1 4 1.11. L 1 . 1o LsLoo d ss í m a me sessedeses d ledal e alsñeoamñ ao n a
1.11 Los meses del año The months of the year
Learning the months of the year enables pupils to talk in Spanish about events such as celebrations and birthdays, and in what time of year they happen. This is the first stage towards establishing a regular daily classroom routine, to say today's date in Spanish.
NEW WORDS AND PHRASES
¿Qué mes es? What month is it? enero febrero marzo abril mayo junio julio agosto septiembre octubre noviembre diciembre
Films to see A1. January - June A2. July - December A3. Song You could also talk with pupils about the months of the year in their own country. ● What is the weather like then? ● What festivals do they celebrate?
Watch Film A1: January - June
- January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December
❑ Watch film A1.Introducing the months: The film shows a variety of images representing the first six months of the year. Each month is named at the beginning and end of these visual sequences. ¿Qué mes es? enero febrero marzo abril mayo junio Note: see "Talking Point" to find out about the images of Spain shown in the films.
Talking Dictionary
Planning your lessons
This section introduces pupils to saying the Spanish words for months - getting used to some more typical sounds. They explore what people do at different times of the year, and learn about festivals and seasonal events.
Activities
Warm up
You could open the lesson with greetings and questions to help pupils “switch” to Spanish, and remind them of language they already know.
11.1
Film A1: “abril” - Holy Week procession.
Cultural awareness ❑ You may find that pupils wish to talk immediately about some of the images they have been watching. If this is the case, it is worth taking a little time to do this before moving on to the language activities outlined below. The “talking points” have been designed to respond to questions that the children might raise after watching this film.
1 41 . 1L E. o a rs Ll oyds S í atma ser s td eeSsp lad anei ss l he am 1ñaon a 1
Get used to the sounds
❑ Echoing: Show the first six e-flashcards; - click the sound ON but leave text OFF. Show each picture; pupils echo, e.g. “febrero”.
HOW SPANISH WORKS 1: Writing the months
When the months are written in Spanish they begin with a lower case letter except at the beginning of a sentence.
KEY SOUNDS
Listen and enjoy copying these typical sounds. We will meet them in other words later.
θ as in marzo, diciembre
Heard before in: azul,
Then re p e a t d i s p l a y i n g the text; pupils echo the phrase again. Pay particular attention to the “key sounds”. When they are ready, switch sound and text OFF; see if the class can say the month for each picture in order without help.
β
as in abril,
x
as in
Heard before in
noviembre
verde, viente, nueve
Heard before in
❑ Everyone stands in a circle with you in the centre. Throw a soft ball to different pupils. Each time you throw the ball, say one of the months from January to June. The pupil echoes the month as s/he throws the ball back to you. To begin with, say the months in order. This helps establish the pattern and rhythm of the months sequence.
pez, gracias
junio, julio rojo, conejo, Jesús
as in abril,
diciembre Heard before in: amarillo, periquito, cinco, buenos días
Watch film A2: ‘July - December’
ʎ
Introducing the next 6 months Film A2 shows images representing the next 6 months of the year, again, asking “¿Qué mes es?” Each month is named at the start and end of its visual sequence.
as in
Heard before in
mayo
amarillo, me llamo
* 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.
see Talking Dictionary
julio agosto septiembre octubre noviembre diciembre Children say all the months in groups of three. enero, febrero, marzo abril, mayo, junio julio, agosto, septiembre octubre, noviembre, diciembre Film A2: “agosto” - The beach at San Vicente de la Barquera.
Months song
Note: the song is also presented as a separate film with karaoke versions.
11.2
1 4 1.11. L 1 . 1o LsLoo d ss í m a me sessedeses d ledal e alsñeoamñ ao n a Get used to the sounds
❑ Echoing: This time show the pictures that represent all 12 months, January December, on the “Months” e-flashcards ; display each picture and say which month is represented - initially with sound and text ON, and in order (not ‘jumbled’). Pupils echo the words, e.g. “agosto”. n Now switch the e-flashcards to 'jumbled'; you ask the class, " ¿Qué mes es?" Pupils tell you which month is shown. ❑ Echoing: Everyone stands in a circle with you in the centre. Say the name of one of the months as you throw the soft ball to individuals; they echo the month as they throw the ball back to you.
