Resources for Going to the Doctor

My third graders have spiraled back to body parts and are in the middle of our going to the doctor unit.  We've been working up to playing with my stash of doctor toys in a doctor/patient role play. Here are my top 3 resources I've used for this thematic unit.

1. Mi Burro Enfermo Está

We started out by watching and singing along to the traditional song Mi Burro Enfermo Está. I recommend Traposo because the graphics are cute and it has closed captions you can turn on so students can sing along (that are actually correct. I love to turn on captions but sometimes they can be WAY off!)

2. Jokes in the target language

We've also been learning to tell jokes in Spanish class. It's authentic, it's great presentational speaking and it's age appropriate. The cornier the better!  We've been telling the following joke to practice Me duele _____.  I project it on the SMART board and my students practice it with their face partner using the Kagan structure Rally Robin.

-Doctor, Doctor, si me toco la oreja me duele.
Si me toco la boca, me duele.
Si me toco la nariz, me duele.
Si me toco el brazo, me duele.
Si me toco la pierna, me duele.
¿Qué es el problema, doctor?
El doctor le dice:
– Pues, que tiene el dedo roto.

And we never forget to add the ba-dum-tss at the end! It is, after all, a pretty corny joke. In order to get them to read it with feeling (and to up the ante) I've told them that we will have a joke tell-off with the principal and vice-principal serving as judges.  For more jokes in Spanish check out Spanish Playground's post!

3. Doctor Role Play

I blogged last year about using Doctor dramatic play in first grade. This year I have added a receptionist who takes patients' names and asks them to sit down. Patients can read my Spanish Let's Go Scholastic magazines while they wait to be called back. I also added task cards and my mini doctors can hand out prescriptions on a prescription pad!

We've practiced all the roles and the task cards in whole group and with our partners so that I'm sure they are confident enough to use their Spanish, otherwise, they get so excited and only play in English. We discussed at the end of class how much Spanish they used and how our goal is to increase that each time we play. 

You can expand to include even more depending on the level of your students. I have students visiting radiology to get X-rays and if your students know and need to practice their alphabet in the target language an eye chart is another great authentic way to practice.

Download free expanded doctor role play forms & task cards here

Download free play X-rays here

Download free eye chart here

What resources do you use for going to the doctor? Share in the comments below or on Twitter using the hashtag #earlylang!