Difference Between Spanish Ser and Estar

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:

• Identity
• Nationality
• Personality
• Physical attributes
• Profession/Career
• Date & Time
• Emotion
• Location

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.