate pasta as well.  I made such a big deal out of it!  "THAT IS INCREDIBLE!! PASTA TOO??" And circled the statements, asked details of her dinner just like I had done with the other student.  Then I asked: "Clase, yo comí pizza ayer?" and circled all "actors" and situations.  Every time somebody else responded "pasta", the same big reaction from me would come.  Students were laughing and so engaged!  All responded every question, and it was evident that the level of comprehension and enthusiasm was high. 

The session was wrapped up by making a chart:  8 people ate chicken, 12 ate pasta, 5 ate pizza.  Again, used the chart to circle:  "how many people ate chicken/pasta/pizza?" We ended with the conclusion:  "La comida más popular de ayer fue la pasta.  La comida menos popular ayer fue la pizza! qué interesante! porque generalmente la pizza es una comida popular!" (the most popular food yesterday was pasta, the least was pizza.  Interesting beause generally pizza is a popular food!)  and again... you guessed! circled that conclusion!  "which was the most/least popular? why is it an interesting fact?"  Needless to say, our predetermined agenda was considerably reduced due to this long discussion/conversation! total success! 50 minutes of comprehensible input, fun and student engagement! After lunch, the next group (same level) came in, and I did the same.  Success X2!!! I could see kids whispering others "when she asks you, say pasta!"  It was so cute! 
Class ended, they left and I went to the office.  In my way back, I found a student from that class who told me "It was a great class! but... (concerned face) I am sorry! most of us lied about eating pasta! The other group told us during lunch about their class, so we knew whe had to respond pasta for ours to be more fun!  I am sorry!"  I smiled and said it was ok!
The fact that the previous group went on to lunch and talked about class, and that they did it with so much detail made my day!  In class they thought they were whispering "respond pasta!" and I would't notice, but I did and that was great! It encouraged me and my "acting"!   They thought they were "playing me" and that is ok! The goal was met successfully:  students were so focused on the message, on the story, that they forgot about the language, how it functions and everything else! they were understanding, engaged in conversation with me and having fun! What a great feeling that is! So, like native English speakers (I am not one!) say:  "whatever floats your boat!"   Let them play the game, and have fun with it!  Thank you again, Cynthia Hitz!
Hasta la próxima!
Marta.