Draw a Spanish song is a language activity using art and music.

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

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