Patriot Day: Spanish Firefighter Vocabulary and Activities for Curious Kids

September 11, 2001, is a day that will be forever remembered, not only for the tragedy that occurred but also for the heroic actions of New York City’s firefighters. Teaching your children about 9/11 and Patriot Day can be difficult, but one way to both engage your children and teach about important themes is by exploring the firefighters’ roles in such situations. Add a new twist to the traditional vocabulary by teaching keywords and sentences in Spanish!

Firefighter Vocabulary in Spanish

There are numerous fun ways to teach the following vocabulary words on Patriot Day. You can pick and choose what you want to teach, or explore the concepts for the whole month. As you work through the words with your children, keep the following tips in mind:

• You don’t have to teach them everything! There are a lot of vocabulary words on our lists, and they are divided into manageable chunks so you and your child won’t feel overwhelmed. Pick the words you want to work on with your child, whether that is every single item or just five keywords.
• Always teach the nouns with their accompanying article (el or la). Trying to learn the articles later can be difficult, so including them at the first presentation saves time in the long run. 
• Repetition, repetition, repetition! Using these words as a Patriot Day activity is a wonderful way to honor firefighters, but these can be everyday words. After you introduce the vocabulary, practice the words any chance you get, especially when you see a firetruck or fire station.

Equipment

Gear

Verbs

On the Scene

In the Firehouse

People

Causes of Fires

Useful Sentences

Put all of these vocabulary words to use by forming sentences about firefighters for Patriot Day. For simple sentences, just use the present simple or past simple tense. If your child is ready for something more advanced, try using the future tense! 

To give you some idea of how to make sentences using this vocabulary, here are 10 examples:

El bombero investigó el incendio. 
The firefighter investigated the fire.

Los bomberos y el capitán hicieron simulacros de incendio en la estación de bomberos. 
The firefighters and the captain did fire drills at the fire station.

Un bombero usa una chaqueta de protección, máscara, tirantes, botas y un tanque de oxígeno.
A firefighter uses a turnout jacket, mask, suspenders, boots, and an oxygen tank.

Para apagar el incendio, los bomberos usaron una manguera, un hidrante y una escalera.
To put out the fire, the firefighters used a hose, a hydrant, and a ladder.

Los paramédicos llegaron en una ambulancia para ayudar a los bomberos. 
The paramedics arrived in an ambulance to help the firefighters.

Los bomberos también son TEMs.
Firefighters are also EMTs.

Los bomberos gatearon por el edificio para rescatar a varias personas. 
The firefighters crawled through the building to rescue various people.

Para mí, los bomberos son héroes con mucho coraje. 
To me, firefighters are heroes with a lot of courage.

Los bomberos encontraron que las velas causaron el incendio. 
The firefighters found that the candles caused the fire. 

La seguridad es muy importante para los bomberos.
Safety is very important to firefighters. 

You can either use these examples to check your child’s comprehension of the vocabulary words, or you can use them as a template for them to make their own. Either way, it is always great to see and interact with Spanish vocabulary in a natural setting. 

Activities with Patriot Day Vocabulary

While Patriot Day is meant to remember the somber events that happened almost twenty years ago, you can still impart those concepts to your kids with engaging activities. Your child will be able to grasp the reality of what happened that day in an age-appropriate and fun way. 

There are so many ways to present new vocabulary, so take a look at some of our ideas below and adapt them to your kid’s needs. Or, you can use these points as a stepping stone to other ideas you may have.

Visit the Local Fire Station 

What better way to learn about firefighters than a hands-on experience? Take a tour of the building, see the equipment, and ask the firefighters about their work. As you see things from the vocabulary lists, either point them out to your child and say them in Spanish or quiz them if they are already familiar with the words.

Label the Firefighter

Print out a picture of a firefighter in gear and have your child name each part of the equipment in Spanish, from the helmet to the boots. You can also use this same idea for a picture of a fire truck or fire station.

Scramble the Sentences 

To practice with the Spanish sentences, write them down or print them out. Then, cut each word out and scramble them. Your Spanish student will then have to correctly order the words. If your child is a bit younger, have them glue the words on a piece of paper and decorate it. 

Color and Label

There are so many great coloring sheets for firefighters and Patriot Day. Print out a couple and let your student color them while talking about the events of 9/11. For younger students, ask them what each part of the equipment is called and work on fluency verbally. Older children can say and write the words to practice verbal and written Spanish.

Make a book

Honor the firefighters by making a small booklet talking about them, their job, and Patriot Day. Depending on your student’s age and Spanish skills, they can either write sentences on each page in Spanish or tell the story verbally. Make sure they include as many vocabulary words as possible to really put them into practice.

Since the youngest generation doesn’t remember 9/11, it is incredibly important to teach them why we celebrate Patriot Day and honor our firefighters. Since many firefighters are Latino and Spanish is the second most spoken language in the United States, learning the vocabulary in Spanish is a fantastic way to honor the heroes who risked their lives that day—and every day since. ¡Nunca olvidaremos!

Looking for more free Spanish lessons for kids? Check out these posts!

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• Hispanic Heritage: Introducing Hispanic Culture to Kids
• Ways of Saying ‘Of Course’ in Spanish
• No Worries: How to Say “No Problem” in Spanish
• 10 Websites Offering Short Stories in Spanish for Beginners
• Can Homeschoolers Participate in Sports?
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Ashley Reid

Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

I have a B.A. in Linguistics and a passion for Spanish. I've lived in Latin America for almost a decade. I'm a freelance writer and ESL teacher, as well as a loving mom and wife. In my free time, I dabble in art and music.

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