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Friday, October 18, 2013

Love Mr. Potato Head! {Teaching Body Parts in Spanish}

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Some of the simplest items can be great teaching tools.  Take Mr. Potato Head, for example!  I have been using him for a couple of years now to review body parts, clothing, and colors.  I have several Potato Heads which adds to the fun!  This activity has been successful with young children all the way up to teens!  You would think teens would consider this childish, but I have found that it brings humor to the lesson which motivates learning.

Normally, I start the review by grouping the body parts.  All the arms in one pile.  All the tongues in another.  You get the idea. Then I model for the students the language by giving them commands:
"Ponle dos brazos."
"Ponle unos zapatos negros."

After that it is the student's turn.  I take Mr. Potato head and they tell me how to build him.  One year I had a class of thirteen, and the building of Mr. Potato Head became a struggle between the boy and girls in the class.  When I called on a girl she inevitably would ask me to put something red or pink on him.  When I called on a boy they picked the Darth Vader parts.  This is what we ended up with...


He was affectionately named by one of the girls in the class! 
{Heart Vader}

There are several sets out there of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. It is mind-boggling!  There are even mini-potato heads these days.


With each set you can add more vocabulary.  For example, Darth Tater has a helmet (el casco).  Spud Bunny has slippers (las pantuflas). Spud Claus has a beard (la barba).

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