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8. Los meses del año

8. Los meses del año The months of the year Learning the months of the year brings pupils another stage towards being able to say the date in Spanish. This will be something they can practise every day in school.

They will also be able to talk in Spanish about the dates of personal events like birthdays.

VIDEO section 8 Introducing the months: The video shows a variety of images representing the months of the year. Each month is named at the beginning and end of these visual sequences. enero febrero marzo abril mayo junio julio agosto septiembre octubre noviembre diciembre Children say the months in groups of three.

NEW WORDS AND PHRASES

enero febrero marzo abril mayo junio julio agosto septiembre octubre noviembre diciembre

January February March April May June July August September October November December

Scenes from video section 8: “enero.”

MONTHS SONG: The

song is heard as more images of the months of the year appear on screen:

enero, enero febrero, febrero marzo, marzo y abril mayo, mayo junio, junio julio, julio y agosto septiembre, septiembre

HOW SPANISH WORKS When the months are written in Spanish they begin with a lower case letter except at the beginning of a sentence.

Scenes from video section 8: “septiembre.”

octubre, octubre noviembre, noviembre y diciembre septiembre, septiembre octubre, octubre noviembre, noviembre y diciembre

Scenes from video section 8: “abril.”

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8. Los meses del año ❑ Watch video section 8 “Los meses del año”.

Introducing the written word

Images of each of the months of the year appear on screen with the words superimposed over the pictures. You may choose to omit this part when pupils are watching the video for the first time. You can show it at a later date when they have had plenty of opportunities to practise the months orally. They will then be ready to try and build up connections between the written word and pronunciation.

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 help you to respond to questions that the children might raise after watching this video section.

KEY SOUNDS

junio / diciembre reinforcement of “i”

❑ Echoing: Pupils echo the months as you say them. Alternatively, you could re-play the video sequence and ask pupils to echo the months.

junio / julio reinforcement of“j”

marzo

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

Each time you throw the ball say a month. The pupil echoes the month as he/she throws it back to you.

To begin with, it is best to say the months in order. This will help establish the pattern and rhythm of the twelve month sequence.

reinforcement of“z”

Activities Before watching video section 8, it is a good idea to have a brief “warm up” session to remind pupils of words and phrases they already know.

You could also talk with pupils about their perceptions of Spain, particularly in terms of the weather and climate. This will help prepare them for the images they will see on the video.

❑ Play “jump to the month” When you call out a month, pupils who have birthdays in that month try to be first to jump up and echo the month.

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8. Los meses del año ❑ Flashcards Make flashcards for the months using enlargements of the activity sheet, (or use the OHP).

Attach the cards to the board in the correct order. Pupils say the months. Then turn over one of the flashcards. Pupils say the months again, including the one that is hidden. Gradually increase the number of blank cards until there are no visible prompts left. ❑ Divide the class into groups of four or five pupils. The first group begins the sequence “enero, febrero, marzo”, the next group follows with “abril, mayo, junio” and so on.

To make this into a game, encourage pupils to say the months quickly, then softly etc. ❑ Do a “Mexican wave” with the months. Pupils form a circle with their chairs. Beginning with “enero”, each pupil says the next month one after another in rapid succession. As they speak they stand up and promptly sit down again as soon as they have said the month.

If the children normally sit in groups, the “wave” can take place round each of the class tables. See which table reaches “diciembre” first.

❑ Watch video section 8: “Los meses del año” again for reinforcement. Encourage pupils to echo the months and join in with the song.

CROSS CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

❑ Music: Pupils can sing the months song from the video.

❑ Working in pairs: “snap” Pupils can use the months activity sheet to make “snap” cards. If you plan to play this regularly, it is worth using fairly thick card as a backing.

Pupils play in pairs. They shuffle the twelve pairs of cards and deal them into two piles.

Pupils take it in turn to pick up a card and say the month. If two cards are the same, they shout “¡sí!” The player who says “¡sí!” first takes the cards which have been turned up. The winner is the one with all the cards, or with most cards when time is up.

❑ Music: Pupils can also compose their own tunes or chants for 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 copy and exchange these pictures.

Pupils could compare similarities and differences between what they and the Spanish children like doing at different times of the year.

