Uno a Cinco
One to Five
📐 Standards alignment
ACTFL World-Readiness: Communication (interpersonal, interpretive, presentational) · Cultures (counting games children play across the Spanish-speaking world) · Comparisons (Spanish vs. English)
Can-Do targets (NCSSFL-ACTFL, Novice Low):
- I can count from 1 to 5 in Spanish.
- I can answer how many things I see (up to 5).
- I can show the right number of fingers for a Spanish number.
Learning objectives
- Count from 1 to 5 in Spanish
- Show the right number of fingers for each number
- Answer ¿Cuántos hay? for groups up to 5
Materials
Five small objects to count (blocks, snacks, toy cars). Fingers: included free.
Prior knowledge
None for numbers — but warm up with greetings and a color or two.
Key vocabulary
uno · dos · tres · cuatro · cinco
Numbers hiding in games
Ask: have you ever heard uno, dos, tres in a game or song? (Hide and seek counts! The card game UNO counts!) Spanish numbers are already all around.
Meet five new words
Tap each card to flip it and hear how it sounds. Look at the picture, say the Spanish word out loud, then check the back for the English meaning.
Say it three times
Go back through the cards above. For each word: the grown-up (or the 🔊 listen button) says it once, then your child repeats it three times, nice and loud. Silly voices are encouraged!
Finger counting, Spanish style
Count to five on fingers together, slowly: uno… dos… tres… cuatro… cinco. Then count real things: steps to the door, crackers on a plate, stuffed animals on the bed. Ask ¿Cuántos hay? and count together to check.
Memory game: ¡Encuentra el par!
Find the matching pairs — each Spanish word has its picture hiding somewhere in the grid.
Find the matching pairs!
Escucha y elige — Listen and choose
Press each play button and choose what you heard.
1. Press play. What did you hear?
2. Press play. What did you hear?
3. Press play. What did you hear?
Salta, salta (jump, jump!)
Call a Spanish number; your child jumps that many times, counting each jump aloud in Spanish. Then swap: they call, you jump. End with cinco giant frog jumps.
One more flip-through
Scroll back up to the flashcards and let your child flip through them on their own, saying each word before checking the back. No help this time — just see what they remember!
Show what you know
1. What number is “cuatro”?
2. How do you say “five” in Spanish?
¡Muy bien!
Your child can now count to five in Spanish: uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco — and answer ¿Cuántos hay? by counting real things. Numbers return in every unit (and every grade) from here.
Take it home
The counting walk
Take a short walk together and count five things in Spanish: five doors, five trees, five cars. Draw your favorite thing you counted, and write the number.
Name: Date:
High five hunt
Give cinco high fives to five different people (or stuffed animals), counting each one in Spanish. Draw who got high five number cinco.
Note for teachers & parents
Pacing: numbers stick fast when attached to movement and food. Count everything physical this week: stairs, jumps, grapes.
Watch for: “cuatro” often comes out as “cat-ro.” Model the KWAH sound like “quack” without the ck.