Spanish Calendar Time: Days of the Week & Counting Practice

Lesson 423 • By Christopher Murray (Expanded Version)
Grade Levels: K–2 (adaptable for 3–5)

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Learn and correctly pronounce the Spanish names of the days of the week.

• Use Spanish question/response patterns to identify today, yesterday, and tomorrow.

• Learn Spanish number words while counting the dates on the calendar.

• Build daily listening, speaking, and memory skills through repetition.

• Develop confidence in using Spanish outside of formal lesson time.

Materials

• Classroom calendar (monthly pocket chart or wall calendar)

• Pointer or stick (optional but fun!)

• Day-of-the-week cards in Spanish (optional but recommended)

• Number cards (optional)

Daily Calendar Routine (Plan)

Christopher’s approach is perfect—simple, natural, embedded in real classroom routines. Below is a polished, step-by-step version you can follow.

️ 1. Introduce the Days of the Week (Start of School Year)

Begin with the day of the week you are on.
Example: If it’s Monday, teach Lunes.

Use the word all day long:

• “Today is lunes.”

• “Put your homework folder in the bin for lunes.”

• “Our line leader for lunes is….”

As each new day arrives, introduce the next word, until all siete días are learned.

Spanish Days of the Week:

️ 2. Daily Question Routine (After All 7 Are Learned)

Once they know all the days, start the daily questioning ritual:

Teacher asks → Students answer:

• ¿Hoy es? (Today is?)
  → Hoy es lunes.

• ¿Ayer fue? (Yesterday was?)
  → Ayer fue domingo.

• ¿Mañana será? (Tomorrow will be?)
  → Mañana será martes.

This builds natural conversation patterns, not just vocabulary memorization.

Pro Tip: Rotate student helpers to lead the questioning.

3. Counting the Dates on the Calendar (Beginning of Any Month)

Start fresh with Day 1 of the new month.

Each day:

1. Point to the number.

2. Say it in Spanish.

3. Have students repeat.

4. Count from 1 up to today’s date in Spanish.

Example (on the 9th):

“Vamos a contar… uno, dos, tres… nueve.”

Students LOVE counting higher than needed—use it!
By year’s end, most students can count well past cien (100).

Optional Enhancements

1. Visual Cards

Use Spanish day-of-the-week cards with colors and icons to reinforce learning visually.

2. Movements for Each Day

Example:

• Lunes → clap

• Martes → stomp

• Miércoles → jump
  This helps kinesthetic learners.

3. Add Weather in Spanish

• Hace sol (Sunny)

• Está nublado (Cloudy)

• Hace frío (Cold)

• Hace calor (Hot)

Add: “¿Qué tiempo hace hoy?”

4. Add Months of the Year

Slowly introduce:

• Enero

• Febrero

• Marzo
  …etc.

5. Use Songs

There are many simple Spanish “Days of the Week” songs perfect for K–5.

Differentiation by Grade Level

Kindergarten

• Focus on repeating words

• Use visuals

• Count to ~10–20 reliably

• Lots of gestures and songs

1st–2nd Grade

• Full sentences (Hoy es…, Ayer fue…)

• Counting to 31–60

• Simple written practice

• Matching games (day → Spanish word)

3rd–5th Grade

• Add spelling practice

• Create weekly schedules in Spanish

• Discuss before and after concepts (“¿Qué día viene después de jueves?”)

• Counting to 100+

• Mini-conversations in pairs:
  → “¿Qué día te gusta más?” “Me gusta viernes.”

Informal Assessment

Look for whether students can:

• Say the day of the week in Spanish

• Answer “Today/Yesterday/Tomorrow” questions

• Count from 1 to today’s date

• Recognize day words when written

• Participate orally with confidence