This movie guide follows the journey of an American school bus as it heads to Central America to be transformed into a vibrant, colorful method of public transport. Documentary contains interviews with drivers, passengers and the people who renovate the repurposed bus. Documentary takes about a class and a half and is available for purchase on line. Beautiful and informative, this documentary works well with AP classes studying the themes of beauty and global challenges.

This project is designed for the end of level III or the beginning of level IV Spanish class. Students are introduced to relevant thematic vocabulary and then use it to track the events in a soap opera of their choice for 5 days. Students then have a choice of 2 oral projects to present the main events of the soap and to voice their recommendations to their peers. Great review for preterite vs imperfect while introducing students to the popular culture Hispanic telenovelas. Project includes vocabulary, guidelines, note taking template and rubric.

This beautiful film is the story of the Count of Albrit, now an old man that tries to discover a guarded secret that one of his 2 granddaughters is not legitimate. The movie is filmed in Asturias, has beautiful scenery and a good plot with valuable lessons although it moves slowly at first. It is probably best suited for a higher level Spanish class or a small class as it will require a bit of patience until the plot gets rolling. Study guide comes in both English and Spanish with a follow up discussion/writing assignment.

This 6 station rotation game reviews present tense regular verbs (ar/er/ir) Ser vs Estar, Tener + expressions and IR + a/al/a la. It takes one class period to run as students rotate through 6 challenge stations and conjugate verbs. At the next station students check their work using the answer key and take on the next challenge. Download includes rules of play, student gamesheet and 6 stations of 12 questions each for each category of verbs. Answer key to previous station is posted at the top of each station. Game is easy to follow and makes conjugating verbs and reviewing associated grammar fun. This game is best suited as a year end review for Spanish I students or as a review activity for Spanish II students. Requires at least 2 players, but could work for groups as large as 30.

This is a game designed for SPanish II end of the year or Spanish III beginning of the year to review conjugation of verbs with irregular forms in the present tense. Download includes student rules and gamesheet, and 6 stations of questions and answer keys for irregular verbs. Categories include: Stem changers o--> ue, e--> ie, e--> i, Irregular YO form verbs, SER/IR/TENER/ESTAR? and Reflexive verbs. 12 questions at each station. Students rotate through the stations to complete the challenge. Answer key to previous station provided at next destination. Activity takes one class period to run and requires a minimum of 2 players but can work for classes of up to 30.

This PG-13 film started off slow and hard to understand, but after the first 15 minutes proved to be a delightful film all the way to the end. Elena, a young Puerto Rican woman loses her ability to speak Spanish after a stressful argument with her mother. All sorts of complications in her life appear as she is suddenly unable to communicate with those around her except in English. There is a wonderful sub-plot centered on food served at the diner and a little romantic twist as well. I think older students would do better with the film due to the slow pace in the beginning but its totally appropriate for 9th grade and up. Movie questions come in both Spanish and English in chronological order to film, also included are a few topics for follow up discussion.

This movie actually takes place in Brazil, and chronicles the true story of the struggle of Chico Mendes to halt the destruction of the rainforest. One of the last films Raul Julia made before his death, this film is an excellent illustration of the conflict between development and conservation. While the film carries no rating for the classroom, there is one very brief (3 sec) snippet of an inappropriately clothed woman, if you are quick with a file folder you can cover the screen or edit out the scene. Its worth the effort as the film is excellent and serves as a great discussion opener to the plight of tropical nations as they destroy their habitat in order to feed their children. Movie guide contains 26 chronologically ordered questions and several topics for follow up. Questions are in English as is the film.

This assignment is ideal for Spanish I or II learners. Students explore the meanings behind coats of arms, then create their own personal shield which they describe to peers in Spanish. An excellent review/cultural activity which incorporates colors, characteristics, animals, symbols, and SER usage. Students present their projects while classmates listen in target language to track details. This lesson could be easily adapted for other foreign languages. Worksheets are primarily in Spanish, additional differentiated scaffolded plans and extra links for enrichment are included.

This movie guide comes with a separate "presearch" activity for students to complete in advance of viewing the film THE HELP in order to understand what Jim Crow laws were and how they limited African-American's civil rights in many areas. Students complete the webquest the day before viewing the film THE HELP to discover and discuss these laws. The actual movie guide contains 27 questions that accompany the film in chronological order and 3 topics for discussion. Plan 3-4 days to complete the presearch, view film and discuss with students. This film has some difficult scenes, but is PG-13 rated and suitable for either middle or high school age students.

This film chronicles the challenges that poor Hispanic students face in LA when they try to pass the AP Calculus Exam. Based on a true story of a Hispanic teacher in urban LA this film is great for Spanish I to open discussions about Chicano students and discrimination. Questions are in English. Colleagues have also shown this film to math students and social studies when studying Chicano culture.

Questions in English to accompany film the Disappearance of Garcia Lorca. This film presents a possible hypothesis as to why Franco's soldiers kidnapped and assassinated Federico Garcia Lorca. The film provides good insight for an intro to Garcia Lorca if you are reading his poetry or Casa de Bernarda Alba in class. It can be a somewhat confusing film for students without some assistance from the teacher.

Sugar is the story of a young Dominican baseball talent recruited to play for the Kansas City farm team. It chronicles all the challenges and barriers faced by hispanic athletes and other immigrants trying to assimilate to the American life. This film is excellent and appeals to male students as well as the girls. The movie inspires great discussion and instills compassion for new immigrants trying to adjust while away from family and culture. PG-13 in Spanish with subtitles and in English. Movie guide has 17 chronologically ordered questions and 3 follow up discussion topic. Film is 114 minutes and takes 2 class periods to show.

