Age with Tener

Overview

Lesson 7 of 18 in ¡Hola! Spanish Foundations. Students build on greetings, introductions and numbers to ask and answer about age using tener. The lesson follows a Conti-style sequence: brief teacher modelling, frequent retrieval, structured pair speaking and individual production.

Learning intentions

• WALT use tengo, tienes and tiene to state and ask about age.
• WALT ask and answer ¿Cuántos años tienes?
• WALT use accurate Spanish numbers when stating age.
• WALT choose the correct form of tener for the person speaking.

Success criteria

• I can ask ¿Cuántos años tienes?
• I can answer accurately using Tengo … años and a number.
• I can use tienes when speaking to one person and tiene when reporting another person’s age.
• I can pronounce and write the key chunks accurately.

Curriculum links

• UK National Curriculum Languages – Languages – key stage 3: listening, speaking, reading and writing in a modern foreign language.
• UK National Curriculum Languages – Languages – key stage 3: communicate in speech and writing, expressing ideas and responding to questions.
• UK National Curriculum Languages – Languages – key stage 3: develop accurate pronunciation, intonation and grammar, including the use of familiar verbs.
• UK National Curriculum Languages – Languages – key stage 3: know, apply and understand the specified matters, skills and processes.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Retrieval and hook. Teacher opens the retrieval and hook slides and greets the class in Spanish, displaying pictures of three fictional teenagers with different ages; students silently recall numbers, then answer the prompt “How could we ask someone’s age in Spanish?” in pairs.

2. 5–12 min · Explicit modelling. Teacher uses the grammar modelling slides and models ¿Cuántos años tienes? – Tengo doce años, contrasting tienes (you have) and tengo (I have); students listen, repeat chorally and individually, then identify which word changes when the speaker changes. Allow silent thinking time before nominated answers.

3. 12–19 min · Recognition and pronunciation. Teacher displays the dialogue and pronunciation prompts from the pronunciation slides and models the rhythm of each chunk; students use the age with tener practice sheet to match Spanish questions and answers, underline tengo, tienes and tiene, and complete a short listening discrimination task.

4. 19–29 min · Substitution-grid speaking. Teacher demonstrates the speaking routine with the substitution-grid instructions: point to a number, ask the question, swap partners and repeat; students practise in pairs using the grid on the age with tener practice sheet, first reading and then speaking from memory. Partners listen for the correct form and give a thumbs-up or a prompt to try again.

5. 29–38 min · Information-gap challenge. Teacher assigns each student a fictional identity and age from the worksheet, models a three-turn exchange and reminds students not to show their information; students circulate or work with three partners, asking ¿Cuántos años tienes?, answering with tengo, and recording classmates’ fictional ages. Students then report one person’s age using tiene, explaining: “I use tiene because I am talking about another person.”

6. 38–45 min · Independent check and exit. Teacher reveals the final prompts on the plenary and exit slides; students complete three items independently on the age with tener practice sheet: write the question, answer with their own or an invented age, and report another person’s age. Finish with the retrieval practice exit-ticket slips: students write one accurate question-and-answer exchange and rate their confidence. Collect slips at the door.

Resources

• the age with tener slide deck
• the age with tener practice sheet
• the retrieval practice exit-ticket slips
• Onda 1 M1 Unit 3, pages 14–15
• Mini-whiteboards and pens
• Number cards for teacher modelling and pair rehearsal
• Visualiser or board
• Pens or pencils

Assessment

• Listen during repetition and pair practice for accurate pronunciation of cuántos, años, tienes and tengo; correct through immediate modelling rather than lengthy explanation.
• Use the substitution-grid task to check whether students can select the correct number and maintain the question-and-answer structure.
• Mark the independent check and exit slips for three essentials: accurate question, correct tengo/tienes/tiene, and an accurate number.

Differentiation

• Provide a substitution grid with colour-coded chunks: ¿Cuántos años tienes? / Tengo ___ años / Tiene ___ años. Keep number cards visible during initial practice.
• Model each exchange, use choral repetition before individual responses, and provide silent thinking time before cold calling. Pair students carefully and allow rehearsal with a supportive partner.
• Provide dyslexia-friendly dialogue cards and worksheet text: clear sans-serif font, generous spacing, short lines, no unnecessary capitals, and bold target chunks (tengo, tienes, tiene).
• Support students who need it with a reduced choice of numbers and permission to read the chunks. Challenge confident learners to report two different people’s ages and justify each use of tiene in English or simple Spanish.

Extension

• Advanced learners report another person’s age using tiene, then explain why tengo would be incorrect in that sentence.
• Create a short three-person dialogue including a greeting, an age question, an answer and a report about someone else.