Parents and Families

Fun hands-on activities designed to reinforce and build on the Spanish vocabulary introduced in the Oh Noah! videos and games. Information About the Website on PBS KIDS and the Oh Noah! Educational Goals. Webisode Descriptions and background information about The Characters.

Here's what you'll find on the Oh Noah! site on PBS KIDS:

• To access the interactive videos, click on Videos and select the tab labeled “Videos with Game.”
• At two points in each webisode, the video will pause and invite players to take a Match It challenge in which they can learn a set of vocabulary words, then play a Concentration-style matching game involving those words. Players can choose take the challenge, or return to the video without playing.
• After players complete each Match It challenge, the animated story continues.
• At the end of the webisode, a menu screen appears that allows kids to choose from the two Match It challenges they’ve already encountered, plus two new games – Word Race and You Catch It, You Keep It – which reinforce the same vocabulary words explored in the Match It games.

Each interactive webisode located in the “Videos with Games” section of the website features two scenes designed for virtual vocabulary exploration. Taking a cue from Pequeño, kids can use their computer mouse to roll over objects to hear the Spanish name in Coco’s voice, as the name appears on the screen. After exploring rollovers in a scene, kids have the option to play three different games to reinforce the vocabulary learning.

The arcade-style action of the games is grounded in the familiar. The advantage is that players already will be comfortable with the dynamics of the game, which allows them to focus on the language. The games also are available as stand-alone elements in the “Games” section of the website.

Game #1: Match It
A row of cards appears. Each card features one of the rollover items. A second row of cards features the Spanish names, pronounced by Coco when kids click on them. Players make a match by first clicking on a rollover item, and then on the correct Spanish name. The goal is to make all five matches as quickly as possible in a race against the clock.

Game #2: You Catch It, You Keep It
Pequeño is at the bottom of the screen wearing a baseball glove. Using the arrow keys on the computer, the player directs Pequeño’s movements to catch the object falling from the sky that Coco names in Spanish, which also appears in written form. The goal is to catch all the items in a given round before three misses. There are three different levels – easy, hard, and pro. Difficulty increases when more objects fall at a faster pace.

Game #3: Word Race
This game puts the player in the driver’s seat. A group of four expressions are presented together with written Spanish text and line drawings illustrating their meaning. Then kids are presented with an individual drawing and must select the appropriate phrase that matches. Difficulty increases when the car moves faster.

Game #4: How Do You Say…?
This interactive game provides kids with an opportunity to learn Spanish expressions used commonly in conversation. After hearing translation of a group of four expressions, together with written Spanish text and line drawings illustrating their meaning, kids then are presented with individual drawings and must select the appropriate phrase that matches. After making a series of four correct matches, kids may print out a page of the four illustrated pages to color, turn into flash cards, or combine with other sheets to create a phrase booklet.