Spanish Counting Activities with Apples

Learn, Practice, or Review Vocabulary the Fun Way for Fall

Oct 2, 2008 Catherine Fortin

Spanish counting and describing activities using apples are fun and engaging in the Fall, or el otoño. A song, vocabulary, basic descriptions, and apple-eating follow.

Practice counting and describing a bag or a bushel of apples in Spanish. Do this alone, in a group, or with students. After using three of the five senses to see, touch, and taste apples, learners will remember everything about apples, or manzanas, for years to come.

Spanish Song for Counting

A great way to practice counting and remembering Spanish numbers is to count apples, las manzanas, in a song. Sing the Uno, Dos, Tres Manzanas song to the tune of "Michael Finnegan" over and over again.

1- Uno, 2- dos, 3- tres manzanas

4- Cuatro, 5- cinco, 6- seis manzanas

7- Siete, 8- ocho, 9-nueve manzanas

10- Diez manzanas!

Numbers can be changed to higher numbers and then number groups by 2s, 3s, 5s, etc. The more repetition, the better. The brain retains familiar songs long-term in semantic memory.

Spanish Apple Vocabulary

Describing an object that can be touched, felt, and then tasted really drives home new vocabulary. Here is a list of basic, descriptive words for describing apples in Spanish.

• La manzana- the apple
• Roja- red
• Pequeña- small
• Grande-big
• Mediana- medium
• Redonda-round
• Dulce- sweet
• Amarga- bitter
• Círculo- circle

Describing an Apple in Spanish/Describiendo la Manzana

See the simple, descriptive sentence below, and then read the English meaning below it.

Es una manzana. La manzana es pequeña, roja y redonda.

This is an apple. The apple is small, red, and round.

A few other simple sentences can be created with the vocabulary list above while following the sentence template above.

Slicing the Apple in Spanish- Cortando la Manzana

Time to slice up the apple, or la manzana. Children should not do the slicing part, even with a blunt knife. Review lower Spanish numbers while the apple is cut up.

• Uno= one
• Dos= two
• Tres= three
• Cuatro=four
• Cinco= five

Yo corto la manzana. Hay dos pedazos.

I am cutting the apple. There are two pieces.

Yo corto la manzana. Hay tres pedazos.

I am cutting the apple. There are three pieces.

Yo corto la manzana. Hay cuatro pedazos.

I am cutting the apple. There are four pieces.

Eating the Apple in Spanish- Comiendo la Manzana

After the the first apple slice is eaten, narrate the following in Spanish. Have learners follow.

Yo como un pedazo de la manzana.

I am eating one piece of the apple.

Yo como dos pedazos de la manzana.

I am eating two pieces of the apple.

Yo como tres pedazos de la manzana.

I am eating three pieces of the apple.

Yo como cuatro pedazos de la manzana.

I am eating four pieces of the apple.

Describing the Taste- Describiendo el Sabor

Describe the apple's flavor; choose from below.

La manzana es dulce.

The apple is sweet.

La manzana es amarga.

The apple is bitter.

Apples Q & A

Learners need to be asked questions about their apples. Here are a few:

• Cómo es la manzana?
• Cuántos pedazos comes de la manzana?
• Cómo es el sabor de la manzana?

Some learners may be able to re-formulate the questions for more practice.

Multi-sensory activities are the best way for learners to pick up Spanish vocabulary and phrases. After listening, singing, describing, touching, and tasting apples, or manzanas, beginning Spanish speakers will retain both the vocabulary, phrases, and questions.

The copyright of the article Spanish Counting Activities with Apples in Language Study is owned by Catherine Fortin. Permission to republish Spanish Counting Activities with Apples in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.