Hispanic Myths & Legends: El Silbón

This lesson introduces beginning language learners to the legend of El Silbón (Colombia, Venezuela) in a way that promotes using legends to learn about culture in a deep and meaningful way.

This lesson asks students to consider some complex ideas and make connections between the products, practices, and beliefs of Hispanics around the world. These activities promote higher-level thinking that would be beyond the grasp of most students in the target language, so the lessons are done in English to make sure they are attainable.

These lessons make perfect sub plans as they require no prep and little to no Spanish language production.

Students begin by reading the legend of El Silbón and illustrating the legend to demonstrate comprehension and understanding.

Students are then debriefed on the concept of "Familismo" in Hispanic culture and are asked to reflect on how the characters in the legend display or do not display the traits of "Familismo".

Students are then shown two posters for an event that takes place yearly in Venezuela and references the character "El Silbón". They are asked to assess the posters to draw conclusions about the event and then use that to create an additional poster of their own creation.

Finally, students will read a second and slightly different version of the legend. They will be asked to reflect of how both versions of the story demonstrate the desirable and undesirable behaviors of children in Hispanic culture.

This Product Includes:
-El Silbón Legend (version 1)
-Illustration Activity
-Familismo Activity
-Poster Activity
-El Silbón Legend (version 2)
-Cultural Reflection Activity