Destroy stereotypes! Introduce the Spanish speaking world in its glorious diversity. Engage students with thought-provoking topics.
Culture units: art, sports, human rights, ecology and more. Read, write, speak, and think.
Oral presentation based on Internet searches with keywords. Cooperative learning.
Writing assignments as varied as our students. Keywords for Internet searches.
Give them the tools and they will flourish!
Destroy stereotypes! Introduce the Spanish speaking world in its glorious diversity. Engage students with thought-provoking topics.
Culture units: art, sports, human rights, ecology and more. Read, write, speak, and think.
Oral presentation based on Internet searches with keywords. Cooperative learning.
Writing assignments as varied as our students. Keywords for Internet searches.
Give them the tools and they will flourish!
In Montreal all the street signs are in French!
Use the signs to practice basic vocabulary of food and daily life.
Use the cultural information to compare and contrast with your own community.
Use the pictures to talk about Quebec, Canada´s French speaking province.
One of the biggest challenges for a student is how to find information for his / her oral presentation. Entering the key word ´Spain´ for example, is not enough; the student needs the specific key word. Thus ´Santiago de Compostela´ is going to be a much better choice. If we add to that the word ´Camino´ all of a sudden, the student has something to work with.
All the suggestions for oral presentations that follow are based on that premise: give the student the key words for Internet searches and interesting topics, and they will produce amazing work. I know, my students have done so.
Important! Please note that this is the first of eight, all called Oral Presentation Topics A, Oral Presentation Topics B, Oral Presentation Topics C, all the way to Oral Presentation Topics H.
Oral Presentation Topics A is general, the others are specific to either a country or an area.
1. All oral presentation topics are based on research. Key words are provided to guide the student's web research. Guidelines for research are provided. Cooperative learning is required. Suggestions are given for audience response.
2. All oral topics have three levels of difficulty, A, B and C. Each level is on a separate page so teacher can choose.
3. Level A provides the student 3 suggestions, level B gives the student 4 suggestions and level C, 6 suggestions. Group work is required to divide the work and prepare for a class presentation.
4. There is always a central theme. All topics are guided. First sentences are provided.
Presente A has 8 broad topics, each divided into three levels. Here are some examples:
1. Fiestas: Cabalgata de Reyes, Magos de Alcoy, Día de Muertos, Moros y cristianos. One example:
- Moros y cristianos es una fiesta tradicional antigua que se celebra en varias ciudades españolas. Tal vez la más famosa es la de Alcoy. Tengo varias imágenes. Voy a explicar esta fiesta.
Palabras clave: Moros y cristianos + Alcoy
2. ¿La papa o el maíz? Which food is more important? Was it always so?
3. La Carretera Panamericana – The highway stretches from Alaska to the tip of South America. Students research el Tapón de Darién, the Nazca Lines and much more in between.
4. El agua –...
Number of pages: 29
Teacher and student rubrics: included
Name of store: MirafloresCultura
International Baccalaureate
Two culture units about Colombia, a great painter and a walled city. Contextualized. Content-based. Please preview.
Unit 1. Fernando Botero
Have fun describing Botero’s over sized people! (What a wonderful way to practice those adjectives!) Acquaint your students with Botero’s huge bodies, round faces and tiny feet. Once they have studied the paintings in this unit, they will also understand his opinions about Colombian society.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: painter
Vocabulary: painting
Grammar: descriptive adjectives
Oral practice: paintings
Homework: stereotypes,
Internet: key words for web searches / expand the topics
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
Answer key
Unit 2. Cartagena de Indias
Cartagena de Indias is the only remaining walled city in South Americas with the walls intact in many areas. The unit is built around two short texts. The first is a dialogue between two young men during the colonial period. The second text describes what the city and its wall, built to protect the city from slave raiders, looks like today. And there is more! García Márquez uses the city as the locale for one of his books and the characters are described within this spectacular colonial city.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: port city
Vocabulary: city
Grammar: verbs with stem changes
Oral practice: forts
Homework: cities named after cities in the Old World
Internet: key words for web searches / expand the topics
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
Answer key
ALSO AVAILABLE IN AN “ARTS BUNDLE” THAT INCLUDES:
1. Goya / Gaudí / Rodrigo; 3 interdisciplinary thematic units - SP Beginners 1
2. Cervantes and Sor Juana / Picasso / Felipe VI; 3 thematic units - SP Beginners 1
3. Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros / Indigenous cultures: 2 thematic units - SP Intermediate 1
4. Fernando Botero / Cartega de Indias; 2 thematic units - SP Intermediate 1
5. Las Meninas / Felipe II; 2 thematic units - SP Intermediate 2
(You get ALL five for the price of four)
All Miraflores resources are exclusively in the target language.
