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!
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
Presente E, the Southern Cone, has nine broad subjects. One covers the entire region, the other eight are country specific (Argentina 3, Chile 3, Uruguay 1, Paraguay 1). You can read some in the Preview.
1. Una vida mejor – All four countries have many immigrants, some from places you don´t expect like for example, Korea.
- Yo voy a hablar de los inmigrantes palestinos en Chile. Voy a empezar con los «cuatro Jorges» y trazar su historia hasta nuestros días. El inmigrante busca una vida mejor lejos de su tierra y los palestinos en Chile han tenido mucho éxito.
Palabras clave: Chile + inmigración + palestinos
2. Nos vemos en el café – Meeting in a café is part of life in Argentina.
3. Estás loco – Adventure tourism means taking risks. So let´s find out where you can do crazy excursions.
- Voy a practicar el senderismo en el Parque Nacional Perito Moreno. Después voy a hacer un paseo en guanaco.
Palabras clave: Argentina + Parque Nacional Perito Moreno; guanaco
4. El tango – Talk about both a dance and a musical style.
5. Bienvenidos a la feria – You have a booth at a trade fair.
6. El desierto de Atacama – A unique ecosystem, the driest desert in the world, rich in minerals and animals.
7. Los estereotipos – Get rid of those stereotypes about Latins.
- Antes de la apertura del Canal de Panamá, el estrecho de Magallanes fue de gran importancia. Voy a hablar del estrecho y contarles la historia de Puerto del Hambre y del corsario inglés Thomas Cavendish
Palabras clave: Estrecho de Magallanes; Puerto del Hambre
8. El gaucho – The cowboy of the pampas, another stereotype that needs to be redefined.
9. El nuevo centro commercial – Modern shopping centers open all over the world.
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
Target language only.
International baccalaureate
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 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
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 thematic units. Contextualized and very rich in cultural information.
Please preview.
Perfect for International Women´s Day, March 8th. Let´s celebrate!
Unit 1. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz y la cocina en los conventos de Nueva España
She is our first female poet, our first great feminist. She chose the convent rather than marriage. What was convent life like? Sor Juana read and wrote, she corresponded with learned men all over the world and she cooked. Practice the imperative with a recipe for flan straight from the convent! Discuss how the role of women has changed over the centuries.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: colonial daily life; convent life
Vocabulary: cooking (verbs and nouns); convent
Grammar: imperative
Oral practice: give ingredients until class guesses dish
Homework: recipe; two famous cooks
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests and teacher’s guide
Unit 2. El Camino de la Plata
The Camino de la Plata goes from Mexico City to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Read about marching north in search of silver from two points of view, a Spaniard’s letter to his mother and two Chichimecas talking. A cartoon included has the following caption: Voy a California por el oro. No me interesa construir naciones. Let your students discuss the opening of the American West, the gold rush, and compare it with the Mexican experience.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: silver towns / silver rush
Vocabulary: colonial cities
Grammar: imperative
Oral practice: visit various cities
Homework: daily life of rich and poor
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests and teacher’s guide
International Baccalaureate
All Miraflores resources are exclusively in the target language.
All Miraflores resources are exclusively in the target language.
As a Canadian I have easy access to Cuba for there are many flights a day. My trip to research these units was fascinating for the country is such a bundle of contradictions. I came away with a much deeper appreciation for the beauty of the island, breathtaking in so many places, and for a social experiment gone wrong.
Two thematic units about Cuba. Please Preview both.
Unit 1. Una plantación azucarera, Manaca Iznaga
Slavery is a difficult subject. Learn about Manaca Iznaga, a Cuban sugar cane plantación. Slavery can be analyzed from many points of view: history, ecology, mathematics, literature and more. Give your students a choice as to what kind of oral presentation they would like to prepare. Allow them to follow their own interests and relate slavery to mathematics, science, art and literature.
Includes:
Subject matter: sugar and slavery
Vocabulary: sugar and slavery
Grammar: difficult genders
Oral practice: description of two photographs
Homework: a research project
Internet: key words for Net search and further research
Answer key
Unit 2. Un galeón, Nuestra Señora de Atocha
A ship is found on the ocean floor hundreds of years after it set sail.
Who do the treasures found under the sea belong to? Do they belong to the diver who finds them, to the country whose waters they are in or to the Spanish crown, the original owners? How do you establish ownership? And why was there so much gold and silver on these boats? Was it stolen? The answers to all these questions are not straightforward and will give your students a better perspective on the Spanish colonial empire.