Respond with understanding
❑ Play “jump to your birthday month” You call out a month, e.g. "¡noviembre!" Pupils who have birthdays in that month try to be first to jump up and echo the month.
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 Spanish words 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". ❑ Working in pairs: “snap” Pupils can use the months activity sheet to make “snap” cards.
❑ Flashcards Make flashcards for the months using enlargements of the activity sheet. Attach the cards to the board in the correct order. Pupils say the months. Then remove one of the flashcards. Pupils say the months again, including the one that is hidden. Gradually decrease the number of cards until there are no visible prompts left. Pupils play in pairs. They shuffle the twelve ❑ Divide the class into groups of four or five pairs of cards and deal them into two piles. pupils. The first group begins the sequence Pupils take it in turn to pick up a card and say “enero, febrero, marzo”, the next group follows the month. If two cards are the same, they shout with “abril, mayo, junio” and so on. “¡sí!” The player who says “¡sí!” first takes the cards which have been turned up. The winner To make this into a game, encourage pupils to is the one with all the cards, or with most cards say the months quickly, then softly etc. when time is up. ❑ Do a “Mexican wave” with the months. Pupils ❑ Working in pairs: “remember the month” form a circle with their chairs. Beginning with Pupils work in pairs with two sets of shuffled “enero”, each pupil says the next month one after cards. They set out all the cards, face down on another in rapid succession. As they speak they the table. Each player takes it in turns to turn stand up and promptly sit down again as soon over two cards. Pupils say the name of the as they have said the month. months as they are revealed. If the months are If the children normally sit in groups, the the same he/she keeps the cards. If the cards “wave” can take place round each of the class do not match, they are replaced. The game contables. See which table reaches “diciembre” first. tinues until all the cards have been picked up. The winner has the most cards.
11.3
1 41 . 1L E. o a rs Ll oyds S í atma ser s td eeSsp lad anei ss l he am 1ñaon a Watch film A3 "Song"
❑ Watch film A3; encourage pupils to join in with the song.
CROSS CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
❑ Music: pupils can sing the months song from the film, which is also in a 'karaoke' version. Children can sing alongside the Spanish children or on their own with the musical accompaniment.
❑ Drama: Miming game Divide pupils into small groups or pairs. Give each group one of the months flashcards. The groups prepare a short mime to represent their month. Any speech must be in Spanish. They can use key words and phrases such as greetings to enhance the mime. The rest of the class has to guess which month is being represented.
Talking point
THE MONTHS OF THE YEAR
❑ Music: Pupils can compose their own tunes or chants for singing the months of the year. ❑ Art: Pupils design a frieze for the classroom wall showing the months of the year. They could, for example, show their favourite activities in each month. If you have links with a Spanish primary school, you could exchange these pictures. Pupils could compare similarities and differences between what they and the Spanish children like doing at different times of the year. ❑ IT: "Our year in photos": Have pupils take photos or movies to show your school in different months and at different times of the year, e.g. playtime in January and in June, sports in different months, etc; also discuss what special festivals and celebrations should be represented, e.g. Harvest festival, sports day, Red Nose day. If you are twinned with a Spanish school, you could discuss what might be of interest to the Spanish pupils, and perhaps what they might find different, strange or unusual. Label each picture with the month in Spanish (including sound recordings if possible), and make a powerpoint presentation or similar to share with your partner school and/or with an audience of parents or another school.
The films show images of northern Spain throughout the calendar year. It may be a good idea to talk with pupils first about what different times of year are like in your community. In different months, there will be occasions when people take part in traditional activities. For example, October and November for British children may be seen as the time when they take part in Hallowe’en and Guy Fawkes Night, against a backdrop of autumn, leaves falling off trees, evenings getting darker, etc. August might be when your town has a summer carnival procession to raise money for good causes and to attract visitors. Children perhaps see December as a time when their town centre is decorated with illuminations, and they see people dressed up as Father Christmas in shopping centres and department stores. Television has made sporting events like Wimbledon national occasions that are widely discussed; in June and July children may reflect this by playing tennis in the park. Discussion will help children to see other people's festivals and celebrations in the context of their everyday lives. Most people in all countries do ordinary things most of the time, but - like us - enjoy taking part in occasional special events. This will help make the similarities and differences more interesting. Later we look at celebrations which take place on particular dates; there is more information in that chapter’s ‘talking points’.
