How To Use Laughter to Teach Spanish (and Why It Works)
cut out each rectangle and laminate them. Give one slip to two or more students, they must keep it secret from the class
I am pressing on with these exploratory Spanish resources, and the making of them has been—let us say—educational in its own right. From the classroom coalface one learns a simple truth: children are captured by laughter. They relish being silly, a condition schools too often proscribe as if mirth were a vice. I relish it with them. Those outbreaks of unabashed goofiness do more than lighten the air; they lodge the lesson. What is laughed at is remembered, and what is remembered is learned.
In short, I devised a classroom acting lesson that meets our discovery-level Spanish standards through the oldest triad in pedagogy: acting silly, listening, and speaking. This resource uses printable materials (sample above) and access to our google slides.
What you need (5-minute prep)
Print the action cards (animals + feelings). ✂️ Cut into slips and laminate.
Open the Google slide with all eight animals so guessers can point and say the answer.
Optional: mini whiteboards for team scores; a timer.
How it works (step-by-step)
Secret slips: Hand one card to 2–3 students (actors). They keep it secret.
Rehearse (30–45 sec): Actors plan a quick, silent skit to show both the animal and the emotion.
Act: Actors perform. It’s okay to make sound effects—but no English clues.
Guess to win: Rest of class raises hands. To earn a point, a student must say the full sentence in Spanish and point to the animal on the slide. The slide has sentence starters to help students Say the entire spanish sentence.
Ellos están… or Ellas están…
Él está…
Ella está…Rotate roles: New actors, new card, repeat. As some students will feel embarrassed, we can have students work in groups of two and three.
Team option
Split the class into Team A and Team B. Alternate which team sends actors. First correct Spanish sentence earns a point. Play to 6–8 points or until time.
Language targets (Novice level)
Structures:
[el/la + animal] + está + emoción
muy (very): “El elefante está muy cansado.”
Pronunciation support (say-and-echo):
está (ehs-TAH) = is
muy (MOO-ee) = very
Vocabulary (use 6–8 per class)
The vocabulary words are provided in the Google slide presentation, along with the audio narrations. I suggest completing other parts of the resource before doing the acting bit.Animales: el conejo (rabbit), el caballo (horse), el hipopótamo (hippo), el perro (dog), el pájaro (bird), la vaca (cow), el elefante (elephant), el gato (cat)
Emociones: nervioso/a (nervous), cansado/a (tired), tranquilo/a (calm), feliz (happy), triste (sad), sorprendido/a (surprised), enojado/a (angry)
Sentence frames on the board:
“El/La ____ está _____.”
“El/La ____ está muy _____.”
Why it works
Comprehensible input + kinesthetic output = sticky learning.
Students get tons of reps with está + emotions, while hearing correct models from peers.
The game frame lowers affective filter—silliness is a feature, not a bug.
I think this silly activity works for exploratory Spanish, precisely because it is silly, they get to move and have to speak the language in order to win points!
Classroom tips (manage the fun!)
Noise plan: 30–45 seconds of acting, then a quick 3-2-1 hand signal to reset.
Group actors (2–3) to reduce stage fright.
Equity sticks or a rotating “First Guesser” so many voices get turns.
Visual cue: Keep the slide up; it anchors vocabulary for instant success.
Differentiate & extend
Level up: Require two details (animal + emotion + “muy”): “La vaca está muy sorprendida.”
Partner talk (30 sec): After each round, turn-and-tell: “¿Cómo está el perro?” “Está feliz.”
Write & draw (exit ticket): Students sketch one animal and caption it: “El conejo está nervioso.”
Culture add-on: Connect to how animals appear in Latin American fables (e.g., clever rabbits, brave dogs). Have students vote on which animal matched the emotion best.
Assessment (quick + friendly)
Rubric-lite (0–2 pts/round)
2 = full sentence in Spanish, correct gender/adjective agreement
1 = partial Spanish/one word missing
0 = English only/inaudible
Exit slip: “Escribe 2 oraciones: El/La ____ está ____.”
Print & digital friendly
Use laminated action cards for years.
Project the animal lineup slide so guessers can point as they speak.
If teaching online, DM one student the card and have them act on camera while classmates guess in Spanish in the chat.
I would love to see these students act out “sad sheep” and “happy cow”, because my theory is that if we can get them to learn by being silly, then that is a memorable experience.
If you would like to find more exploratory Spanish resources, i just finished a great article about how to use semantic anchors in Spanish. Thank you for dropping by, and please check out my exploratory Spanish resources on Teachers Pay Teachers.
