Objectives  Musical instrument families in English and Spanish; classify and categorize;

Teaching Guide
identify cognates; ask and answer questions; make predictions
Colores musicales/Musical Colors
Materials  children’s CD or tape, music magazines, plastic bottles, dry beans,  
crayons or colored pencils, yarn

30 minutes, Days 1–3

Build Background
Activate Prior Knowledge  Tell children: Today, you will learn about musical
instruments and colors./Hoy aprenderán sobre instrumentos musicales y colores. Tell
children that musical instruments make music. Select a popular children’s song
played with various instruments, such as “Yankee Doodle,” “London Bridge,”
or “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,” and play it for the class. Ask the class to
guess the musical instruments they hear on the recording. Replay the song as
many times as necessary for children to identify at least one instrument.

Introduce the Focus Skill: Cognates  Explain that cognates are

words that look similar in English and Spanish and mean the same thing (for
example, instrument/instrumento, violin/violín). Write sample cognates and
non-cognates on the board. Have children tell you which words mean the
same thing. For instance, say a word in Spanish and have children guess the
corresponding cognate in English and vice versa. For example: flauta (flute),
maracas (maracas). Guide children to look for words that have similar spelling.

Acquire New Vocabulary  Introduce the following terms: string instrument/instrumento de cuerda,
wind instrument/instrumento de viento, and percussion instrument/instrumento de percusión. Say the names of
the instrument families in English and Spanish. Explain that string instruments have strings or cords, wind instruments use air to
make music, and percussion instruments make music when you hit them. Then divide the class into three teams and assign each an
instrument family. Distribute music magazines and scissors. Each team will cut out pictures of instruments in their family. Have them
compare the instruments. Then contrast them with the other teams. Talk about differences between instrument families as you review
instruments and colors in both languages as a class.

Read and Respond  Display the book. Read the title and author name aloud as you track the print. Point out the musical
instruments in the book as you read. Pause after reading the questions in English and Spanish and ask volunteers to make predictions
about the answer using picture and context clues. Then turn to the next page and see if the predictions were correct. Have children
repeat the instrument name and color on each page. When reading is complete, encourage children to tell you what their favorite
instrument is and why.

60 minutes, Days 4–5

Ø Curricular Enrichment: Music

MUSIC
  Explain to children: Today we will make maracas./Hoy vamos a hacer maracas./Maracas
belong to the percussion family./Las maracas pertenecen a la familia de percusión. Guide children to fill plastic bottles with dry beans.
Children can label their bottle using crayons or colored pencils and decorate it with yarn. When maracas are complete, you
can lead children in a parade. Encourage them to shake or hit their maracas to a beat. Ask volunteers to tell you what family
each musical instrument belongs to. If children have trouble remembering the families, refer them to the book. Afterwards,
review the instrument names and colors as a class in English and Spanish.

Home Connection  (Teacher, you may want to photocopy NATIONAL STANDARDS

this activity for children to complete with a family member.)
Talk with your child about the instruments he/she learned
about. If you play an instrument, tell him or her about it and
explain why you chose to learn that instrument. Ask your
child what instrument he/she would like to play and why.
Review colors in English and Spanish.
Language Arts: K-12.1, K-12.3—K-12.12
Mathematics: Numbers PK-2.1, PK-2.2; Algebra PK-2.1, PK-2.4; Geometry PK-2.1—PK-2.4;
Data & Analysis PK-2.1; Connections PK-12.3; Representations PK-12.1, PK-12.3
Science: K-4.1, K-4.2, K-4.4
Social Studies: Geography: K-12.1, K-12.2
Visual Arts: K-4.1, K-4.2, K-4.3, K-4.5, K-4.6
Foreign Language: K-12.1, K-12.3, K-12.4, K-12.5

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