Dibujo rítmico, or rhythmic drawing, is one of the most original language learning ideas I’ve seen in a long time. Cantoalegre shares this marvelous activity on their website Música Libre, where they also have free downloads and other resources related to children’s music. Although these videos were created for native speakers, they are excellent material for second language learners.
Dibujo rítmico consists of illustrating lyrics to the rhythm of the music. The Spanish song and the drawing were composed together so that the drawing exactly fits the rhythm and content of the song. This activity combines meaning, movement and the sound and rhythm of Spanish.
Rhythmic drawing is really, really fun! Anyone can do it; it doesn’t take special skills in music or art. Kids will want to draw a Spanish song over and over, and very quickly get better at staying with the rhythm. They get really excited as they finish in time with the music.
Below you will find some of the videos of dibujo rítmico made by Cantoalegre. Here are a few tips for using them with kids learning Spanish.
- Teach the Spanish song, and be sure children understand the lyrics. This is important because the drawing is directly related to the words. The lyrics will reinforce what they should draw and the drawing also reinforces the meaning of the language.
- All of the videos demonstrate the drawing and then show children drawing the song. With language learners, extend this introduction, letting them watch the video several times.
- Once kids have practiced a Spanish song, consider doing a group mural using a long piece of butcher paper. This is especially effective with the songs about stars, or the flowers. You have a lovely mural in just minutes, and kids have a great time making it.
Here are a few of my favorite Cantoalegre rhythmic drawing videos to use with Spanish language learners:
Una estrellita – Dibujo rítmico from Cantoalegre on Vimeo.
Cantando nacen flores – Dibujo Rítmico from Cantoalegre on Vimeo.
Sol – Dibujo rítmico from Cantoalegre on Vimeo.
You may also be interested in this post: Spanish Songs for Kids – Free Downloads from Cantoalegre
Photo Credit: Lincolnian (Brian) via Compfight cc
María Puga
Apr 5, 2015
Qué creativo y bonito. Excelente idea!
Jamie
Apr 23, 2015
I’d love to be able to download the music from the “dibujos rithmicos” above but I can’t find these tracks on the musica libre site. Do you know where I can download or buy these songs?
Thanks for sharing this cool idea!
Jamie
Jenny
Apr 24, 2015
Isn’t it the best idea? I love it! I haven’t seen these songs on Música Libre or on the Cantoalegre CDs. Can you stream the music? I know that if you are in a school that may not be an option. I will let you know if I locate the songs to download. Unfortunately, I am sure they were written specifically to be used with drawing and I am not sure they will be included in other collections of songs. I’ll try emailing Cantoalegre too.
Amparo de Gómez
Mar 30, 2016
Desde hace varios años lo ponemos en práctica en el taller y los niños disfrutan cantidades la actividad además de tener unas cualidades pedagógicas muy interesantes.
Lourdes Garcia
Sep 7, 2016
Hola. I have been using with my Foundation (pre-school) classes and the 5 year olds love it! It is spring in the southern hemisphere and we have been enjoying doing the drawings with chalk on the floor. Great activity that incorporate visual, performing arts / music and Spanish, love it!
https://twitter.com/ACPSpanish/status/773347121156063232
Jenny
Sep 7, 2016
I saw your video on Twitter and it is wonderful! It never occurred to me to do the dibujos rítmicos outside. It’s still warm enough here to try that too. I think the kids will love it!
Rosaura Gutierrez
May 14, 2017
Me encantan estas canciones de dibujos ritmicos, como puedo bajarlas or comprar la musica?
Jenny
May 15, 2017
A mí me encantan también. Solo las he visto en el sitio de Cantoalegre. Creo que no se venden. 🙁 Si no conoces el sitio, tienen muchas cosas bonitas – http://www.musicalibre.com.co/
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