We started by learning the names of six different modes of transportation:
barco
avión
camión
coche/carro
tren
autobús
We practiced those six words by repeating them in many different voices (baby voice, monster, etc.) in addition to tying in a motion for each word (i.e. avión = arms straight out, gliding like a plane.)
Tic Tac Toe
This is a perfect set of vocabulary to play tic tac toe. I created tic tac toe boards by placing the following image in a plastic sheet protector and gave students dry erase markers.
When students played they had to say each word before they marked the space with x or o. If they forgot to say the word, their partner could erase the mark.
Video/Song
I heard about a great site called Rockalingua which has a ton of videos and songs designed to teach target vocabulary sets in Spanish for young learners. I took one of their videos on transportation and showed it to my students. When I first introduced the video, I had them focus on the word 'viajar' and then later they learned all the words to the whole song.
I Spy Game
After ensuring that students knew the vocabulary, I taught them the phrases "Fui a____" and "Fui en___." I then played a alternate version of I Spy, starting off by saying "as the teacher in this classroom, I've been everywhere in the room." I instructed students that I will tell them a place I have been by saying "Fui a ____ " then filling in the blank with a color. Then I would also tell how I got there by saying "Fui en ____" then filling in the blank with one of the modes of transportation. Students must then go to the target color and go pretending to be that specific target vehicle.
Each vehicle had a different movement (boat= dipping while walking slowly, truck= hopping, train = gliding, etc.) The game has no winners or right answers as in the real I Spy. It was more of an exercise in oral comprehension of the phrases.
For instance:
Teacher says "Fui a azul. Fui en tren."
Students would glide to somewhere in the room that had something blue.
Be sure to note that students that when vehicles crash into each other (meaning students touch/bump into each other during the game) they crash and can't keep playing.
Interview
I created an interview sheet for students to interview each other about their vacations. The first question asks students how their vacation was. Students then respond with the same answers to the question "como estas" which my students know well. The interviewer then draws a face to represent how they felt on their vacation. Then students ask "qué hiciste" which is another question we practice often (see this lesson.) I then had students respond with Fui a____ and Fui en ______. The only word that was not in Spanish in that sentence was the location.
