Luis' trip to Iquique: 'al' and 'a la'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can understand information about a trip.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- The sounds [b] and [v] are the same, so practising the spelling of familiar words helps to remember which letter to use.
- The verb 'ir' means 'to go, going'. To say 'I go', use 'voy'. To say 'she, he, it goes', use 'va'.
- The Spanish word 'a' means 'to'. 'To the' with singular masculine nouns is 'al'; with singular feminine nouns, 'a la'.
Keywords
Voy - I go, am going - part of the verb ‘ir’ meaning ‘to go, going’
Va - she, he, it goes, is going - part of the verb ‘ir’ meaning to ‘go, going’
A - to
Al - 'to the' before a singular masculine noun
A la - 'to the' before a singular feminine noun
Common misconception
The preposition 'a' stays the same regardless of the gender of the noun it precedes.
In English, the preposition 'to' before 'the' does not change. In Spanish, 'a' + 'el' contracts to 'al' before masculine nouns (e.g., 'al parque' - 'to the park'), but stays as 'a la' before feminine nouns (e.g., 'a la playa' - 'to the beach').
Teacher tip
Pupils may benefit from additional practice of 'al' and 'a la'. This could be done in a paired task where one pupil starts the sentence with 'voy' and chooses 'al' or 'a la'. The second pupil completes the sentence with an appropriate noun.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which word means 'kitchen'?
Q2.Match the Spanish to the English.
to play, playing (an instrument)
to clean, cleaning
to need, needing
to work, working
to have, having
to see, seeing
Q3.Order the words to say 'I have a round face but a small nose'.
Q4.Order the words to say 'the village where I live is old and pretty'.
Q5.Order the words to say 'I am going to go to the park when it's sunny'.
Q6.'Mi profesor tiene las orejas grandes.' Translate this sentence into English.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.'Mi amiga tiene el pelo __________ y moreno.' Which words complete this sentence?
Q2.Match the Spanish to the English.
north
east
west
south
countryside
city
Q3.Match the Spanish to the English.
to help, helping
to write, writing
to listen, listening
to be, being (temporary states)
to speak, speaking
to read, reading
Q4.Order the words to say 'the languages that we speak at school are English and Spanish'.
Q5.Order the days of the week from the final day of the week to the first day.
Q6.'I go to the beach to see the sea.' Translate this sentence into Spanish. Do not include the pronoun.
To help you plan your 6 Spanish lesson on: Luis' trip to Iquique: 'al' and 'a la', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 6 Spanish lesson on: Luis' trip to Iquique: 'al' and 'a la', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 Spanish lessons from the Cities and festivals: to go, to have, present tense unit, dive into the full primary Spanish curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.