This 56 minute documentary on Netflix is the best thing I have seen this year for either a Spanish or Social Studies. 4 college students spend 56 days in a remote Guatemalan village on 1 dollar a day budget, while exploring effects of living in extreme poverty and some innovative solutions people have come up with to survive. Excellent for any Spanish class where you have been studying immigration and reasons people leave their home countries to risk their lives traveling to the US, or for a Social Studies class looking at underdeveloped countries and what it means to live in extreme poverty. My students loved this film bc it was created by four college students and used their observations and connections as narrative between interviews with people in the village. (Interviews are in Spanish with subtitles, narrative in English. ) Suitable for any level middle, high school, available on Netflix, this film was such a gem you will want to own a copy. Movie guide contains 29 questions.

This movie guide accompanies the biography of Selena starring Jennifer Lopez, Edward James Olmos and others. Totally kid friendly PG-13 rated suitable for any level of Spanish classes. Great as a sub plan. 27 questions, 3 discussion topics and several internet follow up topics for students.

This wonderful Netflix movie tells the story of Ramon's immigration to Germany and how little by little he begins a new life with the help of Angela a retired nurse. The movie is entirely in Spanish and German with English subtitles and would be suitable for either language class. There is one slightly mature scene so its best suited for high school students, as there are suggestions of innuendo. This film addresses the challenges people face both in their home country and assimilating to a new country and is very enjoyable, fluctuating between serious and light hearted scenes. Movie guide contains 19 questions in chronological order. and is available in both English (for lower level or German classes) or Spanish. Film takes two class periods to show. I have marked one question with an asterisk as it pertains to that specific scene if you wish to eliminate it. I showed this film to my Heritage Language students and they really enjoyed it as it was a film with which many Mexican immigrants could identify.

This one hour fifteen minute NETFLIX documentary covers internet privacy policies and how our personal data is harvested and sold, sometimes used by our government to spy on people. It is an excellent film for high school students studying internet usage and abusage, or as a homeroom assignment to get kids thinking more carefully about what they choose to share or post on the plethora of popular social networking sites they use today. This documentary was excellent at educating us as to how our information can be used against us, as well as the size of the digital footprint we create for ourselves and the lack of confidentiality around our digital lives. Movie guide contains 27 questions in chronological order to get kids thinking about the ethics surrounding the sharing of personal data and a full page of topics for discussion followup in small and large group or journaling assignments. Lesson takes two class days to view with some time to share out answers.

This outstanding documentary chronicles the effects of global warming on our oceans and its consequences on the bleaching/death of coral reefs worldwide. Documentary explains the process and scientists efforts to document the effects of the rising ocean temperatures due to increased greenhouse gas emissions. If you teach environmental science or oceanography, this documentary is an excellent, easy to understand resource suitable for middle or high school students. Download contains twenty questions that follow the film and some suggestions for follow up activities for students including the opportunity to take a virtual reef dive.

21 chronological questions in both Spanish and English to accompany the film Motorcycle Diaries which chronicles the early life of Che Guevara. This film won awards and is excellent for any level of Spanish or Social Studies. However, one should note that the film carries an R rating for the language that appears in the subtitles. (the English is harsher than the original script) and you will want to obtain parental permission or limit this film to junior and senior students. Movie guide also contains 9 follow up topics for class discussion or independent student writing. Great film! Your students will love it.

One of my students favourite projects, the murder mystery project is excellent for 2nd year students finishing up preterite vs imperfect usage or for 3rd year students as a review of the concept. Students create their own powerpoint murder mystery where they present the victim, 3 suspects and the crime scene. Using preterite and imperfect they include motives, locations, descriptions, personality characteristics in a creative and unique presentation. I assign this project in pairs but a student could easily complete it alone. Students present their mysteries to classmates in powerpoint and peers can make their guess to arrest before the last slide gets revealed. This project won an award as a Missouri Best Lesson Showcase project. Project instructions are in English, model examples in Spanish, project could be easily adapted to Passe Compose/Imparfait usage in French.

This 90 minute documentary produced by Netflix chronicles the trend in mass incarcerations, with emphasis on its impact on African American males. It follows trends in legislation through the Nixon, Reagan, Bush and Clinton presidencies and how policy decisions have negatively impacted minorities disproportionally. It also examines the role of ALEC in crafting legislative policy and how member corporations directly benefit from increased mass incarcerations. This documentary would be excellent for any Ethnic Studies or Social Studies class where you are discussing civil rights, racial disparities, and how current legislative policies affect populations differently in the US. Download contains 30 questions that accompany the documentary chronologically and a list of suggested follow up activities for students to take their learning to the next level around the issue.

This book centers on the topic of name calling and fitting in at a small town middle school. Four students labeled by their peers on a repeated basis take a stand and run for Student Council on a platform of No Name Calling. The characters are all people who kids can relate to, this book is an excellent launch point for the topic of in-school bullying. Reading guide contains 79 questions organized by chapter and opportunities for students to REFLECT and share in small groups along the way on a variety of topics. REFLECT opportunities can be assigned as independent journal entries and help to facilitate discussions in class, and 8 discussion topics, with suggestions for interviews, independent research and large group discussion. Best suited for a middle school audience, alternates between narration/play format with good places for read alouds. It will prompt some excellent discussion around acceptance, difference, and hopefully some solutions to making middle school experience better.

