Letras de colores is a set of activities for native speakers who are learning to read and write. Two of the activities in particular are excellent for Spanish language learners because they are based on listening to native speaker audio. The first activity involves discriminating letter sounds and the second activity consists of ordering words in a phrase. 1. Discriminación auditiva This activity involves listening to a letter sound and choosing a word that has [...]
The website OnlineFreeSpanish.com has lots of entertaining activities and games for Spanish language learners. For children learning the letters in Spanish, the Bouncing Letter Game is an effective and engaging way to master the names of the letters. The object is to maneuver a cart under a falling letter so that it does not hit the ground. Each time a letter bounces off the cart, you will hear the name of the letter pronounced in [...]
I have had a few email exchanges recently with readers of Spanish Playground who are learning Spanish with their children. Considering how hard it is to fit studying a language into a family schedule, I shared a few of the websites that I have found helpful in teaching adults over the years. These are sites that I have gone to for activities and have recommended to my students. Although they are not directly related to [...]
This activity involves listening to instructions that describe a location and then clicking on the object in that location. Native Spanish speakers play the game to practice the concepts of left, right, center, upper and lower. For Spanish language learners who have already mastered these concepts, it is excellent vocabulary practice. Native speaker pronunciation and the natural rate of speech also make this activity good listening practice. Click on this link to practice listening to [...]
I recently wrote about a song to teach children the vowel sounds in Spanish. The song A,E,I,O,U is by Carolina Gómez, and she was kind enough to send me the CD. I always enjoy making connections with people who are creating quality Spanish-language materials for children. Hands on Spanish has 20 songs and comes with the Spanish lyrics and an English translation of all the tracks. The lyrics and the translations are printed in alternating [...]
This is a great set of online activities for introducing the body parts in Spanish or for focused practice with the vocabulary. The activities are from OnlineFreeSpanish. The first activity teaches the words and correct Spanish pronunciation and the second is a game. Click the titles to open the activities in a new window. Activity for learning the body parts in Spanish This activity for learning the body parts in Spanish has a photograph of [...]
In English, we associate learning vowel sounds with learning to read. However, children who are learning Spanish should learn the vowel sounds early and practice them often, focusing on the sound, not the association with the written letter. The vowel sounds are important for pronunciation first, and for reading later. It is never too early for children to learn to pronounce the Spanish vowels correctly! Ideally, a child is introduced to the sounds of Spanish [...]
This online game teaches children the parts of the face and head in Spanish. It can also teach other common vocabulary if you play the game as it is intended for native Spanish speakers. The activity consists of a picture of a head, and a sidebar with options for the parts of the face and hair. Each part is labeled in Spanish. As you scroll through the options for each feature, the picture changes. If [...]
This children’s song in Spanish, Barquito de papel, was written by Cuban composer and pianist Enriqueta Almanza in the 1940s. Its bright tune and hope for peace have made it a Cuban classic, and children sing it all over the Spanish-speaking world. The song is about a paper boat, and the wishes of a child to travel, make friends, and live in a world without war. Singing songs, children learn and use Spanish vocabulary that [...]
In this online Spanish game for kids, children hear a phrase in Spanish and are given the words to that phrase out of order. They drag and drop the words to make the Spanish sentence that they heard. If the child makes a mistake, the word will not go into place and the sentence is repeated. There are images of each sentence behind the words, so even if all of the Spanish vocabulary is not [...]
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 [...]
Spanish rhymes, like eeny-meeny-miny-mo in English, are an easy way to add Spanish to your home or classroom. These are choosing rhymes, or counting-0ut rhymes, and are used to start games. They are fun for children to say, and teach them Spanish pronunciation and rhythm. There are many different rhymes like these and many variations of each one. De tin marín, is the most common of these Spanish rhymes in Latin America, and my children [...]