Last minute gem - Una papa - simple song

I always find myself planning late at night before bed (for some odd reason) and stumbling across something that I really want to use with my students (because I LOVE to mix things up each year with new activities).

I stumbled across this really cute little song about potatoes that like to dance!

It could be great for elementary teachers or middle school/high-school students to get those wiggles out for a brain break. (Of course you know your classes better than I do. As a wacky teacher, I can often encourage them to do things like this or the mascota activity.)

video:

But I digress. I found this song a few minutes ago and HAD to use it tomorrow for the following reasons:

TPRS year 5 - Movietalk - Simon's cat - Scary Legs

I am trying to do storytelling this year, but also to add in another component after every story or two: an extension (commercial, song, video, movietalk, cultural connection, etc).  This way I can further recycle the structures from our stories, but bind them in a new way for better acquisition.

Our Spanish 2 students will be reading Noches misteriosas en Granada 2nd quarter this year and we are pre-teaching them structures from the book to be successful.

One of our first stories was:

• sigue ___ndo (s/he keeps __ing)
• se va para (s/he leaves for [place])
• "tienes que ayudarme" (you have to help me)

Then I had done Total Physical Response (TPR) during brain breaks for some other words:

• aplasta (s/he squishes)
• [se] sube (s/he climbs/goes up)
• muere (s/he dies)

And for fun, I also went over the song: la araña pequeñita

TPRS year 5 - Mi mascota es _____.

Here's a video/song to get you to talk about your students' pets and also get a little brain-break and music all in one.

While it might seem silly, yes I would probably do this in a high school class because in my opinion, high school students are often nostalgic for those activities they used to do in classes as kids.


Step 1: PQA (Personalized Questions and Answers)

Depending on the level of class, here are some Spanish 1 questions I would consider asking to practice some basic structures... in upper levels, you could use more complicated language:

¿Quién tiene una mascota?
¿Cómo se llama?
¿Es pequeño/a, grande o mediano?
¿Es bonito/a o feo/a?
¿De qué color es?
¿Te gusta tu mascota?
(maybe target action word you could ask about: what does it eat? / why is it special? /etc)

TPRS year 4 - song - El Pollo

Many years ago, I learned this song from an Argentinian gentleman in Guadalajara, Mexico on a missions trip.  He was in charge of the activities of this sports camp at a park.

One of the favorite things of everyone was this song where he said the following:

El pollo   (Hold hand up on eeeeeeeeeeel  and stomp when you say pollo)
El pollo con una pata. (step with one foot)
El pollo con otra pata.  (step with both feet)
El pollo con una alita. (step with both feet and move an arm like a wing)
El pollo con otra alita. (step with both feet and move both arms like wings)
El pollo con la cabeza. (step with both feet, move both arms, and move head)
El pollo con la colita. (turn around and shake your caboose)

Even with high school students, this is one that was a crowd favorite at my first school.  I kind of forgot about it at my previous school.  But some of my students asked about a poster I made of it that was hanging up and so we went over it and they seemed to enjoy the simplicity and silliness of it.

So If you would like to try it out in your class, I'll upload an audio file later of me saying it or maybe even a short video clip of me doing it.

TPRS year 4 - Zapatito blanco, zapatito azul

So I was encouraged by my department to make sure to "cover" the colors and numbers 1-20 before our first common assessment in Spanish 1.  While I could just point to the numbers and colors and make them repeat them over and over, I thought it would be better to drill them (in context) through other sneakier means while communicating in the language.  I have been trying to do this as frequently as possible and as CI friendly as possible.

Last week I read the book Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo, ¿qué ves ahí? (Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see?) to them and went slowly and pointed to the animals and described their colors and what noise they make.

Then I asked questions sometimes to check for comprehension.  Most kids did ok on this.  Some kids need to be focused on a little more next time, to ensure better comprehension.

I repeated the book today with much more participation than the first time.  I of course explained that we repeat stuff a lot in Spanish class to make sure each time we understand a little more.

But as I was trying to think about the numbers, I came across this cute little rhyme called: Zapatito Blanco, Zapatito Azul.  (Little white shoe, little blue shoe.)

Basically, as my wife explained to me, in Mexico kids might use it to figure out which kid is going to be it in a hide-or-seek kind of game or something like that.  But I had a different idea.

