Spanish I · 30 minutes
Suggested grades 9–12 · Unit 2: Describe and Make a Choice · Lesson 1 of 2
Describe a Study Space for a Visitor
Select understandable sentences that distinguish what exists from where it is.
Mr. S Teaches · Original starter lesson · HS-SP1-03 · Grade range is planning guidance.Language practice target
Practice target: familiar words, supported phrases and short sentences. This is a classroom task target, not an independently assessed proficiency rating or a guaranteed Spanish I exit level.
Watch, notice, discuss
Video choices for this lesson
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Spanish Lesson: Prepositions & Adverbs in Spanish
By Butterfly Spanish
Model object-location phrases, then apply them to the lesson’s study-space sketch.
Open on YouTube: Spanish Lesson: Prepositions & Adverbs in Spanish (opens a new tab) ↗Ser or estar? [Speaking Spanish]
By Butterfly Spanish
Review estar for locations before describing objects; the lesson supplies the objects and presentation task.
Open on YouTube: Ser or estar? [Speaking Spanish] (opens a new tab) ↗10 common questions in Spanish
By Butterfly Spanish
Use the where-is question pattern to check whether a partner’s description is clear.
Open on YouTube: 10 common questions in Spanish (opens a new tab) ↗Which location phrase helps a visitor find an object without guessing?
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Learning objective
Present five short sentences identifying objects and their locations for a visitor.
Before you begin
- Recognize singular and plural nouns and basic numbers.
Gather your materials
- Paper and pencil
- The original Spanish text and phrase bank included in this lesson
Language to know
- hay
- There is or there are; introduces the existence of something.
- está / están
- Is/are located in the location examples used here.
- al lado de
- Next to; describes a spatial relationship.
- la mesa
- The table; a feminine singular noun.
Understand the concept
Original room plan in words: one table beside the window; two books on the table; one chair to the left of the table. Bank: una ventana (a window), dos libros (two books), una silla (a chair), encima de (on top of), a la izquierda de (to the left of). Use hay to introduce an item: hay una mesa. Once the item is identified, use a location sentence: la mesa está al lado de la ventana. Plural books take están in this location pattern. These are selected patterns, not a complete account of ser and estar.
Teach it step by step
- Sketch the supplied plan and identify which descriptions introduce an object and which locate it.
- Build one hay sentence and one location sentence together, checking the noun and verb number.
- Describe the books with están and a relation to the table. Have a listener point to the intended objects.
- Plan a five-sentence presentation for someone who has not seen the sketch. Use a clear order and a brief greeting.
- Present or write the description, collect one listener question and revise an ambiguous location.
Make the thinking visible
Worked example or model response
Hola. Hay una mesa y una ventana. La mesa está al lado de la ventana. Hay dos libros. Los libros están encima de la mesa. La silla está a la izquierda de la mesa. A visitor can use the description to reconstruct the main relationships.
Guided practice
Together describe a second simple plan: one book on a chair beside a table. Write an existence sentence and a location sentence.
Independent practice
Draw a different room with three object types. Prepare five Spanish sentences for a partner to sketch from the description. Include hay, one plural location and two spatial relationships.
Quick assessment
Correct this location sentence for two books: los libros está encima de la mesa. Explain the change.
Answer key & assessment criteria
Answers and teaching guidance
- Guided: hay un libro is an existence sentence; el libro está encima de la silla locates it. The chair can be la silla está al lado de la mesa.
- Independent criteria: the description matches the plan, existence and location serve different purposes, plural objects use están and the visitor can identify the intended relations. Alternate coherent room designs are welcome.
- Assessment: los libros están encima de la mesa. The plural subject los libros requires están in this selected location pattern.
Look for: Prioritize a comprehensible message for the visitor and accurate application of the chosen patterns, without presenting all ser/estar uses as mastered.
Make it work for your learner
More support
Offer object labels and sentence frames, or let the learner arrange paper shapes instead of drawing.
Extension challenge
Add a question from a visitor and revise the description to eliminate a viewpoint ambiguity about left/right.
Verified references · Selected contributions
Standards connections
Subject-content standards
These records identify the part of a subject standard practiced here. Course placement is instructional guidance; the source’s category or band remains authoritative.
Contributes to world-language standard
Presentational Communication
World-Readiness Standards · All learner levels · selected introductory task
Present a simple description organized for an audience’s practical purpose.
Read the official standard ↗The named standard is the identifier used in the current official summary. This supported presentational task practices one selected communicative purpose; it does not demonstrate the entire standard, independent spontaneous proficiency or a state course crosswalk.
Verified 2026-11-04. Selected contribution, not full attainment.