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Spanish Greetings — Saludos

Third graders take their first steps in Spanish by learning common greetings — hola, buenos días, adiós — so they can say hello, ask how someone is, and say goodbye in a new language.

Grade 3Saludos35 minutes1 class periodACTFL / CommunicativeExplicit teaching4 StandardsACTFL
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Say hola and adiós.
  • ✓Use time-of-day greetings.
  • ✓Ask ¿cómo estás?
  • ✓Greet a partner.
Essential Question

¡Hola! That’s “hello” in Spanish — a language spoken by hundreds of millions of people! How do you greet someone and say goodbye in Spanish?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Match It · Interactive

Match the Greeting

Project this and match each Spanish greeting to its English meaning — tap the Spanish, then tap the English.

👋 Match each Spanish greeting to its meaningTry it
Español
English
Now tap the English!
The Lesson · Communicative Flow (Warm-Up · Present · Practice · Speak · Reflect)

35 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — ¡Hola!

5 min

“Hola” means hello — how do we greet people in Spanish?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say “hola” together.
  • Ask what it means.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say hola.
  • Guess it.
  • Get ready.
2

Present — New Greetings

8 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Present each greeting.
  • Say them aloud.
  • Practice the sounds.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Listen.
  • Repeat.
  • Practice.
3

Practice — Match the Greeting

9 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Match the Greeting.
  • Match each one.
  • Say them aloud.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Match them.
  • Say them.
  • Explain them.
4

Speak — Speak

8 min

Students speak.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Greet a partner in Spanish.
  • Ask ¿cómo estás?
  • Say adiós.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Greet a partner.
  • Ask it.
  • Say bye.
5

Reflect — Reflect

5 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say a greeting.
  • Say what it means.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say one.
  • Explain it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (Novice).

ACTFL
Communication 1.1

Interpersonal: exchange greetings and farewells.

ACTFL
Cultures 2.1

Recognize cultural practices of greeting.

ACTFL
Comparisons 4.2

Compare greetings across languages.

ACTFL
Communities 5.1

Use Spanish greetings beyond the classroom.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Greeting picture cards.
  • Sentence frame: “___ means ___.”
  • Practice with a partner.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with hola and adiós.
  • Match one pair at a time.
  • Repeat aloud.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Add more greetings.
  • Have a Spanish conversation.
  • Learn responses.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🗣️Audio of greetings
  • 💻Match the Greeting
  • 👥Partner cards
  • 🖍️Crayons
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

holahellobuenos díasgood morningbuenas tardesgood afternoonbuenas nochesgood nightadiósgoodbye¿cómo estás?how are you?graciasthank youpor favorplease
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
How do you say “hello” in Spanish?
Hola.
QUESTION 2
What does “adiós” mean?
Goodbye.
QUESTION 3
What does “¿cómo estás?” mean?
How are you?

Reflect: greet in Spanish.

Have students greet a family member in Spanish today — with “hola” and “¿cómo estás?” — and share how it went. A printable saludos sheet is in the World Languages library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Spanish Greetings (Saludos)Flip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Spanish Greetings (Saludos)Quiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Spanish Greetings (Saludos)Print
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: adiós, buenas noches, buenas tardes, buenos días, gracias, hola, por favor, ¿cómo estás?
  1. good morning
  2. please
  3. good afternoon
  4. good night
  5. thank you
  6. hello
  7. goodbye
  8. how are you?

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. How do you say “hello” in Spanish?
  2. What does “adiós” mean?
  3. What does “¿cómo estás?” mean?
Answer key — Part A: 1) buenos días · 2) por favor · 3) buenas tardes · 4) buenas noches · 5) gracias · 6) hola · 7) adiós · 8) ¿cómo estás?
Part B: 1) Hola. 2) Goodbye. 3) How are you?