Moving Lotería: Here It Comes!

Mexican lotería on the move: the teacher, as the caller, sings out each card with its traditional saying, and everyone acts out the picture with their body before covering it on their board. It builds body expression and attention through a game loved by Mexican families.

How to play

1. Each child has a hoop with a cardstock board showing four lotería pictures and four large markers. The teacher shows the cards we'll use and a move for each: the rooster (flap on one foot), the frog (squat jumps), the ladder (high knees), the sun (arms in a circle), the cactus (freeze with bent arms like paddles), the canoe (row sitting down), the drum (stomp) and the heron (balance on one foot) (3 min).
2. The caller starts with the traditional "¡Corre y se va!" ("Here it goes!"), draws a card and calls it with its saying, for example the rooster's "he who sang to Saint Peter won't sing to him again" (2 min).
3. Everyone, whether or not they have that picture, moves like it around the room for a few seconds; at "Back to your board!" they return to their hoop, and anyone who has it covers it with a marker (6 min).
4. When someone fills their board, they shout "¡Lotería!" and the whole group celebrates with the move of their favorite picture; keep going until everyone's board is full (3 min).
5. Collect the markers and close with the setting-sun card: arms slowly lower until we're sitting down (1 min).

Rules

• Everyone moves with every card, whether or not it's on their board.
• We go back to our hoop when the caller says "Back to your board!"
• When someone calls "¡Lotería!", we all celebrate.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: each picture also has an arm and upper-body move that can be done sitting.
• Hearing impairment: the caller holds the card up high and keeps it visible while everyone moves.
• Autism: preview the pictures with the board in hand from the start, and warn about the "¡Lotería!" shout so it isn't a surprise.

Learning goals

• Act out animals and objects with the body.
• Recognize pictures from Mexican lotería.
• Follow a cue to return to one's spot.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Large lotería cards: 8
• Cardstock lotería boards: 25
• Large cardstock markers: 100
• Hoops: 25

Teacher tip

Mexican lotería has 54 cards; pick the simplest ones and skip any that aren't right for young children. "¡Corre y se va!" is what the caller traditionally says to start; use large cardstock markers instead of beans or pebbles, which are choking hazards.

More main activities for Elementary