Rutinas (Routines): Permission Questions that Students Commonly Ask

Teaching in a target language causes you to think about your classroom set up in depth because you need to give your students the tools they need to communicate in the language.  These routines focus specifically on questions that students commonly ask.  These are not questions about curriculum, but if they can do something or if you can provide them with someone.

¿Puedo sacarle punta al lápiz? Can I sharpen my pencil? (I got this questions even when students were working on their own work, so you could make a differentiation and tell students they only need to ask this question when you are in the middle of teaching.)

¿Puedo ir al baño? Can I go to the bathroom?
¿Puedo tomar agua? Can I get a drink?
¿Puedo ir a la oficina? Can I go to the office?
¿Puedo ir a mi locker? Can I go to my locker? (Other words for locker: armario, casillero)
My Reply: Firma la lista y lleva el pase, por favor. Sign the list and take the pass please. (This is a phrase I introduced halfway through the school year so that I could keep my response in Spanish, but it would have been better to introduce it at the beginning.)

¿Puedo tener _______?  Can I have ________?

• un libro  a book
• un papel  a paper
• ayuda  help
• una tirita  a Band-Aid
• un lápiz  a pencil
• un bolígrafo  a pen
• un borrador  an eraser
• un diario  a journal (this was the name I had for the students’ starter paper; I had previously used the word “calentamiento”, but I found that they didn’t all catch on to that word.)
• un marcador  a marker

I would recommend you have a textbook routine if you use your textbooks often.