My Spanish IV students asked me to prepare them a review grid of tenses (present, preterite, imperfect, future, conditional and subjunctive) for most commonly used verbs. There are no conjugations on this grid, but its a useful template if want to give students extra practice or a review before they start creating or narrating a story. No answer key for this one, but its free for anyone who can use it. :)

This 12 question checklist survey about childhood activities and preferences makes a great introduction to the unit on childhood. Students read a series of statements in the imperfect tense and check off any applicable answers. Download also contains a two column vocabulary list of helpful childhood words. Free preview file is a powerpoint that matches the questions, so the day after you assign students the homework you can review the questions together. I like to print a class roster on a grid and copy it for students. Then they can tally their classmates answers to the questions as you call on students to report their responses. Worksheet works best with level II students who have recently begun learning childhood vocabulary (Realidades II and En Español ) and can recognize verbs in the imperfect tense. Powerpoint survey takes about 20 minutes to run in class the next day.

This lesson is designed to take students in a Spanish III or higher class through the poem Me Gustas Cuando Callas by Pablo Neruda. Activities for listening, speaking, reading and writing are combined into a lesson that involves both small group, large group and individual student work around the theme of the poem. Lesson includes comprehension questions, links for listening and tracking emphasis, guided reading/coding activities for terminology, topics for small group discussion and a rubric for grading student writing and response. Download also contains a copy of the poem in Spanish and English (for you) and a coded copy with the poetry terms marked. Lesson works best at level 3 or higher and is well suited for level IV or AP Spanish as an intro to poetry or a follow up lesson where students are already familiar with poetry terminology.

This lesson feeds well off of a unit on poetry where students are already familiar with poetic terminology. It can be used as a performance assessment. I use it after reading Oda a los Tomates by Pablo Neruda and showing some youtube clips of the poem to get the feeling for personification and imagery. It could also be used after a thematic unit on food and works best with Level III or higher students who are already familiar with locating poetry mechanisms in poetry. Lesson includes brainstorming chart, rough draft, finished product and rubric templates. Free preview contains additional comments and suggestions for implementation. The finished product from students on this lesson was some of the best most creative work I have seen this year, and students really enjoyed delivering their poems in a "Spoken Word" format in class. You will want to allow some class time to create rough drafts and avoid GOOGLE translated assignments.

This practice packet will take students through the basics of when accents are needed and when the stress falls naturally on words. It also looks at special cases like interrogatives, and words that change their meaning with an accent. There are practice exercises integegrated throughout the packet as well, so students can practice subbing out pronouns and adding accents, dividing words into syllables and determining if they need an accent or not. Answer key for you also included. This packet works best with a level 3 or higher class when students have already built a good level of vocabulary in Spanish. It is also suitable for a heritage learner class when students need a refresher.

This 40 point quiz within the context of the fairy tale Little Red Ridinghood works best for students at level III or higher who have been working with Preterite vs Imperfect within the context of a short story. Students prior knowledge of this famous fairy tale will help them to comprehend the context of the story and select the best verb choice. Answer key included, quiz takes about 20 minutes to complete in class. Quiz could also be used as a practice.

This partner practice presents simple problems and students present simple solutions using the subjunctive tense and impersonal expressions. Students take turns presenting problems and giving advice while making verbs in in subjuntive. Partner practice takes 15-20 miinutes to run in class and works best with level III or higher who have been practicing subjunctive conjugation and usage for a few days.

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.

Roy Germano PhD in poli sci visits small Mexican towns to interview people about why many people risk their lives to leave for work in the US. Germano talks with workers, farmers, spouses, families and municipal employees to discover reasons people leave and what happens to their families when they go. This compelling documentary is 55 minutes long and fits neatly in 1 class. It is an excellent companion to one of the many movies about undocumented immigrants and their journeys to the US. Most of this film is in Spanish w English subtitles and works well with any level high school Spanish or Social Studies where you have spent time discussing the immigration. This film is very well made, not rated, and has won awards at film festivals, available on Netflix or for purchase on Amazon. Movie guide contains 22 questions that follow the film. I divide students into small groups and assign each group sections to answer, then share out. Questions included in Spanish and English.

A four day lesson plan for the short story EL HIJO includes: Pre-reading questions for discussion in small group, chart for drawing the story as students listen to the audio version on the cold read, activity for students to complete as they re-read the story in pairs, 2 essay prompts for students to choose for final assessment, and link to a good version of the story narrated. El Hijo is available on line for free from a variety of sources if you don't have the text, and is best for a level IV class or higher or Heritage speakers as the vocabulary is complex. Lesson takes about 4 days to complete with time in class for reading and discussion. Preview file contains a suggested plan for how to teach this story with my activities. This lesson does not contain an answer key because the students will create their own discussion, reactions, ideas and they will vary depending on how they interpreted the story.

This quiz works best for a level III or higher class where students have already been working with subjunctive verbs for awhile. I use it as my second quiz after students have completed my homework practice packet. Quiz is 50 pts, takes one class to complete and is graduated in task level. 1) identification of expressions that take either Subj or Indicative tenses. 2) Practice sentences to complete in Subj, Ind or Infinitive 3) an essay prompt on a student familiar topic for them to answer creatively using subj and indicative tenses, work bank of starter expressions included for them.

