“Los Pollitos” is one of those traditional songs that everyone who grew up in a Spanish speaking country knows from childhood. It’s catchy, cute, and fun so I make sure to teach it every year to my Kindergarten students. I am sharing some ideas that I use while teaching this song.
Use TPR while teaching the song. I like using American sign language, or I sometimes create the gestures along with my students. Click on the links below to see some of the signs for the song:
Make props to use while singing the song. Download them HERE!
After singing the song, your students can color a simple page related to the song.
I’ve had the chance in previous schools to have real chicks in the classroom and sing the song to them. We don’t have real pollitos now, but I still have fun teaching this song.
Watch a time-lapse video of little chicks hatching
There are different versions of the song on YouTube. Choose the one you like or think works best for your classes.
This is a collection of songs that can be used with different grade levels. They include a variety of vocabulary to express weather in Spanish, so I recommend you listen to them all and pick the one that fits your curriculum or lesson the most. Here are my favorite seasons and weather songs for elementary Spanish from YouTube.
Rockalingua was created by an elementary Spanish teacher who really knows the needs of Spanish teachers in the classroom. Cesar and Rockalingua make our jobs as Spanish teachers easier. Rockalingua has engaging songs with different online components to engage students. The videos are appealing to an elementary level audience. They all love the online games! Rockalingua has now added a student tracking system for us for teachers to know how much they have been practicing in our classes and at home! Teachers are now able to print not only supportive worksheets but also stories and flash cards. I am so lucky to be able to host a giveaway where one teacher will get to win a one-year subscription with a full access membership to Rockalingua’s website. Scroll all the way down to participate!
I also got inspired by Rockalingua so I am sharing some supportive ideas to use in your classes. I am using the video “Los animales de la granja” as a reference. This post ended up being quite long, so please bear with me! You are also welcome to go all the way to the end to enter to participate!
You can find the complete version for free on Rockalingua’s website
Basic vocabulary and expressions:
La granja: Farm Hay: There is/There are Perro: Dog Gato: Cat Cerdo: Pig Pato: Duck Vaca: Cow Oveja: Sheep Gallo: Rooster Caballo: Horse Mi animal favorito: My favorite animal Materials:
Animals flashcards from Rockalingua (multiple copies), bag and Rockalingua’s video.
Activities
Introducing the vocabulary: Place cards of different animals in a bag. Invite the children to take turns taking the flash cards from the bag. Introduce the name of the animal and the sounds it makes, one at a time. Talk about their colors. You can also count to see home many animals are in the bag. You will need to choose the amount of vocabulary you would like to introduce depending on the time and frequency with which you see your class.
Place the flashcards around the room and have the children jump next to the one you name.
You can also make a line with the flashcards and have the children jump next to them while naming them.
Mi animal favorito:Make a chart with the animals and have the children place their name under their fruit they like the most. Talk about the chart with the class.
More games: Divide your classroom into two spaces. You may use tape to divide the space. One side, place a sign with the expression “Es mi favorito” and the other side “No es mi favorito.” Have the children make a line. Name an animal, have the children jump to the side according to what they decide. A variation is for the teacher to speak a sentence in which he or she decides whether the response is “es mi favorito” or “no es mi favorito”, and to make it a game that stresses listening skills. For example, the teacher might say: “El perro es mi animal favorito,” and all the children must jump the “es mi favorito” side. If they jump to the other side, they will be out of the game.
Animales, animalitos (tagging game): This game is based on a popular game called “color, colorcito”. This game works best in an outdoor space, but it can still be done in the classroom. In preparation for this game, you will need the flash cards, two or three copies per animal. Spread the flash cards across the field. Have one child be the tagger. The tagger will have to say “animal, animalito” and then name an animal. The tagger will have to tag a person who is not touching the flash card for that animal. You and your students can decide on the amount of time you would like to play this game.
TPR® (Total Physical Response)
Your students and you can create gestures or movements to go along with each animal.
Play “Simon says”: Play this game and sing the gestures that you and your students agreed on. Have your students make a circle. The teacher or one of the students should be the caller for the game. The caller has to say “Simón dice, “gua, gua, hace el perro” and everyone in class will do the gesture for perro. If someone does something different, then that person will be out. If the caller says “gua, gua, hace el perro” without saying “Simón dice” and someone still does the gesture, then that student will be out of the game. The game continues going until there is one player left.
Play charades: Show the card to one student and have that student show the gesture to the class. Whoever guesses the name of the animal gets a turn.
Reverse charades: Have a student close his/her eyes. Show a card to the class. The class will show the gesture for the animal. The student has to guess. You can decide on the amount of turns or opportunities you give the student to guess.
Introducing the video: Once you are sure the children know the vocabulary and structures for the song, show the video. A recommendation is to show the video by frames and talk about what students notice in the picture.See the picture below:
1. Talk about the animals they see, their colors and how many.
2. Talk about the expression “Mi animal favorito.” Ask questions of your students using this expression.
3. Ask them which one they like the most and which one they like the least.
Talking about the song is also a good way to provide repetition without making it obvious.
Once you have talked with the children about different parts of the video, show it without interruptions.
Playing with the song: Caiga en la nota: Invite your students to play along. Play the song for a few seconds and the mute the sound. Your students should continue singing. Turn the sound back again and see if they were on track with the video.
Make a video with your class: Record your students singing and dancing to this song, and share it with their families.
More activities: Download Rockalingua’s worksheets and have your students take them home to sing their song to their parents. If you want to assign it as homework, you can ask your students to bring their worksheet back with a parent’s signature, noting the number of times they sang the songs for them.
¡Hola! I am Carolina, a Colombian elementary Spanish teacher based in Boston, MA. Fun for Spanish Teachers is the result of my passion for teaching Spanish to children and my desire to inspire collaboration and creativity in a vibrant teaching and learning community. It’s the perfect stop if you are looking for songs, games, teaching tips, stories, and fun for your classes.
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