Lesson 3
La rutina diaria.
Your daily routine and the reflexive verbs that power it — me levanto, me ducho, me acuesto — plus time phrases and sequencing words. Work through the eight steps below: learn the words, read, listen, translate, then practise the photo card, role-play and writing exactly as they appear in the AQA exam.
Refresh your KS3 routine words.
You first met daily routine in Year 8 — for extra practice, revisit the Year 8 daily routine resources (sentence builder and slideshows). Tap any word to hear it and check the model sentence; make these solid before the new GCSE words.
Twenty new GCSE words.
Each card shows the word, its meaning, a model sentence and a tag: F on the AQA list (Foundation & Higher), H Higher only, útil not on AQA's list but very useful for speaking & writing. Tap to listen.
Read, then answer.
Two texts on the same topic — a Foundation text and a tougher Higher text. Read each one, then answer the questions in English underneath. They mark themselves: tap your answer and you'll see straight away if you're right.
Mi rutina entre semana — Pablo
Entre semana y el finde
Listen, then answer.
Press play to hear the passage read aloud, as many times as you need, then answer the English questions. You can reveal the transcript afterwards to check what you heard.
🎧 Native-quality audio. Play it as many times as you need — just like the real exam, where each recording is played twice.
Mi rutina — Lucía
Un desastre con las rutinas — Mario
Translate both ways.
First Spanish → English (reading translation), then English → Spanish (the harder direction, tested in Paper 4). Have a go on paper, then tap to reveal the model answer and compare.
Translate into English
Translate into Spanish
Describe the photo card.
In the speaking exam you get a card with two photos from one theme. You must say at least one thing about each photo, then have a conversation on the topic. Here are two photos of daily routines and the kind of questions you'll be asked.
- 1.¿Qué hay en las fotos? Describe lo que hacen las personas. Compulsory
- 2.¿Cómo es tu rutina diaria entre semana?
- 3.¿Qué haces por la tarde y por la noche?
- 4.¿Es importante tener una buena rutina? (opinión + razón)
Describing the photos — model answer
The first question is compulsory: say at least one thing about each photo. Below are two model descriptions you can adapt to whoever is in the picture — tap the speaker to hear them.
Foto A — brushing teeth. En la primera foto hay un chico lavándose los dientes delante del espejo, en el baño. Lleva una camiseta gris de manga corta, como ropa de estar por casa. Es por la mañana y se está preparando para empezar el día. Fuera está lloviendo: se ven gotas de lluvia en el cristal de la ventana y el cielo está gris. Forma parte de su rutina diaria.
In the first photo there is a boy brushing his teeth in front of the mirror, in the bathroom. He is wearing a short-sleeved grey T-shirt, like loungewear. It's morning and he's getting ready to start the day. Outside it's raining: you can see raindrops on the window and the sky is grey. It's part of his daily routine.
Foto B — waking up. En la segunda foto se ve a una chica que se acaba de despertar y se está estirando en la cama. Lleva una camiseta de tirantes gris y está sentada sobre unas sábanas blancas. Es temprano y entra mucha luz por una ventana grande. Por la ventana se ve un edificio antiguo y unas flores de colores en el alféizar. Es el comienzo de su rutina diaria.
In the second photo you can see a girl who has just woken up and is stretching in bed. She is wearing a grey vest top and is sitting on white sheets. It's early and lots of light is coming through a big window. Through the window you can see an old building and some colourful flowers on the windowsill. It's the start of her daily routine.
Useful vocabulary & phrases
Para empezar: en la primera / segunda foto hay… (there is) · se ve a… (you can see) · una persona / alguien
La rutina: se despierta · se levanta · se ducha · se viste · desayuna · se lava los dientes · se acuesta
¿Cuándo?: por la mañana / por la tarde / por la noche · temprano / tarde · primero · luego · después
Opinar (tu turno): tener una buena rutina es importante · ayuda a descansar / rendir en clase · …porque…
Then the conversation
- Q2 — your routine: Entre semana me levanto a las …, me ducho, desayuno y voy al instituto.
- Q3 — afternoon/evening: Por la tarde hago los deberes y por la noche ceno y veo la tele.
- Q4 — opinion + reason (this is where Higher students score): Para mí, tener una buena rutina es importante porque ayuda a descansar y a organizarse.
- Higher tier: use soler + infinitivo (suelo levantarme…), contrast weekdays vs weekends, and add a tense — Antes era un desastre… (imperfect) or me gustaría acostarme antes (conditional).
The role-play.
The instructions are in English. You must answer the prompts and ask one question (the ! bullet). Try it out loud first, then reveal the model answers.
Your Spanish exchange partner asks you about your daily routine. Your teacher plays your exchange partner.
Model answers & tips
Write your answer.
Two tasks in the real exam style — a Foundation ~50-word task (five bullets) and a Higher ~90-word task (three bullets). Use the sentence starters (tap to drop them into the pad) and the useful vocab, then compare with a model answer.
Mi rutina diaria
≈ 50 words · 5 bullets · 10 marksDescribe tu rutina diaria. Menciona los cinco puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 50 palabras en español.
Mi rutina y yo
≈ 90 words · 3 bullets · 15 marksDescribe tu rutina entre semana y los fines de semana. Menciona los tres puntos. Escribe aproximadamente 90 palabras en español.
Foundation answers cover all the bullets with clear, accurate present-tense sentences joined by y, pero and porque, plus at least one opinion. Higher answers do all that and then reach further: more than one tense (e.g. imperfect vivía, near future voy a, conditional me gustaría), opinions with developed reasons, a wider range of connectives (aunque, sin embargo, además) and more ambitious vocabulary. The biggest single lift from Foundation to Higher is justifying opinions and using a second and third tense accurately.