Includes.
Subject matter: transport
Vocabulary: maritime
Grammar: difficult genders
Oral practice: the world in 1622 (role playing)
Homework: the world in 1622 role playing
Internet: key words for Net search and further research
Answer key
Two culture units. Argentina vs. Paraguay - compare and contrast. Please preview.
These two contrasting units, one about a sophisticated metropolis, the second about a forgotten backwater, serve as examples of the great differences between the countries of South America.
In these difficult times where many people around the world are thinking about immigration and immigrants, these units will serve as good examples.
Unit 1. Paraguay, la excepción a la regla
Throughout history people have moved, sometimes just short distances, other times across oceans. Both Argentina and Paraguay are countries peopled by immigrants from many lands who together have forged new realities. Whereas in Paraguay the indigenous people and their language are very much still alive, that is not the case in Argentina. Paraguay is landlocked and much more rural. Find out more.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: immigration
Vocabulary: public jobs
Grammar: ´ción´
Oral practice: immigration
Homework: immigration
Internet: key words for Net search and further research
Model tests and teacher’s guide
Unit 2. Buenos Aires, París del Nuevo Mundo
I loved Buenos Aires. Walking around, visiting some of the best bookstores in South America, eating empanadas on the street, taking pictures in San Telmo. What a treat. Take a walk around Buenos Aires. The grammar includes the passive voice.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: immigration, history, geography
Vocabulary: public places, jobs
Grammar: passive voice, ´ción´
Oral practice: immigration
Homework: an interview, immigration
Internet: key words for Net search and further research
Model tests and teacher’s guide
All Miraflores resources are exclusively in the target language.
I have a very vivid memory of my first visit to the Prado Museum and my first visual impact of the Meninas. I knew it was big, I did not realize it was huge. I had seen it so many times in books that I was very familiar with the painting but nothing prepared me for the real thing. I stood there, gaping at its beauty! It is a magnificent painting, it is awe inspiriing. I have gone back to visit the Meninas several times and every time I am overwhelmed. If you have had the same reaction, please share it in the comments section below.
I am not alone. This is the teacher’s favorite! Here there are two complete units. Preview please.
Las Meninas.
Present Velázquez, Goya and Picasso! The unit includes a text on the people in the Meninas (who everyone is, their names, their occupations); then comes the vocabulary of painters and painting plus more paintings, oral presentations, oral exercises with cartoons of two paintings, even a list of Spanish museums and painters for further study. What more can you ask?
Unit includes:
Subject matter: art
Vocabulary: art and war
Grammar: imperfect subjunctive
Oral practice: Goya’s paintings and cartoons
Homework: describe Guernica
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search and further research
Felipe II.
Much maligned and misunderstood, Felipe II has always been pictured as the arch villain. True or false? Did you know that his reign coincided with the Golden Age of Spanish literature? I was a college student when I finally made the connection between the literary Golden Age and Felipe II, (Philip the Second in English). I must have been “en la luna” during my high school years.
Units includes:
Subject matter: history
Vocabulary: empire
Grammar: imperfect subjunctive
Oral practice: ways of transmitting information then and now
Homework: imaginary life
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search and further research
All Miraflores resources are exclusively in the target language.
Two interdisciplinary culture units about Spain. Enjoy! Please preview.
Unit 1. El olivo: el árbol más característico del Mediterráneo
Did you know that in the past Europe was divided into butter eaters, those people who lived in the north and had cattle and olive eaters, those who lived in the south and had olive trees? Did you know that the olive tree is mentioned in the Bible? That the Greeks made wreaths with its branches and that it serves as a symbol of peace? How can this possibly interest the students? Easy! They love to talk about food, including symbolic food like bread and wine.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: ecology
Vocabulary: meals, trees
Grammar: conditional perfect
Oral practice: a snack; compare Maimónides and Averroes
Homework: an edible product; library research project on words
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search and further research
Answer key.
Unit 2. Hace mil años, ¿quién iba a Córdoba?
A thousand years ago, the Moors ruled most of the Iberian Peninsula. What did they eat? What games did they play? Who were the inhabitants of the Peninsula? How did the Moors treat their Christian and Jewish subjects? This unit is very relevant today! It deals with multi-cultural and multi-ethnic peoples living side by side.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: tourism and daily life
Vocabulary: religion
Grammar: future and future perfect
Oral practice: compare Maimónides and Averroes
Homework: library research project on words
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search and further research
Answer key
International Baccalaureate teachers will like these units.
