El Papel y las Tijeras
Paper and Scissors
📐 Standards alignment
ACTFL World-Readiness: Communication (interpersonal, interpretive, presentational) · Cultures (papel picado crafts and classroom life in Latin America) · Comparisons (Spanish vs. English)
Can-Do targets (NCSSFL-ACTFL, Novice Low):
- I can name my school supplies in Spanish.
- I can ask for supplies politely in Spanish.
- I can greet my teacher in Spanish.
Learning objectives
- Name four more classroom words including la maestra / el maestro
- Follow simple craft instructions in Spanish
- Ask for supplies with por favor
Materials
Paper, crayons, child-safe scissors. This lesson ends in an actual craft.
Prior knowledge
Lesson 1 objects plus dame/toma — warm up with a two-minute fetch game.
Key vocabulary
el papel · el crayón · las tijeras · la maestra
The art cart
Show today’s supplies one by one. Craft time is universal kid language — today it becomes Spanish class.
Meet four 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!
Craft orders in Spanish
Run a mini craft: your child must request each supply in Spanish — El papel, por favor… Las tijeras, por favor — before receiving it. They make anything they like; the Spanish is the price of admission. (For el maestro — a male teacher — just swap the ending!)
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?
Simon says: school edition
La maestra dice… toca el papel! (Teacher says… touch the paper!) Play Simon-says with all eight unit words spread around. No “la maestra dice”? Freeze! Kindergarteners are ruthless enforcers of this rule.
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. “Las tijeras” are…
2. Who is “la maestra”?
¡Muy bien!
Eight classroom words complete, and your child requested real supplies in real Spanish. Greet la maestra tomorrow with ¡Buenos días, maestra! — teachers melt, guaranteed.
Take it home
The supply portrait
Draw your classroom (or home art spot) with el papel, el crayón, las tijeras, and your maestra or maestro in it. Label everything you can.
Name: Date:
Paper snowflake, en español
Make a cut-paper decoration (like papel picado from Unit 2!). Narrate your supplies in Spanish while you work.
Note for teachers & parents
Pacing: the craft IS the lesson — do not rush it to fit everything. Skipping the movement game to finish the craft is the right call.
Watch for: tijeras is always plural, like “scissors” in English — a fun match to point out.