Today I have a guest post from Caitlin at Hale Yeah Designs. She’s sharing three of her favorite Spanish folk songs for K-2. I know and love two of these but one is new to me! I hope you can use these in your classroom!
If you’ve ever taught in a diverse classroom, you know how important it is to have an inclusive classroom and perform music that represents your students and their cultures. After spending a few years in schools with a Spanish-speaking population, I developed a large repertoire of Spanish songs and rhymes. Making music in their language brought my students so much joy, and incorporating Spanish quickly became one of my favorite activities in my classroom. Although I have many favorites, keep reading to learn about my top three favorite Spanish folk songs and rhymes for kindergarten through second grade!
Zapatitos Blancos
Translation:
White shoes
Blue shoes
Tell me how old you are
This is a Spanish rhyme and game from Mexico, and many of my students already seemed to know it before I taught it to them. Students sit in a circle, facing in with their feet out in front of them. One person is in the center and moves around the circle tapping each foot to the steady beat. Whoever it lands on on “tu” tells the class how old they are and is the next person in the center.
Although this is a very simple game, my kindergarten and first graders were always very entertained by it! This is a great activity to practice and evaluate steady beat in Kindergarten and to practice quarter rest in first and second grade.
La Vibora De La Mar
This song is much longer, however I only teach this much to keep it simple for my younger students.
Translation:
To the serpent, the serpent
Of the sea, of the sea
All of you can pass through here,
Those up front run quickly
Those at back are left behind
behind, behind, behind, behind
This game is played the same as Apple Tree or London Bridge. Two students join hands above their heads and become the snake. All the other students walk in a circle going underneath. On the last word “tras” they drop their hands and catch the student walking underneath. In kindergarten, we only have one “snake,” but feel free to make it more difficult and exciting for first and second grade by adding more “snakes.” I don’t have any curricular applications in K-2 for this song except the joy that my students get from singing and playing this game!
Los Pollitos Dicen
2. La gallina busca el maíz y el trigo,
les dá la comida, y les presta abrigo.
3. Bajo sus dos alas, acurrucaditos,
duermen los pollitos, hasta el otro día.
Translation:
The chicks say, tweet, tweet, tweet,
when they are hungry, when they are cold.
The hen looks for corn and wheat,
gives them food and gives them shelter.
Under her two wings, huddled,
sleep the chicks until the next day
This Spanish lullaby originated in Chile, but quickly became popular throughout Latin America. This is another song that almost all of my Spanish-speaking students already know. I sing it with my students at the beginning of the school year in Kindergarten and even my most shy, reluctant singers sing along with me. I also like to add movements to this song to act it out. Once students become more familiar with this song and the movements, I have students perform only the motions and audiate, or hear the music in their head.
The movements I use are very similar to the ones used in the video below:
Meet Caitlin
Caitlin Hale taught kindergarten through sixth-grade elementary music in various schools throughout the Dallas, Texas area. She holds a BM in Music Education from the University of North Texas. Caitlin has her Kodaly certification from the Organization of American Kodaly Educators and has also completed her first two levels of Orff Schulwerk. She now spends her time creating apparel and accessories to share her love for music and to support other musicians and music teachers. Learn more about Caitlin and her products for music teachers at Hale Yeah Design Co.
Connect with Caitlin:
https://www.instagram.com/haleyeahdesignco/