Two content-based units about a seldom studied yet fascinating country, Paraguay. Please preview.
Teachers think that because they know little about Paraguay, they should stick to Mexico and Spain. But Paraguay is such an interesting country and the story of the Jesuit missions is unique. All the information the teacher needs is included! Live and learn! The Jesuits and a bilingual country! Interesting materials, content-based and culturally relevant.
Unit 1. Treinta comunidades utópicas, los jesuitas en el Paraguay
The experiment the Jesuit priests conducted in Paraguay is unique. They built small towns to protect and evagelize the indigenous people but essentially kept them trapped. How they organized each community is similar to the cults that exist in our days and comparisons are easy to make. The movie, The Mission, is an oldie but a real goodie. Green eggs and ham! Try it, you´ll like it!
Unit includes:
Subject matter: history, religion
Vocabulary: conquest
Grammar: por and para; preterit
Oral practice: paternalism, theocracy
Homework: a religious community
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 2. Paraguay, un país bilingüe
The only truly bilingual country in the South America is Paraguay. Here most citizens are bilingual and have been so for generations. Whereas countries like Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador have very large quechua and aymara speaking populations, they have never held them in high esteem nor encouraged these languages to flourish. What makes Paraguay so different? Here is the place to find out.
Units include:
Subject matter: linguistics
Vocabulary: school
Grammar: conditional
Oral practice: repress a language, proper time to learn a language
Homework: learn a language
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Two culture units.
Explain the language differences throughout the Spanish speaking world.
Please preview.
Unit 1. El español de América: el caso uruguayo
The language spoken around the Spanish speaking countries iffers from country to country. There are words that are different from country to country and there are even verb conjugations that are different. Use the language of the Buenos Aires region, which includes Uruguay, as an example and compare. Of course the beloved Mafalda is included.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: language
Vocabulary: languages
Grammar: subjunctive
Oral practice: language development
Homework: library work on specific words
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search and further research
Answer key
Unit 2. El Galpón y el teatro uruguayo
Some of our students are innocent and often do not first see how freedom of speech, in this case in a theater, can get people in a whole lot of trouble. Compare and contrast with the students own reality. Does your school have an annual play? What kind of plays do the students present? Drama (both meanings!) in Uruguay. Also artistic creation in jail. Wow!
Unit includes:
Subject matter: theater
Vocabulary: theater
Grammar: punctuation
Oral practice: art therapy
Homework: strength in helping others
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search and further research
Answer key
All Miraflores resources are exclusively in the target language.
I met Carmen Quintana when she was being treated for her burns in Montreal. The first time was at the hospital where I was acting as an interpreter for a friend writing an article about her. I am a Spanish teacher and hospitals are not my thing, nor is seeing a severely burned person. But I am happy I went. Luckily I saw her a second time when she was out of hospital living in an apartment with her mother and sisters and saw how much better she was. I was priviledged to have met such a brave young woman and happy she then went on to a fulfilling life.
Back to the two units. Both have readings, comprehension, vocabulary extension, grammar (contextualized), oral practice and a writing assignment. I always try to tie the text in with the students’ reality. All is content driven. Please preview.
Unit 1. Violeta Parra y la Nueva Canción
Is folk music and protest music the same? Are they related? Read the sad story of the suicide of this talented musician, Violeta Parra. Discuss different musical styles, indigenous instruments and the world wide fame of certain rock stars. Does MTV rule the world?
Unit includes:
Subject matter: music
Vocabulary: instruments
Grammar: subjunctive
Oral practice: traditional music vs. videos
Homework: musical group
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search and further research
Answer key
Unit 2. Carmen Quintana
Do you know a burn victim or someone who has had a life threatening accident? This unit deals with two teen-agers who were doused with gasoline and set on fire. Why? When? What happened? The language classroom is the perfect place to discuss human rights. It is also the perfect place to review and extend the vocabulary of the body and practice the subjunctive. ‘Es triste que Carmen haya sufrido tanto.’
Unit includes:
Subject matter: history and daily life
Vocabulary: body parts
Grammar: subjunctive
Oral practice: an accident or a death
Homework: exemplary individual; death
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search and further research
Answer key
All Miraflores resources are exclusively in the target language.