This 90 minute documentary from PBS chronicles the life and career of Frida Kahlo, explains her work and her relationship with muralist Diego Rivera. If you are teaching Mexican art to Spanish students and don't want to show "Frida" because of its R rating and evocative scenes, this film gives all the information necessary to understand Frida's life, love and works, with beautiful up close visuals of many of her greatest paintings. Movie guide contains 30 questions that follow the film and two follow up topics for class discussion or to be assigned as an essay for homework. This film works well for Level III teaching Realidades unit on Art, or AP curriculum as well as for an art or social studies class. Movie will take 2-3 days to complete, depending on if you stop to discuss questions with students ( PBS documentary is available for purchase on Amazon starting at $10 or directly from their website for $24.99)

PBS American Experience has an excellent episode on the Freedom Riders and the Montgomery bus riots in the struggle to disband segragation in the deep South. The program is just under two hours and could be cut apart over the course of several days with opportunities for students to discuss in pairs and larger group some of the ethical dilemmas and risks that the Freedom Riders risked. This movie guide contains 40 questions in order of the program with opportunities for "think pair share" and several follow up topics for after the program for students to journal or discuss with classmates. PBS American Experience is available for free through PBS Website or streaming through a Roku/Chromecast. This lesson works best for high school aged students studying the Civil Rights movement in their social studies classes.

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 quick 40 pt quiz covers making commands with and without Direct Object and reflexive pronouns. Quiz is set up in a chart form for students to demonstrate knowledge of commands in TU, UD. UDS. and NOSOTROS in positive and negative forms. This quiz works best as a formative assessment to see if your students have the rules down for how to make them. Students complete the chart manipulating the pronouns between positive and negative. Chart contains some regular, irregular, weird YO and stem changer verbs. This is not a proficiency based quiz, but will give you a quick check to see if you are ready to take students to the next level with commands.

This wonderful movie produced by Edward James Olmos for HBO chronicles a student led intitative to stage citywide walkouts in order to protest discrimination against Chicano students and punishments for speaking Spanish in school. Based on a true story and co-written with actual participants in the walkouts, this movie is wonderful for any level of Spanish class or as part of a social studies unit on the civil rights movements of the late 60's. Discriminatory practices were not limited to African Americans, and this film gives great understanding to some of the unfair treatment Latino students experienced in California. The film is rated TV-14 and is suitable for students in either midde or high school. Dialogue is in English with options for Spanish. Movie guide contains 27 questions in chronological order and several follow up themes for discussion or as an independent writing assignment. Movie guide questions in both English and Spanish versions.

La Muñeca Menor by Rosario Ferré is a short story full of magical realism. This story is great to teach for a Heritage Learner class or a level IV or higher where students already have a fair vocabulary base in Spanish. Files also contain a supporting powerpoint that provides information about the author, some definitions of key vocabulary and some guiding instructions for students as they read, re-read and discuss the story. Story will take about 4 class periods to teach with thorough comprehension. Download contains comprehension questions, essential questions and a graphic organizer for students to summarize the story and identify incidents of magical realism as well as a copy of the story. (Story is available on line for free as well, google the title + free PDF) Ferre has a lot to say about the way women are treated in this story that finishes with a kind of spooky surprise ending.

This 6 page organizer guides students through every stage of how to organize a persuasive presentation around a controversial topic. Download includes an outline of the components, two graphic organizers, a large list of controversial topics for suggestions, a list of transitional words and their definitions to improve students writing and a rubric for you to assess their final projects. This project is written to be presented as an oral presentation but could easily be adapted for a 5 paragraph essay. Project works best for AP V level students or Heritage learners who already have a good command of the language and are capable of conducting their on line research in Spanish. Budget one day to walk students through how to complete the organizer, 1-2 days to research supporting sources and one day at least to create the Prezi. Students may wish to work in pairs, and/or research opposite sides of an issue.

Powerpoint contains 20 slides of art from various famous Hispanic and spanish artists. In pairs, students imagine they are visiting an art museum and asking about each work of art. (Partner A asks about odd numbered paintings, Partner B evens) Students describe the paintings, their styles and reactions to each painting. This lesson works well with anyone teaching art from Realidades level III or any higher level Spanish class learning about art and art vocabulary. It ties in well with one of the AP prep themes on beauty and aesthetics.I broke the practice into two separate class periods and had students discuss 10 paintings total each day. If you use the powerpoint as a class as opposed to having students download it on their own device, you might want to set a timer for each picture for 2 minutes. Students will be speaking Spanish fast and furious to answer the questions bc their time on each is limited. Practice takes about 20 min.

This short newspaper article in Spanish discusses Latino student graduation rates in the US and some of the long term economic benefits of staying in school. I use this article and guided reading organizer with my Spanish for Spanish speakers classes where they already have a high reading comprehension level in the language, but an AP level class could easily complete the same assignment, although it may be less culturally relevant if the students doing it are not Latino. Download includes the actual article as well as a link to it, guided reading questions and partner think/pair/shares and an essay prompt on if students feel that teachers are positive or negative forces in the lives of students. Students write a short prompt with supporting evidence from their own scholastic experiences. Article and questions take one class period to complete with the essay as homework.