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.

Suitable for any level of Spanish student, this turkey outline is great to fill up with things you are grateful for.

Take your students to the computer lab for an hour to learn about Day of the Dead. Webquest guides students through important vocabulary and provides links to video links for students to observe Day of the Dead traditions and to respond with their own reflections. Lesson takes one class period to complete and is appropriate for level III or higher where students have some comprehension of Spanish.

This lesson is designed for a Heritage Learners, AP Spanish Lit or AP V Spanish class where students will be creating short stories. Lesson contains five famous intros from Latino authors and charts for students to record what they learn about a story from the intro and further wonderings they may have. I like to divide students into groups and assign them each a quote, then share out their results as a large group. This activity is particularly useful if you will be asking students to create a short story and want to encourage them to present information in a way that piques readers curiosity. Lesson takes one full class period to complete, key not included bc student answers will vary.

This short poem by Pablo Neruda focuses on how we create our own destiny and how we are responsible for our own successes and failures. Its a great poem to launch a unit on Neruda or to use with a level III or higher class where you are studying poetry. (Realidades 3, AP Lit) Lesson download includes a word version of the poem, quotes from poem for students to reflect upon and think/pair/share, an audio link to listen to the poem and a writing prompt. Lesson takes one class period to complete if you assign the writing prompt for homework. Poem is easy to understand and works well for students at level III or higher.

This fifteen slide powerpoint presents students with illustrated beginnings of conditional SI clauses that they complete using the subjuntivo imperfecto. Each slide has a sentence starter and prompts for an answer. Free preview is the word doc template that students can use to answer each situation, then they compare their answer to a friends and together decide who had the more creative answer. Students could use this as a warm up for a quiz or just for some speaking practice bc making si clauses is a challenge for them. Takes about 25 minutes to run or you can break it up over a few days for a warm up. Best suited for level IV or higher students who have had some experience forming verbs in the imperfect subjunctive.

Radioambulante.org has many engaging story episodes about various people throughout Latin America. This episode tells the story of a fisherman lost at sea for 438 days who survived until he landed in the Marshall Islands. Episode is about 25 minutes long and is best suited for a Heritage Speakers or AP level class where students already have high levels of proficiency. Non native speaker classes will work better if you pause the program periodically and replay parts to ensure students understand. Download includes 20 questions for comprehension and two follow up questions for students to process after listening. Takes one class period to complete. This is one of the most compelling stories I have heard yet on Radio Ambulante and your students will certainly be engaged. Link to episode is at the top of the page for easy access and absent students who can listen at home on their phones. Answer key also included.

Two simple table charts for students to practice adjective agreement. One with a list of common adjectives, the other with a list of countries and their corresponding nationalities. No rocket science here, just a little extra practice for students who need it or for that text book that never seems to offer enough support for the concept. Works best for students at level I who are learning adjectives for the first time or level II beginning of year when they need a quick jump start review. Grid has some answers already in place to help students think about how each adjective works.

This worksheet has students tracking conflicts between characters in Episode 3. Students fill the chart as they watch. Netflix has recently cancelled this series, but the worksheet contains a link where students (and the class) can watch it from the internet without being charged, and no advertisements. (No te preocupes)

This one page worksheet has students tracking relationships of characters in the second episode alongside a brief summary of what happened between pairs of characters. This assignment works best for a class of Heritage Learners who can fully comprehend what is happening in the episode.

This little chart is great for episode one to introduce students to the characters. Students track what they know to be true about each character (professions, relationship) and what they observe to be their personality. At the end, students make quick predictions about what will happen next. This telenovela works great for Heritage Spanish students and fits neatly in one class period.

50 point quiz suitable for level 3 or higher where students have been working on the present subjunctive tense. Quiz is scaffolded with SUB or IND choices for expressions first (15) followed by fill in blank with Subjunctive, Indicative or Infinitive (15) and 10 situations where students have to offer their own solutions using the subjunctive in complete sentences (20 pts, proficiency) Answer key is provided for the first two sections, the last section student answers will vary. Takes one class period to complete.

