S1.06 Ages-V8

1 7 14 .. .6¿ L ¿C o Cs uuáádnníttao sss adañeño o sl sat i tesineeem n s? e a s n? a

1.6 ¿Cuántos años tienes?

How old are you?

In this section pupils learn to understand the question “how old are you?” and to respond appropriately using the numbers 1-12.

Swapping information about ages is an important part of any peer group conversation in a foreign language. It is also useful for responding to adult enquiries.

For children, reaching a particular age opens the door to being allowed to do some things, whilst making you too old for others - so saying your age can be quite important!

Perhaps the most significant milestone ages

Films to see A1. How old are you? are when children change schools; we take a first look at the Spanish system of education.

If your pupils are more than 12 years old, you may wish to introduce them to some of the higher numbers from section 9, “Los números 13-31”, before starting work on this section.

Activities

NEW WORDS AND PHRASES

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Warm up ......

(Yo) tengo 10 años - I'm 10 ¿Cuántos años tienes?

How old are you?

Before watching film A1, have a brief “warm up” session to practise the numbers 1-12, such as one of the games from Chapter 1.5.

This section adds to pupils' personal vocabulary, enabling them to extend the scope of a conversation in Spanish. In your “warm up” you could also include one or two of the games from earlier chapters to practise greetings, names and asking people how they are.

You could also talk about situations where you need to say your age.

Talking Dictionary

Planning your lessons

Your lessons with this chapter should help children bring together things they have learnt previously (numbers, saying your name) with a few new phrases.

After the “warm up”, it is best to start by giving each child the opportunity to say their own ages.

We suggest ways of giving them practice saying and hearing other ages, which you could bring in earlier if there is a very limited range of ages in your class.

As soon as they are familiar with saying their age in Spanish, try activities that develop a bit more of a conversation.

Watch film A1: ‘How old are you?’

❑ Film A1 starts with different children aged from 3 to 12 saying how old they are.

The age, represented by a number, is shown on screen: Tengo 4 años Tengo 5 años

Tengo 6 años Tengo 7 años

Tengo 8 años Tengo 9 años Tengo 10 años Tengo 11 años Tengo 12 años Children saying their names and ages: Yo soy Carla. Tengo 10 años.

Yo soy Elisa. Tengo 10 años.

Yo soy Rodrigo. Tengo 12 años.

Question & answer: this sequence shows children replying to the question, ¿Cuántos años tienes? We also see a developing conversation,

Film A1: "Tengo 8 años".

6.1

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¿Qué tal? ¿Cómo te llamas? and the new question, ¿Cuántos años tienes?

Children saying their ages: This time the ages are heard in random order, without the age superimposed on screen.

KEY SOUNDS

Listen and enjoy copying these typical sounds. We will meet them in other words later.

Get used to the sounds

❑ Echoing: Show ‘How old are you?’ on the e-flashcards. Show each film clip with sound and ON and text OFF; pupils echo, e.g. “Tengo 10 años”.

Show the flashcards again, this time with text ON. Pupils echo. Either now or later, discuss the Spanish phrasing (see 'How Spanish works 1")

as in años

mañana Sounds like "ny" as in "canyon" and the "ni" in "onion" Heard before in

cuántos Heard before in cuatro, nueve muy bien, buenos días as in

❑ Echoing: Draw a birthday cake with 4 candles on the whiteboard. You say “tengo 4 años”. The pupils echo the phrase. Add another candle and say “tengo 5 años”. Continue until there are 12 candles on the cake.

as in tienes

Respond with understanding

siete, diez, muy bien, adiós, gracias Heard before in

* Note: phonetic symbols are for teachers ONLY! This box is not meant as a pronunciation guide - take the films and e-flashcards as a model.

❑ Play “How old are you?”

As you say “tengo 10 años”, all the pupils who are ten years old stand up. Repeat this for eleven year olds and so on until you have covered all the ages in the class.

You can make this into a game to encourage

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see Talking Dictionary

pupils' listening skills, by speeding up the pace at which you say each phrase and varying the number of times you say “tengo (10) años”/ “tengo (11) años” etc. in succession.

HOW SPANISH WORKS 1: How they say it

❑ The pupils form a circle. The first pupil turns to the next pupil and says “tengo (10) años”. This pupil does the same to the next saying “tengo (10) años” or “tengo (11) años” as appropriate.

When everyone has had a turn, repeat the activity adding “¿y tú?”

“Tengo 6 años” I have 6 years

If you stop to think about the words you use, English can sound a little odd, too: "I am 6 six years old". "Old? ...is 6 old?"

Anyway, this is how Spanish people say their ages.

They also say: 'How many years have you?'

