Ir/Go

Students can use the word “ir” in various activities and games such as:

Pretend Play: (e.g. Voy a ser médico, I’m going to be a doctor). Playing with baby dolls can model different use of the word go: “go to sleep”, “go potty”

Vehicles: Students can work with vehicles such as trains, cars, etc. and move them about. Model GO sending a car down a ramp. The adult can model sentences such as, “El coche va muy rápido” (The car goes very fast).  

Science: Teach cause and effect with gravity, letting go of objects. The adult can use the core word to describe the movement of objects, e.g., ¡Mira cómo va! (Look how it goes!)

Group Activity: Adults can discuss the difference between stop and go by playing musical chairs and freeze dance. Say “vamos” before playing music.

Here are some suggested books on YouTube that can assist in teaching the core word:

• ¡Ve, perro, ve! - Go, Dog, Go! in Spanish (by P.D. Eastman)
  • This short and lively book showcases the many ways that dogs can travel, including by foot, bike, car, unicycle, and ladders. This story can prompt students to think about the ways that they themselves like to travel.

• La pequeña locomotora que sí pudo (The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper)
  • This is the Spanish edition of the classic tale about a little train engine who accomplishes a seemingly impossible task. This book teaches students about the importance of hard work and optimism.

• Scholastic's How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? – by Jane Yolen (Español)
  • This story highlights the playful and rambunctious antics of dinosaurs who go to school. This book is useful for teaching students about the importance of good manners and behavior.

• ¡Oh cuán lejos llegarás! (Oh, the Places You’ll Go! By Dr. Seuss)
  • This story by Dr. Seuss illustrates many of the types of ups and downs that we will all face in life. This book encourages students to discover their inner-strength, believe in their capabilities, and to not be discouraged by difficult times.

•  Scholastic's Duck on a Tractor (Español) (by David Shannon)
  • This is the engaging tale of a duck who embarks on an exciting journey after deciding to jump onto a tractor. The duck is joined by various interesting friends on this journey, and students will have fun guessing what will happen next.

Students can communicate to their classmates about their action on the playground: Vamos aquí. (Let’s go here), ¿Adónde vas? (Where are you going?), ¿Adónde quieres ir? (Where do you want to go?), Vámonos. (Let’s go.) or Vamos a jugar. (Let’s go play).

Before watching a movie, the adult can use statements such as, ¡Vamos a verla! or Vayamos a verla. (Let’s go watch it)

Vehicles: Student can play with vehicles such as car, boats, planes, trains, etc. in water or in sand box. Students can play with cars down a ramp and comment on what is happening.

Playdough: Students can manipulate playdough to spell out “ir”. (Voy, Va, Vas, Van, Vamos). They can manipulate playdough to make objects that go (i.e. cars, plane, trains, etc.)

Body Movement: Adults place large colorful shapes on the ground or hula hoops. Students can be directed to a specific circle or hoop using “ir” such as Ve al circulo rojo. (Go to the red circle).

• ¿Adónde vas? wh-questions in Spanish. Song to learn questions in Spanish for kids
  • Students can review how to formulate essential questions in Spanish with this catchy and fun song.

• Lluvia Lluvia vete ya (Rain, rain, go away) | Canciones Infantiles | Super Simple Español
  • This classic song can be used to help solidify students’ understanding of the core word, and it is a great resource to use on rainy days.

• The Wheels on the Bus in Spanish - Las Ruedas del Autobús | Action Song for Kids
  • Adults can use this song to complement activities related to buses, travel, and movement in order to make lessons more fun and dynamic for students.

Adults can create small or large groups, and instruct students to use the word “ir” for the games Red Light-Green Light or Freeze Dance. The students can practice stop and go during the activity.  

Students can talk about places they want to go. It can be in the community such as a store or a well-known place. For example, Quiero ir al parque (I want to go to the park.) They can look at a map or globe and talk about places they can go outside of their community. For example, Cuando vayamos a California, tenemos que ver el puente Golden Gate. (When we go to California, we have to see the Golden Gate Bridge).

Balloon Powered Car: Adults can instruct students how to make a balloon powered car out of recycled materials. Adults can prepare materials ahead of time and guide students on how to make the car. They can use phrases such as Vamos a verlo ir (Let’s watch it go). Make a Balloon Car

Playing with Cars: Students can use recycled paper towels tubes or rolled up construction paper as a tunnel and roll cars in and out of the tubes. They can use “ir” to describe how fast or slow the car goes through the tube. El coche va rápido. El coche va lento.

Build: Students can make a toilet paper roll car and move it. Easy Toilet paper roll cars.

Giving Directions: Adults can draw a road or path outside with sidewalk chalk. The students can pretend to drive on the road with their body. One student directs the other student with device to get to the end of the path. Ve a la derecha (go right), Ve a la izquierda (go left), Ve hacia adelante (go forward), Ve hacia atrás (go backwards)

Color: Adults can provide coloring pages with “cosas que van” (Things that go. Cosas que van or Trains & Things That Go Coloring Book (Spanish-English).

Gus on the Go: Children ages 2 through 5 years can learn Spanish through stories.

Taca Train

WORD WALL:  Word Wall will have “Ir” and include present tense conjugations “Voy”, “Va”, “Vas”, “Van”, “Vamos”.

High frequency words that relate to “ir” such as “se”, “en”, “con”, “y”, “al”, “a”, “te”, “me”, “la”, “las”, “lo”, “los”, ”yo”, “tu”, “el”, “ella”, “nosotros”, “ellos”, “ahora”, “donde”, “antes”, “rapido”, “lento”

READING and the Word Wall: Students can point to the words and make a sentence. They can sound out the letters or words.

WRITING and the Word Wall: Students can write or type the individual word on the keyboard or they can type/write the words together.