Festivals and Celebrations: Easter in Spain

Aim Key/New Words Resources

Broaden their vocabulary and develop their
ability to understand new words that are
introduced into familiar written material in
the context of festivals and celebrations.
To learn about how Easter is celebrated in
Spain.
Success Criteria
I can show my understanding of how people
celebrate Easter in Spain.
I can compare the Spanish traditions during
Easter with the ones in other countries.
I can name a range of key vocabulary in
Spanish related to Easter in Spain.
La Semana Santa [Easter], Domingo de Lesson Pack
Ramos [Palm Sunday], Jueves Santo [Holy
Mini whiteboards – as required.
Thursday], Viernes Santo [Good Friday],
Domingo de Pascua [Easter Sunday], las
palmas [palm branches], las procesiones
[processions], las monas de Pascua
[Spanish traditional Easter cakes that
contain Easter eggs and decorations], los
huevos de Pascua [Easter eggs], las torrijas
[Spanish version of French toast].
Additional Useful Vocabulary Preparation
Easter Traditions Flashcards – one per
group.
Differentiated Easter in Spain Activity
Sheet – one per child.

Prior Learning It will be helpful if children know how to say the date in Spanish.

Learning Sequence
What Do You Know About Easter in Spain?: Using the Lesson Presentation, show children a few pictures of how
Easter is celebrated in Spain without providing any more information/context. Put children in pairs and ask them to 10
discuss what they see and what know already about this festival. Do they think it is a sad/scary festival? Can they mins
guess any traditions? Collect suggestions from the class and discuss their ideas.

La Semana Santa en España [Easter in Spain]: Use the Lesson Presentation to explain about how the festival
is celebrated. Show the main Spanish traditions during Easter, as well as introducing the main vocabulary with 10
mins
corresponding pictures. Play the sound files of the new words and ask children to repeat.

Quiz Time!: In mixed-ability teams, children use their new knowledge to answer the questions about Easter in
Spain. Give them a mini whiteboard and a pen per group so that they can write the corresponding letter of the 10
correct answer. Answers will be displayed on the Lesson Presentation after a click. The quiz gets progressively mins
more challenging, so make sure less confident pupils participate at the beginning of the game. Can they show their
understanding of how people celebrate Easter in Spain?

Easter Traditions: Explain that Easter is celebrated around the world at the same time of the year but there are big
differences between countries. First, put children in pairs and ask them to discuss briefly how they celebrate Easter 10
(e.g. Easter egg hunt, Easter bunny…). Then, give them a set of Easter Traditions Flashcards. Ask them to read the mins
statements and to decide which Easter traditions belong to Spain. Once children have sorted their cards, answers
can be displayed on the Lesson Presentation after a click, with the corresponding explanation. Can they compare
the Spanish traditions during Easter with the ones in other countries?

¡Tu turno! [Your Turn!]: Using the differentiated Easter in Spain Activity Sheet children demonstrate their
understanding of the key vocabulary from the lesson. Then, with their partner, they list the key points they’ve learnt 15
about Easter in Spain. Can they name a range of key vocabulary in Spanish related to Easter in Spain? mins

*Children identify the **Children complete the *** Children complete the
correct option from vocabulary by choosing vocabulary with the correct
choice of two (example from the word bank missing vowels (example
provided). Speaking provided (example provided). Speaking
activity includes a bank provided). Speaking activity doesn’t include any
of questions to guide activity includes a bank extra support.
their answers. of questions to guide
their answers.

Taskit
Playit: Another Spanish festival that takes place near Easter is ‘Las Fallas’ in Valencia, which starts every 19th March and lasts for a whole
week. Download this pack to find out more about this festival and other Spanish traditions. Consider creating a display in your
classroom with all of the different Spanish festivals your children are learning about.
Paintit: Look for more information about Easter in Spain and create your own leaflet as if you were promoting this festival to other children
that don’t know about it. Then, display your leaflet around the school to show off your work!

Spanish | Festivals and Celebrations | Easter in Spain visit twinkl.com

Language Notes
• Although Easter is a Christian festival, many people across Spain enjoy celebrating the traditions.
• Easter activities in Spain begin more than a month before Easter itself. Many cities celebrate Carnival, when there are street parties,
dressing up, parades and lots of fun. For more information on Carnival, please click here.
• Martes de carnaval, or Shrove Tuesday, is the day before Lent starts. Miércoles de ceniza, or Ash Wednesday, is the first day of Lent when
many people in Spain will go to church. In the church, priests smear ashes on worshippers’ heads, to remind them to be sorry for what they
have done wrong. Lent is a period of forty days when many people fast or give up things.
• About four weeks later, Christians celebrate Palm Sunday. This day recalls the story of when Jesus entered Jerusalem with all his followers
waving palm branches. In Spain, families bring branches of all different types of trees to church to be blessed by the priest. Palm Sunday is
the beginning of ‘Holy Week’, which leads up to Easter itself.

Disclaimer/s
The nature of this resource requires independent, child-led research. It is advisable to use only pre-selected, child-appropriate sources of
information and websites that are appropriate to their age. Please also be aware that there may be aspects of a topic or individual’s life
which may be controversial or upsetting to some. Due to this, we highly recommend that you carefully consider all research activities before
undertaking them with children.

Spanish | Festivals and Celebrations | Easter in Spain visit twinkl.com