This Spanish video introduces teachers to the range of detective skills used to help Key Stage 2 pupils develop language comprehension and production. It models four simple strategies pupils can use with any new text: recognising known words, identify cognates, using grammatical understanding and applying context and wider knowledge. It introduces the bilingual Spanish–English dictionary through a fruit theme, highlighting helpful cognates such as limón and pera, and draws attention to un and una as signals of noun gender. These comparisons provide hooks for memory and opportunities to reinforce spelling and phonics.

The video shows how to work with authentic material, spotting layout cues and words that look familiar or can be worked out from context. It also explores predicting the flow of a conversation, helping pupils grasp gist even when every word is not known. Lastly, it broadens the idea of ‘detective work’ beyond words, demonstrating how gesture, facial expression and tone can support and strengthen communication skills.

This video is part of Kapow Primary’s Spanish Year 3 and 4 teacher videos, which support teachers in developing confidence and subject knowledge when helping children learn to communicate with increasing fluency in another language.

See more of our Year 3 and 4 Spanish scheme of work.

• Spanish, Mixed-age, Y3/4 (B): Unit 4: Weather in Spain
• Spanish, Mixed-age, Y3/4 (A): Unit 4: Classroom objects in Spanish