Three easy mini-thematic units for beginners.
Packed with information, creative and fun, they are all about Spain. Review and present both the grammar and the vocabulary for Spanish 1 in context.
We used to teach our students about the Moorish influence at the advanced levels. Here is the opportunity not only to admire the architecture but also to counter stereotypes and racism. Your students will walk through the Alhambra and practice gustar. They will choose a place to visit in Andalucía and also spend the day at one of Spain’s most popular holiday resorts, Torremolinos. Deductive thinking skills and important information about Muslim Spain are the corner stones of the three thematic units.
Unit 1. Ganador(a) del premio " Visita Andalucia"
By having the students decide between cities, which one they will visit, they get to know them. ¿Qué lugar vas a visitar? is the basic question the students need to answer in this thematic unit. And of course tastes vary. Students will make different choices and all the time practice gustar, encantar and interesar. Contextualization is the name of the game.
Unit 2. Granada: La Alhambra
Comprehensible input means that the students understand and enjoy. Here is a text on the Alhambra written for Spanish 1. It includes a lot of information about that most iconic palace and integrates it with basic language skill such as the vocabulary of the house and a review of numbers. Again, both the rooms of the house and the numbers are contextualized since they deal with the rooms of the Alhambra and the dates of the same. This worked well in my class and beginners started to get a real sense of the extraordinary cultural riches of Spain.
Unit 3. Una ciudad española: Torremolinos
The geography of Spain, with so much water to the north, east and south, makes for a huge number of beaches. Spaniard love their beaches and head for them every summer. They are joined by a large number of foreigners, and in the spring and fall when Spaniards would never go to the beach, these are filled with Scandinavians, Germans, Brits and more. Even in the winter, many northern europeans spend time in the Costa del Sol. This short thematic unit includes beach and hotel choices as well as a full day in Torremolinos. Do food in context.
Please click on Preview to read them.
Includes:
1. Subject matter: Andalucía: places, people, history
2. Vocabulary: house, hotel, tourism; numbers; meals
3. Grammar: gustar, interesar, encantar, preferir; por la mañana, por la tarde, por la noche
4. Oral practice: interview, an exceptional building, the Alhambra; visit Torremolinos
5. Homework: Decision on place to visit; a postcard; visit Torremolinos
6. Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
7. Answer key
Four mini-culture units. Everything in the target language. Please preview.
Students tend to group all Spanish speakers together. Here are four short units that point out the similarities and differences between the more than 20 countries where Spanish is spoken. Not only do they eat different foods, they also have different money. What a wonderful way to review geography, nationalities and the family!
Four thematic units for beginners, all about the Spanish speaking world.
Preguntas sobre el mundo hispano
Unit 1. La importancia del español
Unit includes:
Subject matter: general information
Vocabulary: names of languages
Grammar: prepositions de & en
Oral practice: work habits
Homework: languages taught at my school
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 2. Los nombres de los hispanos
Unit includes:
Subject matter: general information
Vocabulary: family
Grammar: ir verbs and stem changes
Oral practice: languages taught in different countries
Homework: family tree
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 3. ¿Quiénes hablan bien el español?
Unit includes:
Subject matter: general information
Vocabularay: nationalities; names of languages
Grammar: review of ar, er, ir verbs
Oral practice: regional accents
Homework: countries where Spanish is spoken (map); languages taught at my school
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
**Unit 4. Monedas latinoamericanas
**
Unit includes:
Subject matter: general information
Vocabulary: names of money
Grammar:
Oral practice: work habits
Homework: weekly schedule; my language
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
I am a believer in doing lots of different activities in class so the kids don’t get bored.
Every student must research his/her topic.
Key words to guide the student´s work.
All subjects require group work. Cooperative learning emphasized.
All presentations have an assignment for those listening, i.e the rest of the class.
Key words for three levels of difficulty level.
