I am a Spanish teacher who travels to different classrooms. I carry a lot in my bags, and it can be a pain at times. This is when having a set of flashcards can be really handy, instead of lugging tons of heavy materials around! Plus, my students really enjoy playing games like the ones you will find below.
The Flyswatter
Place different flashcards on a table or the floor. Describe one of the flashcards. For example, It’s a big animal, its colors are black and white and it says “moo”. After the description, have one of your students tap or slap the right card using a fly swatter.
What’s missing?
Place 3 to 5 flashcards on a table or on the floor. Look at them with your students and name each of them. Have one of your students close his/her eyes while you hide one of the cards. Have your student open his/her eyes to guess the name of the card that is missing.
The jumping game
Place a line of flashcards on a table or the floor. Call out some of the vocabulary placed on the line and have one of your students jump next to the correct card.
Place a flashcard in a box and have a volunteer guess the name of the card in the box. You can give your child some cues about the card.
Little translator
Show one side of the card and have your students give you the word in the other language.
Storytellers
Arrange a set of flashcards in a pile. Take the first several flashcards and create a sentence. Have your students take another flashcard to continue with the story. Continue with the same procedure until all the flashcards in the pile are gone.
Since in many of my classes my students read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle, and also to support the butterfly unit they explore in their homerooms, I came up with an adapted version which I love calling “la versión criolla” of Eric Carle’s story. This oruga decides to take a trip around Latin America and tries different traditional dishes. I used a picture of a caterpillar, a big colorful map, and pictures of the different traditional dishes and places where they originate that la oruga visited. Children had fun learning about the different dishes, and it was also an opportunity to learn about geography and the butterfly life cycle in Spanish!
La Oruga Comelona
En un día en el que hace sol, la oruga sale de su huevo para cantar una canción:
“Tengo hambre, tengo hambre, debo crecer muy grande. Mis maletas debo empacar y por Latinoamérica me voy a viajar”
El lunes comió en Colombia un sancocho que la dejó como un ocho.
El martes fue a México, comió un pozole y luego se durmió sobre unas flores.
El miércoles fue a la República Dominicana, comió mofongo y se quedó dormida sobre un hongo.
El jueves fue a Cuba, comió tostones y se quedó dormida sobre un par de cajones.
El viernes se fue a Argentina, se comió unos alfajores que después le dieron dolores.
El sábado fue a Perú y comió ceviche como loca que otra oruga la confundió con una foca.
El domingo fue a Ecuador y sintió que comer una hoja sería mejor.
Después de tanto viajar, a su casa en Colombia tenía que regresar. Había ganado tanto peso que ya no cabía en la hoja de su árbol de cerezo.
¡Upa, upa, es hora de construir una pupa! Y después de tanta fiesta en su nueva casa decidió tomar unalarga siesta.
En la mañana, junto al sol, de la pupa una linda mariposa salió.
This is a fun and short game to keep your class moving. I like using tape to divide the area and also pictures to clearly mark “tierra” (land) and “mar” (sea). Have the class line up on one side and have them jump to where you say. If the child goes to the place you didn’t name, then he/she is out of the game. If the game gets long, I use a dice to end the game (with simple numbers instead of dots). Simply role the dice and have the children jump the number of times shown on the dice. If they land on “mar,” they are all out, and if they land on “tierra,” we keep rolling the dice until they land on “mar” which will mean the game has ended.
Technology has become a great teaching tool that goes hand in hand with language learning. You often hear that language educators are using Skype, interactive boards, Google Earth to take virtual trips, and many more kinds of technology to support their curriculum.
I recently came across Noyo, a very colorful app that has vocabulary to support a variety of themes. It contains 8 units: los viajes (trips), la comida (food), los deportes (sports), la ciudad (the city), la casa (house), los animales (animals), la estaciones (seasons) and la escuela (school). It has over 1200 words and about 200 scenes. The pictures are very clear and get one’s attention while making it very engaging for children. Another great feature is that the voice that goes with every picture was recorded by a native speaker.
This app can be downloaded in iPads and Android tables, and if you are lucky you can plug your device into an interactive board to screen the game with the whole class.
How to Use This App
This app can be used to introduce or review vocabulary. Choose one of the units and ask your students to show the vocabulary they already know. This way you are using their previous knowledge of the language. Ask the children to tap the picture after they name it. If they don’t know the word, they can take guesses and tap on the pictures to hear the right answer.
You can put the vocabulary into context by creating sentences. Say a sentence and have the children tap what they hear. For example:
La manzana es roja.
Me gusta comer la manzana roja.
Play a guessing game: Ask a volunteer to close his/her eyes. Point at one of the pictures and have the volunteer guess.
Play the “Veo, veo, ¿qué ves?” (see, see, what do you see?) game: Teach the game first.
Class: Veo, veo (I see, I see)
Student: ¿Qué ves? (What do you see?)
Class: Una cosita (A little thing)
Student: ¿Dé que color es? (What color is it?)
Class: Rojo (Red – or any other color)
Student: La manzana (apple) – then the student taps the right answer.
Play charades: This is a great opportunity to bring TPR (Total Physical Response) alive! Teach gestures to go along with each picture in one of the units. Invite a volunteer to show the gestures and another volunteer to guess by saying the word and showing it on the app.
This app also has an assessment feature for each unit which can be used at any time. If your students are very young or just learning how to read you can read the sentences aloud for them to choose the right answer. For children who are in older grades, they can take turns reading the sentences and choosing the right answer. It will also show you a score at the end of the assessment.
If you are looking for a fun application to either bring technology to your class or recommend to the families at your school who are looking for resources to support your curriculum, this is a great app to recommend.
OUR GIVEAWAY: Two Codes to Download Noyo to Your iPad or Android Tablet!
As a Spanish teacher in the United States I always try to include cultural themes, but I also want to ensure that I connect my curriculum with what the children are exploring in their own classrooms that may have nothing to do with regional or ethnic culture. For example, this week is Dr Seuss’ birthday, and children are very excited about it. At my school, they even get to wear their pajamas all day and read a variety of books written by Dr. Seuss to celebrate.
What a great opportunity to bring that kind of fun and excitement to Spanish class! I created a very simple game I called “¿Dónde está el gato?” I used it with my Pre-K and Kindergarten classes, but it can be adapted for higher grades as well.
In preparation for the game, I printed ten Dr Seuss’ red and white Cat-in-the-Hat hats. I cut them and pasted them on construction paper (see picture below). I also printed a picture of The Cat in the Hat character.
During class I counted the hats with the children, went over the colors, and reviewed the names of a few animals. I displayed the hats in the room and hid the cat under one of the hats while the children covered their eyes. I then asked a child in the class to take two turns trying to find the cat, while the rest were chanting, “¿Dónde está el gato?” The child looking for the cat had to say “¿Aquí está el gato?” and the class responded “Si, allí está el gato” or “No, allí no está el gato”. I always model these kinds of sentences before and during any game.
Variations:
You can find more characters for the children to find under the hat.
You can write numbers on the hats and have the children ask “¿Está debajo del 10?” or “¿Está debajo del 2?”
¡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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