Using Board Games to Teach Spanish

Follow my blog with Bloglovin I have been teaching Spanish for a little more than twenty years, whether it be in the public school system, private tutoring, or small group classes.  Over the years, I have used a wide variety of games to teach the language.  Some of them were homemade and others were just regular games you could buy and convert to use for language learning.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Guess Who An excellent game in which you ask yes/no questions to find the right person. Great for reviewing physical description.

Guess Where  Similar to Guess Who.  This game would review places in the house.

Candy Land A game for preschoolers to review color words.  I have my students say the colors before they move to the space indicated.  You can also have them count in the target language the number of spaces they get to move.

Operation For reviewing body parts.

Spot It This game is BEYOND awesome!  Almost every student that plays it loves it.  The parents that watch their kids play the game with me realize that not only is this fun, but because of the way you play kids are highly motivated to learn the vocabulary.  What is cool is there are several versions of this game (Animals, One the Road, Alphabet, Numbers and Shapes, and Basic Spanish).  Here is a description of how to play the game:

Put your visual perception skills to the test with Spot It, a fun, fast-paced, and simple card game that everyone aged 7 years and up can enjoy. In a group of two to eight players, you'll draw cards and match symbols, like light bulbs, snowmen, or puppies, but with one catch--only one matching symbol exists between any two cards. The first person to spot the matching symbol and call it out wins. 

Secret Square Board Game Another yes/no question game.  This one can help review colors and other descriptive words.

Here is my post on the game, Elephant's Trunk, another game  reviewing clothes and colors.

I am sure there are more board games out there that have potential in a language classroom.  What have you used?  Would love to hear other ideas!

Adapting Children's Games for Language Learning

I have been a Spanish teacher for more than twenty years.  I no longer teach in the public school system, but rather give private and small group lessons in my home.  I am always trying new activities to keep language learning interesting, not only for the students but also for me!  I can't tell you how many times I have taught the colors or verb conjugations over the years! So to keep myself interested (and for the students, too) I am always looking to do new activities like using games or children's books to teach. Slowly over time I have been collecting games that can be adapted to language learning.

Last week my younger students and I played a game that I recently bought.  The rules are simple, but I modified them a bit to incorporate language learning. Elephant's Trunk is a great game to review a few colors, clothes, and some other vocabulary with preschoolers or younger elementary.  It can be adapted for other vocabulary simply by making picture cards of different items to put in the suitcases.

We basically followed the rules of the game except that I gave each player round discs with different clothing instead of giving them a set of discs with all the same clothing on it. That way they were using more of the vocabulary. We also didn't use the rule "consolation packing prize" that is listed in the instructions.

So basically you roll the die and if you get a color you can put one article of clothing in the trunk (suitcase) of that color.  I had my student tell me what they were doing in order to practice the Spanish. For example, "Pongo la camisa en la maleta azul." (I am putting the shirt in the blue suitcase.) There are some other rules that involve the elephant and the mouse that are located in the original instructions.  The object of the game is pack away all your clothing into the suitcases, but if you roll a mouse then you have to take the clothing that is in one of the suitcases.  That rule added a lot of interest to the game for the kids since a player could almost be winning and yet if they rolled a mouse they then had more clothing to get rid of. Here is a list of vocabulary that we used:

-la media*
-la camisa*
-la gorra*
-los pantalones cortos*
-el elefante
-el raton
-la maleta (suitcase)
-nada (when there is nothing in the suitcase to take out)
-A ti te toca. (It's your turn.)
-A mi me toca. (It's my turn.)
-Tira el dado. (Roll the die.)

*These words could be substituted for other vocabulary if you make small picture cards of the words you want to work on.  I am planning on doing this in the future.

This game was a hit!  Even if you play it in English younger kids will love it!  The fact that there were little tin suitcases added to the game for the kids (a very tactile experience).

Learning Spanish with Children's Books

Using children's books to teach kids Spanish is a wonderful way to build vocabulary and introduce sentence structure in a natural way.  Over the years I have collected tons of books in Spanish to augment my teaching.  Last year I taught a Spanish Circle (lessons that include songs, rhymes, books and activities to model the language) in which I teach different themes to elementary kids.

Below you will find a list of books that I use for the different themes that I teach.  Stars are put beside the books that are not to be missed!  I have chosen books for several reasons.  Some are great because of the wealth of vocabulary they offer for that theme.  Others are good because they are classics that are related to the theme or because kids love the humor or storyline in them.  Some are out of print, but can be bought at other places or used on Amazon.  So take a look...

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Numbers
**Elefante Tiene Hipo Unfortunately, this books is currently out of print.  It is a great one to review numbers (numbers 1 to 10 are counted backwards in the story) and animal names.  The humor is awesome in this book!
-Mi Abuela Va Al Mercado
 **Demasiados globos I have used this book for many years to teach colors, numbers and introduce animals.
**Llaman a La Puerta-I love this book, because it teaches the concept of dividing groups evenly. I actually use plates and laminated cookies for students to use as we go through the book. See this post for more information.
**Un Alce, Veinte Ratones-This is a great book to review numbers 1-20. Read about how I use this book here.
-Los Cinco Patitos-A cute book that counts down from five to one. Great plot for the younger set that makes them curious as to how the story will end.

