Online story in Spanish with illustrations and narration

 Animals, Books, Online activities, Pronunciation, Vocabulary  No Responses »
Nov 082010
 
Online story in Spanish with illustrations and narration

Children learning Spanish as a second language, or in minority language situations, get most of their exposure to the language from adults.  They often do not hear Spanish-speaking children playing with the sounds of the language and expressing emotion naturally with their voices. Quiero ser distinta is from the site Milcuentos.com: Cuentos infantiles con sonido (A thousand stories: Children’s stories with sound), a collection of stories illustrated and narrated by children.  The expression that the [...]

Online activity teaches gustar and animals in Spanish

 Animals, Online activities, Pronunciation, Questions, Vocabulary  No Responses »
Oct 202010
 
Online activity teaches gustar and animals in Spanish

Escoge una mascota (choose a pet) is an interactive online activity that exposes children to lots of Spanish vocabulary and grammar. This activity teaches the structure of gustar, animals in Spanish, and also uses four very common Spanish verbs: correr (to run), nadar (to swim), buscar (to look for) and jugar (to play). The game consists of the question ¿A cuál mascota le gusta…? (Which pet likes to). Then, it asks about an activity that [...]

Website with educational songs can help teach children Spanish

 Animals, Body parts, Clothes, Colors, Days of the week, Letters, Months, Numbers, Songs, Vocabulary, Websites  No Responses »
Sep 282010
 
Website with educational songs can help teach children Spanish

The website Presencias de Música is a wonderful resource for anyone teaching Spanish to children.  The site is maintained by a group of volunteers, under the direction and supervision of Prof. Pablo Bensaya of Buenos Aires, Argentina.  The purpose of the site is to provide resources for music education to teachers in countries, or classes, where the first language is Spanish.  However, the material that they have made available is also a resource to those [...]

Traditional children’s song teaches gustar

 Songs, Verbs, Videos  No Responses »
May 152010
 
Traditional children’s song teaches gustar

This traditional Spanish children’s song is about a monkey who likes his lettuce ironed, without any wrinkles, and with lime and salt.  The song is very short, and children learn it easily. The first line – A mi mono, le gusta la lechuga (My monkey likes lettuce) – teaches children the correct structure of the Spanish verb gustar when they are referring to a third person (or monkey). They learn to use le, and to [...]

A picture book to teach the Spanish verb gustar

 Books, Verbs  1 Response »
May 132010
 
A picture book to teach the Spanish verb gustar

¿Qué te gusta? teaches children the common Spanish verb gustar through repetition and lovely illustrations which make the meaning of the text clear.  Repetition is important in teaching Spanish to children. They need to be exposed to vocabulary and grammatical structures over and over again to truly learn them. Picture books with patterns present the same structures with different illustrations and associations, and can help children internalize the meaning and structure of Spanish phrases. ¿Qué te [...]

Talking about a photograph of fruit in Spanish

 Colors, Food, Photographs  2 Responses »
May 122010
 
Talking about a photograph of fruit in Spanish

Children learn Spanish grammar and vocabulary by hearing correct grammatical structures. Reading the questions that follow the photograph, you can help your child learn Spanish question words and verbs. Look at the picture with your child and read the questions that follow. Answer the questions together. You can often understand the main idea without understanding each word. To learn Spanish, children need to develop the ability and confidence to listen (or read) for the main idea.  [...]

Book with CD teaches gustar, adjective – noun agreement, and colors in Spanish

 Books, Colors, Verbs  1 Response »
May 102010
 
Book with CD teaches gustar, adjective – noun agreement, and colors in Spanish

Me gustan los colores is a picture book with wonderful photos supported by a clear Spanish text. Each page has four photos of objects of one color, red for example. The objects are labeled in Spanish – manzana roja, naríz roja, pájaro rojo, rosa roja. The text that follows the pictures says El color rojo me gusta a mí (I like the color red.) and then asks ¿Te gusta el rojo a ti? (Do you [...]

Use “gustar” to speak Spanish with your child

 How to, Verbs  1 Response »
May 082010
 
Use “gustar” to speak Spanish with your child

“I like it!”  “I don’t like that!”   Children express what they like and don’t like many times every day.  It is an important part of establishing their identity.  You can teach them to communicate these ideas in Spanish. Gustar is the verb that is used in Spanish to express the idea of liking something. Gustar uses a different grammatical structure than many verbs, but children quickly understand and use this common Spanish verb.  For more [...]

An activity with “me gusta”

 How to, Verbs, Vocabulary  No Responses »
Apr 122010
 
An activity with "me gusta"

Me gusta (I like it.). ¡Me gusta mucho! (I like it a lot!). No me gusta (I don’t like it.). These are common Spanish phrases that are easy to use in many situations with kids. I introduce these phrases during the first few classes, and then for focused practice, I do this simple activity. I put a variety of food items in a bag: an apple, mustard, an onion, a carrot, chocolate, a hard-boiled egg, [...]

Let’s talk about a picture of horses in Spanish – Hablemos de una foto de caballos

 Animals, Body parts, Colors, Numbers, Photographs  No Responses »
Apr 062010
 
Let's talk about a picture of horses in Spanish - Hablemos de una foto de caballos

Look at the picture with your child. Read the questions that follow and answer them together. Do not worry about understanding every word in the questions. You can often understand the main idea without understanding each word. The ability and the confidence to listen (or read) for the main idea is a very important language-learning skill. It is good to guess at a meaning that makes sense in the context. As your child hears words [...]

Me gusta cuando…- A sweet picture book for learning “me gusta”

 Books, Verbs  No Responses »
Mar 192010
 
Me gusta cuando…- A sweet picture book for learning “me gusta”

I love this book! Each sentence begins Me gusta cuando (I like it when) but ends with a different everyday activity involving a loving adult and a happy child. Me gusta cuando me dejas ayudarte. (I like it when you let me help you.) Me gusta cuando comemos algo nuevo. (I like it when we eat something new.) Me gusta cuando me lees cuentos. (I like it when you read me stories.) Me gusta cuando [...]

Picture books to teach food vocabulary in Spanish

 Books, Food  No Responses »
Mar 132010
 
Picture books to teach food vocabulary in Spanish

Your child can learn lots of Spanish, including food vocabulary, reading picture books with you. Frutas y vegetales uses common fruits and vegetables in a variety of simple sentences. Éstas son zanahorias. (These are carrots.) Me gusta la sandía. (I like watermelon.) The different structures are a great way to expose your child to basic phrases and vocabulary in context. These are common verbs and constructions – perfect for beginning Spanish learners. You will easily [...]

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