Celebrate Earth Day in Your Elementary Spanish Classroom
Earth Day is a fantastic opportunity to bring awareness and language learning together in your elementary Spanish classroom. It’s a chance to teach your students about the planet while expanding their vocabulary and comprehension skills in Spanish. Here are some resources and ideas to make Earth Day engaging and educational!
Engaging Resources for Earth Day
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Spanish Earth Day Story: This engaging story, told through a song, is a great way to introduce the life cycle of a plant in Spanish! Perfect for reinforcing science concepts or as a standalone activity, it helps students learn about plant growth and its different parts in a fun and interactive way.
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Authentic Earth Day Song: This authentic Earth Day song is a fun Salsa tune that will make your students want to dance while learning about an important topic: climate change in Spanish. This resource is based on a campaign aired on a regional TV channel in Colombia a few years ago. The main character is a glass frog who is complaining and wondering what’s happening on its planet because nothing feels or seems right.
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Global Warming Resources: This is lesson to empower novice-level students to learn about climate change in the target language. Students will be given the opportunity to connect with this topic in the target language through the support of visuals and cognates.
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Plant Life Cycle Story: This engaging story, told through a song, is a great way to introduce the life cycle of a plant in Spanish! Perfect for reinforcing science concepts or as a standalone activity, it helps students learn about plant growth and its different parts in a fun and interactive way.
Take a Spanish Nature Walk
If possible, get your students outdoors for a fun and educational activity. Simple activities like talking about colors, animals, counting objects in nature or just reading a story outdoors. Talk to your students as they walk and point out things they see or may not have noticed before. It is an opportunity that really helps to clear your mind and relax. Read more here!
Teach a Song: Andean Music and Pachamama
This song, deeply rooted in Andean musical traditions, expresses a profound reverence for Pachamama (Mother Earth). The group, Takiwaska—though I’m not sure if they’re still active—is from Colombia, and their music has a way of resonating deep within the soul. The song itself is quite long, but I’m focusing on just one part.
Simplify and Focus:
If the song is too long, break it into digestible sections. For example, use the following excerpt from your chosen lyrics:
Madre hermosa, Pachamama (Beautiful mother, Mother Earth)
Canto a sus selvas (I sing to its forests)
Y al azul de sus montañas (And the blue mountains)
Canto al amor (I sing to the love)
Y canto al aire que respiro (And I sing to the air I breathe)
Canto al amor (I sing to the love)
y al espíritu del río (And the spirit of the river)
How to Teach It:
- Cultural Background Information: Introduce students to the meaning of Pachamama and where this concept is embraced. Use a map to locate the South American countries where Pachamama is celebrated.
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Introduce Vocabulary: Pre-teach key words like tierra (Earth), selvas (forests), montañas (mountains), and río (river) using visuals or gestures.
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Clap the Rhythm: Have students clap or stomp to the beat while repeating each line.
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Add Movement and Use TPR: Assign motions for each phrase (e.g., sway arms for “río,” mimic breathing for “aire”).
Madre hermosa, Pachamama: Students can mimic embracing or hugging to represent love for Mother Earth.
Canto a sus selvas: Students can mimic tree movements or sway their arms like branches.
Y al azul de sus montañas: Students can stretch their arms upwards to represent mountains.
Canto al amor: Students can make heart shapes with their hands.
Y canto al aire que respiro: Students can mimic breathing deeply.
Y al espíritu del río: Students can mimic flowing water with their arms.
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Sing Together: Gradually layer verses, emphasizing pronunciation and emotional expression.
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Discuss Meaning: Ask simple questions like “¿Por qué cantamos a la Tierra?” (Why do we sing to the Earth?) to connect lyrics to Earth Day values.
