I am happy to share ¿Qué tiene?, a video in the Spanish Words Kids Love series. These short videos teach essential Spanish words supported by beautiful images of Mexico and in the context of full sentences. See the other videos, print picture cards and read more about Spanish Words Kids Love in these posts: Las frutas and Los juguetes del mercado.
¿Qué tiene? teaches the verb form tiene and common objects. Below the video you will find vocabulary, cultural notes, activity suggestions and printable picture cards for games.
Spanish Words in the Video
estas – these
las personas – people
tienen – have
las cosas – things
diferentes – different
tiene – has
la bicicleta – bicycle
el caballo – horse
los guantes de box – boxing gloves (See Cultural and Language Notes below.)
el balón – ball (See Cultural and Language Notes below.)
la lagartija – lizard (See Cultural and Language Notes below.)
los globos – balloons
el jugo de naranja – orange juice, glass of orange juice
el popote – straw (See Cultural and Language Notes below.)
el pescado – fish (See Cultural and Language Notes below.)
ella – she
el novio – boyfriend (See Cultural and Language Notes below.)
él – he
la novia – girlfriend (See Cultural and Language Notes below.)
¿qué? – what
Culture and Language Notes
– el box / el boxeo – In Mexico, boxing is considered a major sport and Mexico has produced more amateur and professional world champions than any other country. The word el box is used in Mexico and Ecuador and is accepted by the Real Academia Española. El boxeo is also used in these countries and in the rest of the Spanish-speaking world.
– el balón – Balón and pelota both translate as the English word ball. Pelota can be any ball, including small balls: pelota de ping pong, pelota de tenis, pelota de golf. Usually, bigger, inflated balls are called un balón in Mexico.
– la lagartija – Mexico has many, many lizards. They are present in everything from toys to art because they are so common.
– el popote – In Mexico, a straw is a popote, but many other words are used in other countries. In fact, the word straw is often used to demonstrate the wide range of regional vocabulary. See an infographic with 11 Spanish words for straw.
– el pescado – Un pescado is a fish that has been caught. Pescado is the past participle of the verb pescar (to catch, to fish). A fish that has not been caught is a pez. Although the difference in these words is often taught as fish that are food (pescado) vs alive (pez), that is not completely accurate. There are peces muertos, when fish die in oceans and lakes from oil spills, for example.
– el novio / la novia – In Mexico, as in much of Latin America and Spain, novio and novia are used for boyfriend and girlfriend. Once a couple is engaged, prometido and prometida are most common. One notable exception is Peru, where boyfriend and girlfriend are expressed with enamorado and enamorada.
Video extension activities
– Use objects to practice the vocabulary and the verb tiene. You can use un balón, un globo, guantes, un popote, un caballo (a toy). Dolls like Barbie and Ken work well for el novio and la novia. Ask ¿Qué tiene (child’s name)? or ¿Quien tiene (objeto)?
– Play a guessing game with the objects or the picture cards in the third person. Have children guess what another child has. Ask ¿Qué tiene (child’s name)?
– Look at and learn more about largartijas in Mexico. You can get a sense of the amazing variety by doing an image search for lizards of Mexico.
– Color the picture cards. Talk about the vocabulary as you color.
– Use the picture cards to play memory and other games. Here is a list of 25 activities using picture cards. The list refers to animal picture cards, but many of the activities can be used with any vocabulary.
– Describe a card. Have children identify the card you are describing.
– Give each child a set of cards. Lay your cards out, saying them as you put them down. Children should put their cards out in the same order as they listen. Then, tell the kids to switch two cards: Cambia de lugar al pescado por el caballo. Do that several times and then have one of the children say the cards and everyone can check the order.