Country or regions for Oral Presentations topics:
Spain
Mexico
Andean region
Southern Cone
Caribbean
Central America
Hispancs in the USA
General topics: Hispanic world
All our students do oral presentations, some successfully, others less so. We know how difficult it is for some students to stand in front of the class, to have everyone look at them, and on top of that to have to speak in a language they do not fully master. Yet, I am convinced that it continues to be a necessary exercise and that they will need to use their public speaking skills later. And only by speaking in public will our students be able to overcome their sweating palms and the heart palpitations. Having witnessed this too often, I decided to mitigate the fear by having the students present in groups.
Having them work in groups proved very useful in ways I had not imagined at first. I gave them one big subject and divided it into many smaller ones. Thus, four students shared “Salimos de vacaciones en el Caribe”. Their task was to present an advertisement for each place. One presented Playa Varadero, the second, Old San Juan, the third, Trinidad and the Valle de los Ingenios in Cuba and the fourth, la ballena jorobada off the peninsula de Samaná. They covered different countries and very different vacation ideas. They practiced their presentations together, decided order, decided visuals. They learned from each other. And when they went up together, they had each other. It worked most of the time but as all teachers know, we have students that will not cooperate with us or with their peers. I can attest that the group presentations were better than the single ones I had done before, and the students were less nervous. Plus having the rest of class make decisions about where they would go on those imaginary vacations to the Caribbean, implicated them. It worked.
Preview each section
Eclectic. Interdisciplinary.
Another example in Oral presentations: Spain. Global them: “Guernica”. One student describes the painting, another the bombing, another talks about Picasso, another the town of Guernica, another the town´s basketball team, and more. You get the picture!
Here is my challenge to you. These two free units are about subjects teachers don´t often deal with: llamas and child labor. Take the plunge!
Try one. They certainly worked well in my classroom.
Let me know in the comments section below, what happened in yours.
Laugh and cry! Content-based! Engage the students.
Unit 1. La llama
You may know that llama wool is used to make ponchos and sweaters. But did you know that the Incas sacrificed llamas in their rituals? That even today the excrement is used for fuel; that llama meat is considered a delicacy; that their fur makes warm slippers? Broaden horizons!
Unit includes:
Subject matter: animals
Vocabulary: animals
Grammar: por / para
Oral practice: working children
Homework: project: to better the conditions of a specific group
Internet: key words for further searches; broaden the search
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
Answer key
Unit 2. La mina de Potosí
Bolivia’s mines introduce a world of dangerous work but they are also a way of practicing those tricky reflexive verbs. Entire families work in the mines and child labor makes for an excellent discussion. Are the children that work in the mines any different from those that flip hamburgers? And if so, how are they different? The units make your students reflect, analyze and compare their world with other realities.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: mines
Vocabulary: modes of transportation
Grammar: reflexive verbs
Oral practice: working children
Homework: NGOs in Bolivia
Internet: key words for further searches; broaden the search
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
Answer key
All Miraflores resources are solely in the target language.
All levels including SP Beginners 1.
I have thought long and hard about why geography is not taught properly at the primary level and admit that I really don’t know the answer. So instead of getting upset, I put together these maps. I put each one on a separate page so I could just use the one I needed. This worked for me, so I hope it also works for you.
The maps are contextualized: there is a map of different musical styles; another of the conquerors and the explorers; a map of the cities of Spain shows where some famous Spanish painters were born.
Mapas de Latinoamérica Mapas de España Maps! Maps! Maps! Clear, well drawn, easy to reproduce! Each map provides essential information so your students can master the geography of the Spanish speaking world. Much more than just countries and capitals! Everything in the target language: Spanish.
Maps 1 includes: (TpT does not allow previews for free resources.)
Subject matter: geography of Latin America and Spain (11 different maps)
Vocabulary: names of countries and capitals, names of cardinal points, names of oceans, names of various famous people and places
Grammar: ser, llamar, estar Oral practice: ¿Cómo se llama? ¿Es…? ¿De dónde es…?
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
11 maps, each a separate printable page.
Contextualized maps.
Use a variety of devices to teach geography: musical styles, conquerors and explorers, artists.
Show different perspectives to learn map reading .
IF YOU LIKE THESE MAPS, I have put together MAPS 2, a second set of content based maps called: Spanish in Europe and the Americas. Content based maps and more. It is meant for Spanish Beginners 1, can be used at all levels.
PS After I did these, I wrote three mini-thematic units for beginners. Compare Spain and Perú, compare Barcelona and Mexico City and the regions of Latin America. So we compared two countries, then two cities and then because there were so many countries and the kids were having trouble, I put the countries is groups (Andean countries, Central American countries, etc.) All three come in a single download.
