Activities for KS1 (the little ones)

Today one of my best friends messaged me asking for advice on what to teach to KS1 pupils. She is making the transition from secondary to primary, and I have some experience teaching KS1 from the past, so I have offered to share what we have done. 

First of all, get  the¡Español! ¡Español! CD (by Carole Nicoll), it is available on iTunes, too. It has lots of songs you can use with older children later (transport, sport, days of the week, etc.)

SONGS:

Names

Sing ¿Cómo te llamas tú?(first verse only) from the ¡Español! ¡Español! CD , while a teddy is being passed around. When the song stops, everybody asks: ¿Cómo te llamas? and the child with the teddy answers.They sing the song and pass the teddy until they get bored! 

Colours

Sing ¿De qué color es? from the ¡Español! ¡Español! CD, make pom poms and ask the pupils to raise them when they hear their colours. More ideas on my blog: colour games.

Animals:

 La Vaca Lola: an all time favourite! Do the actions, point to the body parts (cabeza, cola) and shout MUUUUUU!!!!! Read game ideas for this topic on my blog.

More songs:

En la granja de mi tío 



Un pulpito:

I printed/laminated pictures for the pupils to hold while singing it:

Numbers:
Sing "1, 2, 3" from the ¡Español! ¡Español! CD.

Weather:
Sing ¿Qué tiempo hace? from the ¡Español! ¡Español! CD.
or
Sol, solecito

Food

Soy una taza

Las verduras

Body

Cabeza, hombros...  on the ¡Español! ¡Español! CD or here is the video:

Con mi dedito (you can add more body parts)

Chuchua (you will be singing it ALL DAY once it gets in your head...)

GAMES

La voz misteriosa: blindfold a pupil, ask another one to say something in a changed voice: (like ¡Buenos días!) and the blindfolded pupil has to guess who is saying the sentence.

Esquinas/estaciones: Put 4 different flashcards or words in the 4 corners of the classroom. Play some music (a Spanish song from the list above, and they will all sing it), ask the children to dance or walk around, and pause the song after a while. Tell the pupils to stand in a corner, and a volunteer to pick a word from an envelope (with the eyes closed). Those who are standing at the corner the volunteer picked  have to sit down, they are out. The music starts again, and when you pause it, the pupils have to pick a corner again. Choose a person from those who are already out to pick the next word from the envelope. Pick the pupil who sits well and sings well, that will encourage them to participate after they are out. The last one standing is the winner. But we are all winners, as we all play and participate:-). Little ones take games very seriously....

Hot/cold hiding game: send a pupil out and ask somebody else to hide a toy/teddy/fruit...whatever vocabulary you are learning. When the pupil returns, the whole class has to say the word (la vaca) quietly if he/she is far away but they have to get louder and louder as he/she is approaching the toy.

Musical statues: we all know the rules... sing a Spanish song, ask them to dance or walk around, and when you see someone moving when they should be statues, say ¡Siéntate!

...to be cont. with STORIES and EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES.

If you can offer any advice, have a favourite song/game for KS1, leave a comment!