Spanish in the Summer

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Summer is rapidly approaching. There is a plethora of ideas, books, and resources out there to teach Spanish. Here is a list of all the ideas that would work well with summer to help your students/kids learn more Spanish.

{By the way, if you are a teacher and thinking of hosting Spanish summer camps, check out my series here with a ton of games, activities, and crafts to do your own camp.}

Here is the unit I developed on Oceans. {Free printables available.}

Si Quieres Ver Una Ballena is such a sweet and funny book about how to spot a whale. I have developed some activities for it here.

Here is a post with a list of Ocean-themed books in Spanish for kids.

 Books for summer...a great time to read!

I love doing this unit with my students in the summer! {Free printables available}

Insects are another great subject to study during the summer.

For the younger set, here is an activity to go along with La Oruga Muy Hambrienta.

Enjoy teaching Spanish this summer!!!

Book Series for Kids in Spanish

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When I am teaching younger kids I always take the opportunity to read to them. Children's books are a great way to listen to the language and pick up vocabulary along the way. I especially like when I can find a series of books to read to my students. They get familiar with the characters and fall in love with them. They also start predicting what will happen, because of their familiarity with the personalities in the books.

Recently, I found two great series my students have been enjoying, the Estela books and the series of books on the lady that swallows everything (i.e. flies and the like). Many  of them are out-of-print, but easily found cheaply on Amazon.

The Estela Books

Estela and her brother Sam have great adventures at the beach, in the snow, in the forest, and at night. The conversations they have are super cute. Sam is always asking his older sister about the world around them with questions like, "Do snow angels fly?" or "Do seahorses gallop?". There are four of them available...

Estela, la estrella del mar
Estela reina de la nieve
Estela, Hada del Bosque
Estela Princesa de la Noche

The "There Once Was an Old Lady" Books

My youngest students love the Lady who Swallowed a Fly! There is a whole series of books in which she swallows different items related to a theme. The language in these books is repetitive which aids in retaining some new vocabulary.


¡Un día una señora se tragó una mosca! -the traditional version
¡Un Día Una Señora se Tragó una Caracola!-filled with beach vocabulary
Un dia una senora se trago una campana!-the Christmas version
¡Un Día Una Señora se Tragó unos Libros!
Una Senora Con Frio Se Trago Un Poco De Nieve!-Vocabulary related to winter


The Froggy Books

I have mentioned the Froggy books several times here in the past. My students adore Froggy and the antics he does! Actually, they love him so much that I have even gotten a few of the books in English and translated them into Spanish for them.

Froggy Books in Spanish

More ideas for teaching another language.

Using Stories to teach Spanish

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I love a well-written story. It is through stories we learn about the world. Stories open up our hearts to learn in situations when we are closed to new ideas and concepts. I own a huge collection of children's books in Spanish for my younger students, and I am constantly collecting good literature written in Spanish for my high school students. Many of these stories I have posted about here on the blog. If you are looking to use stories in your teaching here are some posts with book suggestions and ideas.

By far my most popular post is the one on literature for high school students. In my post called Teaching Spanish Literature, I talk about a book called Album. This is an excellent collection of short stories for advanced students who are starting out with literature. It is out-of-print but very cheap on the used market. One of the stories in the book shouldn't be missed, Una Carta a Dios. Here is a post with more information and resources for the story.

Last year in January, I did a series of Spanish children's books for kids. Here is the post. There are thirty-one books to check out for your younger learners.

Here are a few more posts with some great children's books...

El Monstruo de los Monstruos

Arriba, Abajo, y Alrededor

Teaching Numbers with Children's Books

Learning Spanish with Children's Books

More language teaching tips...

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!

Memorizing Poetry to Help with Language Learning

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Poetry is a great way to teach kids vocabulary and the flow and rhythm of a language. Over the years I have had students memorize poems (from elementary to the high school level) and have found it to be worth the effort.  The key is to pick poetry that is accessible to language learners (especially if they are elementary school age) and that has a decent vocabulary base so that they can increase the number of words they know.  Memorizing poetry also embeds in a language learner the structure or grammar of the language. 

Here is how I go about teaching a poem...

