10 Simple First Week of School Activities for Online Learning (in Spanish!)

This school year is certainly one for the books. Every teacher is feeling out of sorts and like a first year, newbie all over again. So how can you start the school year (virtually) and still get to know your Spanish or bilingual students? With a little creativity and these 10 simple, first-week-of-school activities for online learning!

Yes, the first week of school is when you get to know your students and they get to know you. But it’s also an important time to review basic skills like numbers, colors, and letters. These simple, first-week-of-school activities for online learning are meant to be easy to implement ideas that we have all done before but have probably forgotten about with everything that’s going on.

All of these ideas can be implemented with zero prep. They are perfect for getting to know your students, gauging their skill level, or as quick time-fillers. Each of these simple, first week of school activities for online learning can be modified for use in Spanish classes, bilingual classrooms, or homeschool.

10 Simple, First Week of School Activities for Online Learning (in Spanish!)

One

Create a Bitmoji

You can do this to review physical characteristics, clothing, colors, or a combination of all three. Students create an avatar of themselves and then describe it to you.

Mi Bitmoji tiene ojos marrones y pelo castaño. Lleva gafas, una camisa blanca, pantalones azules, y zapatos blancos.

But really this is a simple, online learning MUST. You’ll want your students to have an avatar, they’ll love creating one (if they don’t already have one), and you get to review essential Spanish vocab while learning a little something about your students.

Two

**Daily ‘Todo Sobre Mi’ videos**

Give students a daily video assignment for each day of the week as a way of introducing themselves to the class. Students can give their mini-presentations during class, take a video, a picture, or draw their responses.

Lunes: Dinos tres cosas sobre ti.
- ¿Cómo te llamas?
- ¿Cuántos años tienes?
- Comparte una cosa que te gusta.
Martes: Describe a tu familia.
Miércoles: Comparte tu juguete o libro preferido.
Jueves: Enséñanos tu mascota (o peluche favorito).
Viernes: Enséñanos tu espacio de aprendizaje virtual.

Three

Label the Room

Give students the following vocabulary words and have them write (or print) them onto small cards and label their online learning desk space.

Vocabulary: el escritorio, la computadora / el ordenador, la silla, el teclado, el portátil, los audífonos/ auriculares/ cascos, la cámara, el ratón

Four

Name Art

Review Spanish letters by watching one of these Spanish ABC songs. Then ask them to creatively spell out their names using sticks, rocks, pencils, or toys (whatever they can find!) and practice spelling their name.

Mi nombre es Jennifer, J-E-N-N-I-F-E-R.

Five

Trabalenguas

See who’s able to master a few, fun tongue twisters. You can choose one for your students to memorize, or they can choose one themselves. Alternatively, older students can create their own tongue twister using their name. (Jennifer ya lleva dos llaves en la lluvia.)

Six

Two Truths and a Lie

Each student writes three facts about themselves. Two are true, but one is a lie. Other students need to guess which fact is the lie. But make it silly!

Soy maestra. Me encanta la pizza. Me gusta comer sillas y escritorios. ¿Cuál es la mentira?

Seven

Guess Who

Take advantage of the things you learned about your students after playing Two Truths and a Lie. This time, take the true facts (without mentioning the student) and have the rest of the class guess who you are talking about.

Eight

Would You Rather?

Students pick between two choices and explain their answers. This is a fun (and quick) way to learn what makes your students tick.

¿Qué prefieres? ¿Helado o tarta? ¿Clases virtuales o presenciales? ¿Desayuno o almuerzo? ¿Ciencias o matemáticas?

Nine

Theme Days

Have students dress up according to a theme. But learn more about their personalities by asking them to dress up as their favorites (favorite book character, favorite superhero, or favorite animal). They can also dress in their favorite color or for their favorite holiday.

Ten

Rainbow Scavenger Hunt

Lastly, ask students to find an object for each color of the rainbow and share it with the class. This is a great way to review colors and see what each child deems worthy of sharing!

Encuentra algo rojo.
Encuentra algo naranja.
Encuentra algo amarillo.
Encuentra algo verde.
Encentura algo azul.
Encuentra algo violeta.

You can also extend this activity to include a review of numbers:

Encuentra tres objetos rojos.
Encuentra seis objetos naranjas.
Encuentra cuatro objetos amarillos.
Encuentra nueve objetos verdes.
Encuentra dos objetos azules.
Encuentra cinco objetos violetas.

Look, this year is strange enough as it is. Take a breather and choose a few simple, first week of school activities for online learning to make your life easier. Getting to know your students virtually doesn’t have to be complicated.