Halloween! It’s nearly here, and while there are lots of Spanish holiday lists and activities out there, we’ve created a download that is designed to focus both on highly general vocabulary that can be used all year–words like candy–and on creating confidence with Spanish definite and indefinite articles. So, if your students could use a little practice with definite and indefinite articles, benefit from new vocabulary, or improve their fine motor skills with tracing fun, this free Spanish Halloween Tracing activity is for you!
Spanish Halloween
In parts of the Spanish-speaking world, Halloween exists within broader cultural celebrations, celebrations that are often loosely-connected with religious traditions, holy days like All Saints Day, and well-known celebrations like Día de Muertos. As it relates to the English-speaking counterpart Halloween, the Spanish name is la Noche de Bruhas.
Spanish Vocabulary
Sometimes Spanish vocabulary can be tricky because there are so many variant words across the Spanish-speaking world. The more heavily used a word, the more variants there seem to be.
This pack includes the “textbook” terms, meaning the words students are most likely to encounter in textbooks, shows, etc. designed for English-speakers. However, the download also includes popular variants. Below you’ll find the terms covered:
- Definite and Indefinite Articles: el, la, las, los, un, una, unas, unos
- Bat(s): murciélago(s)
- Candy/Sweet(s): caramelo(s), chuche(s), dulce(s), chuchería(s), golosina(s), pastillas
- Ghost(s): fantasma(s)
- Pumpkin(s): calabaza(s), zapallo(s)
- Skull(s): calavera(s), cráneo(s)
- Spider(s): araña(s)
What’s Included
The download includes 38 pages. But, you’ll probably only need or want to print five to seven of them. The six “textbook” vocabulary terms are presented as a group in both singular and plural form for fast printing. And there are optional pages that can be used for students to place correct definite and indefinite Spanish articles on the sheets.
Ideas for Use
Below we’ve outlined a few ideas of how to use these printable pages. If you have other ideas, we’d love it if you shared them with the learning community in the comments below or let us know here.
Gauging Fine Motor Skills
Now is a great time to gauge learners’ progress in fine-motor/pre-writing skills and sound recognition. These pages will help you spot where your students are and where they have areas for improvement.
CI, Unit Introductions, or Listening Activity
If you have a Halloween-related book or CI story, this is a great tie-in activity. You can also use this as a listening activity or have fun calling out the words and asking learners to guess which definite and indefinite Spanish articles match the word.
Word of the Day or Week
Completing too many of these pages at one time may be overwhelming or tiring. Consider introducing one per day or week and really emphasizing the words throughout the day/week or other lessons. For example: Maestra: “Clase, ¿qué es eso?” Clase: “¡Un dulce!”
Articles
In Spanish, most words are easy to match with their articles. And, while we try to avoid including “tough to match” words in packs for younger students, “ghost” is key to many discussions of and readings about Halloween, so we have included it here. Fantasma, like many Spanish words that end in “-ma,” is masculine.
Each complete-the-picture/tracing page includes two boxes for students to match the object to definite and indefinite Spanish articles. Learners can use the included tactile blocks or simply attempt to write the articles on their own.
Tips and Tricks
Want to reuse the sheets? While lamination works, you can also use clear sheet protectors (the kind that go in binders) or even quart or gallon-sized kitchen/food bags. Any of these three options will allow you to also use dry-erase markers instead of the included paper manipulation blocks.
En Español
Trazos de Halloween para preescolar o kínder. Los niños practican la escritura con palabras de “Halloween” / Noche de Brujas: murciélago(s), dulce(s), fantasma(s), calabaza(s), calavera(s) y araña(s). También hay páginas de sinónimos: caramelo(s), chuche(s), chuchería(s), golosina(s), pastilla(s), zapallo(s) y cráneo(s).
Si están listos, los estudiantes pueden practicar con los artículos definidos e indefinidos. Hay tarjetas incluidas o pueden escribir los artículos en las cajitas.
Other Resources You Might Like
For more vocabulary, fine-motor, and tracing practice, try our free alphabet worksheets.
Use a different term? Have another fun word to share? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
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