EN (On/In)/DENTRO (Inside/In)

WAYS WE CAN USE THE WORD(S)

DIRECT: e.g., “Esta en el estante” (It’s on the shelf).

SHARE INFORMATION: e.g., “Yo vivo en San Francisco” (I live in San Francisco).

GET HELP: “Me puedes ayudar a limpiar la leche en la mesa” (Can you help me clean the milk on the table?)

COMMENT: Dentro de poco será mi cumpleańos (In no time, it will be my birthday).

REMIND: La maestra guarda los rompecabezas dentro de la caja roja (The teacher keeps the puzzles inside the red box).

For specific questions or more ideas regarding this core word activity sheet, please contact Maryvi Morales @  mmoral10@mail.sfsu.edu. Thank you!

Arrival: When students arrive, they will begin to put their things away. Typically students have individualized cubbies or areas for their backpacks. Adults can model “Pon tu mochila en tu cubiculo” (Put your backpack in your cubby).

Morning circle: During the morning routine, students can take turns putting today’s date on the calendar. Adults can model “[Nombre de estudiante] te toca poner la fecha de hoy en el calendario” ([Name of student] it's your turn to put todays date on the calendar).

Transitions: To help students with transitioning from one activity to another, teachers can give them a heads up of when the upcoming activity is coming up e.g. “En una hora vamos a ir a la biblioteca y cada quien va escoger un libro” (In one hour, we will go to the library and each one of you will pick a book).

Snack/mealtimes:: The student can indicate that they want to add more of something on their food item, e.g. “Quiero mas jamon en mi torta” (I want more ham in my sandwich).

Trash/Recycle/Compost: When it is time to throw trash away, compost or recycle, students and adults can comment on which items go in the appropriate can/bin “Ese plato va en el basurero” (That plate goes in the trash can).

Toys: While playing with toys, adults can put the toys (e.g dolls) inside a box, car and comment how the toys are inside “Las muñecas estan dentro del coche” (The dolls are inside the car). If they are playing with a playhouse and house pets or animals, they can talk about how the cat or dog is asleep inside the bedroom “El gato esta dormido dentro de la recamara” (The cat is sleeping inside the bedroom)

Cleaning up: When play time is over, adults can talk with students about putting away the toys in the correct bins/area. “Los carros van dentro del cofre” (The cars go inside the chestbox)

Here are some suggested books that can assist in teaching the core words:

  • Leo en todas partes! By Phoebe McGuffee | Unite for Literacy

    • This book is about a little stuffed monkey who enjoys reading in many different places.
  • Quién vive en el mar? By Holly Hartman | Unite for Literacy

    • This book talks about many different sea creatures that live in the ocean, it describes different characteristics of these sea creatures.
  • Aventuras de animales: By Elizabeth Williams |Tarheel Reader

    • This book is about different animals in different places and adventures.
  • Estamos en un libro: By Mo Willems |Children’s Book read aloud by Tiempo de Leer

    • This book is about Piggie and Gerald the elephant and how they discover the joy of being read in a book.

Social Interaction: Students can be prompted to get to know each other better by asking each other questions involving the preposition “en,” e.g., En que parte de San Francisco vives?”

Modeling: The adult can model how to find the preposition “en” on the student’s communication device and model how to combine core word into multi-word utterances.

a communication board with the core word "en"

Sensory bin: Adults can create a sensory bin with many different objects hidden inside. Adults can model using the word “en/dentro” by saying “A que ver que hay dentro de la caja!” Que creen que tenemos en la caja? Alguien quiere adivinar?” Students can take turns sticking their hand in the sensory bin, exploring the items and guessing what's inside.

Scavenger hunt: Adults can prompt students to search for specific objects in the classroom and give them clues on what it is e.g., “Usas esto en el verano” (You use this in the summer).

Literacy Activity: Read the short story, “Hay una araña en el piso,” available for free on the Teachers Pay Teachers website. This story includes repetition and can also be sung to a tune. The teachers and students can read the story together and the teacher can ask the students where the spider is and also model the word “en” “Maestra: Donde esta la araña ahora? Estudiante: En el piso!”

Writing Activity: For Valentine’s Day or any day of the year, the adult can collaborate with students to create a paragraph or adults can create fill in the blank statements “Dentro de mi corazón hay ________ (mucho amor)” (Inside my heart is _____).

a worksheet with a heart on it

Preposition activity: With this activity, students can practice identifying different prepositions including en/dentro through coloring or other formats. Adults can also use tangible items if students are more kinesthetic learners, model the words, and help them locate them on their communication devices. “Quien esta dentro de la torre? El bùho!”

a blank coloring page of a house
  • Cinco Monitos | El Reino Infantil| Canciones Infantiles

    • In this song, they sing, “Cinco monitos saltaban en su cama....En la cama nada de saltar”
  • Fun songs to learn the difference between dentro and fuera.
  • Caja Sorpresa | Canciones Infantiles by Super Simple Español

    • A fun song to learn to word dentro and have students guess what is inside the mystery box.

Art Activity: Students can draw what they pack in their suitcase for a trip. This activity can be done on blank paper or teachers can print out a picture of a blank suitcase so the students can draw their items inside. Teachers can ask students “Que llevas en tu maleta/que vas a poner en tu maleta?”

drawings of suitcases with clothes inside

 

Science: Adults can do a lesson on animals in danger of extinction. The adult can prompt can model the word “en” throughout the activity e.g. “Algunos animales en peligro de extinction son los tigres, el animal que esta en mas peligro es...”

a worksheet with animal photos, e.g., gorilla, polar bear, etc.

Tarheel Reader: Students can use Tarheel Reader to write books related to the core word “en, dentro.” These books can then be shared with other students and read aloud.

WORD WALL: Create a Word Wall and add the word En, Dentro on the list.

READING and the Word Wall: Sound out the letters together. Have the students find the word on the AAC system.

WRITING and the Word Wall: Using a pencil or alternative pencil, have students try to type the word on the keyboard, adapted keyboard or write the word together.