Real signs for content based language!
Yes, even beginners can understand Montreal street signs.
Have fun with the beginners! They may not know all the words, but will understand the meaning of the signs.
Students are often afraid of reading words they do not know. Here is the way to get rid of that fear, plunge in and enjoy.
Culture in content.
Presente F – The six oral presentations on the Spanish speaking countries of the Caribbean are divided the following way: three broad themes on the area and one each on Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. You can examine some oral presentations using the Preview.
1. La música – Explain different musicals styles. Play some music for the class.
2. El carnival – Carnaval is a huge festival with costumes, music and dances. The Cubans tried to abolish it, then rescheduled it in July instead of February.
3. Salimos de vacaciones – The students prepare TV commercials to advertise different places, some famous, others less so. They can video their presentations.
4. El béisbol – Home of many baseball stars, the students research the impact the individuals and the game have had on the Dominican Republic.
5. Carteles cubanos – Propaganda posters for everything are fun to describe and analyze.
- Este es un cartel de Ernesto Che Guevara. La foto es del fotógrafo Korda. Su nombre real es Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez. Voy a explicar el cartel y hablar del Che.
- Palabras clave: Korda + Ernesto Che Guevara
6. Los parques nacionales de Puerto Rico – P.R. is very rich in parks where people flock to enjoy the day. Students describe a park and then suggest improvements.
1. All oral presentation topics are based on research. Key words are provided to guide the student's web research. Guidelines for research are provided. Cooperative learning is required. Suggestions are given for audience response.
2. All oral topics have three levels of difficulty, A, B and C. Each level is on a separate page so teacher can choose.
3. Level A provides the student 3 suggestions, level B gives the student 4 suggestions and level C, 6 suggestions. Group work is required to divide the work and prepare for a class presentation.
4. There is always a central theme. All topics are guided. First sentences are provided.
Number of pages: 23
Teacher and student rubrics: included
Name of store: MirafloresCultura
International Baccalaureate
USEFUL - ÚTIL A - 10 topics. Every topic is in both English and Spanish. There are 3 levels of difficulty for every assigment. Please note that there are SIX different sets of composition topics, Útil A, B, C, all the way to Útil F. No student can say - ¨I don´t know what to write about.¨
Sample beginners writing assignment:
Prepare a flyer / travel brochure
Mexico City is one of the biggest cities in the world. Find 3 pictures of Mexico City: something old, something new and something you really like. In your travel brochure, identify and describe each picture.
Variation: Each student chooses ONE capital of a Spanish speaking country and finds 3 pictures.....
Útil A has 10 topics. Each one has a specific writing assignment.
1. Prepare a flyer.
2. Prepare an itinerary for a trip.
3. Organize the information for a documentary.
4. Make a placemat for a restaurant. Every table will have one.
5. You will be interviewed. Get ready.
6. Find pictures and compare them.
7. Give advice. Good advice? Bad advice?
8. Write a dialogue for a shopping trip.
9. Create or draw a map and add the description.
10. Prepare an itinerary for a trip to Machu Picchu
Students explore both the famous and the out of the way places in the Spanish speaking World. They include Machu Picchu and Aracataca; La Boquería and Bilbao; Cartagena de Indias and the Chilean Lake Region. The places are diverse: markets, beach resorts, treasure fleets. The assignments tap into students´ natural attraction to the digital media.
Number of pages: 42
Teacher and student rubrics: included
Name of store: MirafloresCultura
International Baccalaureate
USEFUL - ÚTIL C
The culture of the Spanish speaking world is so very rich!
10 Composition topics / 3 levels of difficulty plus a 4th topic called ´In my country´.
Sample assignment: C3 Spanish Family Portraits
INTERNET SEARCH KEY WORDS
En español: el nombre del pintor + el nombre del cuadro
In English: name of painter + name of painting
FORMAT
You work for a film studio and are casting for a film where the people and the stories in the paintings come alive. Find the right actors. Give the names of real actors and explain your choices.
ASSIGNMENT
Beginners A: Find Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez. The little princess, Margarita, stands in the middle of the painting. The two teen-agers, on either side, are her ladies-in-waiting. What are the people doing? What actors will play the roles of the princess and the ladies-in-waiting?
Intermediate B: Find Goya´s, La familia de Carlos IV. You are casting only three or four figures. Who are they? Explain how they are related. Is their relationship important for the casting decision?...
