For teachers

Lesson plan: «El patio de mi casa»

Children play the «El patio de mi casa» circle game, crouch down and stand up when the song says so, and chant the letters with claps.

Ages: Ages 3–6
Time: 30 minutes
Areas: Movement and the body · Music and creative expression · Getting along and feelings

Opening

Go out to the schoolyard or clear a large space. Ask: «¿Qué hay en el patio de su casa? ¿Qué pasa cuando llueve?» (“What’s in your patio at home? What happens when it rains?”). Welcome every answer.
Play a listening game: when you say «¡agáchate!» (“crouch down!”), everyone crouches; when you say «¡arriba!» (“up!”), everyone stands. Mix up the order so they stay alert.
Watch the video once, together, to hear the whole song. Then turn the screen off.

Main activity

Make the circle on the tape line, holding hands, arms out straight, no pulling. A child who’d rather watch first can do so from outside and join whenever they’re ready.
Sing slowly, without the video, as you walk around. On «agáchate, y vuélvete a agachar» (“crouch down, and crouch down again”), let go of hands, crouch down and stand back up.
On «las agachaditas no saben bailar» (“the ones crouching down don’t know how to dance”), stay down for a moment, then get up dancing however you like. Each round, one child suggests a step and the group copies it.
On «Hache, i, jota, ka…» (H, I, J, K…), stop walking and chant the letters with one clap on each. It’s a rhythm game: nobody needs to recognize the letters.
Set the pace with the tambourine: one slow round, as if the patio were wet, and one fast round. Let a child, even one watching from outside, shout «¡agáchate!» while everyone follows.

Closing

Sing it one last time, very slowly, and end with everyone crouched down and quiet until someone says «¡arriba!».
Talk about it: “What was hardest: crouching down, getting up dancing or chanting the letters? What other games do we play outside?”
Color a page from the song’s coloring book: the patio in the rain, everyone crouching down or all the friends dancing. Ask each child to tell what is happening in their picture.

Materials

Colored tape to mark a circle on the floor
A tambourine or a drum
Crayons

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What to observe

Crouches down and stands up at the right moment in the song.
Claps once on each letter, in time with the group.
Walks around holding hands with the group, without pulling.
Suggests a dance step or shouts «¡agáchate!» for the group to follow.

Adaptations

With 2-year-olds, sing just the first two verses without walking around: hold their hands and crouch down together in place.
For children who don’t speak yet or who use AAC, use the song’s pictogram sheet: they can point to «agáchate» so the whole group crouches down.
For children who need to move less, lower your arms and head on «agáchate» and wave your arms on «bailar» (“to dance”); they can be part of the circle from their chair.
If the group speaks other languages, ask how to say «agáchate» at home and use it in one of the rounds.

For families

Ask families to play the circle game at home or at the park and to let their child be the one who shouts «¡agáchate!».

If you teach Spanish as a new language

Teach the key words with actions (TPR): «patio» (patio, yard), «casa» (house), «llueve» (it rains), «agáchate» (crouch down), «bailar» (to dance).
Model one line at a time and let students echo it. The letters «Hache, i, jota, ka…» work best as a quick rhythm echo, with claps.
Ask yes/no questions in Spanish as you play: «¿Estamos agachados?», «¿Llueve hoy?» — «Sí» / «No».

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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