Two content-based culture units on ecology, a subject of great interest.
Please preview.
Unit 1. La Región de los Lagos
Chile’s Lake District, with its forests, mountains and lakes, is closer to our image of the Rocky Mountains than of South America. ‘Es indispensable que vengas a conocer.’ Practice the subjunctive and get rid of those stereotypes about Latin America.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: tourism
Vocabulary: prefixes in and im
Grammar: subjunctive
Oral practice: tourist destination
Homework: letter requesting tourist information
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search and further research
Answer key
Unit 2. Chile: ¿maravilla económica o desastre ecológico?
Our supermarkets stock fruits and vegetables from around the world. Because the seasons are inversed, Chile is one of the biggest providers of fresh fruits and vegetables during the northern hemisphere winter months. Think about the positive and negative consequences of industrial farming and their impact on the ecology. Knowledge is power!
Unit includes.
Subject matter: ecology
Vocabulary: fruits, industrial vocabulary
Grammar: subjunctive
Oral practice: fruits in our supermarkets
Homework: letter requesting tourist information; arguments in favor and against chemical fertilizers
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search and further research
Answer key
Two content based culture units. Daily life! Dance and eat. Please preview.
Unit 1. El tango
‘Dicen que el tango tiene una gran languidez, por eso lo prohibió Pío diez.’ The Pope tried to stop the tango: lyrics, dance, music, all! What was so offensive that the Vatican tried to intervene and have it barred world wide? Practice the preterit and the imperative and decide if this is just another musical style and dance or if the tango is a way of celebrating machismo.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: music
Vocabulary: music and parties
Grammar: preterit and imperfect
Oral practice: musical likes and dislikes
Homework: descriptive composition about music
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 2. Decir Argentina es decir carne
Do you eat meat every day? Is your dinner incomplete without meat? If your answer is yes, you eat like most Argentines. Compare the pampa and Patagonia. Contrast both with your own country. And all of this while learning accents.
Unit includes.
Subject matter: daily life
Vocabulary: domestic animals
Grammar: accents
Oral practice: food likes and dislikes
Homework: descriptive composition about foods
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
All Miraflores resources are exclusively in the target language.
Two interdisciplinary, content-based units. Please preview.
Unit 1. El mate y la carne
Are we what we eat and drink? What do we drink? Soft-drinks? Milk? Coffee? Why are we so addicted to our coffee? And why are Uruguayans so addicted to their mate? Do we eat too much meat? Uruguay is a huge meat producer and its people are also great meat consumers. And what about quantities? Who is overweight? Make your students reflect on the consequences of poverty and wealth.
Unit includes.
Subject matter: food and drink
Vocabulary: suffixes; restaurant
Grammar: imperative, future, preterit
Oral practice: tastes, consumption of meat, of coffee
Homework : advertisements, diets
Internet: key words list to facilitate a search and further research
Model tests and teacher’s guide
Answer key
Unit 2. Las cataratas del Iguazú
Five times bigger than Niagara Falls, Iguazú Falls is one of the most popular tourist destinations in South America. Discover the falls, visit the sites and compare them to Niagara Falls. Finally, reflect on the use of water no only as a source of electricity, but as a commodity in today’s market.
Unit includes.
Subject matter: water
Vocabulary: the natural world
Grammar: ser/estar; reflexive verbs
Oral practice: South American tourism sites
Homework : a visit to a memorable location
Internet: key words list to facilitate a search and further research
Model tests and teacher’s guide
Answer key
All Miraflores resources are exclusively in the target language.
Two culture units about Chile. Please preview.
Be bold! Try new subjects! My students loved these units.
Unit 1. El cielo del sur
When you look up to the sky, do you really see a Big Dipper or do you join the stars in such a way that you visualize a dipper? When Magellan looked at the sky, he saw a cross and called it the Southern Cross. But when the indigenous people of Chile saw the same stars, they saw the head of a bird. Compare the two interpretations. Relate them to the power telescopes and the scientific discoveries in the Atacama Desert. This unit helps students understand multiple realities.
Unit includes.
Subject matter: astronomy
Vocabulary: the sky, myth and legend
Grammar: pronouns
Oral practice: the Zodiac, astronomy, astrology
Homework: flags and constellations, the Zodiac
Internet: key words list to facilitate a search and further research
Model tests and teacher’s guide
Answer key
Unit 2. El Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar
Popular music is of great interest to many students and teachers. Read about Latin America’s biggest song contest in the Chilean coastal city of Viña del Mar. Compare this music festival to North American award ceremonies and discover ´the monster.´
Unit includes.
