Inside: Spanish call and responses or rhymes for class, similar to “Hola, hola, coca cola!”

One of the best ways to quickly get your Spanish classes’ attention is to establish a call-and-response system from the beginning. You start the phrase, they finish it, and then everyone should be totally quiet.

I recommend training your students to do this, and insisting on absolute quiet before you begin speaking. It’s awful trying to talk over a classroom of students, and it gets them in the habit of ignoring you when you speak. Many teachers also have a small bell or maracas that sort of “cut through the noise” of chatter and talking, and then use their callout. 

(This hasn’t come naturally to me always, but The Five-Second Solution from Cult of Pedagogy reminds us why it’s so, so important. See this post on Classroom Management Strategies for more tips for the Spanish classroom as well.)

Authentic call-and-responses like “Hola, Hola, Coca Cola” also give you the chance to work in some culture in a totally natural way! You can switch these up throughout the year or stick to the same one. 

HOLA, HOLA, COCA COLA AND OTHER SPANISH CALL AND RESPONSES

Here are 20 awesome suggestions to get your students’ attention, across all ages and levels. If you do passwords for your class as well, these would be fun!

1. Hola, hola – Coca cola
2. ¿Qué te pasa, calabaza? – Nada, nada, limonada
3. Uno, dos, tres – Cuatro, cinco, seis
4. Clase, clase, clase – Mande, mande, mande
5. Hola, clase – Hola, profe
6. Cinco, cuatro, tres, dos, uno – Silencio
7. Nachos – Salsa
8. Choco, choco, la, la – Choco, choco, te, te, Chocho, la, choco, te – Choco, choco, la, te
9. A, e – I, o, u – El burro sabe – ¡Más que tú!
10. Uno, dos, tres – ¡Estamos listos otra vez!
11. Mira, escucha – ¡Vamos a la lucha!
12. Manos arri-ba – Manos aba-jo – Todos calla-dos – Todos aten-tos
13. Cla-se – Pro-fe
14. Clase, clase – Dime, dime
15. Llama, llama – En pijama
16. Uno, dos tres – ¡No ingles!
17. Hola, hola – Caracola
18. El agua dice – Shhhhh
19. Uno, dos, tres – Cuatro, cinco, seis – Ojos aquí – Ojos allí
20. ¡Achoo!- ¡salud! – ¡Achoo!- ¡dinero! – ¡Achoo! – ¡amor!
21. Listos, listos – Sí, estamos listos
22. Cla-se – Di-me
23. En boca cerrada – No entran moscas
24. Pura – Vida
25. Uno, dos, tres – Olé, olé, olé
26. Gallo – Pinto
27. ¡Manos! – ¡A la obra!
28. A guardar, a guardar – Cada cosa en su lugar
29. Qué tal – ¡General!
30. ¡Hola! – ¡Camarón con cola!

If you are working with older students, you could use some favorite song lyrics as well, like these examples:

1. Echa pa’lante – No mires pa’tras
2. Voy a reír – Voy a bailar – Vivir mi vida – La, la, la, la
3. Yo no soy marinero – ¡Soy capitan, soy capitan!
4. Ay, ay, ay, ay – Canta, no llores
5. Te mueves tú – Se mueven todos

Thank you to PhotoClipz for the Quote graphics!

What other Spanish call and responses do you love and use? Let me know in the comments below!