Spanish bingo

The 54 words on these cards

• el perro
• el gato
• el pájaro
• el pez
• el caballo
• la vaca
• la casa
• la escuela
• el libro
• el lápiz
• la mesa
• la silla
• la puerta
• la ventana
• el agua
• la leche
• el pan
• la manzana
• el queso
• el huevo
• la madre
• el padre
• el hermano
• la hermana
• el amigo
• el sol
• la luna
• la lluvia
• la playa
• el árbol
• la flor
• el carro
• la mano
• la cabeza
• el día
• la noche
• rojo
• azul
• verde
• amarillo
• negro
• blanco
• uno
• dos
• tres
• cuatro
• cinco
• diez
• grande
• pequeño
• feliz
• triste
• hola
• gracias

The words in Spanish and English

Spanish	English
el perro	dog
el gato	cat
el pájaro	bird
el pez	fish
el caballo	horse
la vaca	cow
la casa	house
la escuela	school
el libro	book
el lápiz	pencil
la mesa	table
la silla	chair
la puerta	door
la ventana	window
el agua	water
la leche	milk
el pan	bread
la manzana	apple
el queso	cheese
el huevo	egg
la madre	mother
el padre	father
el hermano	brother
la hermana	sister
el amigo	friend
el sol	sun
la luna	moon
la lluvia	rain
la playa	beach
el árbol	tree
la flor	flower
el carro	car
la mano	hand
la cabeza	head
el día	day
la noche	night
rojo	red
azul	blue
verde	green
amarillo	yellow
negro	black
blanco	white
uno	one
dos	two
tres	three
cuatro	four
cinco	five
diez	ten
grande	big
pequeño	small
feliz	happy
triste	sad
hola	hello
gracias	thank you

Two ways to call

Call in English and students find the Spanish word: they practice reading and recall meaning. Call in Spanish and they find the word by sound: listening practice, harder than it looks. Start a new unit with English calls and move to Spanish calls once the words are familiar.

Keep the articles

The cards show nouns with el or la, so students learn the gender with the word. When you call in Spanish, say the article too. A quick extension: after a bingo, ask the winner to make the plural of each word in the line, los perros, las casas.

Say it, then repeat it

After each call, have the class repeat the word together before they look for it. It costs a few seconds and gives every student the pronunciation, not only the ones who find the word first.

Make a set for your unit

Paste your unit's list into the form: colors, numbers, weather, food or classroom objects. Accents and ñ print as typed. For a short unit with 10 to 15 words, choose a 3x3 card so the cards still differ.

Loteria is a different game

Mexican loteria uses picture cards and a deck of illustrated cards, each read with a short verse. It is a game of its own; this page is vocabulary bingo with words on the cards.

Questions

Will accents and ñ print correctly?

Yes. Words such as pequeño and árbol print with their accents on the cards and the caller sheet.

Should I call in English or in Spanish?

English calls practice reading and meaning, Spanish calls practice listening. Many teachers start in English and switch once the class knows the words.

Is this Spanish from Spain or Latin America?

The words are common in both. Where they differ we chose the Latin American word, such as el carro for car; change it to el coche in the form if you teach Spain's Spanish.

Can I use this for other languages?

Yes. Type the words in French, German or any language written in Latin, Cyrillic or Greek letters, and keep an English list to call from.

More bingo

• Classroom bingo
• Sight word bingo
• How to make bingo cards
• 3x3 bingo card