Thursday, August 20, 2009

Immersion Class: Parts of the Body

I have started an immersion Spanish class for 2-5 year olds. I am having a lot of fun with it. Some of the children are native speakers and some know just a little Spanish.

The reasons I am enjoying teaching the class:
*My kids get so excited about having the class with their friends
*They get to practice doing the class with me, reading the books and singing the songs throughout the week.
*I get to do one of my favorite things- teach!

Challenges:
*Getting people to commit with busy schedules
*Trying to figure out class times and what ages I should have in classes.

Here is what we did today:
Song: Buenos Dias by Jose-Luis Orozco

Game: Como te llamas? We patted our laps 2 times, clapped our hands 2 times and repeated again and again to keep in rhythm. We would say to the beat Como te llamas tu? and each child would say Yo me Llamo... (or I would sing it with them).

Puppet: The puppet comes out and asks everyone their names. I have been making some interesting voices lately :)

Song: Cabeza, cara hombros pies (I love this version because there are only 4 parts of the body they need to know.) We sang this song about 4 times. Each time the kids picked a card that would have a different way to sing it (sad, happy, loud, soft) Repetition is so important and kids really love it (even if it gets old for adults). By the end, the kids that didn't speak Spanish could sing the song. Here's the recording.

Fingerplay: De la cabeza a los pies from Ana Lomba

Activity: Senor papa no tiene una cara. Each child got something out of the bag for Mr. Potato Head (eyes, nose, etc.)

Activity: Cuantos narizes hay? We counted how many noses of children there were in the room. I took out some magnetic numbers and put them on a little white/magnetic board with a picture of the noses. We did the same with eyes, ears and mouths :)

Song: Baila, Baila con tu cuerpo by Lango Kids They make a CD, but you have to buy it through mail with one of their teachers.

Book: De La Cabeza a Los Pies por Eric Carle

Craft: We made faces with English muffin with peanut butter. Raisins for eyes, banana slice for nose, apple slice for mouth, half grapes for ears and licorice for hair :) The result: una carita de mono

Let me know if you find this useful! You can do this at home with just your own kids!

11 comments:

amy said...

Tati,
This is amazing! How many kids do you have in your class? Do you have it once a week and for how long? I love these ideas and look forward to trying them out on my own kids. Thanks so much for posting this!

Amy

Okibum said...

Thanks for the great info. I plan on using that "name game" on the first day of school next week!

Carla said...

Thank you for sharing this! I have been contemplating starting something similar in my area but have struggled with how to develop a structure/lesson plans. I have read Ana Lomba but did you use any other resources? Love your blog!

The Conductor said...

I hope you are getting paid for this, Tati -- this is a lot of work! But I'm glad you're having fun too. You are doing an amazing job. I definitely love all the themed ideas and how you are constantly inspiring me to just keep going with my pitiful little efforts to teach my children some Spanish. Thank you!!

Jessica said...

Tati,

I love how you string along the different activities within the theme, and the ideas are so fun.

What's the duration of a session?

I read Ana Lomba too when trying to find a structure/lesson plan to do with my girls. You're all welcomed to see what we do at my blog or website Discovering Spanish with Children

Tricia said...

Thanks for the lesson plan! Keep posting them, please! I've been teaching that age group for five years now but I'm always in need of fresh ideas. I can't beleive that in all these years I've never thought to take Mr. Potato Head in with me! What a brilliant change of pace--I can't wait to try it. ¡gracias!

Guileless Mom said...

This was so awesome! Thank you!!!

diane said...

Outstanding thematic lesson!!! I love the variety, the repetition, and the way you address different learning styles. You rock! How long are your sessions?

doshimaitri said...

This is a very nice thing you are going to perform that is to make study the childrenlanguage immersion through immersion class, as to teach a child is a very hard as well as very easy. Hard because for them it is very new words and the languages which they have ever heard, and easy in the sense that to teach a person who knows nothing is better then who knows a little. As the children are like moulds they could easily be trained in the way we want them.

Justin and Lorna said...

I am going to use the food face crafts! Wonderful. We did Tia Monica last time, so we'll add las pestañas y cejas. :) FUN!!!!

I am glad I found this site. I will be back often.

Señorita Muñoz said...

This is great thank you so much for sharing! Keep it coming!

Thanks, thanks, thanks!