Flag Relay Game

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This summer will be the third year I have done Spanish camps. I am so looking forward to it! My more advanced students will be working with a bit more geography and with the flags of Spanish-speaking countries. I was trying to come up with ideas on to get them more familiar with the flags. We will paint some of the flags on rocks (see the end of this post for more information). We will also be making the flags out of Legos (See Mundo de Pepita's post about this activity HERE.) But I also wanted a game we could do that would get them moving.

So I decided to make a relay game out of the flags...

I picked out ten of the 21 flags. I limit my camps to ten kids at a time so with this game they can either work by themselves or in pairs. Basically, they will line up at the start line, and I will give each student or pair a country. Out in the field in front of them will be all the flag pieces. They will have to race to collect the correct pieces of their flag and put it together at the start line. Because my students are not going to know the flags at the beginning I will be providing them a paper with all the flags on them for reference.

I started by cutting the appropriate color cardstock into pieces to make the ten flags I chose (see above). I then when and printed off any coats of arms or stars that were needed. All of the pieces are laminated for durability. While the game won't be completely fair (some flags will have a few more pieces than others), I think it will be a fun way to work with them.

See below for a few more activities related to flags!

Other ideas for flags?

Collect some rocks and get painting! We will be using acrylic paint (like this set) to paint several of the flags. You can seal the paint afterward with this sealer.

I bought a lot of sidewalk chalk (Here's a big pack of it.) in order for my students to draw flags. They really enjoyed this activity!

Any other ideas for flags? I would love to hear them!

A Simple Weather Craft for Language Learners

I have been teaching a six-session class called ¡Explora Español! this year. It combines language learning with simple crafts. Thus far, I had not found an easy idea to do with weather that I really like until I came across this photo.

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My goal is to first teach the vocabulary and then do the craft completely in the target language by giving step-by-step instructions.

Here are the items you need:

• Decorative Clear Gems that are round on the top and flat on the bottom for the rain. I bought mine at Michael's, but these ones are probably similar just a bit bigger.
• These mini gold muffin liners for the sun.
• Cotton balls
• Gray Pipe Cleaners for the wind.
• Mini foam snowflakes
• Blue Cardstock
• White Marker (if you are doing the project on darker paper). Since I work with small groups and young children, many times I will write out the words ahead of time on their papers. Obviously, older kids can do their own writing.

Have fun creating and using the language!

Mixing Art with Learning Spanish

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Last year I was able to do artist's studies with some of my more advanced students. I would show them a work of art from Latin America or Spain and then ask them questions in Spanish. We would speak in the target language about the painting's colors and objects. We would talk about what was happening in the picture and even what my students would ask the artist about the painting if they had a chance. If you would like to see how I did these picture studies, go to this post which also contains a free printable of all the questions in Spanish you can use for any work of art. 

This year as I get ready for classes I was pondering how I could do a similar activity with students who may not have as much Spanish under their belts or who are younger and can't take some of the "darker" or bizarre pieces. Then I came across this book, Come Look with Me: Latin American Art. Each two-page spread has one piece of art on the left-hand side and then on the right there are a few questions (in English) about the work of art kids can answer and a description of the artist and his or her life (also in English). 

The book has the following artists in it with one piece of their work displayed:

José Posada (Mexico)
Joaquín Torres-García (Uruguay)
Ramón Frade (Puerto Rico)
Fernando Botero (Colombia)
Diego Isaias Hernandez Méndez (Guatemala)

Xul Solar (Argentina)

Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo (Mexico)

Amelia Pelaez (Cuba)

Rufino Tamayo (Mexico)

...and a few more.

So how am I going to use this book? I am going to take my beginning or younger students and ask them the same set of questions for the paintings. Once they do well with these questions we can move onto more detailed ones. Here are the questions:

• Nombra los colores.
• Cuenta_______________ (any set of objects in the picture like animals, balloons, etc.)
• ¿Dónde está la escena?
• Nombra unas acciones en el cuadro.
• ¿Cuál parte (no) te gusta de la obra?
• Dáme dos palabras para describirla.

If you would like to use more examples of Hispanic art you can go searching on my Pinterest board of art for Spanish teachers by clicking here.