This is one of my favourite lessons to do and one I am most proud of. I received an award for this lesson at the state level in a teaching lesson contest. Students work in small groups to replicate, research and interpret a mural by Diego Rivera. I never cease to marvel at how well their work turns out and everyone learns a ton about Diego Rivera. Great end assessment for a unit on art, or as prep for AP/IB programs this lesson is suitable for Spanish III students or higher. Includes commentary on how to execute the project, detailed student explanation, helpful weblinks and readings, list of murals that are suitable for research, helpful thematic vocabulary for students to prepare their written portion.

Journalist and author Michael Pollan, who is a food expert looks at our WESTERN DIET and how its affecting young peoples health. Pollan discusses all the different health risks associated with our daily food choices of “highly processed food like substances”. This documentary ran on PBS, is also available on NETFLIX. Its great for a health/wellness class and will definitely get kids thinking about how their food choices (or lack of choices) affect their health and quality of life. Movie guide contains 21 questions in chronological order, a couple of pre watch prompts and a list of suggested follow up activities. Movie runs for two class periods but this lesson could easily be extended for a whole week to give students time to work on and produce some of the follow up activities. Answers included.

Over 13 million American kids will be bullied at school, online, on the bus, at home, through their cell phones and on the streets of their towns, making it the most common form of violence young people in this country experience. BULLY is a documentary film that shows how we’ve all been affected by bullying, whether as victims, perpetrators or stood silent witness, to adults in schools trying to make decisions to protect kids. This movie guide follows the film with pre-watching questions to get kids thinking about bullying in their own lives/schools, where they may or may not feel safe and why kids get bullied, chronological questions that follow the film and some Think pair share activity follow up for group discussion. If you have taught the book THE MISFITS or just want to get kids thinking about the impact of bullying actions and non actions, this documentary is a great way to get at their heartstrings. This film is suitable for middle or high school age students discussing bullying as a part of restorative justice or just as a problem solver in a classroom. Movie is 90 minutes long so budget 2-3 days to complete with discussion opportunities. Movie is available on Netflix , Amazon or at the public library on DVD.

The newest documentary from the makers of Living on One Dollar, Zach and Chris head to Jordan for an up close look at life in a Syrian refugee camp. There they take on the challenges that refugees face daily living in close quarters in tents, in places where many amenities are non existent, and some of the survival mechanisms they have implemented to rise above their circumstances. Much like their first documentary, Salam Neighbor is very well made, with great explanations and up close interviews with refugees about the challenges they face and the hardships which forced them to flee their country. If you are teaching Middle East, this is an excellent overture into the conflict in Syria. Download includes warm up activities to build prior knowledge and separate fact from fiction, questions for the film and topics for follow up. Since many questions in this guide will depend on student opinion, answer key is not included. Lesson takes two days to complete and is suitable for any high school social studies class. Documentary is available on Netflix for free or available for purchase from http://livingonone.org/salamneighbor/

This 5 page easy read short story by Sandra Cisneros is so cleverly narrated, easy to read and opens the door to a great discussion around childhood, identity, and personal experiences. I teach this story in my Spanish Heritage Learners Classes, but its suitable for a level IV or higher where students are comfortable with past tense usage. Reading guide includes a couple of questions for pre-reading to get students thinking about their own childhood experiences, then some relational questions where students can form their own connections between characters and items as they read. Finally there is a follow up project with a graphic organizer to help students brainstorm before crafting a poem about themselves at a specific age. Budget 3-4 classes for reading the story, discussion, brainstorming and final project production depending on their level. Download link to the pdf version of the story. https://genius.com/Sandra-cisneros-eleven-spanish-annotated

Film covers what happens when ICE agents invade a meat processing plant in Postville Iowa. A true story, this film is EXCELLENT at explaining how undocumented workers are detained, deported, separated from families, how they are processed, why they come to work, and the responsibilities of the people who own businesses that benefit from their presence. Movie guide contains 26 questions in chronological order of the film, with opportunities for students to brainstorm, pair share and discuss their reactions. Runs just over an hour and is available for purchase at http://abusedthepostvilleraid.blogspot.com/ or on demand at vimeo. There are several links for follow up trailers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDG6-1zp52w&list=PL00B092D3FE38B664 if you want to track with students what happened a year later. This film works well for Social Studies class discussing immigration or Spanish class. The documentary is in English with subtitled interviews in Spanish.

This step by step lesson plan will guide your Heritage Learner students through an oral presentation on their two (sides of) identities. Many Heritage learners navigate between the world of their parents home country traditions, language, foods while simultaneously functioning the US world of friends, language, fast food, pop culture and social media. This scaffolded project helps them to brainstorm the moments when they feel more one than the other and create a compelling oral presentation for small group setting. Download contains charts for both worlds, guiding questions for reflection, and a rubric for presentation day. Project works best if you allow students at least three days to brainstorm, create slides and the weekend for them to practice.

This Netflix documentary will change how students think about their clothing purchases and consumption habits overall. Great for Social Studies or Family and Consumer Science, this 95 minute documentary examines the origins of where our clothing is produced, and its cost to the people who make it, our environment and the planet as a whole. Suitable for any level of middle or high school where you are discussing economy, global trade, environment this film will open up much to discuss. Lesson down load includes a brief survey for students prior to watching in a think/pair/share, 25 chronologically ordered questions,, three experiments for students to complete at home after the first night of viewing and space for personal reflection at the end. Lesson takes as least two days to complete and could really use a third to help students process what they learned. Answer key to movie questions is also included. Film is available on NETFLIX.