Is Go Fish the worst game ever? Yes. Yes, it is. 🤣 But, it’s awesome for teaching the numbers in Spanish 1 – 100, and my kids love it! Besides Peces (Go Fish), I have four more number games in Spanish to make this lesson fun. It’s planned as a two-day lesson, but the games can be played again and again for *lots* of practice. 💯
Download the FREE instructions and activities for numbers in Spanish 1 – 100:
You can also play Peces (Go Fish) and Memoria (Memory/Concentration) using the flashcards.
How I Used Games to Teach My Kids the Numbers in Spanish 1 – 100
Before we started the first day’s lesson with numbers 1 – 20 in Spanish, we reviewed the colors with Matamoscas (Flyswatter) since we didn’t get a chance to play that the previous day. I was wary about giving them flyswatters. Turns out with good reason. They kept smacking each other with the flyswatters and using them as swords. ⚔
While they were getting that out of their systems, I laid the construction paper on our coffee table. I discovered I don’t have wall space big enough to accommodate playing Matamoscas. The table worked out well! And they’ve already destroyed it, so hitting it with the flyswatters couldn’t make it look any worse than it already does. Not sure how other parents feel about this, but my husband and I will *never* buy good furniture until these two are out of the house.
After reviewing the colors, I gave them each a set of the flashcards for Total Physical Response (TPR). I wanted them to hear the numbers a few times before we started playing any games. I just printed the flashcards on regular paper. I repeated the numbers 1 – 20 in Spanish about six or seven times in different ways. For instance, I started by saying them in the right order, then backwards, all of the odd numbers, then all of the evens, etc.
Neither of them held up the paper when I said it. Aidan pointed to the number, and Alex said them out loud in English. Whatever works so I know they understand what I’m saying! They were pretty funny to watch because they both “cheated” off each other. If one didn’t know the number, he waited until the other one gave the answer and then was like, “oh yeah, I knew that.” Uh-huh.
Then we played Matamoscas again with the numbers 1 – 20. I was worried they wouldn’t want to play since we had already played it with the colors. I forgot how much kids like repeating the same thing again and again. Like when they watched Cars about a million times. Probably being able to hit things helped too.
I had limited space on the table, so whoever won the round took the number off the table. It helped to keep track of the points. By the time we were done with the game, the boys could tell me the correct translation for the numbers.
Playing Bingo with Numbers in Spanish 1 – 100
On the second day of the lesson, Alex was gone for the day so it was just Aidan and me. I gave him the flashcards for 21 – 100, and we started with a little bit of TPR. He was being a pill wasn’t too into it, so we quickly moved to Lotería (Bingo). I made a board too and played with him. He decided we should play blackout instead of just getting five in a row. Yay! This made it possible for me to read almost every number so he had lots of repetition.
I read the number once or twice very slowly and then laid the paper on the table so he could see the numeric symbol and read the number. He used the numbers on the table as a reference. For example, I said cuarenta y seis and put the paper on the table. Later when I said cuarenta y dos, he couldn’t remember the number but read through the papers looking for cuarenta so he could figure out what the new number was. Yay again! This gave him lots of repetition through listening and reading.
Playing Kahoot with Numbers in Spanish 1 – 100
We then played Kahoot which is something my high-school students always ask for. It’s a site where you can make quizzes, and I use them a lot to check comprehension after a reading. There are lots of kahoots already made with the numbers in Spanish 1 – 100, so I just picked one and we started to play. You have a time limit for giving the answer and since I already know the numbers, Aidan and I agreed that I wouldn’t answer until the last five seconds of the timer.
It was a disaster. I don’t know who made it, but we only answered three questions before I stopped it. The answers were spelled wrong in one of the questions, and all of the answers were wrong in another question. The last thing I wanted was for Aidan to keep seeing the wrong information so early on in the learning process. Aidan volunteered to make one, and we played that. He is excited to play with Alex.
The next day, Aidan wanted to play Lotería again, so we played the regular five-in-a-row version. Then we played Memoria (Memory) with the numbers 20 – 100 flashcards. Aidan asked if he could use the same strategy as last time (putting his face right next to the paper). Um no. When each card was turned over, I made sure to say the number out loud in Spanish. He beat me again, but at least I had some matches this time.
I love to play most games but absolutely hate the game Peces (Go Fish). For some reason, my kids like this game. I’m going to print the flashcards on cardstock if we play this since you can see right through regular paper. I printed up some of the flashcards on cardstock to see if you could see through it. The cardstock is thick enough so that you can’t see through the card unless you hold it up to the light.
I wanted to know how well Aidan knew the numbers and colors, so I said random numbers in Spanish. He was able to correctly translate all but one. He was also able to correctly translate all of the colors. 🙌
Me: Nice job! 100%
Aidan: You mean A+++100%+
Neither of them has played Quizlet yet, but I found a couple of sets that look good. The first has the numbers in Spanish 1–20, and the second has the numbers in Spanish 1 – 100.
What I Learned
You don’t need a wall to play Matamoscas. Any flat surface will work. Maybe I’ll just use the floor next time.
Check all of the questions and answers in Kahoot before playing. 😬
I really didn’t want to do the lessons separately, but it has been a lot of fun to have this one-on-one time with each kid.
The lessons are working! 🎉 I shouldn’t be surprised since this is my job, but teaching my kids feels different than teaching my students.
Do you know anyone who wants to teach their kids the numbers in Spanish 1 – 100? Feel free to share with the buttons on the left.
Did you use this lesson? Tell me about it in the comments below!
P.S. Are you looking for a quick and fun way to help your kids start learning Spanish? If so, check out my free Spanish for Kids Starter Guide! You can immediately use any of the 9 simple tips to introduce your kids to Spanish. Know what the best part is? You don’t have to know Spanish to use it!
