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 short but powerful documentary Recycled Life presents the sad reality of the thousands of people who live and work in the Guatemala City Dump. Narrated by Edward James Olmos in English with interviews in Spanish of Guaejero dump workers, this film presents the sad day to day reality of the thousands of people who recycle millions of pounds of trash every day. The film will most certainly provoke discussion with students and for many serve as the first time they actually see the kind of poverty that motivates immigrants to risk their lives to come here. Movie guide contains 17-18 questions in chronological order and a couple of personal opinion/reactions. Guide is in English and Spanish. Amazing film, it will bring you to tears, while still leaving you with a sense of pride and dignity that these humble people maintain intact despite horrific circumstances.

This film (winner Cannes film 2012) is based on the true story of a marketing campaign to oust Pinochet from his Presidency rather than extending it for another 8 years. Against all odds, with little resources and a comically clever campaign the opposition triumphs and Chileans are finally free to choose a new leader. Gael Garcia Bernal does an excellent job in this serious, thrilling, but also lighthearted film. This film carries an R rating for language, but is otherwise appropriate for an upper level Spanish class. It works best after a lab day to do some presearch on the Pinochet dictatorship or after teaching about desparecidos so students can situate the importance of the plebiscite within the context of his reign. Movie guide has both a Spanish version and an English version so it could be shown in a Social Studies class as well.

Fictional film based on true events, the Bolivian Water Wars of 2000 when the govt tried to privatize the water supply, raising rates 300% making clean water inaccessible for a large sector of population. A Spanish director filming a movie about Columbus conquest in Bolivia is an interplay between scripted scenes where the Spaniards exploited the Taino under Columbus, and Bartolome de las Casas defends them, while in modern day scenes villagers are exploited by the government and even by the film makers, until one man helps them mobilize and stand up for their rights. An excellent movie, It opens discussion for how little has changed for indigenous poor in much of Central & South America and parallels between the initial exploitation and modern day inequities. Best suited for older/higher level high school students studying the cutural aspects of Latin America as well as language. Contains questions, answer key, topics for discussion and a list of topics for follow up research.

This PBS documentary follows the Chilean judge who had to render a decision on whether to indict Pinochet for war crimes. It follows him as he investigates disappearances, deaths and torture of Chilean opposition members. The documentary is one hour twenty minutes and fits well in two class periods. This film works well for a social studies class or a higher level Spanish class who has been studying desaparecidos. The film is both in English and Spanish with subtitles. Movie guide contains 23 questions in chronological order and an answer key. Movie Guide PBS The Judge and the General by Barbara Davis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This lesson is designed to get students thinking about cultural "norms" and all the different ways good etiquette, customs and rituals are practiced around the world. There are 48 simple statements on a chart for students to ponder in small groups and then guess as to where these practices are considered the norm. Survey is written in English so it will work for teachers of any foreign language, as well as ELL classes. The survey will open up students minds for the wide variety of cultural diversity, and for ELL students give them an opportunity to share out cultural norms from their home countries. This activity would be excellent for the first day of school to open the dialogue and get students interacting. Download also includes an answer key for you to share with students afterwards.

This 40 minute video from the history channel give a reasonably unbiased view of the Aztec empire and an effort to understand their cultural practices as well as documents their conquest by Cortez and why Spain was successful in defeating the Aztec. Video works well for a sub day lesson plan or as supporting information when studying the Aztec. Video is in English, questions are chronologically ordered.

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.