Subject matter: popular music, Isabel Allende
Vocabulary: music, story, novel
Grammar: future
Oral practice: traveling to a festival
Homework: festivals, phobias
Internet: key words list to facilitate a search and further research
Model tests and teacher’s guide
Answer key
All Miraflores resources are exclusively in the target language.
España: Galicia
Un desastre ecológico: el Prestige
El Camino de Santiago
Oil not only fuels our engines, it soils our oceans. When the oil tanker Prestige sank off the coast of Galicia, the entire coast line was affected. Like the Exxon Valdes in Alaska, the consequences for the ecology of the region and the livelihood of its inhabitants were colossal. A discussion on our dependence on oil will raise important subjects.
Saint James is said to have visited Galicia twice and according to legend is buried in Santiago de Compostela. A cathedral marks the spot and serves as magnet to thousands of pilgrims. During the Middle Ages, pilgrims walked to Santiago from as far away as Germany; today the Pilgrimage Road to Santiago is filled with modern pilgrims of all ages. Whereas in the past they came to receive absolution for their sins, discover why today’s pilgrim walk for months on end. The unit is written from the point of view of a several pilgrims, all with very different goals. This unit also includes a game on the Camino de Santiago that highlights both the peril and the pleasure.
Subject matter: ecology, history, legend
Vocabulary: ecology, pollution, pilgrim/pilgrimage
Grammar: imperfect, preterite
Oral practice: each individual counts; the best and worst of El Camino
Homework: plant a tree; research into topics of interest
Internet: key words list to facilitate a search and further research
Model tests and teacher’s guide
Number of pages: 24
Answer key: included
Store name; MirafloresCultura
Intermediate Spanish
Middle school Spanish curriculum
High school Spanish curriculum
Home school
Spanish culture for kids
Culture and language
Hispanic culture for kids
Spanish activities for middle school students
Spanish activities for high school students
All Miraflores resources are exclusively in the target language.
Two contrasting culture units, high culture and low culture. Some subjects appeal to some teachers and students, others have different tastes. Please preview.
One of the great joys of teaching Spanish is that there are so many fun subjects. And these two units are about as different as you can get, one dealing with a writer, print media, and the second with television and soap operas. Both worked well in my classroom and I hope they will also find favorable responses in yours.
Unit 1. La telenovela
Love, love, love! The whole world is interested in the subject! Latin American soap operas are sold to over 100 countries and watched by millions the world over. What makes them so popular? With the information on themes and the vocabulary provided, your students will write their own soap operas. Enjoy!
Unit includes:
Subject matter: television
Vocabulary: television
Grammar: past tenses: perfect, preterit, imperfect
Oral practice: movies, actors, directors
Homework: write a TV soap opera
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests and teacher’s guide
Answer key
Unit 2. Jorge Luis Borges
Learn about Borges’s life from early childhood to old age by comparing his life to examples from your students reality. Since Borges was blind, (he inherited an illness that progressively blinded him), the unit deals with the five senses and how people cope with disabilities.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: literature
Vocabulary: literary genres, the five senses
Grammar: past tenses: perfect, preterit, imperfect
Oral practice: theater
Homework: interview with an author, painter or photographer
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests and teacher’s guide
Answer key
Two units about Spain. Movies and literature. Craziness and death. What more can you ask for? Please preview.
Unit 1. Pedro Almodóvar, cineasta
Unit includes:
Subject matter: movies
Vocabulary: movies
Grammar: preterit
Oral practice: movies, actors, directors, a survey
Homework: ID card, movies
Internet: key words for Net search
Answer key
Unit 2. Federico García Lorca, poeta
Explore the fascinating world of two great Spanish artists. A great writer, García Lorca and a world famous director, Almodóvar. These two units offer a wonderful introduction to Lorca’s poetry and Almodóvar’s films. Your students will learn the vocabulary of films and poetry; they will write a poem and give opinions on movies!
Unit includes:
Subject matter: theater
Vocabulary: theater, poetry
Grammar: preterit
Oral practice: theater
Homework: ID card, movies; write a poem
Internet: key words for Net search
Answer key
All Miraflores resources are exclusively in the target language.