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Seasons are hard words to remember in another language. Over the twenty years I have been teaching I find that even though it is only four vocabulary words they can be forgotten quickly. So I was really pleased to come across a book in Spanish that beautifully illustrates the changing of the seasons...
Las 4 Estaciones Desde el Gran Arbol shows the progression of the seasons with a tree in the forest. The animals around it come and go as the year passes. The weather changes. The plants grow and become dormant or die. And during the whole time there is an owl in the tree watching the events around him. The book has cut outs that allows you to see the animals in the tree. There are several activities that you can do as you read the book and then afterwards. Let's take a look...
For my students that can write I have them re-create the four seasons with pictures and words in Spanish. (You can download this page here.) They can draw in the way a tree would look for each season and then label the squares with the correct word. I also have them add color and weather words related to each season in the appropriate square. Another set of vocabulary that could be added are the months in the appropriate season, but be careful with this! What if you are in the southern hemisphere? This would be a great time to discuss how summer happens in December, January, and February in South America (like in Argentina and Chile).
During the reading of the book you can point out all the animals that are throughout the story. One of the reasons that I love this book is because there are so many animals and they reoccur several times on the different pages. For younger kids, I call out the name of an animal and they can count them. For older kids this is a great time to play Spot It! (the animal version) to review the names of animals. (See here how I use Spot It! as a teaching tool AND game at the same time.)
For more advanced students that know their prepositions, you can do a drawing activity with them. Students start out with a blank piece of paper and you describe a scene with a tree in Spanish that they have to draw. Here's a sample description that could be drawn:
Hay un árbol grande con un sol brillante en el cielo. En el árbol hay dos búhos y tres ardillas. Debajo del árbol, hay una familia de zorros. Un zorro persigue una mariposa. El árbol tiene manzanas en las ramas y un nido lleno de huevos.
Finally, here are some resources that are great for working with the seasons...
Y De Pronto Es Primavera-A sweet story about waiting for spring to come.
Froggy Se Viste- Frogs are not supposed to go out in the snow and play! A story filled with winter words (especially clothing).
Un Recorrido Por Las Estaciones- Scenes from all the seasons with an emphasis on each month.
A simple puzzle for younger kids. Actually, this concept for be great for kids if you make flashcards. Can they put the objects in the right season?
Finally, I use this vocabulary sorting activity with older students. It's a great way to familiarize them with more words that they need to put into one of the four seasons.
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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.
" and a cup to demonstrate the prepositions while teaching the vocabulary.} Then we read the book. Finally, I had them get out pencil and paper and described a picture to them in Spanish based on the book. We did one sentence at a time...I would pause and let them draw that sentence before moving onto the next one. I tried to use vocabulary from the book plus prepositions. Here are the sentences if you would like to use them...
. This cute book talks about how different vegetables grow. Some grow up. Some grow down. And others grow round and round (those that grow on vines). I love the fact that three preposition words are taught and repeated throughout the book. It has been my experience that prepositions are hard for students to remember. As we read through the book, I would have my students do hand motions. If I read "arriba" they would point up. Or if I read "alrededor" they would do a circular motion with their fingers. Most of the food words are vegetables: potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins, etc. Another good activity is to fold a piece of paper into eighths (fold it in half three times). Then for each "box" on the page You call out a vegetable for each preposition: pimientos arriba; zanahorias abajo; calabazas alrededor. See if your students can draw the veggies in the correct position. You can then add more fun to it by giving them illogical ways that the vegetables grow like "calabazas abajo".
- A "Let's Read and Find Out" book on how seeds grow.
- A traditional story about how wheat grows to eventually be made into bread and how important it is to help others.
-A hilarious story about a gigantic turnip.
-The story of a boy who grows a tree and gets a surprise!
-A classic story for younger kids about a carrot that takes forever to sprout.
-A little mouse tries to save a strawberry from a hungry bear.
