Inside: Spanish speaking countries flags (free printable banner).
For Hispanic Heritage month, lots of people are looking for decorations. How about a string of flags from Spanish-speaking countries? I’ve created a little free printable that you can grab and put up in no time. These would be perfect for a bulletin board or to hang from a table or mantle.
Spanish Speaking Countries Flags
Included are all 21 Hispanic countries, plus the United States in case anyone wants to use it (the U.S. has the second largest population of Spanish speakers in the world!). I simple cut them out, punched holes, and string them up with string.
You’ll notice these are representations of each flag, and vary a tiny bit from the originals.
Inside: Free printable Spanish Valentine’s Day cards for the home or classroom.
Looking for printables for Día de San Valentín? Today I’ve got a set of sweet cards for you that are totally free! Just download, print, and go.
(AND – I just teamed up with some of my favorite TpT teacher-authors to give away THREE TpT gift cards– $40 each, to say how much we love our readers. Scroll to the bottom to see the giveaway and enter!)
These cards are great for personal use or for the classroom. Some are classic Latin-romantic (mi media naranja, para mi amorcito), and some are more generic, for use between friends or between parents a kids (para mi osito, te quiero mucho). I recommend printing on cardstock.
Many of you will be using these cards at home (and are already fluent speakers!). If you’re using them in the classroom with Spanish learners, here are a few tips on how to make the most of this activity. (As a new teacher, I often “wasted” a class period on holiday-themed activities. I didn’t understand the importance of input, and would have just hoped some of the new holiday vocab would stick after using it in a card.)
Tips for making cards with Spanish learners:
Tell a story, or use an #authres to give input on letter-writing phrases.
Something like the video Querido Tommy would be just right for spending some time on language used in personal letters. You’ll hear reps of common phrases like querido, carta, te escribo para decirte…. You can also lower the volume or pause to narrate the story that’s shown in the video. Spend plenty of time on this.
Don’t just hand out the cards and let the students loose. They’ll want to use lots of language they don’t know in Spanish, and you’ll be writing everything on the board or copying things willy-nilly from dictionaries. Instead, brainstorm ways to express some common sentiments using language they know. The day before, perhaps, write a card in Spanish and give it to them as a reading.
Another idea: use the song video for Robarte un beso. There are four sets of people from each video. Write a card (using language on the level your class needs), from the person in each of the couples in the song, leaving out names. Hand them out as readings, and read individually or as a class. Then, watch the video. Let the students match each card to the couples in the video.
Most classes won’t be ready to write a full card on their own, or it won’t be useful to their acquisition. Consider providing an outline, or supplying phrases where they only provide a word or two to personalize it. If you used the song Querido Tommy, give “te escribo para decirte que eres ______” as a model, so they only have to supply or two words. Think of simple language like “te quiero porque me ________,” or “Eres muy especial para mi porque eres _________.”
Another option would be to write the person’s name inside the card, vertically, and write a word for that person that starts with each letter of their name.
For more advanced classes, provide the lyrics to a song and do blackout poetry. The students use a marker to cover (blackout) the parts they don’t need. The words that are left form the new poem, and this is the text of the card. Just make sure to use something fairly simple!
(I got so excited about using Querido Tommy and Robarte un beso that I created a whole lesson using those to teach letter-writing. See below!!) And while you’re writing your cards, you might want to use my Valentine’s playlists in the background:
In case you are a teacher or a parent with kids who like to color, I also have a set for sale (just $1.50!) on Teachers pay Teachers, which you can find below. With those cards, you can color the words and pictures. Hope these help you celebrate Día del amor y la amistad in Spanish!
Inside: Spanish Valentine’s Day bulletin boards and decor: inspiration for decorating your Spanish classroom in February.
I have a confession. Last year, I made my bulletins board in August. And there they sat, all year. I didn’t switch them out once.
The world did not end, and my students learned plenty of Spanish. But there’s still something feel-good about changing the scene, freshening up the room, and drawing attention to new language.
If you are low on time, no worries! I’ve got some easy ideas for decorations as Valentine’s day rolls around this year. And just in February– when winter is dragging on– some red and pink really brightens thing up.
How eye-catching is this one? And Allison made sure to laminate everything, so it can be re-used from year to year. Especially with the banners that hang on a string, bringing this out every February would be a snap.
I saw Gloria’s post in a Spanish teacher’s group and fell in love with it. How could you not? I think she used the hearts below from Living Mi Vida Loca, which are free printables.
This is so sweet and simple enough that you could have one of your classes do the hears themselves! It also doubles as a handy vocabulary reference throughout the month.
This is about as low-prep as they come! Just print onto whatever paper color you like, mix and match, and done! Tomorrow I will be linking to the files to make this– there are a bunch of options to choose from!
We all know terms of endearment are huge in Latino culture, right? Bust them out in February with this list I made. If you go to the post, the download also includes an ink-friendly version with a lighter background.
I love this idea because it works for people like me– who aren’t switching out our bulletin boards every month! She suggest simply buying a dollar store frame, and switching out the posters as needed. So nice, because you can save everything from year to year.
