1 - Who Plays, Who Would Like to? ~5 mins
Who in this class already plays an instrument? Who would like to learn one? Today we name eight instruments in Spanish, and we learn how to say both what we play and what we would like to play.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Name eight musical instruments in Spanish
- Say an instrument you play or would like to play
- Notice what a borrowed instrument name can tell us about history
Get a noisy show of hands for who plays and who would like to: air-guitar counts. Keep it light and short; do not spend long listing every instrument in English. The new move this year is the want-to pattern as well as the play pattern, so flag that both will appear on the board.
2 - Eight Spanish Instruments ~10 mins
Here are today's eight instruments. Tap each one, listen, then say it back together. Watch the article: some take el and some take la.
When the names feel steady, lock these two sentence patterns one at a time:
Pattern 1: Toco la guitarra. (I play the guitar.)
Pattern 2: Me gustaría tocar el piano. (I would like to play the piano.)
Before the table, give one concrete hook: in Spain you might hear la guitarra in flamenco; la trompeta and la pandereta turn up in fiesta bands. Today we learn the names so we can talk about what we play.
Part 1: nouns only (about 6 minutes): Tap each word so the class hears it, then have everyone repeat twice: once all together, once by table. Point at the article every time. Guitarra has that strong rolled rr: make it dramatic, then praise a loud class attempt. Keep all eight nouns; do not invent extras.
Part 2: sentence frames (about 4 minutes): Reveal the frames one at a time. Model each slowly with one familiar instrument before any freer use: Toco la guitarra (TOH-ko); Me gustaría tocar el piano (gustaría = goos-tah-REE-ah; full chunk meh goos-tah-REE-ah toh-KAR). Choral-repeat each full frame, then by table. Leave the phonetic for gustaría visible on the board.
If pupils mix la batería with other percussion, a quick mime (full kit arms vs single shake for la pandereta) keeps the two clear without new words.
3 - Label the Band ~9 mins
Look at the band picture (think of a school rehearsal or a plaza concert). Volunteers come up and place the Spanish label with el or la. Everyone else says the full name quietly in their seat when the label is placed.
Run this on the IWB only: you or a volunteer taps each label; the class repeats the full noun plus article chorally after every correct place. Insist on the full form: guitarra alone is not enough. If a label is wrong, pause and replay the word from the table before trying again. This is recognition after first hearing, not a cold test. Do not send pupils to personal devices.
4 - Into Your Copy ~4 mins
First say your sentence quietly. Then open your copy and write one sentence about an instrument you play or would like to play. Use Toco... or Me gustaría tocar... and keep the article with the instrument.
Oral pass first (about 1–2 minutes): Leave both model frames and the full instrument list with articles on the IWB. Prompt ¿Toco o me gustaría tocar? Each pupil whispers their chosen full sentence to a shoulder partner (or thumb-votes which frame they will use). Only then open copies.
Writing (remaining time): Walk the room and check that each pupil has chosen one full frame, not a bare noun. Accents matter on violín, saxofón, batería and gustaría. Do not collect the copies.
5 - Instrument Bingo ~10 mins
You need a bingo card: your teacher will give you one (or open the card on the board). Listen for each instrument word and mark it on your card. First full line calls out. Say the word quietly to yourself as you mark it.
How to Play Bingo:
Option 1: Students on Devices (Digital Version)
- Use the digital version where your teacher view of the lesson displays the cards that are being called out.
- Play the pronunciation sound of each word and the children mark it off their unique digital bingo card.
- Each student has a randomised bingo card so winners will vary!
Option 2: Print Out the Bingo Cards
- Print out the Bingo Cards from the attachment above, cut out the cards, and give one to each student.
- You call out the vocabulary words and students mark off their sheets.
- First student to complete a line (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) calls "Bingo!" and wins.
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