Total Engagement of Young Children in Learning Spanish

I have found Oh Noah to be a fun and enjoyable way for my students to practice the words they are learning in Spanish and build upon that knowledge. There are many different activities and games that address various learning styles and resources that I can use in the classroom. I have experienced some glitches occasionally, but overall I have been very pleased with Oh Noah. My students really enjoy the videos and look forward to the games and activities that follow.

Oh Noah is an entertaining way for kids to learn basic Spanish words. The videos keep the kids attention, and the games include fun things like racing for word retention. Certain things may take awhile to load, but one students are playing they don’t want to stop. Second graders enjoyed it thoroughly and It would be great for even younger. My 4th graders who have had Spanish classes before didn't enjoy it as much because it was too easy. Some of the games do let you choose a level of easy, hard or pro. The younger kids especially found it funny and were often laughing loudly with their headphones on. You can choose games, videos or games in videos. I like that the website shows “Noah” interacting with different things and in different situations and the way kids are learning Spanish is more lifelike than just memorizing terms. There are also a variety of teacher resources available.

Oh Noah! Is a web-based set of activities based on short webisodes, all designed to introduce children to Spanish words and some simple Spanish phrases. Noah is an English-speaking boy who visits his grandmother (abuela) in a town where everyone speaks Spanish. As Noah attempts to communicate, he finds himself in some silly situations, and in the process of straightening things out, learns new Spanish words. The words are introduced in categories relevant to Noah’s adventures (e.g., he learns the names of farm animals when he visits a farm and has an encounter with a bull). Interspersed throughout the webisodes are interactive games designed to reinforce the new vocabulary words. Users can also play additional games without watching the webisodes, watch the webisodes without it pausing for game play (if, for example, a teacher wanted to show the webisode to the whole class, this would be a good option), and print work sheets. The website is further supported by ready-made lesson plans for each webisode that include suggestions for hands-on classroom activities in addition to the web games. As usual, PBS Kids offers a well-thought out package of learning materials. The short webisodes are cute and will certainly capture children’s attention. The related games and activities are varied enough to keep children interested and they may even pick up some Spanish vocabulary in the process! Many, though not all, links on the site have a voiceover when the user rolls over them so early and pre-readers should be able to navigate relatively easily. This is not in any way a comprehensive language instruction program, but it is a cute and fun way to introduce children to new vocabulary. The words introduced span a wide range of important beginner categories (e.g., animals, colors, numbers, food, etc.) In particular, Oh Noah! can be an important and unique way to infuse larger reading, science, art and culture, math, or social skills lessons with a little something extra.