C1. Don Quijote
C2. Catch the thief
C3. Spanish family portraits
C4. Music, the international language
C5. A picture is worth…. a thousand words.
…
High and low cultural topics are covered. Don Quijote and Las Meninas, El Prado and the Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the sardana and Venezuela´s youth orchestras. We include photography, pre-hispanic masks and Carnival costumes. Not only Frida Kahlo, but also María Félix, Lola Flores, Mercedes Sosa and Celia Cruz.
Number of pages: 23
Teacher and student rubrics: included
Name of store: MirafloresCultura
International Baccalaureate
No student can say - ¨I don´t know what to write about.¨
Bilingual writing assignments related to SPORTS –
10 Composition topics / 3 levels of difficulty plus a 4th topic called ´In my country´.
Internet searches necessary to complete every assignment.
It is called Useful because it really is! Culturally relevant and thought provoking! Even the rubrics are innovative!
Sample writing assignment:
Hurricane sale! A hurricane has devastated the Caribbean beach resort of Cancún. The owner of a sport´s store salvages some of the beach clothing. Your flyer identifies the items on sale and gives both the old price and the new sales price. Be sure to use local currency…
11. Make an ID card. Write a speech.
12. Draw the outlines of a house and it describe it.
13. Prepare an album or write a blog about your visit to a specific city.
14. Write an article for your school newspaper.
15. Write a newspaper editorial.
16. Complete a form and write a dialogue.
17. Write a composition with explanatory photographs.
18. Write a letter to complain about treatment received at a hotel.
19. Prepare a flyer.
20. Describe a World Cup mascot and…
The assignments include everything from the clothing athletes wear, prizes they receive, autographs gathered, minor leagues, stadium, tickets, fans and drug abuse. Traditional and non-traditional sports are covered. Thus, there are assignments on soccer, bicycling, skiing, baseball, and more that integrate technology and advance cultural understanding.
Number of pages: 44
Teacher and student rubrics: included
Name of store: MirafloresCultura
International Baccalaureate
Did you know that Peru has a very large Asian population? Did you know that in the 19th century 100,000 Chinese contract laborers came to Peru? Did you know that no women were allowed? Did you know that the Peruvian government then closed the borders for over thirty years?
The Chinese laborers married local women, became first small business owners and then prospered and became professionals. They integrated into Peruvian society and today play a very important role.
In these uncertain times where people are being targeted because of
their faith or the color of their skin, I have gone back to the 19th
century and written a very positive text. Racism vanquished.
If we can teach openness to the ´Other´ perhaps we can go forward! This is my small contribution.
So, here is a thematic unit called Peruanos chinos, una historia
desconocida, 12 pages. For Spanish 2 at the high school level. Many
past tenses.
The unit Includes a reading, comprehension exercise, grammar extension
based on factual information, oral work, written assignment with
comparisons to other Chinese immigrant experiences, a large number of
key words to do further research, questions for a model test,
teacher´s guide with further information and an answer key.
Presente D has 10 broad themes, the first three deal with the Andean area, the next seven are related to specific countries. The preview is complete, has every oral presentation.
1. Los Andes
2. La Amazonía
3. ¡Adivina! ¿Cuál es el personaje inventado?
4. ¡Socorro!
- Al volver de la Piedra del Medio, uno de los compañeros vio una serpiente anaconda, (Añade detalles. Termina con estas frases.) se inclinó para verla bien y se cayó al agua.
Palabras clave: serpiente anaconda
5. Cartagena de Indias
6. Grandes Colombianos
- Estamos aquí con Ana María Orozco, actriz que interpretó el papel de Betty en Yo Soy Betty la Fea. Bienvenida. Quiero empezar la entrevista con preguntas sobre el éxito mundial de esta telenovela.
Palabras clave: Yo soy Betty la Fea
7. De viaje
8. Vamos a Machu Picchu
- Hola, yo soy el / la profesor/a de historia de la escuela y también voy a acompañar al grupo. Voy a hablar de lo que vamos a hacer en Cuzco. Tenemos DOS días.
Palabras clave: Cuzco / Cusco
9. El nevado Huascarán
10. El poncho
1. All oral presentation topics are based on research. Key words are provided to guide the student's web research. Guidelines for research are provided. Cooperative learning is required. Suggestions are given for audience response.
2. All oral topics have three levels of difficulty, A, B and C. Each level is on a separate page so teacher can choose.
3. Level A provides the student 3 suggestions, level B gives the student 4 suggestions and level C, 6 suggestions. Group work is required to divide the work and prepare for a class presentation.
