Los pollitos - Spanish Playground

Los pollitos
Traditional song illustrated by Patrick Hitesman Guide for Teachers and Parents by Jennifer Brunk Text copyright © 2013 by Jennifer Brunk Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Patrick Hitesman All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted without
written permission.
Los pollitos dicen pío, pío pío
2 cuando tienen hambre, cuando tienen frío.
3 La gallina busca el maíz y el trigo.
4 Les da la comida y les presta abrigo.
5 Bajo sus dos alas, acurrucaditos,
6 hasta el otro día duermen los pollitos.
7 8 9 10 11 Los pollitos: A Guide for Teachers and Parents
This story and coloring book engages children with language and culture through storytelling, music, art and movement.
Throughout the Spanish-speaking world children sing the traditional song Los pollitos, describing how a hen takes care of
her chicks. These pages create a story from the simple lyrics. The illustrations clearly communicate the meaning of the
Spanish text and also emphasize the message of the song, that adults care for little ones and keep them safe. This story book and the included activities create a rich language-learning experience as children • listen to the story • sing the song • color the pictures • act out the story with the puppets • play games with the picture cards and story pages • continue to use the language as they do the suggested extension activities Reading Together Print the cover and story pages to make a book. Bind the book by stapling the pages together or punching holes and tying
them with yarn. You may want to print the cover on card stock.
• As you read, point to the pictures. Act out the words to help children understand them. For example, with tienen hambre
point to the empty food dish, rub your stomach and say tienen hambre in a sad voice. For tienen frío, hug yourself and
shiver.
• Turn the pages of the book as you listen to the song.
Words from the story
los pollitos – the chicks
pío – peep
Tienen hambre. – They are hungry.
Tienen frío. – They are cold.
la gallina – the hen
busca – looks for
el maíz – the corn
el trigo – the wheat la comida – the food bajo – under las alas – wings Duermen – They
sleep.
Vocabulary in the illustrations
el plato – the dish
el árbol – the tree
las nubes – the clouds
el caballo – the horse
el granero – the barn
el viento – the wind Hace viento. – It’s windy. la lluvia – the rain
Está lloviendo. – It’s raining.
la luna – the moon
12 Singing Together Los pollitos is a traditional song and widely available. I teach the version from Music with Sara. The tempo is perfect for
children learning Spanish and the song is very clear. You can hear and download Los pollitos from Music with Sara on
Bandcamp at http://musicwithsara.bandcamp.com/. It is on the Más Canciones en Español CD. There is a link to the song
on the Los pollitos page of Spanish Playground. You can listen to many versions of Los pollitos on YouTube. Because the song is traditional and children sing it in all
Spanish-speaking countries, you will find slight variations in the tune and lyrics. • Turn the pages of the story book as you listen to or sing the song.
• Sing the song as you color the story pages. Coloring Together • Use the vocabulary from the story as you color. Also, listen to the song as you color.
Sentences to use as you color
El pollito dice pío, pío. – The chick says peep, peep. Veo tres pollitos. Uno, dos, tres. – I see three chicks. One, two, three. Los pollitos tienen hambre. – The chicks are hungry. Está lloviendo. Los pollitos tienen frío. – It’s raining. The chicks are cold. La gallina busca comida para los pollitos. – The hen is looking for food for the chicks. La gallina encontró el maíz. – The hen found the corn. Veo trigo para los pollitos. – I see wheat for the chicks. Los pollitos tienen hambre. Corren. – The chicks are hungry. They are running. Los pollitos van a comer. – The chicks are going to eat. Los pollitos comieron. – The chicks ate.
No tienen hambre. – They are not hungry.
Los pollitos están bajo las alas de la gallina.– The chicks are under the hen’s wings.
No tienen frío. – They are not cold. Los pollitos están acurrucaditos. – The chicks are curled up. Es de noche. Los pollitos están durmiendo. – It’s nighttime. The chicks are sleeping. 13 Telling Stories Together Print the puppets on cardstock or print on paper to glue to light cardboard. Color and cut out the puppets. You will need
one or more chicks, the hen and the corn and wheat. Tape craft sticks to the chicks and hen.
• Play with the puppets and use the vocabulary without telling the story. For example, with a chick puppet, say tiene
hambre and make the chick pretend to eat out of your hand. Say tiene frío and snuggle the puppet to make it warm. Say
duerme and make the chick go to sleep. With the hen, say busca el maíz and have her look and find the corn. Say tiene
hambre and make her eat the corn. Say duerme and make her go to sleep.
• Sing the song or recite the story and move the puppets.
• Use the puppets to tell the story in the first person.
