There are wonderful activities available online that were not originally intended for teaching a second language. If you want to vary your routine, try these 10 types of free printables in Spanish class.
The suggestions below are for 10 different types of free printables for Spanish class. In other words, you will find dozens of each type online. Each type engages kids with language and provides a visual clue or context for learning.
I Spy Games
You can find many free I Spy printables online. One of my favorite websites for this search game is The Pleasantest Thing. Here is a fruit and vegetable I Spy as an example, but you will find many others that fit different themes. You can even find I Spy games that reinforce vocabulary in popular children’s books like La Oruga Hambrienta.
On Spanish Playground, I have a few of I Spy activities that combine pictures and text, such as this one for classroom vocabulary and another to celebrate the new year.
To use I Spy games
- With young Spanish learners, look for the items together and count as you find them.
- This is a good activity for modeling and using the verbs ver and encontrar. Use phrases like ¿Ves …? Yo veo … Sí, encontraste otro. ¿Puedes encontrar…?
- Working in pairs, kids can say the item they are looking for and count out loud as they find them.
- You can do a listening activity where you have kids color items or circle items.
- For kids with more Spanish, you can do a listening activity where you describe an item and they look for it.
- You can also do a listening activity where you describe where an item is in relation to other items. Kids try to find the right one.
You can find many more I Spy free printables for Spanish class by searching Pinterest.
Paper Scenes and Figures
Printable paper scenes and figures are wonderful for TPR. Give instructions as students move the pieces. Of course, creative play is also excellent for language learning. Many paper scenes and figures can be colored and that is another opportunity to use the vocabulary.
Made By Joel has wonderful paper scenes with stand alone figures. You will also find paper scenes to be used with boxes. Of course, there are many paper figures to use in the different scenes. These community helpers from First Palette have stands, or you can use them as stick puppets. First Pallette also has a great set of zoo animals. These take folding in addition to cutting.
Finish the Drawing
Finish-the-drawing printables are excellent language activities. You can work together as a group or give instructions about what kids should draw. You can also use finish-the-drawing free printables in Spanish for kids to talk or write about their picture.
There are dozens of these activities online. Try searching finish the drawing or finish the picture. Here are a few to get you started from Artful Kids.
You will find finish-the-drawing activities for symmetrical drawing, too. These work well to talk about parts of the picture. First Palette has a selection of easy drawings to get you started.
Matching Picture Halves
You can use these free printables in Spanish in several different ways. With younger kids, talk about the two halves as they match them. With kids who have more Spanish, describe half a picture and have kids find the other half. Students can also use them as a speaking activity in pairs.
Here are some animal matching picture halves to get you started. Here is another set of animals and some monsters.
Bingo Games
Bingo is great for language learners and you can find many printable games online. DLTK has bingo cards with pictures of common vocabulary words for many different themes. Start here to choose the size card you want and choose the theme (vocabulary) in step 2.
Playdough Mats
You may think of play dough as an activity for preschoolers but it is also fun for older kids. It is hands-on and kids love it! Printable playdough mats give kids specific tasks and fit into many vocabulary themes. You can also combine playdough with other printables to make gardens and scenes.
Picklebums has lots of free play dough mats. Here is a set playdough mats for making bugs, and you’ll find links to people, food, and gardens on the same page. These playdough mats have a sentence in English, but you can easily cover it or take it off.
Find many more activities by searching printable playdough mats.
Following Directions Activities
Activities for following directions combine vocabulary and listening or reading practice. I like these activities because they can easily be adapted to different levels. Make the directions more specific for kids with more Spanish and keep them short and simple for beginners.
On Spanish Playground, I have two following directions activities, each with two levels of directions in Spanish. There are tips in the post for doing this type of activity.
You can find lots of following direction activities on Making Learning Fun. These can easily be adapted for Spanish class.
Sequencing Cards
Sequencing cards are essentially very simple stories. Many sequencing cards are meant to be colored and you can also make mini-books out of them. Some cards have English text, so you may have to trim the cards or cover the words.
You can find an excellent set of links to sequencing cards on The Wonder Years. On Spanish Playground there are sequencing cards for the song Un elefante and La araña pequeñita.
Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers often have text and you can find them in Spanish by searching organizadores visuales or organizadores gráficos. I like to use them because
- Graphic organizers pull together the vocabulary students need to write or talk about a topic and help them see the relationship between words.
- Graphic organizers build in repetition. Kids use words once as they organize information and then again as they write or speak.
- Graphic organizers provide support for language learners as they speak and write. For example, retelling a story is an important language task, but it can be challenging. With a graphic organizer in hand, it is much more manageable.
Ayudas Gráficas is part of the Houghton-Mifflin website and on the page they give permission to use, print and copy the graphic organizers for classroom use.
Organizadores Gráficos also has a selection of graphic organizers. Many are similar to the graphic organizers on Ayudas Gráficas. Click on individual images for information about how to use printable graphic organizers with students.
Dominoes
Many printable domino games are picture-based and perfect for reviewing all kinds of vocabulary. You can find them with shapes, colors, math facts or pictures related to themes like seasons or animals. The black and white beach-themed set from The Imagination Box is a cute example.
Photo Credit: jreifegerste via Compfight cc
