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Lesson plan: «El sapo no se lava el pie»

Children sing «El sapo no se lava el pie» (“The Toad Doesn’t Wash His Foot”) changing the vowels every round, exaggerate each vowel with their mouths and talk about washing up, with humor and without singling anyone out.

Ages
Ages 3–6
Time
35 minutes
Areas
Language and communication · Music and creative expression · The natural and social world

Opening

  1. Say the five vowels with big mouths: the A wide open, the E like a smile, the I stretched wide, the O round and the U as if blowing a kiss. Look in the mirror or at the mouth of the friend next to you.
  2. Show the toad and explain that he lives in the lagoon and doesn’t want to wash his foot. Ask: «¿Por qué no querrá?» (“Why wouldn’t he want to?”) and welcome every idea.
  3. Watch the video once, together, to hear how the song changes with each vowel. Then turn the screen off.

Main activity

  1. Sing the normal verse slowly, without the video, until the group knows it. On «¡Qué apestoso!» (“How stinky!”), hold your nose and fan the air with your hand: the joke is on the toad, never on anyone in the group.
  2. Before each round, hold up a card and ask: «¿Ahora con cuál vocal?» (“Which vowel now?”). Let the group say it out loud and sing with it: with A, «El sapo no se lava el pie» becomes «Al sapa na sa lava al pa».
  3. Let one child choose the vowel and lead the round by holding up the card. Sing more slowly in the vowel rounds so there’s time to change every sound.
  4. Play a guessing game: the adult sings a line with one vowel without showing the card, for example «Ol sopo no so lovo ol po» (the same line, with O), and the group works out which vowel it is.
  5. Children who already write can copy a line changing the vowels; those who don’t write yet can draw the toad in his lagoon.

Closing

  1. Sing the ending, «Y un día el sapo se lavó el pie» (“And one day the toad washed his foot”), and on «¡Qué limpito!» (“How nice and clean!”), shake your hands as if drying them.
  2. Talk about it without singling anyone out: “Why do you think the toad changed his mind? What do you like best about washing up: the water, the bubbles or the towel?” Every family does it differently, and every answer counts.
  3. Take turns washing hands with soap and water, singing «¡y ahora huele a jabón!» (“and now he smells like soap!”).

Materials

  • Five large cards with the vowels: A, E, I, O, U
  • A toy toad (or a picture of one)
  • A shatterproof mirror
  • Paper and crayons

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What to observe

  • Says the vowel out loud before each round.
  • Changes the vowels while singing, even if only in some words.
  • Opens or rounds their mouth to match the vowel.
  • Guesses which vowel the adult sang with.

Adaptations

  • With 2-year-olds, stick to the normal verse and the «¡Qué apestoso!» action, and try just one vowel: the A.
  • For children who don’t speak yet or who use AAC, use the vowel cards and the picture of the toad: they can choose the next round’s vowel by pointing to it.
  • For children who need to move less, the whole game works sitting down: fanning on «¡Qué apestoso!» and shaking hands dry on «¡Qué limpito!».
  • If the group speaks other languages, ask how to say «¡Qué apestoso!» and «¡Qué limpito!» at home and say those words at the end of each round.

For families

Ask families to sing the song at bath time and let their child choose which vowel to sing it with.

If you teach Spanish as a new language

  • Teach the key words with gestures (TPR): «sapo» (toad), «pie» (foot), «lava» (washes), «laguna» (lagoon), «apestoso» (stinky: hold your nose), «jabón» (soap).
  • Model one line at a time and let students echo it: the vowel rounds double as pronunciation practice, since each Spanish vowel keeps the same sound in every word.
  • Hold up a vowel card and ask «¿Con cuál vocal?» (“With which vowel?”); students answer «¡Con la A!».

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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