Parent guide · Grade 2 Spanish · Unit 5
Lesson 5.1 My Town
Written for the parent. The Read aloud parts are written to your child; read them as they are. Do this parts are for you. Answers for you are marked Listen for.
At a glance
- Time
- 3 sessions of 15–20 minutes
- Goal
- Name places in town: la iglesia, la escuela, la tienda, el parque, el río, el puente. Ask ¿Adónde vas? and answer Voy a... Learn that Christians are the light of the world.
- You need
- A large sheet of paper
- Crayons or markers
- A small toy or paper figure
- A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
- A King James Bible
- Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (4:56))
Steps
Do this together: What places do you go to in your town? Church, the store, the park, the library? Today you learn the names of places in town in Spanish.
Read aloud: The story. Domenikos Theotokopoulos was born on the island of Crete in Greece, more than four hundred and fifty years ago. His name was so long and hard to say that the Spanish simply called him El Greco, the Greek. He came to live in Toledo, an old city in the middle of Spain, and stayed there for the rest of his life. In this painting he shows the city on its hill under a stormy sky. Dark clouds swirl overhead, but a strange light falls on the city and makes the green hills glow. On top of the hill stand the tall towers of the great cathedral and the square castle called the Alcázar. Below, a river, el río Tajo, winds through the valley, and an old stone bridge, el puente, crosses it. Toledo is a city set on a hill: you can see it from far away.
Read aloud: How Spanish sounds. Iglesia is ee-GLEH-syah. Río has two parts, as the accent shows: REE-oh. Puente begins with pw: PWEHN-teh. To say where you are going, say Voy a la before la words (Voy a la iglesia) and Voy al before el words (Voy al parque).
Read aloud: Say it and move. Fold your hands: la iglesia. Push a pretend cart: la tienda. Swing on a pretend swing: el parque. Make waves with your hand: el río. Make an arch with your arms: el puente.
Do this: Say each word clearly; your child says it back twice. Point to a picture or the real thing when you can.
- la ciudad [lah see-oo-DAHD]: the city, town
- la iglesia [lah ee-GLEH-syah]: the church
- la tienda [lah TYEHN-dah]: the store
- el parque [ehl PAHR-keh]: the park
- el río [ehl REE-oh]: the river
- el puente [ehl PWEHN-teh]: the bridge
- voy a [BOY ah]: I am going to
View of Toledo, El Greco, about 1599–1600. Image: Wikimedia Commons, public domain Do this: Look at the picture together for a quiet minute before anyone talks.
Read aloud: This is one of the most famous landscapes ever painted. El Greco did not paint Toledo exactly as it looks: he moved the cathedral to fit the picture, and made the sky dramatic, so that we feel the city more than we see it.
Point and find:
- Find the tall cathedral tower. Say la iglesia.
- Find the river. Say el río.
- Find the bridge. Say el puente.
- What colors are the sky and the hills?
Ask:
- “How does the stormy sky make you feel?”
- “Why did Jesus say his people are like a city set on a hill?”
Show: It is Sunday morning. ¿Adónde vas?
Say this: “Sunday we go to church: la iglesia.”
Say this: “I am going to: voy a.”
Answer: Voy a la iglesia.
Show: You are going to the park. Say it in Spanish.
Say this: “El parque is an el word.”
Say this: “a + el becomes al.”
Answer: Voy al parque.
Do this: Ask out loud. Let your child try first; help only after a real try.
Ask: What is la tienda?
Listen for: The store.
Ask: What is el puente?
Listen for: The bridge.
Ask: How do you say the church in Spanish?
Listen for: La iglesia.
3 more on the lesson page.
Read aloud: Draw a map of your own town, label the places in Spanish, and take a pretend trip.
Steps:
- Draw your house in the middle.
- Draw the places you go: la iglesia, la escuela, la tienda, el parque. Add a river and a bridge if you have them.
- Label each place in Spanish.
- Draw roads between them.
- Move the toy along the roads. Someone asks ¿Adónde vas?, and you answer Voy a la tienda.
Tips for you:
- Put a star on your church.
- Add la biblioteca (library) and el hospital.
Done when your child can say:
- My map has at least five places in Spanish.
- I can answer ¿Adónde vas? for each place.
Do this: Your child picks one or more; you write the date.
- Draw your church and write la iglesia.
- Copy: Voy a la iglesia el domingo.
Read aloud: In almost every town in Spain and Latin America there is a central square, la plaza, with the church on one side. Families stroll there in the evening, children play, and on feast days there are processions and music.
- Saying voy a el parque. A and el join together: voy al parque.
- Saying rio in one beat. Río has two: REE-oh.
Put picture cards of places around the room (church, store, park, school). The parent asks ¿Adónde vas? and the child walks to a card and answers Voy a la tienda. Then the child asks the parent.
Say this: “Tell me what you learned today.”
Listen for: Name places in town: la iglesia, la escuela, la tienda, el parque, el río, el puente.; Ask ¿Adónde vas? and answer Voy a...; Learn that Christians are the light of the world.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
In the Spanish Bible this verse says Vosotros sois la luz del mundo: una ciudad asentada sobre un monte no se puede esconder: you are the light of the world; a city set on a hill cannot be hid. Like Toledo on its hill, Christians should shine where everyone can see.
Spread over the week
3 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.
- Session 1. Warm-up, then read and teach the new idea and the new words. Picture study and show how.
- Session 2. Practice together, then start the project. Finish the project, then the sketchbook.
- Session 3. Narration, the game and the Scripture.