4. There is always a central theme. All topics are guided. First sentences are provided.
Number of pages: 35
Teacher and student rubrics: included
Name of store: MirafloresCultura
Target language only.
International baccalaureate
Presente G – Central America – There are nine broad topics, three are about the entire area and six are country specific. You can examine some pages in the Preview.
1. El quetzal
2. El chocolate
3. Piratas. Two examples.
- Francis Drake fue un pirata inglés muy famoso. Ésta es una imagen de Drake. Voy a describir la ropa que lleva.
Palabras clave: el pirata Francis Drake
- El tema de los piratas y de la piratería siempre ha sido popular en el cine norteamericano. Voy a hablar de varias películas que tratan el tema y escribir cómo presentan a los piratas.
- Palabras clave: piratas del cine norteamericano
4. Los derechos humanos
- Uno de los mayores problemas en Honduras es la falta de medios de transporte. (Escoge UNO.) Este verano voy a ser voluntario en el Instituto Hondureño de Educación Radial (IHER) / Pedals for Progress . Nosotros recibimos bicicletas y las regalamos.
Palabras clave: Instituto Hondureño de Educación Radial / Pedals for Progress
5. A comprar
6. La cooperación internacional
7. El Lago de Nicaragua
8. Parques nacionales de Costa Rica
9. El canal de Panamá
1. All oral presentation topics are based on research. Key words are provided to guide the student's web research. Guidelines for research are provided. Cooperative learning is required. Suggestions are given for audience response.
2. All oral topics have three levels of difficulty, A, B and C. Each level is on a separate page so teacher can choose.
3. Level A provides the student 3 suggestions, level B gives the student 4 suggestions and level C, 6 suggestions. Group work is required to divide the work and prepare for a class presentation.
4. There is always a central theme. All topics are guided. First sentences are provided.
Number of pages: 32
Teacher and student rubrics: included
Name of store: MirafloresCultura
International Baccalaureate
USEFUL - ÚTIL E-
Advance cultural knowledge with assignments on daily life!
Students search the web and discover Holy Week, expand their knowledge of the Day of the Dead and are bowled over by the Spanish festivals.
Review vocabulary and add new words with assignments on transportation (the metro), clothing (famous designers), hotels, the classroom and food.
E 1 – House for sale
E 2 – Paradors of Spain
E 3 – Christmas, Three Kings and Holy Week
E 4 – Yummy! Delicious!
E 5 – Please help this school – Example:
During your travels, you visit a school in a Spanish speaking country that is in need of supplies. When you come home and tell your classmates about the school, they decide to help.
SAMPLE ASSIGNMENT: List and illustrate the 5 items they need the most. Put the items on the list in order of need. Make a star beside the items you can send. Can other items be bought there? Which ones?
E 6 – Another day, another festival
Web search: name of festival + location – List of festivals is provided.
SAMPLE ASSIGNMENT: Choose 2 festivals. On your map of Spain, write the names of the festivals with arrows pointing to each city. Add the following for each one: date(s), what you like about it.
E 7 – Day of the Dead
Web search: Day of the Dead - Día de Muertos - Make a photo album or scrapbook. Describe every picture.
SAMPLE ASSIGNMENT: Your photo album or scrapbook of the Day of the Dead celebrations in México has a caption for each photo, with the date of the celebrations, the location, and the activity or item in the picture.
E 8 – What should I wear?
E 9 – Ride the subway
Number of pages: 40
Teacher and student rubrics: included
Name of store: MirafloresCultura
USEFUL - ÚTIL F
There are assignments on Atahualpa and Moctezuma, Bolívar and San Martín, Carlos V and Felipe II, the Spanish Royal Family. In addition, both the World Heritage Sites and the Seven Wonders of the World are included.
The Internet opens the door to information and allows students to see images of all the places. In many cases, students include and describe the images they have found.
Sample assignment: World Heritage Sites
INTERNET SEARCH KEY WORDS
En español: la lista del Patrimonio Mundial
In English: World Heritage Sites
FORMAT FOR A – Beginners: Draw a tee-shirt and a hat. Decorate both. Add a text.
Assignment: Choose ONE World Heritage Site in México. Your tee-shirt and hat have both images and writing to highlight the wonders of that particular World Heritage Site. The text gives information and your opinion.
FORMAT FOR B AND C – Advanced: Write a report for the authorities.