First I use half index cards and write one to two words on each card of the poem.  Depending on the length of the poem it may take quite a few cards.  If you are teaching a large group I would use full-sized cards so that they can be taped up on a wall (See activities below).

I store these cards in order according to their stanzas. I use an index card holder with dividers to keep them all in order.

There are a myriad of ways to use these cards:

*Lay out the poem cards (or maybe just a stanza or two if the poem is longer). Have the students read the poem. Then take away a couple of cards and have them read it again filling in the words that are missing. Keep taking cards away and having them say the poem until there are no more cards left. This works extremely well to help with memorizing!

*Put the poem in order. Give the students the cards all mixed up. Can they put them in the correct order?

*Lay out in order only a few of the cards from the poem. They don't need to be consecutive words. See if the cards give them enough cues to say the whole poem.

Here are some other ways I work with poetry with my students...

*Test their vocabulary knowledge of the poem. Call out one of the words in the poem and see if they can draw what you just said.

*For a homework assignment have them create a drawing that represents the poem.

*For older kids and highschoolers use the poem as a jumping off point to work with grammar points.

*Once a poem is memorized you can do a drawing activity with the poem. I say aloud one line in the poem and then see if the student can draw or make a representation of what is happening in that one line. The poem Mi Dragon {see below} works well with this activity.

Here are some poems and places to find poems to use in your classroom:

Juan Guinea Diaz- My favorite is Mi Dragon. (Scroll down to find it.)  I have used it with tons of my students with great success. Boys in particular love it.

Douglas Wright- Mr. Wright is from Buenos Aires and he has some great poems on his site for kids. This is one that I really like, but you should check out his whole site.

This site allows you to type in a word or two to look for poems in Spanish with certain words or ideas.

Spanish Playground has lots of poetry ideas for kids.

Here is another site to help you search for poems.

This is the first poem I ever memorized in Spanish. Great for highschoolers.

¡Pío Peep!: Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes are great for younger kids!

Need more ideas? Check out the whole series on teaching tips for language learning!

31 Days of Teaching Tips for Language Learning

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I have been teaching Spanish for over twenty years. In that time, I can't tell you how many times I have taught the verb "ir" or practiced noun/adjective agreement with my students. I try to constantly add new ideas to my teaching repertoire so I don't get bored with what I am doing. So during the entire month of January I am going to be giving you a teaching tip or activity idea for each day! Some you may be familiar with if you have been teaching for awhile, but there may be some new ideas that you can use. It is my hope you can come and find something fresh to add to your teaching. 

I am a former public school teacher, but I currently run an in-home business teaching homeschoolers. I have also homeschooled my boys. So why do I tell you all this? To let you know that the ideas I will be giving can work in several arenas. Public school teachers and homeschool moms teaching their kids another language should be able to find something to use in this series. While I am a Spanish teacher, there will be posts that can help anyone regardless of the language they teach.

So here is a look at the month and what I will be discussing each day. Please note that the links won't work until the post goes live for that particular day...

1- Intro post (You are here!)

2- Using Games

3-Drawing and Language Learning

4- Memorizing Poetry

5- Using Stickers in Language Learning

6- A Deck of Cards for Conversations (with a new free printable)

7- Using Pictures in Language Teaching

8- Using Art in Language Learning

9- Vocabulary Building

10- Unit Studies in Spanish

11- Make Your Own Games

12- Teaching Concepts of Time

13- Verb Charts in Spanish (free printables)

14- Online Resources

15- Listen Online to Spanish Stories

16- Reviewing Verb Tenses

17- Activities with Children's Books

18- Teachers Pay Teachers

19- Seven Ways to Use Word Clouds

20- False Cognates

21- Cards and Conversations (with a new free printable)

22- Using Dice in Language Teaching

23- Story Cubes for Verb Conjugations

24- Story Cubes for Fluency in Writing (with a free printable)

25- Flyswatters!

