Saludos y despedidas

Overview

In this first lesson of the unit, students learn to recognize and use common Spanish greetings, farewells, and polite expressions. Through listening, pronunciation practice, and brief partner exchanges, students begin making language choices appropriate to time, setting, and level of formality.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Recognize the meaning of common Spanish greetings, farewells, and polite expressions when listening.
• Pronounce key Spanish expressions clearly and accurately.
• Choose greetings and farewells appropriate to a situation.
• Participate in a short Spanish exchange with a partner.

Success criteria

• I can identify the meaning of familiar Spanish greetings and farewells.
• I can pronounce several expressions clearly enough to be understood.
• I can select a formal or informal expression for a given situation.
• I can complete a short greeting and farewell exchange in Spanish.

Curriculum links

• Apply knowledge of language to make effective choices for meaning, context, and style.
• Acquire and accurately use general academic and domain-specific words and phrases.
• Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words using context, sound patterns, and language-learning strategies.
• Use phrases and clauses to convey specific meanings and add variety to speaking and writing.
• Demonstrate command of standard English grammar and usage when explaining language choices.

Lesson structure (90 minutes)

1. 0–8 min · Hook and prior knowledge. Teacher opens with the opening scenario slide showing two contrasting situations—a student greeting a friend and greeting a principal—and asks, “Would you use the same words in both situations?” Students silently predict what they already know, then share any Spanish words or phrases they recognize with a partner.

2. 8–23 min · Listen and notice. Teacher plays or models short exchanges from the listening examples twice, using natural but clear pronunciation: “Hola,” “Buenos días,” “Buenas tardes,” “Buenas noches,” “¿Cómo estás?”, “Bien, gracias,” “Mucho gusto,” “Adiós,” “Hasta luego,” and “Nos vemos.” Students listen without writing the first time, then use the greetings and farewells practice sheet to match expressions to meanings and identify whether each expression is a greeting, response, farewell, or polite expression.

3. 23–38 min · Meaning and context mini-lesson. Teacher uses the context and formality slides to clarify meanings, pronunciation, and appropriate use. Model that “hola” is broadly useful; “buenos días,” “buenas tardes,” and “buenas noches” relate to time of day; and “adiós,” “hasta luego,” and “nos vemos” are farewells with different everyday uses. Students sort examples on their worksheet by time of day, purpose, and level of formality, then explain one choice using the frame: “I would use ___ because ___.”

4. 38–53 min · Pronunciation workshop. Teacher models each expression in the pronunciation practice slides, drawing attention to vowel sounds, syllable stress, and the written question marks in “¿Cómo estás?” Students repeat through three rounds: whole class, rows or small groups, and individual volunteers. Partners then take turns reading the expressions, giving feedback using “clear,” “almost,” or “try again,” while the teacher circulates and supports accurate pronunciation without requiring public performance from every student.

5. 53–73 min · Partner information exchange. Teacher displays the partner exchange instructions and demonstrates with a student: “Buenos días. ¿Cómo estás?” / “Bien, gracias. ¿Y tú?” / “Bien. Mucho gusto.” / “Mucho gusto. Hasta luego.” Students work in pairs, completing at least three short exchanges from different situations: meeting a classmate, arriving in the morning, and leaving after school. Partners switch roles and vary their greeting or farewell. Students record two successful exchanges on the worksheet, while the teacher uses a checklist for accurate expression choice, understandable pronunciation, and appropriate response.

6. 73–84 min · Situation challenge and feedback. Teacher presents four new situations on the situation challenge slides: greeting a friend in the afternoon, greeting an adult formally, meeting someone for the first time, and ending a conversation. Pairs choose suitable expressions and perform one exchange for another pair. Listeners identify the greeting, response, and farewell they heard and offer one specific positive comment.

7. 84–90 min · Exit check and closure. Teacher displays the review and exit prompt and asks students to complete the final section of the worksheet independently: write a suitable Spanish greeting for one situation, a response to “¿Cómo estás?”, and a farewell. Students submit the worksheet as they leave and state one expression they can now use confidently.

Resources

• the Spanish greetings and farewells slide deck
• the greetings and farewells practice sheet
• Projector or interactive display
• Teacher script for modeled listening exchanges
• Timer
• Pens or pencils
• Teacher observation checklist
• Optional audio recording or teacher microphone

Assessment

• During listening and sorting, check whether students connect expressions to accurate meanings, purposes, and contexts.
• During pronunciation and partner exchanges, use a checklist to note understandable pronunciation, appropriate phrase selection, active listening, and complete responses.
• Review the independent exit section for accurate use of one greeting, one response, and one farewell; use results to group students for the next lesson.

Differentiation

• Provide students who need support with a reduced phrase bank, English glosses, pronunciation approximations, and sentence frames such as “Hola, ¿cómo estás?” and “___, gracias.”
• Allow students with speech, hearing, or processing needs to preview the expressions, replay listening models, respond in writing first, or rehearse with the teacher before performing.
• Pair students strategically and permit private partner practice rather than whole-class performance; accept clear communication while continuing to model accurate pronunciation.
• Challenge ready students to combine a time-of-day greeting, a question and response, “mucho gusto,” and a suitable farewell in a natural exchange, then explain why their choices fit the situation.