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1 4 1.11. L 1 . 1o LsLoo d ss í m a me sessedeses d ledal e alsñeoamñ ao n a January - enero
Spain is the second most mountainous country in Europe, after Switzerland. Skiing is a popular pastime in winter. The busiest ski resorts are in the Pyrenees, in the Sierra Nevada, near Granada and in the Sierra de Guadarrama north of Madrid. The pictures in the film show people enjoying themselves on the slopes of the Sierra de la Demanda, a mountainous area of the Rioja region.
February - febrero
Traditionally, February is the month when the storks return to build their nests after migrating for the winter. In the past, food was scarce during the winter, so the storks had to leave to search for food. Nowadays, you can see storks all year round - it is always possible for them to find food in the form of waste and scraps, so they have no need to leave.
Film A1: “mayo” - FEVE narrow-guage railway.
Most Spaniards would think of May as a warm colourful month which is very much the beginning of summer. In the south, temperatures can be as high as 25-30 degrees. Heavy rainfall is very common at this time of year in the northern part of the country. March - marzo The film shows a view of San Vicente de la March is often thought of as a “windy” month. Barquera. Even in May when the sun is shining It can also be very wet in northern Spain at this and blossom appears on the trees, there is still time of year. snow on the top of the mountains. April - abril We also see the FEVE narrow-guage railway. Holy Week, the week before Easter, is celebrated This line runs from Santander, passing through all over Spain. Many towns hold religious proSan Vicente as it travels slowly through the cessions on Good Friday when statues of saints countryside to Oviedo, stopping at many small or scenes from the crucifixion are carried through towns on the way. the streets on floats. June - junio The men seen in the film wearing robes and The film shows a family enjoying a picnic in the hoods are called "penitents" ("nazarenos"). They hills near the town of Najera in northern Spain. belong to "brotherhoods" which originate from the medieval trade guilds. Each brotherhood has its own colours.
May - mayo
Film A1: “junio” - family picnic in the hills.
July - julio Film A1: “abril” - "Penitents".
We see children having fun in an open-air swimming pool. The school term finishes at the very end of June, and so Spanish children have plenty of free time in July. Most Spanish towns which are not on the coast have outdoor pools as the weather is so hot in summer.
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1 41 . 1L E. o a rs Ll oyds S í atma ser s td eeSsp lad anei ss l he am 1ñaon a
Film A2: “noviembre” - walking the Dinosaur Trail in the November rain.
Film A2: “agosto” - Surf school at San Vicente.
August - agosto December - diciembre The images are of the San Vicente beach where Christmas is an important festival in Spain, surfing and paddle-boarding are very popular. but it is mainly a time for family and religious There are several surf schools where groups celebrations. In northern Spain there is always of primary aged children can learn the skills a possibility of snow at this time of year. Snow they need to ride the waves. is a certainty in mountainous areas. September - septiembre The new school year starts in September. For more about festivals see after the long summer holiday. Many schools section 15: “¿Qué día es hoy?” begin the autumn term with half-days so that pupils can get used to the new routine after two months away from school. October - octubre The film shows Calahorra's town band playing in the square on a Sunday morning in October as people take a walk before lunch. Autumn weather can be very unpredictable in Spain, especially in the north. It can range from warm sunshine through to bitter winds and torrential rain.
Film A2: “octubre” - The town band plays in the square.
November - noviembre
November can be a very cold month. Sleet, rain and hail are very common. The film shows visitors braving the rain to visit the Dinosaur Trail and take a bracing walk in the hills.
Talking point 2 Every
THE CLIMATE IN SPAIN
T
The “meseta” or high plateau in central Spain has the most extreme climate, with summer temperatures up to 40 °C , and down to -20°C in winter. The northern coast has warm, humid summers. There is often misty rain which makes the area very green. Northern winters are usually very cold. In the Pyrenees mountains, snow falls for an average of 56 days in areas above 300 metres. The Mediterranean coast of Spain and the Balearic Islands have hot sunny summers and mild winters. The Canary Islands are as far south as the Sahara Desert, but the summer temperatures are made bearable by cool breezes from the Gulf Stream. The winter months are warm and dry with temperatures of up to 18 °C. ❑ Geography Use the film sequences as a stimulus to discuss with pupils the diversity of Spain's climate.
11.6
Me llamo
This page may be photocopied for classroom use
Š 2018 Early Start Languages
Me llamo
This page may be photocopied for classroom use
Š 2018 Early Start Languages