Open House: Students Take Your Fruit Order… in Spanish!

During this year’s Open House, our primary Spanish students took part in a real-life learning experience that reflected the core values of the PYP: active, meaningful learning connected to everyday life. They designed an interactive activity for families where they used their Spanish speaking and listening skills in a functional, real-world context—ordering food.

The unit was centered around the idea that communication allows us to interact in everyday situations, and students showed agency and independence by planning and leading the entire experience.

• Year 2 students prepared fruit smoothies. They practiced vocabulary related to fruits and useful expressions for ordering and responding, while taking on the role of servers, interacting with parents confidently and politely.

• Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5 students created their own menus and set up fruit stick stands. Parents had to read the menu in Spanish and order their chosen combination. Students listened carefully, prepared the fruit sticks, and responded using full sentences. This activity strengthened not only their language skills but also their social and organizational abilities.

• Year 6 students organized a fruit salad stand where visitors could choose their fruits and place their order in Spanish. The students responded using real-life phrases such as “What would you like?”, “Here you go”, and “Anything else?”, offering an authentic and immersive experience.

It was a fantastic opportunity to put what they’ve learned in the classroom into practice in real and meaningful situations. Students also created the menus and signs showing the name of each fruit in Spanish, reinforcing their vocabulary in a visual and creative way.

To support families, we provided a simple guide with useful phrases to help them participate in Spanish, creating an inclusive environment where everyone could enjoy the experience together.

This event also highlighted the transdisciplinary nature of learning, as the Spanish subject connected naturally with Physical Education, especially through topics related to healthy eating. In this way, students not only developed their communication skills but also reflected on how to make healthy lifestyle choices.

It was a wonderful example of how language learning can be practical, meaningful, and fun.