The teacher will only speak in Spanish for the duration of this class for a more immersive language learning experience.

Materials needed: Pictures of pet vocabulary, music, tape

Workshop Activities:

Vocabulary and Reading

1) The teacher will introduce the vocabulary using choral repetition and showing students a picture of the animal.

Tip: Students will often mimic the manner in which a word is being presented to them so try whispering, yelling, cheering, etc the vocabulary to get learners more engaged!

Vocabulario: Mascotas (Pets), Perro (Dog), Gato (Cat), Conejo (Rabbit), Lagartija (Lizard), Pez (Fish)

2) The teacher will read a book about pets to the class. Some possible options are No Se Permiten Elefantes by Lisa Mantchev or Arturo y el Negocio de Mascotas by Marc Brown.

Musical March

1) Children and teachers work together to tape the images of vocabulary onto the walls. 

2) Teacher will play lively music and run, dance, skip etc. around the room. Children will be encouraged to join in through gestures. Teacher will pause the music occasionally to shout out the name of one of the animals in Spanish. Teacher will encourage children to run to the animal announced, expressing enthusiasm when they find the right color.

Review

Silent teacher and Closed-eyes surprise

1) Teacher will take out pictures of the pets. She will point to each animal and say its name (repeating this activity multiple times). 

2) Teacher will point to each pet, covering her mouth and cupping her ears (indicating that she would like to hear the words). She will wait for children (or caregivers) to say the names of the animals they remember (Students should not be pressured to respond, they should only respond if they want to). 

3) Teacher will hand out the pictures of pets to the children. She will close her eyes and reach out with open palms asking for each animal (one at a time) in Spanish. Each time she is handed a picture, she will open her eyes to see if it is the animal she asked for.

Libros:

For more language practice at home check out the following books from the library’s Spanish collection

No Se Permiten Elefantes by Lisa Mantchev, Arturo y el Negocio de Mascotasby Marc Brown, Un Pez, Dos Pez, Pez Rojo, Pez Azul by Dr.Seuss, El Perro con Sombrero by Derek Taylor Kent.

Citation:

Farnsworth, May and Isabelle Girolamo, “Las Mascotas (Pets),” Spanish and Hispanic Studies Digital Gallery at HWS, July 2024, https://galeriahispana.omeka.net/exhibits/show/spanish-for-children/vocabulary-practice-in-spanish.