❑ Working in pairs: “remember the month” Pupils work in pairs with two sets of shuffled cards. They set out all the cards, face down on the table. Each player takes it in turns to turn over two cards. Pupils say the name of the months as they are revealed. If the months are the same he/she keeps the cards. If the cards do not match, they are replaced. The game continues until all the cards have been picked up. The winner has the most cards.

❑ 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.

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8. Los meses del año

Talking point THE MONTHS OF THE YEAR The video shows images of the Rioja region of Spain throughout the calendar year.

It may be a good idea to talk with pupils first about the sort of events that mark different times of year in your community.

There will be occasions when people commemorate historic events. British examples include Guy Fawkes Night and Armistice Day (Remembrance Sunday). Many British towns have a summer carnival procession to raise money for good causes and to attract visitors to the town. British town centres are often decorated at Christmas time with illuminations and men dress up as Father Christmas in shopping centres and department stores.

Television has made sporting occasions like Wimbledon and the Cup Final national occasions that are widely talked about and echoed by children in their play.

A discussion like this will help children to see other people's festivals and celebrations in context and make the similarities and the differences more interesting.

One obvious point to appreciate is that, although many of us enjoy taking part in special events, most people in all countries spend 99% of their everyday lives doing the usual ordinary things.

Scenes from video section 8: “febrero.”

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.

March - marzo March is often thought of as a “windy” month.

It can also be very wet in northern Spain at this time of year.

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 video show people enjoying themselves on the slopes of the Sierra de la Demanda, a mountainous area of the Rioja region.

Scenes from video section 8: “abril.”

April - abril Holy Week, the week before Easter, is celebrated all over Spain. Many towns hold religious processions on Good Friday when statues of saints or scenes from the crucifixion are carried through the streets on floats.

The men seen in the video wearing robes and hoods are called “Penitents” (“nazarenos”). They belong to “brotherhoods” which originate from the medieval trade guilds. Each brotherhood has its own colours.

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8. Los meses del año September - septiembre

The video shows a procession taking place in Logroño, the capital city of the Rioja region. The most famous Holy Week celebrations are in Seville.

The new school year starts in September.

Pupils watching the video will see parents and children standing under a covered area in the playground, waiting to go into the building.

Most Spanish schools have a covered area like this where children can play when it is raining.

It also provides pupils with some shade when the weather is very hot.

May - mayo 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.

June - junio Most Spanish towns have their own festival in honour of the town's special saint. In June the inhabitants of Logroño celebrate San Bernabé.

There is traditional dancing and a procession where the statue of Saint Bernabé is carried through the streets. One of the highlights of the event is the distribution of grilled fish!

Scenes from video section 8: “septiembre.”

July - julio

October - octubre

The video shows children enjoying themselves 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 during the summer.

The video 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.

November - noviembre November can be a very cold month. Sleet, rain and hail are very common. The video shows visitors braving the rain to visit the Dinosaur Trail and take a bracing walk in the hills.

December - diciembre Christmas is an important festival in Spain, but it is mainly a time for family and religious celebrations. In northern Spain there is always a possibility of snow at this time of year. Snow is a certainty in mountainous areas.

Scenes from video section 8: “julio.”

August -agosto In northern Spain August is the month when fruits like peaches and pears are picked. Restaurants will always have a choice of fresh fruit on the dessert menu.

The video also shows Logroño's busy bus station as people set off for their holidays.

August is the month when most Spanish people go away.

For more about festivals see section 12: “¿Qué día es hoy?”

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8. Los meses del año

Los meses del año D

e

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D

e - ne - ro

fe - bre - ro

A

mar - zo

mar - zo

a - bril

ma - yo

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ju - ni -o

ju - ni - o

ju - li - o

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tiem-bre sep- tiem-bre oc

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sep - tiem-bre sep-tiem-bre oc

A

viem - bre

sep -

oc - tu - bre no - viem - bre no - viem - bre

G

di -ciem - bre

a - go s - to

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ma - yo

A

ju - li - o

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fe - bre - ro

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A

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tu - bre oc - tu - bre no -

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no - v iem

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Talking point

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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.

THE CLIMATE 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.

❑ Geography Use the video sequences as a stimulus to discuss with pupils the diversity of Spain's climate.

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NOMBRE:

Me llamo

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

enero

julio

febrero

agosto

marzo

septiembre

abril

octubre

mayo

noviembre

junio

diciembre

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