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Lesson plan: «Cinco patitos»

Children count backwards from 5 to 0 on their fingers while singing «Cinco patitos» (the Spanish “Five Little Ducks”), say how many ducklings are left in each verse and copy mother duck’s «cuac, cuac, cuac» (“quack, quack, quack”).

Ages
Ages 2–5
Time
20 minutes
Areas
Numbers and counting · Movement and the body · Language and communication

Opening

  1. Put the five ducklings on the «lake» and count them together, pointing to each one: one, two, three, four, five.
  2. Ask: «¿Cómo hacen los patos? ¿Dónde viven?» (“What sound do ducks make? Where do they live?”). Everyone goes «cuac, cuac, cuac» with a hand as a beak.
  3. Watch the video once, together, and notice how many ducklings come back each time. Then turn the screen off.

Main activity

  1. Sing without the video with one hand up: the five fingers are the ducklings. On «por la colina y más allá» (“over the hill and far away”), the hand goes up and down like a hill.
  2. On every «volvieron acá» (“came back here”), fold one finger down and ask «¿cuántos quedan?» (“how many are left?”) before singing the number. Let the group count the fingers.
  3. At the same time, one child takes a duckling off the lake in each verse, so the number can be seen with objects.
  4. On «y ningún patito volvió acá» (“and no little duck came back here”), show a closed hand: zero ducklings. Talk about what «ninguno» (“none”) means.
  5. On «mamá pata salió a buscar» (“mother duck went out to look”), the mother duck walks around the room; on «los cinco volvieron acá» (“all five came back here”), open your hands and put all five ducklings back on the lake. Count them again.

Closing

  1. To wind down, sing the last verse very slowly and hug the five imaginary ducklings, like mother duck.
  2. Talk about it: «¿Cómo se sintió mamá pata cuando no volvía ningún patito? ¿Y cuando volvieron los cinco?» (“How did mother duck feel when no duckling came back? And when all five came back?”).
  3. Have children draw mother duck with her five ducklings and count the ducklings in each drawing.

Materials

  • Everyone’s hands
  • Five paper or toy ducklings and a mother duck
  • A blue cloth or a picture of a lake
  • Paper and crayons

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What to observe

  • Folds one finger down in each verse, even if sometimes early or late.
  • Says how many ducklings are left, counting fingers or objects.
  • Shows a closed hand for «ninguno» (“none”).
  • Copies the «cuac, cuac, cuac» (“quack, quack, quack”) and the beak with the hand.

Adaptations

  • With the youngest children, use only the toy ducklings: the adult takes them away and the child looks for them and brings them back at the end.
  • For children who don’t speak yet or who use AAC, they can answer «¿cuántos quedan?» (“how many are left?”) by showing fingers or pointing to the number.
  • For children who can’t separate their fingers yet, the ducklings can be five objects taken out of a box.
  • For children who already count well, start with ten ducklings using both hands.

For families

Ask families to sing «Cinco patitos» at home with five toys or five spoons, and let their child count how many are left in each verse.

If you teach Spanish as a new language

  • Many students know “Five Little Ducks”: the Spanish song has the same story and actions, so the meaning is clear from the first round.
  • Teach the key words with gestures (TPR): «cinco patitos» (five little ducks), «mamá pata» (mother duck), «nadar» (to swim), «volvieron» (they came back).
  • Ask «¿Cuántos quedan?» (“How many are left?”) after every verse and let students answer with their fingers or the number in Spanish.

ACTFL World-Readiness Standards: Communication (interpretive and interpersonal), Cultures (a traditional game is a cultural practice; the song, a cultural product) and Comparisons (Spanish sounds and words next to your students’ languages).

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