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.

Suitable for level III or higher after learning the basics of Future tense conjugation. Quiz is 34 points, has a verb chart, fill in the blanks, finish the sentences (open ended) and answer the questions. Takes about 20 min to complete.

Brief quiz covering how to form presente perfecto y pluscuamperfecto, with box charts at top for helping verbs HABER and examples using regular and irregular verbs for conjugation. Works best as an easy intro quiz after students have been working with these tenses for a couple of days. Suitable for level III or higher. Takes about 15 minutes to complete. Answer key included.

This one hour documentary from PBS chronciles the Supreme Court Case Hernandez vs Texas as a critical moment in determining if Mexican Americans should be considered a protected class against discrimination under the 14th amendment of the Constitution. 19 questions in chronological order of the film, with answer key and translated version in Spanish. The DVD is available from PBS or on line from Amazon, and is suitable for either a social studies class studying civil rights, or a Spanish class where you want to provide students with a little history. DVD also has audio track in Spanish for Heritage Learner classes. Movie takes one class period to view.

This is just a file of large words that you can cut apart and have your students put up around the school. Its fun and "gets the word out" to the other students and the administration that you are making people aware of school vocabulary in Spanish. Kids love to put them up. I do this activity every year and its amazing how long the words actually stay up. Education by osmosis. Enjoy!

Film covers what happens when ICE agents invade a meat processing plant in Postville Iowa. A true story, this film is EXCELLENT at explaining how undocumented workers are detained, deported, separated from families, how they are processed, why they come to work, and the responsibilities of the people who own businesses that benefit from their presence. Movie guide contains 26 questions in chronological order of the film, with opportunities for students to brainstorm, pair share and discuss their reactions. Runs just over an hour and is available for purchase at http://abusedthepostvilleraid.blogspot.com/ or on demand at vimeo. There are several links for follow up trailers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDG6-1zp52w&list=PL00B092D3FE38B664 if you want to track with students what happened a year later. This film works well for Social Studies class discussing immigration or Spanish class. The documentary is in English with subtitled interviews in Spanish.

This four page reading guide accompanies the short story NOSOTROS NO. (free downloadable black line at http://hispanicexplorer.tripod.com/nosotros_no.htm . Lesson contains a list of useful vocabulary and a practice exercise, pre-reading questions for students to complete and discuss in pairs and small groups, brainstorming questions about the roles senior citizens play in our families and society, comprehension questions that accompany the story and a choice of essay prompts linked to the outcome of the story for students to answer. This lesson works best for a level IV or higher Spanish class or is also suitable for a heritage learner class. Takes at least 2 class periods to complete if you include time for reading in class.

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.

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.

PG-13 film with a wonderful way to discuss undocumented immigrants and their difficulties. Under the same moon tells the story of Carlitos, a 9 yr old boy who travels from Mexico to Los Angeles to find his mother after 4 yrs apart. The characters that Carlitos encounters along the way and the challenges his mother faces in her daily life are symbolic of the struggles many undocumented immigrants and their families face every day. The film is in Spanish, study questions provided in both Spanish and English, this film is suitable for any level from middle school beginners to higher level learners. One of my favourite films on a very timely topic. Movie Guide Under the Same Mon by

A sweet movie that lasts 2 class periods, rated PG. Best suited for students in the first years of Spanish study, and appropriate for middle or high school students. This movie works well with "Under the Same Moon" as it looks at a relationship between an undocumented single dad and his American born son. Topics explored include limited work options, inability to report crime, temptation to join a gang and drop out of school. Middle school students loved this film, and I was able to use it to explore how the US handles undocumented workers with a fictional storyline. Movie guide contains 19 questions that follow the film in chronological order and three topics for discussion. Takes two class periods to show, or three with time for discussion and questions. Movie guide and most of film are in English. Movie Guide: A BETTER LIFE by Barbara Davis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

This is my favourite story to teach to higher level Spanish classes (4, 5, AP) Lesson download contains vocabulary charts by paragraph to help students identify and define tricky vocabulary, I have enclosed two versions, one with English answers so you dont have to look them all up either! Lesson also contains comprehension questions and a link to download a free PDF of the story. I have numbered the questions to correspond to the download, so just print the story, make copies, have students number the paragraphs and you are ready to go. Story takes about 3 days to read and discuss in a level 4 class. Students love the story bc it has such a spooky ending. Chaac Mool Carlos Fuentes Reading Guide by Barbara Davis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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.

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.