1 - Friend or Principal? ~5 mins
Picture the school gate on a sunny morning in Spain. Neighbours, classmates and teachers are saying hello, but not all with the same words.
You already know some Spanish hellos from last year. Today the job gets sharper: choose the right one for the person in front of you.
Think in English first: would you greet a friend and the principal the same way? Tell your teacher one idea. We will learn the Spanish forms next.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Choose the right Spanish greeting for the person you meet
- Spot the friendly forms and the formal ones
- Say why Spanish needs two kinds of "you"
Take two or three quick answers only, in English. The point is to open the idea of register, not to settle it yet and not to push Spanish production before the word-table. Pupils met greetings in 5th Class, so treat this as a sharper second look rather than a first introduction. Do not confirm the "right" Spanish forms yet; the word-table in the next step will sort the groups. Optional aside: in much of Spain you will hear a bright ¡Hola! between neighbours; save the formal address for a new teacher, a shopkeeper or the doctor.
2 - Eight Spanish Greetings ~10 mins
Here are today's eight greetings in two groups on the board: Friendly and Time-of-day / more formal.
Tap each one, listen, then say it back together. We will run them in two short batches of four so your ear can keep up. Notice who each group fits: a classmate in the patio, or a principal, visitor or shopkeeper.
Keep the word-table on screen and point as you go. Choral-repeat in two batches of four (class together, then by table), not one long run of eight.
Batch 1 — Friendly / reply:
- Hola (OH-lah)
- ¿Cómo estás? (KOH-moh es-TAHS)
- Estoy bien, gracias (es-TOY bee-EN GRAH-see-ahs)
- Mucho gusto (MOO-choh GOOS-toh) — recognition focus today (first meeting)
Batch 2 — Time-of-day and formal address:
- Buenos días (BWEH-nos DEE-ahs) — morning; polite and fine with anyone, including friends
- Buenas tardes (BWEH-nahs TAR-des) — afternoon; same idea
- Buenas noches (BWEH-nahs NO-ches) — evening hello; also means good night when you leave — today we use it as an evening hello (recognition focus in partner work)
- ¿Cómo está usted? (KOH-moh es-TAH oos-TEHD) — formal "how are you"; point out that usted is the formal "you"
Core oral production today (lean on these six): Hola, Buenos días, Buenas tardes, ¿Cómo estás?, ¿Cómo está usted?, Estoy bien, gracias. Treat Mucho gusto and Buenas noches mainly as listen-and-recognise this lesson.
Have fun exaggerating the stress on es-TAHS once — make it theatrical, then say it normally. Keep the pace warm and brisk; they have met several of these before.
3 - Match the Greetings ~10 mins
Flip two cards at a time and find each Spanish greeting with its English meaning. The board shows six pairs so turns stay snappy. When a pair matches, say the Spanish together with the class.
Whole-class IWB only: you or a volunteer flips two cards; on each match the class says the Spanish together. If a pair is missed twice, pause, chorally repeat the Spanish, then continue. No devices needed.
The board is set to eight pairs, one for every greeting taught today. Listen for the soft d in días and the clear stress on TAHS in estás. Cheer a clean match — short and genuine is enough.
4 - Into Your Copy ~3 mins
Open your copy. Keep looking at the word-table on the board and copy two greetings from it (one friendly, one more formal is ideal — e.g. Hola and ¿Cómo está usted?).
Beside each one, write in English who you would say it to and who you would not.
Pause the board interactives but leave the grouped word-table fully visible so nobody spells from memory. Everyone writes; this is the only three minutes where every pupil's pen is moving. Prompt simple pairs such as Hola with a friend and ¿Cómo está usted? with a principal or shopkeeper. Only the "who / who not" part needs their own English words. Check accents if they copy longer forms (días, Cómo, está). Do not collect these.
5 - Partner Greetings ~10 mins
Practise with a partner using the two role cards below. Partner A greets, Partner B replies, then swap after two turns.
- Classmate in the patio: friendly Hola and ¿Cómo estás?
- At the panadería (bakery): polite Buenos días and ¿Cómo está usted?
Partner B answers with the "I'm fine" line from today's list. Match the register to the person.
Before pairs begin, choral-practise the reply once: Estoy bien, gracias (es-TOY bee-EN GRAH-see-ahs). Then model both registers with a volunteer, reading the full lines aloud.
Model 1 — classmate in the patio (friendly):
A: Hola. ¿Cómo estás? (OH-lah. KOH-moh es-TAHS)
B: Hola. Estoy bien, gracias. (OH-lah. es-TOY bee-EN GRAH-see-ahs)
Model 2 — at the panadería / bakery (more formal):
A: Buenos días. ¿Cómo está usted? (BWEH-nos DEE-ahs. KOH-moh es-TAH oos-TEHD)
B: Buenos días. Estoy bien, gracias. (BWEH-nos DEE-ahs. es-TOY bee-EN GRAH-see-ahs)
Optional first-meeting aside (recognition only, not required in every pair): Mucho gusto (MOO-choh GOOS-toh) — "nice to meet you" — not a reply to "how are you".
Circulate and listen for register choice, not perfection. Praise pairs who switch register on purpose — that is the win today, not perfect accents. After a few minutes, pairs swap roles and try the other card.
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