Sentences to use with the puppets
Los pollitos
La gallina
Pío, pío – Peep, peep
No hay comida. – There is no food.
Tengo hambre. – I’m hungry.
Está lloviendo. – It’s raining.
Tengo frío. – I’m cold.
Quiero comer. – I want to eat.
¿Dónde está Mamá? – Where is Mom?
Oigo a Mamá. ¡Vamos! – I hear Mom. Let’s go!
Me gusta el maíz. – I like the corn. Me gusta el trigo. – I like the wheat.
Gracias, Mamá. – Thanks, Mom. Tengo sueño. – I’m sleepy. ¡(Aquí está) El maíz! – (Here is) The corn! ¡(Aquí está) El trigo! – (Here is) The wheat! ¡Pollitos, vengan! (Pollito, ven.) – Chicks come here! Coman, pollitos. (Come, pollito.) – Eat, chicks. Es tarde. – It’s late.
Duérmanse. (Duérmete.) – Go to sleep. Los quiero. (Te quiero.) – I love you.
Buenas noches. – Good night.
14 Playing Together
Print the picture cards on card stock. Cut out the cards. Children can color them if they like. Print extra story pages for the
activities below. You can print them on card stock or glue them to light card board so they are easier to handle and last
longer. For children who know their numbers, you might want to remove the page numbers for sequencing activities. • Play a searching game called La gallina busca. Hide picture cards of the corn, wheat and chicks. Children are “las
gallinas” and search for the cards. Use the words as they are seach: Busca el trigo. ¡Encontraste un pollito! ¿Dónde está
el maíz? • Play a hiding game with paper cups and pictures. You can cut out the pictures on the memory cards to make them
smaller. Children guess which cup the picture is under. To play, one child hides her eyes while you put the picture under
one of the cups. After hiding the picture, say¿Dónde está (el maíz)? Busca (el maíz) and the child guesses where it is.
Take turns hiding and guessing. Use the vocabulary as you play. • Play Memory using the picture cards. You will need two sets.
Sentences to use while playing Memory
Es la gallina. ¿Dónde está la otra gallina? - It’s the hen. Where is the other hen? ¿Aquí? No, no es la gallina. Es el maíz. - Here? No, that’s not the hen. It’s the corn. ¿Aquí? ¡Sí, es la gallina! - Here? Yes, it’s the hen! Te toca a ti. – It’s your turn. Me toca a mí. – It’s my turn. ¿Cuántas parejas tienes? - How many pairs do you have? Tengo (tres) parejas. - I have (three) pair. Ganaste. - You won. Gané. - I won
15 • Arrange the story pages on the floor in order and move to each page as you sing or listen to the song.
• Spread the pages out randomly on the floor. Move to each page as you sing or listen to the song.
• Spread the pages on a table. Sing the song and put the pages in order.
• For children who read, cut off the text and match the text to the pictures. • Play Duck, Duck Goose using the words gallina and pollito. • Act out the story. The children can be chicks and you can be the hen. Then switch parts. Use the pictures of wheat and
corn as props.
• Use the story pages for more craft activities. For example, glue feathers to the hen and chicks or add animal stickers to
the farm. Children can also make a cover for the story book. Exploring Together • Show your child photos of chicks snuggled under the wings of a hen. These are URLs to excellent photos on Flickr.
There are links to these photos on the Los pollitos page of Spanish Playground. http://www.flickr.com/photos/italintheheart/3432205888/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/italintheheart/3405094041/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/italintheheart/3460281988/ A word of caution - Do not search for pictures of chickens with your child. There are many graphic pictures of dead birds.
Find the photo you want first and show it to your child. • Watch animated videos of the song Los pollitos on YouTube. • Learn the song Josefina la Gallina. There is a link to the song on the Los pollitos page of Spanish Playground.
16 • Visit real chickens and chicks.
• Read this poem, Los pollitos, by Argentine author Olegario Víctor Andrade (1839 - 1882). All of Olegario Víctor
Andrade’s original works are in the public domain.
Los pollitos
Son preciosos mis pollitos menuditos. Son tan tiernos, tan chiquitos, tan sedosos, tan finitos, que en el mundo no hay pollitos tan bonitos. Pían, corren, hurgan, saltan, buscan, chillan, vienen, van, se pelean como locos por un pedazo de pan. La señora doña Clueca los vigila sin cesar. Los defiende de los gatos y los saca a pasear. Son tan tiernos, tan chiquitos, tan sedosos, tan finitos, que en el mundo no hay pollitos más graciosos más bonitos que mis pollos menuditos.
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