Learning the colors in Spanish is a fundamental skill when learning a second language. It helps children build vocabulary, helping them develop their descriptive language skills. It also helps create a cognitive connection between words and the world around them. It’s an important milestone in childhood, and its importance extends when learning a second language.
To teach the colors in Spanish, the best thing to do is to do it in context using a collection of auditory, visual and kinesthetic teaching methods. I like to start reading (or listening to) picture books and singing songs. Then, I like to incorporate a series of games to reinforce the information from the picture books and songs, and then finalize with an independent activity to assess what was taught. I like to set up this routine at least twice a week.
Here is a list of my favorite books, songs, games and worksheets to teach the colors in Spanish.
Spanish Colors Books
Books are the most wonderful tool when teaching your child a second language. You can choose a range of stories to keep them engaged and interested in their own learning. For the colors in Spanish, these are some of my favorite ones. And if you don’t speak Spanish, there are tons of videos from Spanish speakers available online.
Oso Pardo, Oso Pardo, ¿Qué ves ahí?
This is an all-time classic that I love! In this story, Oso Pardo sees different animals with different color names. The repetitive text and rhyming words helps beginning readers to follow along.
In this story, the monster uses colors to identify and sort out the way he feels. It’s a great book to teach your children how to identify and express their emotions using color names.
Como aprenden los colores los Dinosaurios
In this little book, color names are introduced in a fun way. The rhyming text is catchy and easy to follow. Kids love it!
El día que los crayones renunciaron
I absolutely love this book! This is the story of a little boy and his box of crayons, who decide to go on a strike one day because of the way they are being used. The drama around the way the crayons feel makes it one of my all time favorite stories. The drawings and text are very engaging. Color names are introduced in a fun, catchy way that will make anyone fall in love with this story.
Songs
Songs are a great tool for language acquisition. The movement and sounds help children remember new words. Here are some great songs to teach the colors in Spanish:
The Colors in Spanish by Jack Hartman: The melody of this song is very appealing. It’s a great song to introduce color names. It shows them both in English and Spanish.
The Colors in Spanish Song by Risas y Sonrisas
This song introduces the colors in both Spanish and English to the tune of the popular lullaby “Are you Sleeping Brother John?”. The melody makes it easier for children to remember and follow along.
Spanish Colors Games
Veo veo
This traditional guessing game is one of my favorite ones. It can be played in pairs or groups. I start by distributing a set of Spanish Colors Flashcards around a play area. Then, I ask one of my children to start the game by announcing that “Yo veo veo”. Another child asks, “Que ves?”. The first child responds, “Una cosita” and then the second child asks “De qué color es?” The first child chooses a color and announces to the group. The rest of the children need to find the object being spied and guess it. The first person to find the object gets to be the next to spy on another one. This is a great game to develop memory and vocabulary.
Roll and Find
This game can be a great tool to maintain children engaged and focused. It also helps develop sight, memory and vocabulary. Children take turns to roll the color names in Spanish dices. Then, they go around the classroom or play area to find an item that is the same color as the item on the dice. As a challenge, I have them fill out a color names in Spanish graph with the things they found.
Colors Spoons Game
This is a great game to use in centers or small groups. It’s a variation of the card game Spoons. To play, each child takes turns to pass one card they don’t want to the player on their left side, usually at one player’s signal to “Switch”. When a player has 4 cards that are a match, he/she, as quietly as possible, takes a spoon from the center. As the other players notice this, they (as quietly as possible) take a spoon until there is one player left without a spoon. The player without a spoon has to stop playing. This is a fun, entertaining, hands-on approach to learn and practice the colors in the Spanish Language.
Colors Board Game
Board games are excellent games to build self control, practice patience, and develop strategies to play. This variation will also help children practice the color names in Spanish. It’s designed to be played in Centers or Small Groups. To play, children take turns to throw the dice and move to the corresponding space on the board. Then they have to take a card from the pile that matches the color on their spot on the board. The first person to get to the end of the board with the most amount of cards wins the game.
Memory Game
This is one of my favorite Spanish Color games to build vocabulary and exercise retention and memory. To play, children take turns to turn over two cards at the same time. If the two cards match, they get to keep it. If they don’t, they need to turn them over and remember which color was on each card and where they were. The purpose of the game is to watch the other players play and remember their cards. The game ends when all cards have been matched. The player with the most cards wins the game
Match It
For this game, I use the same cards used to play Memory. I distribute the cards, and each child has to go around the classroom or play area and find another person with the same card.
Spanish Colors Worksheets
Sort and Glue
This is an independent activity where children are asked to cut, sort and glue the different items according to their color. It’s a fun hands-on activity that will help reinforce and/or assess concepts.
Color by Code
Children love this type of activities. I asked them to color by the code being shown. Besides working the colors in Spanish, you can integrate concepts like shapes, numbers, letters, etc.
Colors Mini Book
Students use the mini books to color, sort, cut and glue the color words. It helps practice reading skills, high-frequency words, and new vocabulary words in the Spanish Language. It is a great activity to reinforce the color concepts and/or to assess progress.
Interested in more?
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