Printable Spanish Story and Scene: El oso y sus amigos

A printable Spanish story and scene to teach vocabulary and language in context.

I love telling stories with language learners, and I do lots of different story activities. One of my favorites is using simple paper figures to act out and retell stories. You can download a printable Spanish story and scene below.

Check out all our Free Printable Spanish Books for Kids for more printable books, mini-books and stories with cutouts and activities.

The story, El oso y sus amigos, is about a bear who lives alone in the forest and how he makes friends. There are downloads of the printable Spanish story at two different levels. The printable Spanish story has black and white illustrations that children can color.

There is also a printable scene with the characters in the story. You can use the scene for lots of Spanish learning activities with kids. They can color and cut out the figures and then retell the story. They can also create their own stories with the figures. You can read more about acting out and retelling stories on A Place of Our Own.

If you try our winter reading challenge, this story and scene make a fun final activity and reward for your readers.

Download the printable Spanish story and scene using these links:

Simple version in the present tense- Oso y sus amigos

Past tense – Oso y sus amigos

Oso y sus amigos – Printable figures to retell the story and make up your own stories

Using the Printable Spanish Story and Scene

One of the best ways of telling a story is using figures to act it out.

  • Tell the story Oso y sus amigos in your own words or make up a new story.
  • Move the pictures and use your voice to help kids understand what they are hearing.
  • If you are working with children who read in Spanish, read the story together. You can break the story into sections and move the figures to clarify vocabulary they are not familiar with. Ask comprehension questions like these as you tell the story or when children have finished reading. Use the tense that was used in the version of the story they read.

Comprehension questions in the present tense:

¿Dónde vive el oso?
¿Quién viene a jugar con el oso? ¿Qué hacen juntos?
¿Quién está mirando al oso y al niño?
¿Por qué no juega el conejo con el oso?
¿Qué hacen los niños para el oso?
¿Qué hace el conejo cuando escucha que al oso le gustaría tener un amigo que pudiera hablar y jugar?

Comprehension questions in the past tense:

¿Dónde vivía el oso?
¿Quién vino a jugar con el oso? ¿Qué hicieron juntos?
¿Quién estaba mirando al oso y al niño?
¿Por qué no jugaba el conejo con el oso?
¿Qué hicieron los niños para el oso?
¿Qué hizo el conejo cuando escuchó que al oso le gustaría tener un amigo que pudiera hablar y jugar?

A Spanish story about a bear with printable figures for acting it out.

Here is a video of my son-in-law Jorge telling the story in his own words. ¡Muchísimas gracias Jorge!

 

You can also use the scene without reading the story. Try activities like these:

  • Name or describe a figure and have children place it in the scene.
  • Ask where objects are and have children point to them.
  • Ask ¿Qué es esto? Start by offering choices to make it easier. ¿Qué es esto?  ¿Es un oso o un conejo?
  • Practice prepositions by describing where figures are located. El conejo está al lado del oso. La niña está detrás de un árbol. El niño está entre dos árboles. Then give directions and have children place the figures.
  • Talk about the figures as you make a scene. Next, remove one item and ask what is missing. Add something and ask what has been added. Change the position of objects and ask what has changed.
  • Play Veo, veo (I Spy). When a player guesses the object they add it to (or take it out of) the scene.
  • Tell a new story moving the pieces to show the action.
  • Create characters by inventing details about the figures. ¿Cómo se llama la niña? ¿Cuántos años tiene? ¿Qué le gusta hacer?
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6 Comments

  • Maria S.

    Feb 3, 2016

    I love this idea. The fact that some teachers like myself cannot do TPR all day gives me more idea to have my students learn, create and present their work. Your level of questioning is excellent and you emphasize the correct grammatical format in the target language.

  • Palmira

    Feb 29, 2016

    The cards worked so well with my 9 year old daughter! She created other stories with the cards without me prompting her. Do you have a similar story for spring? I am using again today for the Spanish after school club. It ties so well with the book that I am using “Cuando llega el sen~or Invierno”, Editorial Salvatella. It would be great to have one story for each season.
    Thank you so much for sharing!

  • Jenny

    Mar 1, 2016

    I’m glad the material was helpful. A story for each season is an excellent idea. I’ll work on that!

  • Tara

    Nov 19, 2016

    Thank you so much for all of the amazing ideas and resources you post! Your hard work is much appreciated! ❤

  • Rosa

    Dec 7, 2016

    Great idea, thanks for sharing!!

  • Nancy Gonzalez

    Mar 1, 2017

    My students love this story. Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!