Update: Salsa – Spanish Language Program for Children

Back in June 2008 I wrote a post about Salsa, an elementary Spanish language and cultural series from Georgia Public Broadcasting. During the last few years I remember checking the link at various times and noticed that either the videos weren’t available or they were only viewable on a small screen.

Just today I saw on the Freely Educate blog that there was a post about the program, so I had to take another look. I’m happy to report that the videos (42 episodes) are of a much better quality with transcripts (English & Spanish) and activity ideas (on each episode page). Also, there are now games for your children/students to play to reinforce what they have learned.

Additional support materials can be found on the Wyoming Department of Education website.  As mentioned in the blog, the videos are geared towards kindergarten through 2nd grade.

Goldilocks & the Three Bears or Ricitos de oro y los tres osos

This past year in my preschool class we talked about opposites (los opuestos) using the book Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Ricitos de oro y los tres osos) by Ana Lomba.

The new vocabulary I introduced:

grande - big
mediano(a) - medium
pequeño(a) - small
blando(a) - soft
duro(a) - hard
frío(a) - cold
caliente - hot

First we talked about the words in Spanish. I had three balls (small, medium, big), some cottonballs (soft), a wooden block (hard) and then for the last two I used a bit of sign language since they were pretty easy to understand without using English. (With hot I did the sign and then waved my hand in front of my mouth like I had just eaten something hot.)

After I felt sure the children understood the words, I read the book aloud in Spanish - in a lively manner. (No need to read it in English since it's so well-known.) What I like about this version of the story is that Lomba simplified it so that kids wouldn't get bored. The children would listen very intently and look at the pictures just as if they were listening in English. I did not hear one peep out of them as I read it. After I was finished, they would ask me to read it again!

Since our class was so short we just talked about the opposites, but at the back of the book is a list of key vocabulary words used in the book with pictures. Also, and this is the best thing, is that the book comes with a cd which also makes this a perfect tool for parents teaching their children at home. On the cd, you'll find the vocabulary and story in both English and Spanish, how to use the cd effectively (great ideas!) and also tracks for each character to so that you can even do a dramatic skit or puppet show.
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