I recently received an email from a reader looking for Spanish songs for preschoolers about trains and other forms of transportation. I shared a few songs with her and thought I would mention them here, too. I do a unit on el transporte with my preschoolers and have used the first two songs below about trains. The third song is longer and has more vocabulary, but works well with students who are a little older. [...]
This printable activity consists of a short Spanish reading, photos and questions. The topic is el Día del Peatón, an excellent subject for Earth Day or any day. El Día de la Tierra, Earth Day, is April 22nd this year. The city of Cochabamba, Bolivia has observed el Día del Peatón, or Pedestrian Day, for 13 years. Three times a year the city is closed to all motor vehicles and people take to the streets [...]
I made this ebook in Spanish using Storybird. In this post about Storybird in 2011, I discussed different ways of using the website with Spanish language learners. You can share the stories you write by emailing or embedding them. Do be aware that any stories you write in Spanish will not be a part of the public library on the Storybird website. The public stories are moderated and there are only enough moderators for English. [...]
Many of us teach units on los sentidos, or the five senses. This familiar material works well for using common verbs in the first person: toco, veo, oigo, huelo, saboreo. It is also easy to introduce common objects and food vocabulary as you talk about what we see, touch, taste, smell and hear. When I teach this unit, I include activities where children engage all their senses. They love smelling, tasting and touching different things. [...]
These Spanish questions are based on vocabulary children learn early in their exposure to the language. The questions include words for numbers, seasons, colors, animals and food. I use questions like these for all kinds of games and activities, including board games. Una preguntita is a growing collection of questions that encourage kids to draw on information they know to understand Spanish. Although some words in the questions will be new, kids use their prior [...]
I think this is a wonderful Spanish song for kids to sing as Mother’s Day approaches. It is called Yo solito Mamá (By myself, Mama) and is by Rossana Conte of Torreon, Mexico. The song has lots of simple verb forms. It also has vocabulary that children hear right away as they start to learn Spanish. The song is about wanting to be independent, a feeling that all children can identify with. Unfortunately, the song [...]
This activity is based on a photo of recycling containers in Concepción, Paraguay. It teaches important vocabulary and also helps children understand that concern for the environment is global. Recycling containers may look different in different parts of the world, but children can see they serve the purpose. There is a short description and a simple activity following the photo. The activity is also available to download as a PDF and print. The link is [...]
Earth Day is April 22nd, and these Spanish phrases remind us of ways we can take care of the planet. They can be written or printed on the reverse side of anything you no longer need – homework, letters from school, junk mail, envelopes or cardboard from cereal boxes. You can use them as reminders to hang around the house, bookmarks to share with a friend or with pictures in a collage to brighten up [...]
The snow is almost gone here in Wisconsin, and many of us are talking and singing about the change of seasons with our kids. Los pollitos is a traditional song that fits in well if you are talking about spring, hens, eggs and chicks. Los Pollitos Vocabulary I like to sing this song in class because it has lots of useful vocabulary. It describes how a hen takes care of her chicks, and children learn [...]
The traditional folk song De Colores is sung throughout the Spanish-speaking world. The song is often associated with the Catholic church, but it is also taught as a Spanish song for kids to celebrate spring without specific references to religion. De Colores is a song that many teachers sing with classes at this time of year. It is a good way to introduce or reinforce spring vocabulary such as la primavera (spring), las [...]
This set of Spanish questions is based on some of the first vocabulary that children learn. The questions include words for numbers, body parts, colors, animals and food. I use questions like these for all kinds of activities, including board games and classroom games. Una preguntita is a continually growing collection of questions that encourage kids to draw on information they know to understand Spanish. Although some words in the questions will be new, kids [...]
These Spanish online stories were created by a group of teachers in Montville, Connecticut. Each story is followed by a set of vocabulary and comprehension activities. There are three simple stories that kids can read online: Pepa y su cesta, El viejo y su paraguas and El pájaro y el pan. They all have illustrations to help students understand what they are reading. On each page, several words in the text are in red and [...]