In Unit 2, we’ll introduce new vocabulary and phrases related to the family and the classroom. Throughout the unit, students will learn how to introduce their family members and give short descriptions with basic adjectives. They’ll also learn to ask for something and give the correct response.

Focus Objectives:Become familiar with family members and other characters, ask about names, introduce yourself to others.

Focus Phrases: Hola. ¿Cómo estás? (Hello. How are you?), Estoy bien/mal/cansado. (I am good/bad/tired.), ¿Cómo te llamas? (What’s your name?), Me llamo ____. (My name is____.), ¿Cómo se llama? (What’s his or her name?), Se llama ____. (His or her name is ____.)

Focus Vocabulary: el abuelo (the grandfather), la abuela (the grandmother), la madre (the mother), el padre (the father), la hermana (the sister), el hermano (the brother), el bebé (the baby), el dragón (the dragon), el perro (the dog), él (he), ella (she). (Parent note: “el” without an accent is “the”. “él” with an accent is “he”. They both sound the same.)

Focus Audio Link: Practice naming Miembros de la Familia/Family Members and other characters from our classroom stories. This is a great review before diving into the Family Focus Activities!

Give it a try! Have fun asking and responding to ¿Cómo te llamas?/What's your name? in this upbeat song. Get the whole family involved!

Family Focus Activities

• Family photos! – This is a great time to get out the family photo album or your smart phone and talk about the people in the photos.
  • Take turns asking each other “¿Cómo se llama?” and responding “Se llama _____.”
  • Becoming familiar with the members of your own family will help students in this “Family” unit as we begin identifying parents, grandparents, siblings and pets.
  • Have lots of cousins in the photo? Take it a step further and ask ¿Cuántos hay? (How many are there?) Answer:  (There are ___.)

Language acquisition requires 75or more meaningful uses of a word or structure to truly learn it. Family involvement in language learning can make a big difference to achieve this