Module 1: Building on Your Foundation

I’m glad you’re starting with Module 1! This will strengthen what you already know and fill in important gaps. Let’s break this down into manageable steps.

Word-Image Matching Game

Let’s create a visual vocabulary system for words you already know and some new ones.

Food Words

Here are some food words with visual memory hooks:

• vinho (wine) - Picture a vine with grapes
• cerveja (beer) - Sounds a bit like “service” - imagine serving beer
• salada (salad) - Similar to English “salad”
• pão (bread) - Picture a round loaf shaped like the letter “O”
• queijo (cheese) - Visualize yellow cheese with holes
• fruta (fruit) - Similar to English “fruit”
• água (water) - Imagine water flowing like the “á” sound

Common Fruits

• maçã (apple) - Picture a red apple with stem
• banana (banana) - Same as English!
• laranja (orange) - Connect to similar English word
• pêra (pear) - Pear shape resembles the letter “p”
• uvas (grapes) - Visualize a bunch of small round grapes

Greetings You Know

• olá (hello) - Wave your hand when saying it
• bom dia (good morning) - Picture morning sunshine
• boa tarde (good afternoon) - Picture afternoon shadows
• boa noite (good evening/night) - Picture stars and moon
• obrigado/obrigada (thank you) - Imagine giving a gift of thanks

Practice Activity 1: Create Your Matching Cards

Materials needed:

• Index cards or paper cut into cards
• Colored markers or pencils
• Optional: magazine pictures or printed images

Steps:

1. Create 15-20 cards with images on one side, words on the other
2. Group them by category (food, greetings, numbers)
3. Practice matching images to words for 5-10 minutes daily
4. Say each word aloud as you match it

Memory Tip: Make the images colorful and personally meaningful to you. For example, if you have a favorite wine, draw or paste that specific bottle for “vinho.”

Number Rhythm Practice

Let’s strengthen your numbers 1-20 with a multisensory approach:

1. um (oom) - Hold up 1 finger
2. dois (doish) - Hold up 2 fingers
3. três (tresh) - Hold up 3 fingers
4. quatro (kwah-tro) - Hold up 4 fingers
5. cinco (seen-ko) - Hold up 5 fingers
6. seis (saysh) - Hold up 6 fingers
7. sete (seh-tee) - Hold up 7 fingers
8. oito (oy-to) - Hold up 8 fingers
9. nove (no-vee) - Hold up 9 fingers
10. dez (desh) - Make a fist for 10

Continue with:

1. onze (on-zee)
2. doze (do-zee)
3. treze (tray-zee)
4. catorze (kah-tor-zee)
5. quinze (keen-zee)
6. dezasseis (dez-ah-saysh)
7. dezassete (dez-ah-seh-tee)
8. dezoito (dez-oy-to)
9. dezanove (dez-ah-no-vee)
10. vinte (vin-tee)

Practice Activity 2: Rhythm Numbers

Steps:

1. Start by counting from 1-10 while tapping a steady beat on a table
2. For numbers 1-5: tap with your left hand
3. For numbers 6-10: tap with your right hand
4. Try saying numbers while clapping the rhythm
5. Practice writing each number after saying it aloud

Memory Tip: Notice patterns - numbers 11-19 all use “dez” (ten) followed by the single digit.

Neighborhood Walk & Talk

This activity connects language to your real environment.

Steps:

1. Take a 10-minute walk around your neighborhood
2. Name objects you see in Portuguese (use what you know)
3. Take photos of 5-10 objects you don’t know the words for
4. When you return home, look up these new words:

Common Outdoor Words:

• rua (street) - Picture a road
• casa (house) - Visualize a home
• árvore (tree) - See a tall tree
• flor (flower) - Picture a colorful flower
• carro (car) - Similar to English “car”
• céu (sky) - Look up when saying it
• nuvem (cloud) - Picture fluffy white clouds

Progress Check for Module 1

Let’s see how you’re doing with a few simple activities:

Activity 1: Word Categories

Group these words into categories:

• Food words
• Greeting words
• Number words
• Outdoor objects

Activity 2: Missing Letters

Fill in the missing letters:

• v _ _ ho (wine)
• b _ m d _ a (good morning)
• s _ l _ da (salad)
• q _ _ tro (four)

Activity 3: Simple Conversation

Practice this brief exchange:

• “Olá, bom dia! Como está?” (Hello, good morning! How are you?)
• “Estou bem, obrigado/a. E você?” (I am well, thank you. And you?)

Daily Practice This Week

Morning Routine (5-10 minutes):

• Review your image-word cards
• Count from 1-20 while getting ready
• Greet yourself in the mirror with “Bom dia!”

Afternoon Routine (5-10 minutes):

• Take your neighborhood walk
• Name 5 objects you see in Portuguese
• Add 2-3 new words to your collection

Evening Routine (5-10 minutes):

• Review what you learned that day
• Practice writing numbers 1-10
• Say goodnight to objects in your home in Portuguese: “Boa noite, casa.”

Remember:

• Focus on learning in short, frequent sessions rather than long ones
• Use all your senses when learning (see, say, hear, touch)
• Connect new words to images or experiences
• Celebrate each small success!

When you feel comfortable with these activities, we’ll move on to Module 2 focused on garden vocabulary. How would you like to track your progress - would a simple checklist or another method work best for you?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​