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Lesson plan: «Estrellita, ¿dónde estás?»

Children sing «Estrellita, ¿dónde estás?» (“Little Star, Where Are You?”) with gentle actions, talk about what we see in the sky by day and by night, and lower their voices little by little until they end in a whisper.

Ages
Ages 2–5
Time
25 minutes
Areas
Music and creative expression · The natural and social world · Attention and self-control

Opening

  1. Dim the classroom lights a little and pull the star out of a bag. Ask: «¿Qué es? ¿Cuándo sale?» (“What is it? When does it come out?”). Welcome every answer.
  2. Show the sun and the star, and ask what we see in the sky during the day and what we see at night. Draw two or three answers on the board.
  3. Watch the video once, together, to hear the whole song. Then turn the screen off.

Main activity

  1. Sing the first verse slowly, without the video. Open and close your hands to make the little star twinkle; on «en el cielo y en el mar» (“in the sky and in the sea”), point up and then make waves with your hands; on «un diamante de verdad» (“a real diamond”), touch your fingertips together.
  2. On «Cuando el sol se ha ido ya» (“When the sun has gone away”), make a big sun with your arms and lower it slowly, as if it were setting. On «brillas, brillas sin parar» (“you shine, you shine and never stop”), open and close your hands again.
  3. Play day and night: when you hold up the sun, everyone moves in place; when you hold up the star, everyone goes still and softly sings «Estrellita, ¿dónde estás?». Let a child hold up the sun and the star.
  4. While the group covers their eyes, hide the star somewhere in the room where it can be seen. Sing «Estrellita, ¿dónde estás?» and, without getting up, whoever spots it points to it. Next round, a child hides it.

Closing

  1. Sit or lie down, close your eyes and sing the song softer and softer, until you end in a whisper.
  2. Talk about it: “Who has seen real stars? Where were you? Who was with you?”
  3. Color a page from the song’s coloring book and ask each child to tell where the little star is in their picture.

Materials

  • A large star and a large sun, made of cardboard or paper
  • Crayons

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What to observe

  • Opens and closes their hands or points up at the right moment in the song.
  • Stops when the star appears and moves again with the sun.
  • Lowers their voice with the group until singing in a whisper.
  • Names something we see in the sky by day or by night.

Adaptations

  • With babies and 1-year-olds, sing it with the child on your lap, rocking gently, and open and close their little hands on «brillas, brillas sin parar».
  • For children who don’t speak yet or who use AAC, use the song’s pictogram sheet and point to the star, the sky and the sea as you sing them.
  • For children who need to move less, day and night works sitting down: with the sun, arms move; with the star, nobody moves.
  • If the group speaks other languages, ask whether families know this tune with other words and sing it that way too.

For families

Ask families to look for the little star together on a clear night, out the window or outside, and sing the song softly.

If you teach Spanish as a new language

  • Teach the key words with gestures (TPR): «estrellita» (little star), «cielo» (sky), «mar» (sea), «sol» (sun), «brillas» (you shine).
  • Most students already know the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”: hum it first, then model one line at a time and let them echo it.
  • Hide the star and ask «¿Dónde está la estrellita?» (“Where is the little star?”); students point and answer «¡Aquí!» (“Here!”) or «¡Allí!» (“There!”).

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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