Also, there is a whole series of these books! You don't necessarily have to use Hispanic art to use Spanish to talk about the pictures (although it is an nice addition of culture to your lessons).

Harold and the Purple Crayon Activity in Spanish

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I love children's literature, and many of my students love to draw. There are several books out there that lend themselves well to drawing the scenes from the story after you read it to your students. I especially like the books in which I can incorporate prepositions for my students to review. Here is an example from the book, Si Quieres Ver una Ballena.

Harold y el Lapiz Color Morado  is another great book to use if you want your kids to practice or review prepositions. Basically, I read the book to them and then have them get a blank sheet of paper which we fold in half three times. This gives you eight "boxes". In each of the boxes, your kids will draw a sketch of what you say to them in Spanish. Here are some of the sentences I have my students draw, but you could definitely do your own based on the book.

La luna está sobre el camino.

Hay manzanas arriba en el árbol.

Hay un dragón debajo del árbol.

Harold está debajo del agua.

El alce está cerca de los pasteles.

El puercoespín está lejos de Harold.

Harold está encima de la montaña.

Hay una cesta debajo del globo.

El globo está enfrente de la casa.

La luna está afuera.

La ventana está alrededor de la luna.

La manta está encima de Harold.

El lápiz morado está en el suelo.

Have fun drawing with prepositions!

And by the way, if you have any great book recommendations for doing this type of activity I would love for you to leave them in the comments!

Activities with Children's Books

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If you have read my blog for any amount of time you know that I LOVE children's literature. I use it every day with my elementary students when I teach. Throughout my website I have several posts on how to take a book, read it to your students, and then do learning activities related to the story. Here is a list of what is currently available.

La Oruga Hambrienta is the book I use with young kids to introduce the days of the week. Here is a free printable activity to do with the book.

Si Quieres Ver Una Ballena is a sweet book with a boy that gives advice on how to see a whale. I have read this book to my students and then done this drawing activity with them.

Pinta Ratones can be used to introduce simple color theory to kids.

Here is a more advanced book with another color mixing activity.

Here's a great book to review prepositions and food vocabulary. A simple drawing activity is included. 

Oliver Jeffers' book, Arriba y Abajo, has opportunities to teach new vocabulary.

This sweet book about taking the moon for a walk is a great way to review the names of animals.

La Casa Adormecida allows you to review prepositions with young kids.

Atrapados is another awesome book by Oliver Jeffers. At the end of this post is an activity to review the vocabulary introduced in the book.

Se Venden Gorras has several learning opportunities with colors, patterns, and sorting.

To review numbers 1-20, use Un Alce, Veinte Ratones

And finally, here is my favorite book to teach emotions with a free printable activity.

More Teaching Ideas for Language Learning!

Using Art in Language Learning

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This following post has gotten a ton of traffic on my site. I am sharing it again along with some added resources and ideas...

As a language teacher, any time you can mix culture with language skills you up the amount of learning in your lessons. Last year with one of my most advanced students I started printing off interesting pictures for us to discuss in Spanish. It then occurred to me that we could do the same activity with the great works from various Spanish/Hispanic artists. Not only will my students get exposed to beautiful artwork, but they will also be able to practice their speaking skills.

In order to set up this activity you need a set of questions you can use with any painting and copies of the art itself.  Below you will find a free printable in Spanish of questions you can ask your students in order to get them talking about different paintings. As far as collecting the art you want to use here are several options:

• Art Postcards can be used in small groups or in private lessons. Here are some collections for Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Diego Velazquez, Picasso, and Salvador Dali . 

• You can also use art books to show pictures. 

• You can print them from the web. Here is my pinterest board on teaching art and Spanish. It contains lots of paintings, and I plan on adding more. 

Here is a list of artists/paintings I am planning on using:

• Diego Velázquez {Las Meninas/Tres Músicos}
• Fernando Botero {La Menina,/Terremoto en Popayan}
• Alejandro Xul Solar {Cuidá y Abismos,/Vuell Villa}
• Joan Miró {La Finca,/Caballo, Pipa y Flor Roja}
• Pablo Picasso {El Guitarrista Viejo/La Sopa}
• Diego Rivera {Cargador de Flores/Zapata}
• Oscar Tintaya {More modern Bolivian artist with typical scenes of that area}
• Salvador Dalí {La Persistencia de la Memoria}
• Raúl Soldi {Sarita}
• Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida 

Here is the free printable with questions you can use to discuss the paintings.