The lyrics are simple:

zapatito blanco, 
     little white shoe
zapatito azul
     little blue shoe
dime cuántos años tienes tú
     tell me how old you are

We went over the lyrics and I said it a few times so they could hear the rhythm of it.

Basically you go through the lyrics pointing at the different feet of people in the circle.  Then when you get to "tú" at the end, the person has to answer their age in Spanish.  You count out that number and that person is out.  I decided (for more buy in) to give that person a piece of candy: fruity flavored hard lifesaver.  Once someone got candy that really upped the ante and interest.

So then we started on the person to the right and did the rhyme again.  It landed on the person, we counted out their age and gave another kid some candy.  Sometimes I had to shift to a different part in the circle when starting because only the same couple kids were getting a piece of candy (although the kids could have lied about their age).  One kid said he was 20 to try to get the candy back to him but he was one off.  Haha.

Regardless, I think it went well and I think it was a more engaging way to practice numbers in addition to practicing the question, "¿Cuántos años tienes?", which I also have to "cover".

Then afterwards I let the class watch this authentic text:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anHIAjxJKtM

We talked about it in Spanish.

I asked them how old the father was.  Then I asked them what he said near the end: "¿Quién juega?"  A few students actually made it out!  I was so proud.  This worked in perfectly since we have been doing PQA and getting to know them.  Every class has gone over, "____ juega [sport]."

All in all, I thought it went well and I was glad to bring even an authentic resource into class to enhance instruction.

A few videos to hear the rhyme:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE-vs01E8Y4
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbKwJbP-2ww
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMyrbF0K0DI (brothers fighting... more complicated authentic text; multiple possible extensions)

*Revision* My kids figured out if they lied about their age to say the exact number of people in the circle, they get the lifesaver.  

So maybe instead I will have a few numbers in my pockets to act as +/- 0/1/2 and then after they have said how old they are, we'll use that to change the game up a little bit.  This way, they are just saying a number and trying to get them self, but it might change the direction.  Just a thought.  

This activity has been much better for buy-in with counting up to 20 or so and there are more reps and it's more interactive.  I also like the rhyme which includes, colors, diminutive (-ito), clothing (shoe), command (tell me), and the question, "how old are you?"

TPRS year 4 - song - pulgarcito

So I've been continuing doing a warm up, basic conversation, TPR and PQA for my 90 minute classes.  It's going ok.  I started trying to do brain breaks about 20 minutes into PQA and then we finish more refreshed.

I think it also reminds my students how important their attention is.

But today, for the brain break, I wanted to do something a little different.  I thought a change of pace would be to turn around to the projector (which is strangely at the back of my classroom). And then I made a very basic PowerPoint with the lyrics to the little song: "Pulgarcito".

This is a Spanish version of a song "Where is Thumbkin," which I had never heard of, but saw on an episode of Sesame Street.  In the Elmo's World section, there was a Spanish version of it called: "Pulgarcito."  It's to the tune of Frère Jacques.

Here are the lyrics I used, I changed it slightly for my students and added a gesture for, "¿Dónde estás?"

Pulgarcito  (hands behind back)
   Little thumb
¿Dónde estás? (put hand up over brow looking for someone)
   Where are you?
Aquí estoy. (bring out right hand, thumb up, moving to say "Aquí estoy")
   Here I am.
Aquí estoy. (bring out left hand, thumb up, moving to say "Aquí estoy")
   Here I am.
¿Cómo estás? (move right thumb as if talking)
   How are you?
Muy bien, gracias.  (move left thumb as if talking)
   Very well, thanks.
Ya me voy. (put right hand behind back)
   Gotta go.
Ya me voy. (put left hand behind back)
   Gotta go.

Then repeat as much as you want with students having them gesture and sing along/move their mouths so you don't know they aren't singing.

Most of my students seemed to enjoy it.  I saw them smiling.  Many of them are freshman/sophomores.  I think the simplicity of the language helped them and the fact that I explained how important music is in my classroom and how studies show how music can enhance learning a language.

Good activity!  Saving this one for later.

*revision: My mother swears she used to sing "where is thumbkin" to me when I was little (in English) but I don't have any recollection of it.

*revision #2: Some of my students will say "Ya me voy" as they leave class now in Spanish 1.