Bingo de Formas

Bingo is one of my favorite activities for K-3 Spanish learners.  Not only is it a fun game for the students, but it is also a great assessment tool for me.  When played in a small group, it is easy to see who is quickly able to locate the "cuadrado rojo," and who is looking blankly at their card or peeking at someone else's card to find the answer.  I can prompt a struggling student with "Which shapes on your card are rojo?" followed by "Which one of the rojo shapes do you think might be the cuadrado?"  When we are first learning the words, I will lay out "cheat sheets" that have the vocabulary words along with their pictures.  Even the kindergartners who haven't quite learned to read are able to use these cheat sheets by matching the letters to the words they are looking for.

I don't give out prizes for the winner of each game, but the students seem content just to know that they "won." Whoever gets "cuatro in a row" (or tres, or cinco in a row, depending on the particular bingo game) wins, and then everyone clears their cards, chooses a new card if desired, and we begin again. Often there will be 2 or 3 students who get bingo at the same time, which makes it that much more fun for more students.

This morning I added the first of what will probably be many bingo games to my TpT store.  You can find Bingo de Formas here.  It includes 8 bingo cards, cheat sheets for colors and shapes, and a page of instructions/tips.  Enjoy!

Fun Spanish : A really great app for young learners!

I stumbled across the "Fun Spanish" app by Studycat a few years ago, and instantly fell in love with it.  It had three or so free lessons, which I think were colors, numbers, and animals.  The games were interactive and engaging for ages 3+.  At the time, I didn't have any technology in my classroom other than my personal ipad, which I always hesitate to give to students.  But the app was so great, I would pull it out occasionally, while keeping a very close eye on whoever had it!

I found this app especially useful in the summer while I was babysitting a 4 year old who was constantly asking to use my ipad.  I didn't feel so bad letting her have screen time when it was educational!  (She wanted to play games, and I convinced her it was the only game on my ipad...but she also really did enjoy using it!)

This year, my 2nd and 3rd grade classroom acquired kindle fires, and I was very quick to install Fun Spanish is an app for them.  It is a little bit simple for them, but it is a fun way for them to keep their vocabulary knowledge strong, and they love it.  It is one of their favorite things to do in Spanish class.

This week, I used the remainder of my budget for the year to buy three kindle fires for my classroom so that my K/1 class can benefit from this app and others.  They were only $39.99 on Amazon!  There are only 2 more weeks of Spanish classes this year, but it will be a fun way to liven up our last few classes, and I will be able to do so much with them next year.  For only $11.99, I was able to purchase all of the other lessons on the Fun Spanish app, 12 in all.  It is a great deal, and I know it is going to really help reinforce basic vocabulary for all of my younger students next year.


I did not receive any compensation from Studycat for this review.

New Beginnings

Welcome to my newest project!  As a Spanish teacher for young children, I am always frustrated by the lack of resources that I am able to find, so I end up creating a lot of lessons and materials myself!  I have decided to try sharing them to see if I can help other Elementary and Middle school teachers and Homeschool parents to give their students a strong foundation in Spanish.

My TpT store is still a little bare, but I plan to work on adding more to it in the coming weeks.  For now, check out the game, student workbook, and teacher resource book for teaching clothing vocabulary, "Ropa."