Another item that I have found helpful is to discuss color theory with my advanced students. This page has a great color wheel in Spanish to help you do that!

Here is a Diego Rivera painting lesson. How cool would it be to do this in Spanish with your students?

Here is a great lesson that compares different Spanish-speaking artists!

Here are some resources for younger kids:

Conoce a Pablo Picasso

¿Quién fue Pablo Picasso?

Xul Solar. Arte para chicos -I haven't bought one of these yet, but the title intrigues me. So many times you have to screen art that is appropriate for children. I am wondering if these would do that for you.

Antonio Berni. Arte para chicos

Frida- A biography for younger kids.

Diego- A bilingual biography for kids

Drawing and Language Learning

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Many of my students are artistic unlike their teacher who can barely pull together a stick figure! I love being able to incorporate drawing into my lessons for them...art and Spanish all rolled in one. I can incorporate listening skills into the lesson by giving them instructions on what to draw. They can also practice speaking by having them give instructions in the target language to a fellow student. So here is a look at a few of my posts that incorporate drawing...

If you want to get you students started drawing and incorporate a wide range of vocabulary then check out this post on listening and drawing. There are links and several free printables you can use right away. My students become really creative with these activities after I model it for them by doing the speaking for several drawings. After that, I hand over the reins to them and let them come up with creative ideas on what they want their classmates to draw.

Children's books and drawing are another way to reinforce vocabulary. Normally I read them a book and then give them instructions in Spanish to draw characters, items, and actions that were presented in the store.Si quieres ver una ballena  is a great book to do this with. I explain in detail how to go about it here. Also, Harold y el Lapiz Color Morado is another great book to practice with. The series of books modeled after "there once was an old lady who swallowed a..." are awesome because they contain a lot of items that are repeated. After reading one of these books you can quiz your students by calling out an item from the book and seeing if they can draw it.

¡Un día una señora se tragó una mosca!

Un Día Una Señora Se Tragó una Campana {Christmas theme}

Un Día Una Señora Se Tragó una Caracola {Ocean theme}

Un Día Una Señora Se Tragó unos Libros {School theme}

Un Día Una Señora con Frío Se Tragó un Poco de Nieve {Winter theme}

Finally, check out these drawing exercises students can do as homework assignments.

Body Part Monsters

Food People

Are you looking for more teaching ideas? Check out my whole series!

Art and Speaking Skills in a Foreign Language Classroom {Free Printable}

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As a language teacher, any time you can mix culture with language skills you up the amount of learning in your lessons. Last year with one of my most advanced students I started printing off interesting pictures for us to discuss in Spanish. It then occurred to me that we could do the same activity with the great works from various Spanish/Hispanic artists. Not only will my students get exposed to beautiful artwork, but they will also be able to practice their speaking skills.

In order to set up this activity you need a set of questions you can use with any painting and copies of the art itself.  Below you will find a free printable in Spanish of questions you can ask your students in order to get them talking about different paintings. As far as collecting the art you want to use here are several options:

• Art Postcards can be used in small groups or in private lessons. Here are some collections for Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Diego Velazquez, Picasso, and Salvador Dali . 

• You can also use art books to show pictures. 

• You can print them from the web. Here is my pinterest board on teaching art and Spanish. It contains lots of paintings, and I plan on adding more. 

Here is a list of artists/paintings I am planning on using:

• Diego Velázquez {Las Meninas/Tres Músicos}
• Fernando Botero {La Menina,/Terremoto en Popayan}
• Alejandro Xul Solar {Cuidá y Abismos,/Vuell Villa}
• Joan Miró {La Finca,/Caballo, Pipa y Flor Roja}
• Pablo Picasso {El Guitarrista Viejo/La Sopa}
• Diego Rivera {Cargador de Flores/Zapata}
• Oscar Tintaya {More modern Bolivian artist with typical scenes of that area}
• Salvador Dalí {La Persistencia de la Memoria}
• Raúl Soldi {Sarita}
• Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida 

Here is the free printable with questions you can use to discuss the paintings.

Questions for Artwork

Have fun using art to keep your students speaking in Spanish!