Luis Pescetti is an Argentinian musician, writer, actor, and storyteller. He is also known for for his great group activities that are fun and encourage movement (which is why they are called ‘dinámicas’ in Spanish). Some of his group games work great in the Spanish classroom and can be used as energizers or brain breaks for you and your students.
For this game I would suggest you ask your students to be in groups of five or less to keep it safe.
¿Por qué me sube la bilirubina? No sé porque.
¿Por qué me sube la bilirubina? No sé porque.
A moler café, a moler café, a moler a moler a moler café.
A moler café, a moler café, a moler a moler a moler café.
This is simple but a bit challenging for second graders. I mostly use it for third graders and up. A lot of fun!
Palo, palo, palo, palo bonito, palo eh,
eh, eh, eh, palo bonito, palo eh.
This is one of the group activities my first graders love. The first time they saw the video they were scared, but we couldn’t stop laughing afterwards. It’s great to use during Halloween!
Se hace de noche,
se ve un castillo,
se abre una puerta,
sale un vampiro,
saca un cuchillo y …
unta pan con mantequilla,
unta pan con mantequilla,
unta pan con mantequilla.
This activity works great in a circle. This one gets everyone quiet and focused on the movement. My students were a little frustrated at first, but once we all got it, it became a fun challenge.
Bale, bale, bale, pata zum, zum, zum,
bale, zum, zum, zum,
pata zum, zum, zum.
Bale, bale, bale, pata zum, zum, zum,
bale, zum, pata zum, bale zum.
This can be done with different ages. It can be done fast or slow. A lot of fun!
A ram sam sam,
guli, guli, guli, guli, ram sam sam.
Arabi, arabi,
guli, guli, guli, guli, ram sam sam.
This video gives a little background for the song “A ram sam sam”.
If you teach elementary students you know that they will make sure to remind you that it’s their birthday! And if they have a birthday in the summer, make sure to find a date during the school year to sing their birthday because they will come back the following year to let you know that you forgot to sing for them and you might have to do it twice. Here are some some songs that you might like to teach your students to celebrate their birthday. Also, stop by my TpT store to download the free birthday certificates to give to each of them after you sing the song.
Here are some songs that are great for elementary students:
This short version of the birthday song is great for preschoolers since all it says is “cumpleaños feliz”
This video is just too cute! The song is also great for lower elementary students. This video includes a karaoke version as well.
I love the tropical sounds in this video. It’s also very short and the pace is perfect for the children to follow along.
This is a fun video that allows children to sing a long. Simple and repetitive!
This one is by far my favorite song because it brings to the classroom rhythms from the Colombian Pacific. The sounds of the marimba and drums are vivid. The downside is that the song is long for elementary students. I used Youtube Trimmer to have it set up just where I wanted. I have been using this song with my 1-5 grade students and we all love it!
As part of my birthday routine I have a PowerPoint with a cake that we use to ask the cumpleañero (birthday person) who old he or she is. We count the candles until we get to the birthday person’s age. The candles appear one by one.
Cold has finally hit Austin! It never snows here, but the cold weather makes a good opportunity to bring this song to my younger students. You can contrast the seasons and weather by sharing that in Argentina it is summer now while in the U.S it is winter. You can show picture cards for different seasons, and use TPR while asking “¿es verano?” Do the same for every season and finally get to “es invierno.” Point at the snow and say “nieve, llegó la nieve” and throw paper snow flakes that you can print from the template provided in this post. The snow flakes can be made out of paper or felt. Another idea is to use a play parachute or a large piece of fabric, and place the snow flakes and shake the fabric or parachute while singing the song.
It’s important as language teachers to make space in our curriculum for other important and relevant topics. In the past, I have shared resources to incorporate teaching about Martin Luther King Jr. in Spanish class:
You can add these posters to your classroom and leave them on your wall during the rest of the school year!
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”
“We have learned to fly in the air like birds and swim in the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of living together as brothers.”
This is a low prep activity that you can use after any break. It involves some movement and questions that can be asked about each slide. If you have used my “A mí también” activity, this works exactly the same way. If you haven’t used the activity, visit this link to learn how to use it.