Colors
**Demasiados Globos (See link and description above in Numbers)
-Pinta ratones  Helps with the concept of mixing colors
 **Sali de paseo  Simple language.  Color and animal vocabulary
 -Oso pardo, oso pardo, ¿qué ves ahí?
 -Huevos verdes con jamón  Not a lot of color words here, but a fun classic to read with lots of other vocabulary
**Colores-This book is super cool, because it has clear pages that change the colors of  the page behind them. You can see how it works by clicking here. (NOTE: This shows the English version of the book just to give you an idea on how it works. Click on the word "Colores" above to find a link to purchase the Spanish version.) I have my students "read" the book back to me by saying the colors as I move the pages.

Body Parts
**Fuera de aquí, Horrible Monstruo Verde-Great book to use for teaching the parts of a face!
**Un Bicho Extraño-This book goes through several different body parts, and is a "never-ending" book in that you read it one way and then turn it upside down and continue reading.
 -Soy Demasiado Grande
-Se Venden Gorras  A great classic
-Froggy Sale a Cenar  I love the humor in the Froggy books.  These books are more suitable for older elementary kids.
 -Froggy va al medico
**De la cabeza a los pies-Lots of body parts mentioned in this fun book in which your students can do the movements.

Opposites
-Soy Demasiado Grande  (See link above in Body Parts)
-Perro grande... Perro pequeño
-Un Cuento De Un Pez Grande
**Cerdota Grandota -Cute book with lots of opposites.
**Contrarios-Another book with transparent pages that teaches opposites.

House
**Ruidos en la casa: Un misterio cómico I love this story of a scared little puppy alone at home.
 -Migas en las escaleras
 -Oso En Casa
 -La casa adormecida   A great classic!
 -Vamos Froggy

Family
-La Semilla de Zanahoria
 -Abuelita Fue al Mercado  (See link above in Numbers)
-La Hermanita De Froggy
 -¿Tu mamá es una llama? A classic that has been translated well with the rhyming
 **Si Yo Tuviera Un Dragon A little boy wishes for a dragon instead of a little brother but in the end realizes that a brother might be better!
 **Yo Tenia Un Hipopotamo Lots of family vocabulary

Time/Good night/Good Morning
**Chumba la Cachumba Great traditional rhyme/song that teaches the hours of a clock.  Very humorous illustrations showing what a group of skeletons do at each hour.
-Buenas noches a todos
 -Los Durmientes de Lola Fuentes
 -La casa adormecida (see link above in House)
-Froggy Se va A Dormir
 **Froggy Duerme Fuera de Casa
 -Buenas Noches Luna
**Llevé a la Luna a Pasear

Where is it?/Prepositions
-¡Corre, perro, corre!
 -Migas en las escaleras (See link above in House)
-Se Venden Gorras  (see link above in Body Parts)
-Donde esta la oveja verde?
 -Lupe Lupita, ¿dónde estás?
 -Vamos Froggy (See link above in House)
-Arriba Y Abajo-This books also teaches the five senses.  Available at Sonrisas Spanish School 
**Arriba, Abajo, y Alrededor-This book teaches the prepositions that are in its title, plus it is a great introduction to food words.
-El Pastel Está Tan Arriba-teaches arriba and abajo.

Clothing
**Froggy se viste  Another great Froggy book.  This is the only one currently in print.  The others mentioned here can be bought used.  Lots of great humor.
 **Azul el sombrero, verde el sombrero Great humor and lots of repetition of clothes and colors.
 **Los animales no se visten /Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing Absolutely hilarious!
-Se Venden Gorras  (see link above in Body Parts)
-Vamos Froggy (See link above in House)

Seasons/Weather
**Un recorrido por las estaciones Beautiful illustrations.  Also teaches the months.
-Oso Bajo El Sol
 **Un Dia de Nieve-Love this classic!
-Un Día de Lluvia
-Froggy se viste (See link above in Clothing) Lots of words surrounding winter

Days of the Week
-La oruga muy hambrienta
-Oso en la Ciudad

Places in a City
-Oso en la Ciudad (see above link)
-Taking a Walk/ Caminando: A Book in Two Languages/ Un Libro en Dos Lenguas

 Food 
**La oruga muy hambrienta-Lots of foods in this book plus days of the week!
**Quiero Mas Fideos!
 -A Comer!
 -Froggy Sale a Cenar (See link above in Body Parts)
-Arriba, Abajo, y Alrededor (See link above in Prepositions)
-Fiesta Secreta de Pizza-Super cute book about a raccoon who is wild about pizza.
-Dragones y Tacos-NEVER feed dragons spicy salsa!!!
-El Nabo Gigante-Could be used in a food unit, but also to teach animal names.

Transportation
 -Oso En Bicicleta
-Jorge el Curioso

 Animals
**De la cabeza a los pies  (See link above in Body Parts)
**Salí de Paseo (See link above in Colors)
-Oso polar, oso polar, ¿qué es ese ruido?
 -Oso Pardo (See link above)
-Oso panda, oso panda, ¿qué ves ahí?
 -Veloz Como El Grillo
-Harry, el perrito sucio
 **Elefante tiene hipo (See link and description above in Numbers)
**Los animales no se visten (See link above in Clothing)
-El loro tico tango
-Un Recorrido por la Selva

Holidays
**Chumba la Cachumba (Halloween) (See link above in Time)
-El Primer Beso de Froggy (Valentine's Day)
 -La Mejor Navidad De Froggy
 -Froggy y el Día de Halloween
-A Comer (See link above in Food) This book could be used around Thanksgiving
-Un Día de Nieve (See link above in Seasons)  Could be used around Christmas
**Un Día Una Señora se Tragó una Campana (Christmas)