26- Comics in Language Learning

27- Using Stories to Teach Spanish

28- Book Series for Kids in Spanish

29- Language Facts

30- Using Picture Dictionaries

31- Using Realia

31 Days of Teaching Tips Coming Soon!

It has been quiet here as I have been frantically working to finish a series coming in January to the blog, 31 Days of Teaching Tips for Language Learning. Here is the link (which won't go live until January 1, 2016). I thought in the meantime I would share the above graphic to give you an idea of some of the topics I will be covering when it comes to teaching another language. Whether you are a language teacher in the school system or a homeschool mom trying to impart another language to your kids, it is my hope that you will find something useful during the series that can help you in your teaching. I hope to see you in January!!

Resources for Teaching Una Carta a Dios {Free Printable}

{Photo courtesy of Capgros}

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I love when students get advanced enough to read literature in Spanish. The short story, "Una Carta a Dios" by Gregorio Lopez y Fuentes, is one of the first stories I have my students read. It can be found on the web or in the reader, Album {which I highly recommend if you have students that are beginning to read literature. Please see this post.}. The story incorporates tragedy and humor with a surprising punchline at the end. It is the perfect story to start with because of its high interest story line. Album has great comprehension questions, literary analysis, and language exercises, but there are also activities and resources online.  Here's a look at a few...

Online Vocab Cards for the story

Comprehension questions

Various types of Questions

Files at Teachers pay Teachers

Here's the vocabulary list I use with my students...

Una Carta a Dios Vocab

A lesson plan for Una Carta a Dios

A short biography on Gregorio Lopez y Fuentes

Do you know of any other resources for this short story? I would love to hear from you!

Arriba y Abajo {Plus a vocabulary game}

This post is part of a series, 31 Days of Spanish Books for Kids. Please click HERE for the complete list of posts. {Each of these posts contain affiliate links. Thanks for supporting this blog!}

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Anytime you read a book to a child it is an opportunity to teach.  Recently, I invested in several of Oliver Jeffers' books in Spanish.  They will become a springboard to teach and cement extra vocabulary.  Here is what I did with the book Arriba y abajo:

Arriba y Abajo is a sweet story about a penguin who wants to fly.  In the end, the flying adventures make him realize that he would rather be with his friend, the little boy in the book.

First of all, I picked out the words that I thought would be important to introduce to my students.  Here is my list which are mostly opposites along with a description of which picture each word is in the Go Fish cards below (scroll down to see link):

arriba-up (little guy pointing down)

abajo-down (little guy pointing up)

tocar and jugar- to play (Each has a different meaning.  Tocar is to play an instrument and jugar is to play a game. While the word "tocar" is not in the book there is a great illustration of each of these actions-see above)  (Tocar-a tuba and jugar-backgammon like in the story)

juntos-together (penguin baby and mom)

solo-alone (penguin baby by itself)

volar-to fly (little guy with green cape)

aterrizar-to land (helicopter landing)

las alas-wings  (pilot wings)


I created cards of the above vocabulary and we played Go Fish with them to solidify the meanings in their memory.

I make sets of four to play Go Fish.  I also can use the deck for Memory if I pull out some of the cards as you only need sets of two for each word.

To make the cards I cut up the graphics from the below file and put them on 3 by 5 index cards cut in half or these bulletin board cards I found at JoAnn's.

Here is a link to the graphics for the cards:

Arriba y Abajo cards

María Tenía una Llamita

This post is part of a series, 31 Days of Spanish Books for Kids. Please click HERE for the complete list of posts. {Each of these posts contain affiliate links. Thanks for supporting this blog!}

We are all familiar in the United States with the song "Mary had a Little Lamb". But how about María Tenía Una Llamita? Set in Peru, the text follows the original rhyme (It is printed in both English and Spanish) except it is no longer a lamb and María is dressed in the traditional clothing of the area.

While this book is simple in its language, I find it invaluable for introducing to the youngest of children the concept of different cultures. Even the fact that there is a llama instead of a lamb throws some kids into confusion as there are many young children that have no experience with what a llama is. So we spend some time talking about this "new" animal.  I also point out other visible cultural differences like the clothing of the teacher and students, the open-air market, and the traditional musical instruments. This book also provides an opportunity to take a look at geography.  There is a simple map in the book that labels a few places in Peru. There is also a page with several clocks that show the passage of time in the story, and you could introduce the "top of the hour" and how to say it in Spanish.