❑ Everyone stands in a circle with you in the centre. Throw a soft ball to different pupils.

Each time you throw the ball ask “¿Cuántos años tienes?” The pupil replies (“10”, “11”, etc., as appropriate), and throws the ball back to you.

“¿Cuántos años tienes?”

How many years have you?

The children shown in the film say “Tengo (10) años”. It is also quite common practice to add the word “yo” to the beginning of the sentence to give the statement that extra bit of personal emphasis.

❑ “Question and answer” game.

Vary the questions you ask as you throw the ball to include “Hola, ¿qué tal?” and “¿Cómo te llamas?” as well as “¿Cuántos años tienes?” Pupils reply to the question as they throw the ball back to you. This will develop pupils' listening skills and help to reinforce familiar vocabulary.

"Yo tengo 10 años"

Both forms are correct and used in everyday speech.

6.2

1 7 14 .. .6¿ L ¿C o Cs uuáádnníttao sss adañeño o sl sat i tesineeem n s? e a s n? a ❑ Play “musical ages”

❑ Working in pairs: Board Game sheet Everyone moves around the room with Spanish music (or tunes from the “Tú y yo” films) playing in the background. When the music stops, the pupils turn to the nearest person and ask each other their ages.

When they first play this game the conversation could be along the following lines: Pupil 1: “Tengo (8) años ¿ y tú?”

Pupil 2: “9” Print copies of the “¿Cuántos años tienes?” board On another occasion they could say: game sheet, and give a copy to each pair of pupils, Pupil 1: “¿Cuántos años tienes?” with dice and 2 coloured counters.

Pupil 2: “9 ¿y tú?”

Players place their counters on the arrow at the Pupil 1: “8” bottom of the page. They take it in turns to throw a die and count round the balloons and presents.

To give children practice in saying When a player lands on a birthday cake, s/he and hearing ages other than their counts the number of candles and says the age own, try giving each pupil a card represented, e.g. “Tengo 6 años.”

with details of another imaginary identity, e.g “Pablo, 7”.

❑ As the class grows in confidence, the conversations could be extended. When the music stops, pupils greet each other and swap names and ages. They could also take on imaginary identities to add variety to the conversations.

Look again at sounds

❑ Play “It’s that sound again” Now that the new words and sounds are familiar, pick out a “key sound” from this chapter’s new words. Ask children to suggest all the Spanishwords they know that also contain that sound.

As the children’s vocabulary is expanding, you can repeat this with some of the other “key sounds”. This will help them remember the Spanish they already know. ❑ Play “Find the sound”where children find an example of a “key sound” in a number of word-cards scattered on the floor. Play some music and pass a soft ball or cuddly toy around the circle. When the music stops, ask the pupil holding the ball to find a word containing the ‘special’ sound. Everyone echoes the word.

Repeat this with one or two other "key sounds".

CROSS CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

❑ Drama: If pupils have already designed and made “Spanish” puppets, these can be used to act out conversations.

Pupils work in groups of three or four. Ask them to choose a context for their conversation e.g. a new pupil arrives in class; meeting at the beach, at the swimming pool or in the park. Encourage pupils to develop their puppets' characters in the way they behave and speak.

Perhaps one of the puppets is shy, another nosey and so on.

Film A1: "Tengo 6 años".

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¿L ECo au r s láyd nS tí a o ts a s r td ae ñS oplsaan it si h e m n1 ea sn ?a Talking point

EVERYDAY LIFE IN SPAIN The school system

Cultural awareness

Everyday

Primary education is free at state schools, but about a third of pupils attend private schools which are mainly run by the Church.

Spanish children start school at the age of six, although many go to nursery school before this, sometimes when they are as young as one or two years old.

Primary education continues until pupils are twelve when they move on to secondary school. Pupils then start a four year course. After that, they go on to either the bachillerato, a two-year academic course, or more vocational training. Students who wish to go on to higher education must pass a national examination after their bachillerato.

You could talk with pupils about when you have to say old you are, and when it affects how much you pay, or what you are allowed to do. ❑ Ask children when they (or their parents) are asked how old they are? ❑ Why does your age matter? ❑ Swap information with your Spanish exchange school about what age you need to be for different things (you could draw pictures to illustrate, and write the relevant age beside, plus any other information in your own language).

Films and computer games have minimum age restrictions.

Rodrigo is 12 and in his last year at primary school.

Cultural awareness

If you have a link school, swap information about being at school in each country. ❑ Can children remember their first day at school? How old were they when they started school, nursery or playgroup? ❑ What kinds of secondary school are there in your area?

Children under 14 pay 40% less on Spanish trains.

6.4

Me llamo..........................

¿Cuántos años tienes?

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