14 Spanish sub plans for a sub who doesn't speak Spanish
Fourteen Spanish lessons a substitute can teach without speaking Spanish: greetings, numbers, colors, days and body words a class has usually met, as warm-ups, games and things to make, with the class teaching you when all else fails. Every item says what to do, what you need and the grades it fits, with the English beside every word. They are the lessons the sub plan generator uses for Spanish, plus four more.
Warm-ups
1. ¿Cómo estás?
Greet the class with "¡Hola, clase! ¿Cómo estás?" Teach three answers with a thumb: muy bien (thumbs up), así así (thumb sideways), mal (thumbs down). Ask around the room; students answer with the word and the thumb.
Grades K–8You need Nothing
2. Count to ten and back
Count together from one to ten in Spanish, clapping once for each number: uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez. Then count back down, then whisper it, then count by jumping.
Grades K–5You need Nothing
3. Weather report
Write on the board: soleado (sunny), nublado (cloudy), lluvioso (rainy), hace frío (it's cold), hace calor (it's hot). A student looks outside and reports "Hoy está nublado" or "Hoy hace frío", and the class repeats it. Take three reporters.
Grades 1–8You need A window or a picture of the sky
Games
4. Simón dice
Play Simon says in Spanish with body words written on the board: la cabeza (head), los hombros (shoulders), las rodillas (knees), los pies (feet), las manos (hands). "Simón dice: toca la cabeza" means touch your head. Anyone out stays in as the next Simón's helper.
Grades K–5You need Open space by the desks
5. Veo, veo colors
Write the colors on the board in their own color: rojo, azul, verde, amarillo, blanco, negro. Say "Veo, veo, algo azul" (I see, I see, something blue). Students point to something that color and say the word.
Grades K–5You need Things in the room
6. Numbers bingo
Write the numbers 1 to 20 with their Spanish words on the board (once, doce, trece and so on, from the class's own book if there is one). Students draw a 3 × 3 grid and write any nine numbers. Call numbers in Spanish only; the first full row says "¡Lotería!"
Grades 2–8You need Paper and pencils
7. Days of the week chant
Write the days on the board: lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado, domingo. Chant them as a class, faster each time, then point at a day and have the class say the one after it.
Grades 1–8You need The whiteboard
8. Number toss
Students stand by their desks. Say one in Spanish and toss the ball underhand; whoever catches it says the next number in Spanish and tosses it on. Older classes count by twos or tens. A wrong number starts the count again at one.
Grades 2–8You need One soft ball
9. Verb charades
Write eight action words on the board: correr (run), saltar (jump), comer (eat), dormir (sleep), nadar (swim), bailar (dance), leer (read), escribir (write). A student acts one out and the class guesses with the Spanish word.
Grades 4–8You need The whiteboard
Make something
10. Draw and label
Students draw a picture of the classroom, a kitchen or a park and label everything they know the Spanish word for, using their notebooks or the word wall. Partners swap and add one more label each.
Grades 2–8You need Paper and pencils or crayons
11. Cognate hunt
Cognates look and mean nearly the same in both languages. Write a few on the board (animal, color, familia, hospital, música, chocolate, teléfono) and give pairs five minutes to find more in the room or their books.
Grades 4–8You need The whiteboard and paper
12. Draw my monster
Read out a monster a part at a time, in Spanish, with the numbers and body words on the board: tres ojos (three eyes), dos cabezas (two heads), cuatro pies (four feet). Students draw it. Then a student describes one for the class to draw.
Grades K–3You need Paper and crayons
Backup
13. The class teaches you
Tell the class you're not a Spanish speaker and ask them to teach you ten words they learned this year. Write each on the board as they spell it, then quiz yourself while they score you. Collect their lists for the teacher.
Grades 2–8You need Paper and the whiteboard
14. Picture dictionary page
Each student folds a paper into four boxes and draws four things they know in Spanish, with the word under each. They swap and read a partner's words aloud.
Grades 1–5You need Paper and crayons
Making it work
- Look for the class's own word wall or textbook first and use its words; they are what the class has learned.
- Write every Spanish word on the board with the English beside it before the class arrives, so you never have to say a word you can't read.
- Let the students correct your pronunciation. It keeps them speaking Spanish, which is the point of the lesson.
- Keep to everyday classroom words: greetings, numbers, colors, days, the body and actions. Leave holidays and festivals to the teacher.
- Collect anything written for the teacher and note which words the class knew well in your note for the teacher.
Questions teachers ask
- Can I sub a Spanish class if I don't speak Spanish?
- Yes. Use words the class already knows, written on the board with the English, and games where students do the speaking: Simón dice, colors, number bingo and verb charades. When in doubt, ask the class to teach you.
- What are easy Spanish sub plans for elementary?
- ¿Cómo estás? with thumbs, counting to ten and back, Simón dice with body words, veo veo colors and draw my monster all work for kindergarten to 3rd grade with nothing to print.
- What Spanish activities work for middle school?
- Numbers bingo to twenty, verb charades, the cognate hunt, the weather report and the class teaching you ten words suit grades 4 to 8. Give each a time limit and collect the written work.
- What if the class has a Spanish textbook?
- Use its current unit's words for the games instead of ours, and set any practice page the teacher left. The games here work with any list of ten to twenty words.
Written for teachers by Peabody Teach. No ads, no affiliate links. Something wrong or missing? Tell us.