Saludos y Comunidad

Overview

This is the first lesson in the four-part unit “¡Hablamos en Español!”. The student begins building a practical Spanish classroom repertoire by practicing greetings, farewells, names, and polite responses through listening, picture cues, and one-to-one role-play.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Use common Spanish greetings and farewells.
• Say their name using “Me llamo…”.
• Ask and answer “¿Cómo estás?” with a simple response.
• Use polite classroom phrases such as “por favor” and “gracias.”
• Listen for familiar Spanish words and respond appropriately.

Success criteria

• I can greet someone by saying “Hola.”
• I can introduce myself by saying “Me llamo…” and my name.
• I can ask and answer “¿Cómo estás?”
• I can say goodbye and use “por favor” and “gracias.”

Curriculum links

• Conduct short research and language-learning projects that build knowledge about a topic.
• Write routinely for short periods and reflect on learning.
• Introduce a topic clearly and group related information using headings, illustrations, or multimedia when helpful.
• Include visual displays or multimedia components to clarify and emphasize important information.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Hook and connection. Teacher opens the greeting picture hook showing two people meeting and asks, “What might they say when they meet?” Students observe the image, share a prediction in English, and repeat “Hola” with an appropriate wave.

2. 4–9 min · Teach the key phrases. Teacher uses the phrase-and-picture slides to model each phrase with gestures and clear pronunciation: “Hola,” “Adiós,” “Me llamo…,” “¿Cómo estás?,” “Estoy bien,” “por favor,” and “gracias.” Students echo each phrase, match each phrase to its gesture, and practice saying their own name.

3. 9–14 min · Listening and response game. Teacher displays the listening game instructions and says one phrase at a time, sometimes with a picture cue and sometimes without it. Students respond with the matching action: wave for “Hola,” wave goodbye for “Adiós,” point to themselves for “Me llamo…,” give a thumbs-up for “Estoy bien,” and place hands together politely for “por favor” or “gracias.”

4. 14–21 min · Guided conversation. Teacher models a short exchange using the dialogue model: “Hola. Me llamo ____. ¿Cómo estás?” “Hola. Me llamo ____. Estoy bien. Gracias.” The teacher and student practice the exchange slowly, then repeat it with different voices or gestures; the teacher prompts with picture cues rather than immediately supplying words.

5. 21–26 min · Role-play practice. Teacher distributes the Spanish greetings practice sheet, which includes picture-supported phrase matching, tracing or copying key phrases, and a short dialogue frame. Students complete the matching section, then use the dialogue frame to role-play meeting and leaving the teacher, adding “por favor” and “gracias” when prompted.

6. 26–30 min · Performance and reflection. Teacher returns to the closing challenge and reflection slide and invites the student to perform a complete greeting conversation independently. Students greet the teacher, say their name, answer “¿Cómo estás?”, use one polite phrase, and say goodbye; they then identify one phrase they remember and one phrase they want to practice next.

Resources

• the complete Spanish greetings slide deck
• the Spanish greetings practice sheet
• Picture cues for greetings, names, feelings, and polite phrases
• Whiteboard and marker
• Optional audio recording of the teacher modeling pronunciation
• Pencil or crayon

Assessment

• During modeling and the listening game, check whether the student recognizes each phrase and selects the correct gesture or response without relying on translation.
• During role-play, record whether the student can greet, introduce themselves, answer “¿Cómo estás?”, use a polite phrase, and say goodbye.
• Exit check: the student independently performs the complete exchange; note which phrases are secure and which need reteaching in Lesson 2.

Differentiation

• Support pronunciation with slow teacher modeling, repeated choral-style echoing, gestures, and picture cues. Accept an approximated pronunciation initially, then recast the phrase naturally.
• Provide the dialogue frame and allow the student to point to a picture before speaking. Practice one phrase at a time before combining the exchange.
• For a student needing additional language support, give brief English meanings only when necessary and keep the Spanish phrase visible while speaking.
• For an added challenge, invite the student to vary the response to “¿Cómo estás?” with “Estoy muy bien” or to initiate the conversation without a prompt.