Here are some darling decorations that provide comprehensible language too. In four different languages, terms of endearment are presented in the shape they refer to (media naranja, for example). I love anything watercolor, and these are so pretty!
3. Poems from The Engaged Spanish Classroom
These adorable poems are easy enough for even novice learners to do. When they are done, you could put them up as a decoration, too, to display student work and add a splash of Valentine’s color to the room.
Do you have a bulletin board or decor that you’d like to add? Leave your idea or link in the comments below!
Inside: Lyrics and activities for the song Cinco monitos.
Cinco monitos– Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed– is a fun song for little (or bigger!) Spanish learners. Use it to teach numbers 1-5, and beginning phrases like la cama, no más, la cabeza, and se cayó.
You’ll find a variety of lyrics for this song. Our personal favorite is the version sung by Toobys, so these lyrics are from that version. (The printable lyrics are available in the download below.)
Cinco monitos saltando en la cama, Uno cayó al piso y la cabeza se golpeó, Mamá llamó al doctor y el doctor la consejó, -¡Ya no más monos saltando en la cama!
Cuatro monitos saltando en la cama, Uno cayó al piso y la cabeza se golpeó, Mamá llamó al doctor y el doctor la consejó,
-¡Ya no más monos saltando en la cama!
Tres monitos saltando en la cama, Uno cayó al piso y la cabeza se golpeó, Mamá llamó al doctor y el doctor la consejó,
-¡Ya no más monos saltando en la cama!
Dos monitos saltando en la cama, Uno cayó al piso y la cabeza se golpeó, Mamá llamó al doctor y el doctor la consejó,
-¡Ya no más monos saltando en la cama!
Un monito saltando en la cama, Uno cayó al piso y la cabeza se golpeó, Mamá llamó al doctor y el doctor la consejó,
-¡Ya no más monos saltando en la cama!
Here’s the song on YouTube:
Cinco monitos: Activities / Actividades
This song can be a fun one to act out! Print the five little monkeys finger puppets, or glue the monkeys onto popsicle sticks, and cut out the bed image.
Inside: Spanish-speaking countries and capitals map and game cards.
It’s Hispanic Heritage Month, a perfect time to introduce geography for Spanish-speaking countries. I’ve made a map and set of cards that teach countries, capitals, maps, and country shapes, as well as a few quick facts about each country. In this free download, you can also find directions for games like Go Fish, Concentration, and Slap-it. A color set is in included, as well as black and white in case you want your kids/students to color in the flags themselves.
Spanish-speaking Countries and Capitals Map and Game Cards
Though I like to use games to introduce lists like this, remember that memorizing a list won’t necessarily produce students who love culture. If my students are really going to connect to far away places, they needs stories, videos, food, and songs (and of course travel, if possible) to produce real affection. Hopefully these fun games will help you painlessly and quickly introduce geography, so that when you do listen to a Colombian artist or watch a clip from Puerto Rico, everyone knows the context.
These links are helpful for remembering and connecting to Spanish-speaking countries:
Simple repetition for names/capitals, while showing map:
For older students (the original video is cool, but on the line for school-appropriate):
Inside: Los pollitos dicen pío, pío, pío lyrics, printables, and activities for kids.
Los pollitos dicen is one of my favorite songs in Spanish for kids. It’s also perfect for families learning Spanish– the song is packed with high-frequency phrases like tengo hambre, tienen frío, and duermen.
We like it so much I created an entire Spanish Preschool series based on the song, with enough materials to last a year. Click on the link above if you want in-depth resources.
In this post, I’m wrapping up that series with activities for teaching the song. Read on if you want some great activities and free printables you can use right away!
Los pollitos dicen pío pío pío Activities
Choose as many as you like, or do all of them!
1. Listen to the song.
Here are my favorites from YouTube. (Below you can find the lyrics online and as a printable.)
2. Make Los pollitos dicen puppets.
To make the song more hands-on, and emphasize dice, make my pollito puppet. Cut out the pollitos, and then make another cut so the top part of the head is separate. Glue each piece onto the top and bottom of a clothespin. Now your pollito can open and close its mouth when it’s time to say, – pió, pío, pío!
If you are teaching Spanish, you can also use this to talk about the little chicks and gets lots of reps for dice. Ask your students, ¿El pollito dice, – guau, guau? Nooo! El pollito dice, -maa, maa? Noo! El pollito dice, -pío!
3. Make a mini-book of the lyrics from the song.
Download my free mini-book, to color and read at home or in class. With illustrations, the song is extra comprehensible for Spanish learners.
Attach motions to the song and act them out while singing. Once everyone has learned them well, use props or masks and act out the lyrics as a class. You can choose one child to be the gallina, or the teacher can act out that part.
5. Sequence the song lyrics with picture cards.
Make (or buy) cards that depict each scene of the lyrics. Read aloud the lyrics of the song, and have the students put the pictures in order, or in a pocket chart in the front of the classroom. Once they are familiar with this activity, they can try it while listening to the song itself.
Additional Resources:
If you are teaching older students, I also have a free printable on TpT. You’ll get the lyrics and several listening/lyrics activities.
You can also purchase lessons on Los pollitos dicen (the first unit is free!):
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