This is one of my favorite books for introducing younger kids to South America and is not to be missed!

Plumas para Almorzar

This post is part of a series, 31 Days of Spanish Books for Kids. Please click HERE for the complete list of posts. {Each of these posts contain affiliate links. Thanks for supporting this blog!}

Plumas para Almorzar meanders through a garden with a cat as the antagonist of the story. The unlucky feline is in search of a meal of tasty bird. However, he only succeeds in getting a mouthful of feathers.

Plumas para Almorzar would be a great addition to your Spanish library especially if you are teaching a unit on nature, birds or flowers and plants. On each page the book names the bird and flowers pictured while telling the story in rhyme. Here is the list of birds consolidated on the back cover...

Some of the plants labeled in the book are tomatoes, pine trees, tulips, lilacs, and the list goes on. This coming summer or fall I am thinking of creating a unit on plants and flowers and including this book as part of our reading. It would be a great opportunity to teach the parts of a flower and the life cycle of plants.

A bird unit would be another way to use this book. Here are some outside resources to go along with Plumas para Almorzar.

Spanish Plant Unit
Make a paper bird and talk about the parts in Spanish.
Parts of a Plant Fold-n-Learn in Spanish and English.
Plant Life Cycle Unit
Bird Unit for older elementary

Cerdota Grandota

This post is part of a series, 31 Days of Spanish Books for Kids. Please click HERE for the complete list of posts. {Each of these posts contain affiliate links. Thanks for supporting this blog!}

Cerdota Grandota is a great book for younger elementary-aged kids. Set on a farm, the book visits several of the animals and describes them using opposites. The text also rhymes so you can use this book to introduce the concept of rhyming words. Also, on a few of the pages kids are encouraged to count how many animals there are.

With Cerdota Grandota as a starting off point you can do several activities to teach opposites. I make cards with pictures, and we play Memory by matching the opposites. You could also play Go Fish with the same cards after they have learned most of the words.  The goal is for them to ask for the opposite word from the card that is in their hand. Another thing I do with opposites once the words have been memorized is to call out three words. The students then say back to me (in order) the opposites for those words.  For example:

I say, "alto, fuera, flaco."

They say, "bajo, dentro, obeso."

I say, "limpio, sucio, sucio."

They say, "sucio, limpio, limpio."

This activity is a lot of fun and challenging! My goal is to go faster each time and try to trip them up. The students' goal is to be able to give me the opposite words quickly and in order.

Here's a list of the opposites that are used in the book...

flaco

obeso

rápido

lento

dentro

fuera

saltarino

quietecito

arisco

mansito

alto

bajo

sucio

limpio

joven

viejo

claro

oscuro

grande

pequeño

Have fun!

Llevé a la Luna a Pasear

This post is part of a series, 31 Days of Spanish Books for Kids. Please click HERE for the complete list of posts. {Each of these posts contain affiliate links. Thanks for supporting this blog!}

There are some children's books that are so incredibly beautiful and rich in language that they are not to be missed. Llevé a la Luna a Pasear is one of those books.  In the story a little boy takes the moon for a walk. They encounter clouds, howling dogs, dew on the ground, and their reflections in a stream. The language of the book is rhythmic with rhyming words throughout.

What I love about this book is its rich vocabulary. Reading Llevé a la Luna a Pasear would be an excellent start to a unit on nature.  Take a look at all the vocabulary provided...

la luna

las nubes

el algodón

la hierba

los petirrojos

el nido

el rocío

el cielo

la orilla

la luz

At the end of the book there are two pages of information: one describes in Spanish the phases of the moon and the other gives information on nocturnal animals.

There are also a plethora of animals pictured in the story that you can focus on and provide vocabulary for...

los perros

las ovejas

la ardilla

el búho

el conejo

el erizo

las vacas

el zorro

la polilla

la abeja

la mariquita

el saltamontes

la hormiga

los petirrojos

el caracol

la oruga

la gallina

el cisne

el gato

el murciélago

los luciérnagas

It would be a fun activity to try to find all the above animals in the illustrations once your students are familiar with the words. Call out the animal in Spanish and see if they can find it.

Don't miss this book! So beautiful and a goldmine of vocabulary for your students!