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Lesson plan: «El cocherito leré»

Children sing «El cocherito leré» (“The Little Coachman”) doing what the song asks (hands up and down, slow and fast), count from 1 to 6 before they jump and talk about what it feels like to get dizzy.

Ages
Ages 2–6
Time
30 minutes
Areas
Movement and the body · Attention and self-control · Numbers and counting

Opening

  1. Show the picture of the carriage and ask: «¿Qué es? ¿Quién lo maneja?» (“What is it? Who drives it?”). Explain that the «cochero», or «cocherito» (“little coachman”), takes people for rides in his carriage, and ask where they’d like to go.
  2. Have each child find a spot where they can open their arms without touching anyone. Play a listening game: «¡manos arriba!» (“hands up!”), «¡manos abajo!» (“hands down!”). Mix up the order so they stay alert.
  3. Watch the video once, together, and notice everything the song asks you to do. Then turn the screen off.

Main activity

  1. On «¡Sube, sube!» (“Get in, get in!”), climb into the carriage by lifting one foot, and take the reins in both hands. Then sing the chorus slowly, without the video, and pause before each «leré» (a sung sound, like “tra-la-la”) so the group says it with a little hop.
  2. Do what the song says: arms up on «Manos arriba» and down on «Manos abajo»; one clap on «Una palmita» (“A little clap”) and a single slow turn, in place, on «da una vueltita» (“a little spin”). Then a step to each side, and your shoulders «poquito a poco» (“little by little”).
  3. Count on your fingers on «Uno, dos, tres» (“One, two, three”) and jump on «¡vamos a brincar!» (“let’s jump!”); keep counting on «Cuatro, cinco, seis» (“Four, five, six”) and clap on «¡y vuelve a cantar!» (“and sing again!”). Pause before each number so the group says it, while one child holds up the card.
  4. Play slow and fast: on «¿Vamos despacito?» (“Shall we go slowly?”), answer «¡Leré!» softly and march slowly in place; on «¿Vamos rapidito?» (“Shall we go fast?”), answer nice and loud and march fast. Then, with no music, play coachman: you call out the directions («¡despacito!», «¡rapidito!», «¡manos arriba!») and the group follows them; then a child takes a turn as the coachman.
  5. Optional, with 5- and 6-year-olds and plenty of space: you turn the long rope, with the other end tied to a post or held by another adult, and children take turns jumping to the beat of the chorus; on every «leré», the jumper crouches down and the rope passes overhead. Those waiting sing and count the jumps, well away from the rope.

Closing

  1. To wind down, the little coachman heads home: sing «El cocherito, leré, ya vuelve por aquí, leré» (“The little coachman, leré, is coming back this way, leré”) slower and softer each time, until everyone is sitting in their spot.
  2. Sing «no quiero coche, leré, que me mareo, leré» (“I don’t want a carriage ride, leré, it makes me dizzy, leré”) softly and talk about it: “Why didn’t the singer want to ride in the carriage? Have you ever felt dizzy: in a car, on a swing, after spinning around a lot? What did you do?” Remind them that when we feel unwell, it’s fine to say so and ask an adult for help.
  3. Have children draw where they’d like the little coachman to take them for a ride and ask each child to tell what they’d see along the way.

Materials

  • A picture of a horse-drawn carriage and its coachman
  • Six large cards with the numbers 1 to 6 and their dots
  • A long jump rope, only for the optional game with 5- and 6-year-olds: an adult turns it and puts it away afterward
  • Paper and crayons

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What to observe

  • Raises and lowers their arms, claps or takes a step when the song says so.
  • Counts from one to six on their fingers, with or without help.
  • Switches between slow and fast, with their voice or their body, when asked.
  • Waits for «¡vamos a brincar!» to jump, and jumps in their own spot.

Adaptations

  • With 1- and 2-year-olds, sit them on your lap and give them a ride on your knees, slow and then fast; on «Manos arriba», lift their little hands up.
  • For children who don’t speak yet or who use AAC, use the number cards and simple drawings of the directions (hands up, hands down, slow, fast): they can be the coachman by holding up a drawing.
  • For children who need to move less, everything works sitting down: arms go up and down, the little spin is done with the hands, and each jump can be a clap or a pat on the table; in the rope game, they can sing and count the jumps.
  • If the group speaks other languages, ask how to say «arriba» (“up”), «abajo» (“down”), «despacito» (“slowly”) and «rapidito» (“fast”) at home, and let the coachman give directions in those languages.

For families

Ask families to play coachman at home and let their child call out the directions: hands up, hands down, slow and fast.

If you teach Spanish as a new language

  • Teach the key words with actions (TPR): «manos arriba» (hands up), «manos abajo» (hands down), «despacito» (slowly), «rapidito» (fast), «brincar» (to jump) and the numbers «uno» to «seis» (one to six).
  • Model one line at a time and let students echo it: every line of the chorus ends in «leré», so students can join in on that word first and add the rest little by little.
  • Ask either/or questions in Spanish as you play: «¿Despacito o rapidito?» (“Slow or fast?”), «¿Arriba o abajo?» (“Up or down?”) — students answer with one word and act it out.

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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