These questions in Spanish are useful for all kinds of activities, including board games, classroom games or just asking each other for fun. Children learn many of these words and structures in elementary school. They also are familiar with the content. Of course, what kids understand will depend on their level and age. You can always reword the questions to make them easier for your students or children to understand. Una preguntita is a continually [...]
Award-winning author Carole Roman has written a lovely picture book to introduce young children to the country and culture of Mexico. If You Were mM and Lived in… Mexico: A Child’s Introduction to Cultures Around the World is intended for ages pre-K through eight. It combines carefully selected information with images crafted to be typical, but never stereotypical. The book is available from Amazon and on the author’s website. In my experience, it is hard [...]
Cantoalegre is an amazing resource. This fabulous organization from Colombia offers free downloads of their Spanish songs for kids. They explain their generosity saying Porque la música es de todos, te traemos canciones para descargar gratis. Because music belongs to everyone, we bring you songs to download free. Cantoalegre is a non-profit cultural organization in Colombia dedicated to the creation, study and performance of children’s music. The group performs, produces CDs, and has founded numerous [...]
These two online games are from Educapeques. They are designed to teach basic concepts and prepositions to native Spanish speakers and are also excellent online games for teaching Spanish vocabulary and agreement to language learners. Children see a set of four simple drawings and hear clear audio instructions telling them to click on one of the images. The objects in the drawings are familiar, so the instructions kids hear will have words like mesa, vasos, [...]
Mother’s Day is El Día de la Madre or El Día de las Madres in Spanish. In the U.S. this year we will celebrate on May 12th. This printable Spanish subway art is a good coloring project for language learners. You can find more information about how Mother’s Day is celebrated in Spanish-speaking countries and other printables for El Día de la Madre in these posts. Subway art, a pretty collection of words related to [...]
April is National Poetry Month in the United States. It is an excellent time to share poems in Spanish with children who are learning the language. Poetry does not have to be abstract or use figurative language, which can be hard in a second language. It can be clear, relate directly to kids’ experiences and use everyday words. In addition, carefully chosen poems let children experience the sound and rhythm of Spanish at the earliest [...]
I use picture cards for all kinds of games and activities. This PDF has the following sets for 12 animals: 12 small picture cards – 4 per page 12 small picture cards with text – 4 per page 12 word cards – 4 per page 12 large picture cards with text – 2 per page 12 full-page coloring sheets Syllable squares for 12 words You can use them as a set, or you can print [...]
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 [...]
Update – Storybird has made some changes so the story cannot be embedded here. The link in the post below works though, so you can read it on the Storybird site. 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 the link. Do be aware that any [...]
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 [...]