This reading guide accompanies the sequel to Francisco Jimenez Cajas de Carton. Senderos is divided into 25 short chapters and this reading guide accompanies each chapter. Components include, asking students to make predictions about the story based on chapter titles, useful vocabulary to better understand the story, and reading comprehension questions for students to apply to what they read. Also included are some topics for small group or pair share. This book is best suited for a Level IV class or higher and can be completed together in class or assigned as homework. 1 chapter per night, this book will take approximately one quarter to complete, if you intersperse the reading with other topics covered in class. Senderos Fronterizos Reading by Barbara Davis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This 96 question reading guide accompanies the book La Línea by Ann Jaramillo. The story is fiction but based on facts she learned from her own ELL students. This story chronicles the perilous journey of two Mexican children heading North to reunite with their parents. This book is in English but is full of Spanish words and would be a great filler activity to read in a lower level Spanish class for a few minutes daily or to use in a middle school classroom or with ELL learners who could connect with the story. The book is highly recommended and positively reviewed. Its a cliff hanger in parts and a tear jerker in others, and should invite students to be introspective about the hot topic of illegal immigrants in the US. This book would also work well with the film "La Misma Luna" or the documentary "WETBACK".

These open ended, closed ended, decoding and reflection questions accompany the book HOME OF THE BRAVE by Katherine Applegate. This book tells the story of Kek, a refugee from Dharfur who relocates to Minnesota. This beautiful book is written in free verse and is an easy read for anyone in middle or high school. The underlying themes are deep and strike personal connections with many students. The language is not difficult and would be excellent reading for an ELL class of students. Questions are in order by chapter and there is a list of additional resources at the end on Youtube so you can educate everyone on the complexities of the situation in Dharfur and cultivate an understanding of the loss the suffering these refugees bring with them to the US. This book is culturally sensitive and opens up a lot of great discussions, and while sad at times, has some great comical moments.

This lesson contains 82 guided reading questions in chronological order that accompany the book ONE CRAZY SUMMER by Rita Williams. One Crazy Summer is a delightful story written for middle school or early high school aged reader, that explores themes of Black identity in Oakland during the Civil Rights era. Students explore themes and reflect on quotes in addition to the questions and some "in your opinion" questions that help them to gain a deeper meaning of the text. Also included are some brainstorm topics for pre-search prior to reading with a video link and discussion questions for follow up. Book takes about two weeks to teach. This book would also work well in conjunction with a social studies unit on the Civil Rights movement at the middle school level. One Crazy Summer Guided reading questions by Barbara Davis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

This 110 question reading guide accompanies the book The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez. Questions are chronologically ordered by chapter and provide many opportunities for Reflections, Connections, and sharing in partner and small groups. Also included is a glossary of terms for the Spanish vocabulary sprinkled throughout the text. This is an excellent book for 9-10th grade readers, with lots of opportunities to discuss discrimination, family, and other challenges young people of color face in our country today. Be ready for some great discussions! The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez : Reading Guide by Barbara Davis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

an excellent book for young readers and has won many awards. It is probably best suited for 8th-11th graders. It does contain a few swear words, but for the most part is appropriate for young readers. Reading guide has 115 questions in chronological order, organized by chapter with pages. Also included are 6 follow up discussion questions. If you are reading the book for the first time with the students, these will be useful to you as well as your students. An excellent book if you have a multi-cultural classroom or students that come from impoverished backgrounds as they will be able to identify with the narrator. Creative Commons License The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Barbara Davis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Teaching the Cultural Component to a foreign language class can be challenging. This collection of 99 independent projects grouped together by interest (art, music, history, internet, etc) has something for everyone. Students select which projects to complete and present their findings in the first five minutes of the class daily. Projects have different point values based on time and difficulty levels which students combine to complete 50 points each semester. This portfolio is the ongoing work and revision of 15 years of teaching cultural topics in foreign language classes. Years later students tell me that these are the projects they found to be the most interesting and memorable in their foreign language experience because they connected to areas of personal interest. Download contains goals of investigation, step by step instructions on how to complete the projects, activity sheets for students, 99 diverse cultural activities, supporting guided adventure sheets for community excursions and an exit survey to collect their feedback year end. You will need a couple of days in class to explain to them how to do the projects and to field any specific questions they might have. I ask students to read the activity list and highlight projects of interest to discuss in further on day 2. Afterwards, every day is a new adventure as your students lead the class in their discoveries. Projects help students hone their presentation/public speaking skills while everyone learns. This portfolio works great for home-schooled students as well, they can work at their own pace to discover as many different adventures of interest and connect them to other curricular areas such as art, history, music and culinary. Load up your printer, download is 43 pages long! Note: You will need to insert your own "approved restaurant list" as it will vary depending on where you live and teach. Keywords: differentiated, internet, culture, French, presentation, community, historical, artistic, culinary, communicative

This project is my brainchild of 10 years of teaching. The Cultural Investigation Portfolio contains 101 different activities linked to various aspects of Hispanic culture, organized by interest (music, culinary, historical, artistic, etc) These student led projects start my class every day for the first 5-10 minutes as the 1-2 students of the day present their project and findings show- and-tell style. Because there are so many different activities, there is something for everyone in the room. Often one project leads to another, as a student is inspired by a classmate to pursue a topic further or connect it to another. I love this portfolio because kids have so many different choices, and most will select projects that showcase their individual talents in other areas, so you and the class learn about each others artistic or musical abilities. Many of these adventures are designed to send students into the Hispanic community to interact with local employees and business owners...