Another round of "better than you", this game keeps the whole class moving, engaged and receiving instant feedback on the concept of Preterite vs Imperfect. Put desks in pairs, number each station of paired desks. Students write the first station number on their paper and game begins. Students decide preterite/imperfect and race their partner, slamming pencil on desk when finished. Reveal the answer and have ALL students rotate desks. Winning student goes one station lower 6-->5, losing student goes one station higher 6-->7. Settle all ties and disputes, dual wrong answers with a round of ROCK PAPER SCISSORS and continue the game. First student back to their seat WINNING wins the game. Game can be played for entire class to practice or as a warm up before the quiz. Product contains 35 practice sentences with alternating answers to play the game. This lesson works great with level II or higher students who have been practicing the Preterite vs Imperfect concept for some time.

This 30 minute podcast from Radio Ambulante tells the story of how a detained migrant died in a US detention center. Was it a suicide or was he killed? Radio Ambulante interviews his family, doctors and fellow prisoners to try and determine the plight of a detainee. This podcast is excellent for Heritage Learners or AP Spanish V that are studying the challenges of immigration. Radio Ambulante has a visual transcript that accompanies the narration to this episode to facilitate comprehension while students are listening they can read what is being said. Listening guide contains 19 questions that accompany the podcast and a follow up topic for students to respond to after completing the activity. Takes one full class period to complete, or play the podcast twice and assign the prompt as homework. Answer key also included.

This 17 minute podcast is one of my absolute favourite Radio Ambulante Episodes that recounts the story of a woman who winds up in jail for having extended her help to a pair of orphaned children. The worksheet contains 15 questions that accompany the episode in chronological order and a short essay topic for reflection upon completion of the episode. Radio Ambulante episodes work best for Heritage Learners that can comprehend Spanish for sustained periods of time. This activity could also be used with an AP Spanish V class if you are prepared to repeat it a couple of times or stop it periodically so students can catch up to what they understood . Play the podcast as a whole group or send students to the computer lab to listen at their own pace. Lesson takes one class period to complete. Answer key is included.

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 12 paragraph news article discusses the dangers of listening to music at high volumes for prolonged periods of time: http://bit.ly/1Rptva6 Lesson plan includes a word doc format of the article and an in depth lesson plan that guides students through reading a text critically. Lesson begins with a brief survey of student listening habits, followed by 7 youtube sound effect links you can play in class for students to measure decibel levels on their smartphones (fun and free) Students read article and mark text (AVID strategy) and then reflect on what they read by completing some sentence starters based on the text. Lesson also includes key vocabulary with space for student definitions and an answer key for you so you don't have to look them up. Lesson is best suited for AP Level 5-6 students or a Heritage Learner class who is preparing for the AP test. Article falls under theme of Science and Technology and is relevant to students daily life choices about how they listen to music. Takes one full class period to complete.

This 17 minute broadcast tells the story of some Colombian musicians who were kidnapped and forced to play music at a paramilitary birthday party in the middle of the jungle. 10 queestions in chronological order that follow the podcast and an essay topic for reflection aftewards make up the guide that follows this program. This lesson is best suited for a Heritage Learners Spanish class or a Level VAP where students can follow sustained spoken Spanish for a period of time. You may wish to break the episode down into smaller segments or repeat the broadcast several times for students who do not speak Spanish outside of your class. Lesson takes one class period to complete. Answer key is included.

With Cuba in the news more and more this article is a great read for Spanish Heritage Speakers or Level V AP students who are proficient at reading newstext. Lesson download includes a copy of the article formatted to word.doc, and a guided reading lesson with useful vocabulary/matching to definitions, 10 predictions for the pre-read to get students ready to watch for details and a grid chart to complete comparing what they read about Cuba to Mexico (or their home country) and the US. There are follow up questions for think/pair/share and a place for students to respond based on what they learned. This lesson takes two class periods to complete if you give time for sharing out at the end, or you can start it and assign the writing prompts as homework. Great information about all the benefits that Cubans get, plus all the restrictions imposed on them by their government. Excellent launch piece if you want to teach students the basics about Cuba today.

With Cuba in the news more and more this article is a great read for Spanish Heritage Speakers or Level V AP students who are proficient at reading newstext. Lesson download includes a copy of the article formatted to word.doc, and a guided reading lesson with useful vocabulary/matching to definitions, 10 predictions for the pre-read to get students ready to watch for details and a grid chart to complete comparing what they read about Cuba to Mexico (or their home country) and the US. There are follow up questions for think/pair/share and a place for students to respond based on what they learned. This lesson takes two class periods to complete if you give time for sharing out at the end, or you can start it and assign the writing prompts as homework. Great information about all the benefits that Cubans get, plus all the restrictions imposed on them by their government. Excellent launch piece if you want to teach students the basics about Cuba today.