Seis a Diez
Six to Ten
📐 Standards alignment
ACTFL World-Readiness: Communication (interpersonal, interpretive, presentational) · Cultures (the Un elefante counting song loved across Latin America) · Comparisons (Spanish vs. English)
Can-Do targets (NCSSFL-ACTFL, Novice Low):
- I can count from 1 to 10 in Spanish.
- I can count down from ten like a rocket launch.
- I can count up to ten objects and say how many there are.
Learning objectives
- Count from 1 to 10 in Spanish
- Count backward from 5 (countdown!)
- Answer ¿Cuántos hay? for groups up to 10
Materials
Ten small objects to count. Optional: a printed 1–10 number line.
Prior knowledge
Lesson 1 numbers: uno a cinco — warm up by counting to five twice.
Key vocabulary
seis · siete · ocho · nueve · diez
One hand is not enough
Count to cinco on one hand… then wiggle the other hand: these fingers need Spanish names too! Today we count all ten.
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!
The big count
Count 1–10 slowly together three times: once whispering, once in a normal voice, once ROARING. Then line up ten objects and count them, moving each one as it is counted — touching while counting is how the number sticks.
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?
Blastoff!
Crouch down small. Count DOWN together from diez to uno… then ¡BLASTOFF! — jump as high as you can. Repeat until tired (them, not you). Counting backward is secretly advanced practice.
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 “ocho”?
2. How do you say “ten” in Spanish?
¡Muy bien!
¡Hasta diez! Your child counts to ten in Spanish: uno through diez — forward, and even backward for blastoff. That is real, usable Spanish they will keep for life.
Take it home
Ten things I love
Draw ten favorite things (toys, foods, people, pets — anything). Count them out loud in Spanish for a family member and write the numbers 1–10 next to them.
Name: Date:
Hide and seek, en español
Play hide and seek, but the seeker counts to diez in Spanish. Every round, everyone in the family hears the numbers again — sneaky practice.
Note for teachers & parents
Pacing: if 6–10 wobble, play blastoff more — countdown repetition does the work without feeling like drilling.
Watch for: seis/siete confusion is universal. Anchor siete to “siete días” on the calendar you will meet again in Grade 1.