Assignment: You have just returned from visiting a WHS in South America. While you were on the site, you found a valuable historical object. Give details of your find and indicate what you did with it.
Number of pages: 40
Teacher and student rubrics: included
Name of store: MirafloresCultura
International Baccalaureate
Presente C has 6 broad themes devoted to Mexico. Eclectic and fun, students learn about the great variety this beautiful country offers.
1. ¿Salen de vacaciones? - Students convince their classmates to visit a specific place. An example:
- Yo recomiendo Taxco. Hay muchas tiendas donde venden joyería de plata. Hay artistas que hacen joyas.
Palabras clave: Taxco + joyería de plata
- ¿Van a México? Para comprar alebrijes, las famosas figuras de madera tallada, tienen que ir a Oaxaca. Visiten a la familia Mendoza, Luis Pablo, Moisés Pablo y David Pablo Mendoza. Les va a encantar.
Palabras clave: Oaxaca + alebrijes
2. Dos culturas antiguas - Assignments totally out of the box with comparisons between ancient Egypt and the Aztec world.
- Vamos a hablar de la ropa de los aztecas y de los egipcios antiguos. Vamos a explicar las diferencias.
Palabras clave: aztecas + ropa; egipcios antiguos + ropa
3. Diego y Frida - Iconic painters who were married to each other on two separate occasions and produced very different work. Students show the painting, describe it and relate it to the painter´s life.
- Voy a describir un cuadro, «Las dos Fridas» (1939). Luego voy a responder a la pregunta: ¿Por qué es Frida Kahlo un icono feminista?
Palabras clave: «Las dos Fridas»
4. Lugares inolvidables - Mexico is blessed with mountains and beaches, deserts and tropical forests. An example:
- Ustedes saben que a mí me gustan mucho los viajes. Tuve ocasión de ir a México y allí visité el Parque Museo La Venta y vi las cabezas gigantes de los olmecas. Toda una maravilla.
Palabras clave: Parque Museo La Venta
5. Volcanes - science and ecology can be understood by all.
6. Abrimos un restaurante - Starting with the rental of the space, the students work their way through the furnishing, decorating, preparing the menu, and more. Great fun.
- Vamos a decorar el restaurante con grandes recipientes de cobre hechos en Santa Clara del Cobre. Les voy a mostrar y explicar los objetos de cobre…
Palabras clave: Santa Clara del Cobre
1. All oral presentation topics are based on research. Key words are provided to guide the student's web research. Guidelines for research are provided. Cooperative learning is required. Suggestions are given for audience response.
2. All oral topics have three levels of difficulty, A, B and C. Each level is on a separate page so teacher can choose.
3. Level A provides the student 3 suggestions, level B gives the student 4 suggestions and level C, 6 suggestions. Group work is required to divide the work and prepare for a class presentation.
4. There is always a central theme. All topics are guided. First sentences are provided.
Number of pages: 23
Teacher and student rubrics: included
Store name: MirafloresCultura
International Baccalaureate
Weird and wonderful topics that will inspire your students. Classroom tested many times.
We provide the key words for students to research. And we give them a task to fulfill.
Students interested in ecology will not be disappointed by the large variety of subject matter: not only the Galápagos Islands and the monarch butterfly, but also the white stork, the largest of all migratory birds, plus the llama and the hairless dog.
ALSO AVAILABLE IN A BUNDLE. SIX SETS OF WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
(ÚTIL A - ÚTIL F) FOR THE PRICE OF FIVE. GET ONE FREE.
In addition, students are given the tools to explore the Amazon rain forest as well as national parks in several countries. Many wonderful out of the way places!
D 1 - The Galápagos Islands
Sample assignment: Your newspaper article belongs in the Travel section and includes a headline, a text and a picture with a caption.
Answer these questions: Why are the animals in the Galápagos unique? What is their importance? Are any on the endangered species list?
D 2 - Fly away
Sample assignment: Two tiny ones: the monarch butterfly and the ruby-throated hummingbird! Choose ONE! Your map shows the migration route from both the east and the west coast of North America to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. When do they leave? When do they return? What season(s) are they away? Any other details?
D 3 – What a beautiful day
D 4 - Eat it, you´ll like it
D 5 - Llama alpaca, guanaco and vicuña
D 6 - Underground
D 7 - Weird and wonderful animals
D 8 - National parks
D 9 - The lungs of our planet
D 10 - Nature´s power