This activity involves acting out a series of movements with prepositions, like encima de una silla or debajo de una mesa. The objects are imaginary in this game; we are just pretending to climb over a chair and go under a table. The game is quick, physical and I have used it with students of all ages to practice prepositions with other vocabulary. It works as well at home with one child as it does in a class.
To do this activity, I present a series of actions. I use four actions and repeat that pattern. Kids act out and say what they are doing.
If you are doing this activity at home or outside, it is fun to move around. In a classroom, the teacher can lead the kids around the room doing the pattern, or they can stand in one place.
The vocabulary can be adapted to different topics and can even reflect content from stories or other readings. I begin Síganme. Pasamos….and then repeat pasamos when the pattern starts again.
These are examples of actions that you can act out:
(Estamos en una casa. Síganme. Pasamos….)
– por encima de la silla, por debajo de la mesa, al lado del sofá, por la ventana
(Estamos en una granja. Síganme. Pasamos….)
– por encima del gato, por debajo del caballo, al lado del toro, por el jardín
(Estamos afuera. Síganme. Pasamos….)
– por encima de unas rocas, por debajo de un árbol, al lado de un hoyo, por un charco
To reinforce the meaning of the nouns, you can display pictures of the objects in the order of the pattern if you like. After you have done the pattern a few times, you can change the objects or change the order of the objects. I do not change the order of the prepositions.
I encourage children to visualize what they are doing. For example, I might ask ¿De qué color es tu caballo?, ¿Tu mesa es redonda o cuadrada?, Mi gato está dormido. ¿El tuyo está dormido o despierto? This is an easy, quick activity to get kids moving and keep them engaged.
You may also be interested in this post: Jugar Juntos – Online Games with Audio Teach Spanish Vocabulary and Pronunciation to Preschoolers
