Spanish Games for Kids to Learn Vocabulary
Children learn best when they are having fun. Spanish games for kids make learning interactive, effective and engaging.
Building vocabulary is an essential part of learning language. Spanish games for kids introduce new words and build important skills at the same time. The best games use words in context and pair new vocabulary with pictures or actions to support the meaning. Many of these Spanish games for kids can be competitive or cooperative. Most can be used with large or small groups. Adapt to fit your situation!
Listening Games
Music is one of the best listening activities. Use Rockalingua songs to introduce and teach vocabulary. There are songs to fit the themes of most elementary school programs. Then, try these listening games using pictures from the Rockalingua worksheets.
- - Kids place word or picture cards face up. You describe a word or use it in a sentence. They find the card. Do this as a race using one set of cards between two or three students.
- - Give children 6-10 picture or word cards from a story you are going to read. Place the cards face up. As you read the story, kids turn over the cards when they hear the word
- - Kids line up picture cards in order as you say them. Then give instructions for them to change the order: Pon el perro entre el caballo y la vaca.
- - Give kids a sheet with pictures of their vocabulary words. Give oral instructions to add details to the pictures: Dibuja una manzana en la mesa. Colorea el sofá de color rojo. Dibuja un gato debajo de la mesa, etc. Try it with one of the pages in this free set of Mi casa worksheets.
Rockalingua online activites are excellent Spanish games for kids. The drag and match level is a listening game with native speaker audio. Try this game to practice the numbers 1-50 or this game to practice Spanish colors.
Speaking Games
Listening to songs and watching the Rockalingua videos, kids understand new words and learn to pronounce them correctly. Of course, they need a chance to produce that vocabulary too. Try these speaking games to get kids talking. Use the pictures on the lyric sheets from the songs to make the picture cards. For example, the song La granja and the pictures are perfect for an animal theme. Try this song and with pictures if you are talking about clothes in Spanish. All of the Rockalingua songs have lyric sheets with pictures.
- - Play the classic memory game Voy de viaje y voy a llevar with pictures. Place picture cards face down. The first student draws a card and completes the sentence with the word. She leaves the card where everyone can see it. The next student draws a card and completes the sentence with both words. Vary the sentence to make sense with the vocabulary: Vivo en una granja y tengo…
- - Place picture cards face down in a line between two players. The players race toward each other. Starting at opposite ends, they turn over cards, saying the words, as fast as they can. The player that turns over more cards wins.
- - List words on the board or put picture cards face up. One student describes a word without saying it. The others guess the word. When they guess, cross out the word or take the card. You can play in teams and limit the time a team has to guess a word. With early Spanish learners, you can put small objects in a jar and take turns describing them. When they guess the word, they get to take the object out and hold it.
- - Make a jar with pictures on small cards. Stickers are great for this game. Draw two pictures and make a sentence using both words. Draw three pictures and tell a story.
Online Spanish Games for Kids
Online games are highly motivating and allow students to learn independently. Quality online Spanish games for kids also have native speaker audio - a wonderful feature of technology for language learning! Look for online Spanish games to fit different thematic units:
Active Spanish Games for Kids
- - Use pictures to make a bean bag toss.
- - Play charades. Kids act out vocabulary words.
- - Play matching games as relay races. Kids match related vocabulary words (pajaro-nido) or word to picture. Place one card of each pair at a distance. Children each have a card and race to complete the pair. Play with teams or have the group count to keep time as each person runs.
Classic Spanish Games for Kids
Classic games with pictures are excellent language learning activities. Don’t forget to include games like Go Fish, Lotería and Memory in your class plans.
Try these Spanish games for kids with your students or family. Watch kids play and learn!