Three easy culture units for beginners. Basic facts. Comprehensible cultural input for beginners. Please preview. Because our students are unfamiliar with the Spanish speaking world, here are three easy units to set them straight. Compare two countries, Spain and Peru, two cities, Barcelona and Mexico City and finally, divide Latin America into regions so they do not get so confused. Remember that my units are always contextualized. Thus, simple agreements are practiced with information about Mexico City and interrogative pronouns are used to ask basic questions about Peru and Spain. Unit 1: Perú y España We all teach basic geography. Why it is not taught well in the primary grades I do not know, but in any case, I have to deal with the reality of my classroom which is that the students do not know geography. I try my best to set them straight on Europe and Latin America by starting with two countries, Spain and Perú. The language is very easy, the sentences are short, the maps are clear. I wrote these for my own sanity and to end my personal frustration. I hope these work for you as well. Unit includes: Subject matter: history and geography Language: exclusively in the target language Vocabulary: basic adjectives Grammar: placement of adjectives Oral practice: compare Spain and Peru Homework: compare two countries Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search Answer key Unit 2: Barceolona y la Ciudad de México So to follow up on two countries, I did two cities, one in Spain and one in Latin America. I include basic grammar, el, la, los, las and basic vocabulary of the city with all the cognates I could think of, plaza, industria, contaminación, persona, museo. You get the drift. This is comprehensible culture for beginners. Unit includes: Subject matter: history and geography Language: exclusively in the target language Vocabulary: places in a city Grammar: hay Oral practice: compare Barcelona and Mexico Homework: compare two cities Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search Answer key Unit 3: Las regiones de Latinoamérica So once I had them straight on Spain being in Europe (no small feat), I saw that the number of Spanish speaking countries in the Americas was too much. So I divided them into regions, el Cono Sur, los países andinos, los países de Centro América, to calm them. I freely admit that the students had more trouble with this than with the two other units where they were just comparing two countries and two cities. But some did get the basics and I have been pleased with the results. Unit includes: Subject matter: history and geography Language: exclusively in the target language Vocabulary: nouns related to geography Grammar: prepositions Oral practice: map work Homework: my home town Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search Answer key Entirely in the target language.

I live in Quebec and it is a pleasure to share the beauty and riches of my province. Like so many quebeckers, I was born elsewhere and came here as an adult. My teaching position was in a cegep, the unique system we have here. It is a transition to university, the equivalent of grades 12 and 1st year university for those who are university bound. In addition, half of our students take the 3 year technical program. In our technical programs we have majors like dental hygiene, computer technician and also many specialities connected with airplane maintenance. I taught Spanish at Cegep Edouard-Montepetit for 27 years. These 3 units were written with my colleague and friend Marie-Claudine Rostaing. This download has three complete units. Each unit is 7 or 8 pages long. Unit 1. Quebec City. Many schools from the Northeast U.S.A. visit Quebec City. We have tried to write units to prepare, to do before your visit because that way the students will be eager to visit the places they already know about. Learn about the ramparts, the river, the upper and lower town, all at a beginners level. The word Quebec comes from the Algonquin word Kébec: the place where the river narrows. Let your students reflect on the origin of the names of other towns and cities. Unit includes: Subject matter: city Vocabulary: adjectives related to the city Grammar: adjectives Oral practice: names of cities Homework: a city Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search If you have visited Quebec City with your class and want to share your experiences, please do so in the comments section below. Thank you! Unit 2. Snow. The unit on snow includes an exercise about the amount of snow that falls in Montreal in an average winter; the cost of clearing that snow in Montreal, and the effect of salt. The song included is Mon pays (Mon pays, ce n’est pas un pays, c’est l’hiver.) Weather and clothing follow. Unit includes: Subject matter: climate Vocabulary: climate Grammar: adjectives Oral practice: winter clothing, a song Homework: one season Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search Unit 3. A female athlete, winner of several Olympic medals, provides the context to present different winter sports and the vocabulary of the body. It also is an affirmation of women in sports and women in general. Unit includes: Subject matter: winter sports Vocabulary: winter sports Grammar: combien Oral practice: winter clothing; interview with an athlete Homework: an athlete Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search All Miraflores materials are exclusively in the target language. AVAILABLE in a bundle. SIX sets of thematic units!!

50 Mexican images to learn the vocabulary of animals. Scaffolded. Students visually appreciate the riches of Mexican artesanía. Culture in context. INCLUDED: 50 IMAGES OF MEXICAN ARTESANÍA ANIMALS + PRINTABLE TEXT FOR TEACHER WITH ALL THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. Step 1. LEARN THE NAMES OF ANIMALS. Includes pictures of Noah’s Ark. Students choose the correct word. 10 images. Step 2. COMBINE NAMES OF ANIMALS AND GENDER. Students choose EL or LA. The last letter guides the students. 5 animal images. Step 3. REVIEW ¿Cómo se llama? 6 animal images. Step 4. REVIEW Hay. 5 animal images. Step 5. PLURAL GENDERS. Students choose LOS or LAS. The last letters guide the students. 5 images. Step 6. EXTENSION. Further vocabulary. 5 animal images. Step 7. REVIEW With Noah´s Ark, find the animal starting with a specific letter. 5 images. Step 8. BREAK. Household pests. A poster from an extermination company. 2 images. Step 9. DERECHA Y IZQUIERDA. 3 images. Step 10. PERSONALIZE. Introduce the word MASCOTA. Give students a chance to talk about their pets and review vocabulary.

What is inside the vehicle? Reading! Make it real! Every student will love the cars, buses and trucks in this series of free photographs from Montreal. Figure out what they are used for, what they sell, where they are going. There is everything from hockey sticks and bicycles to plumbers and milk trucks.

· This is the story Rubí´s extraordinary party, powered by Facebook and Twitter. · The invitation to Rubi’s fifteenth birthday party went viral. · 15 thousand guests or more attended Rubí´s 15th birthday! · Rubí story shook Mexico. The unit has two themes: · the importance of a girl´s 15th birthday as a rite of passage · the power of social media The unit includes: A reading – 2 pages The invitation that went viral is included in the reading and can be seen on YouTube. The text of the invitation is included for those who cannot watch it. Reading comprehension questions. Oral. Three television interviews are provided. The students watch one of the interviews, then replace the audio of the interview with their own. Those students unable to watch the interviews, write a script for a radio interview. They can interview not only the birthday girl, but all the members of her family. Discussion topics. Four discussion topics. Each one deals with a different aspect, social media, fame, rites of passage and celebrations. Grammar. Preterits. Fill in the blanks with the verbs provided. Contextualized to a more typical 15th birthday. Homework. Create a souvenir album, either virtually or in paper. Suggestions and key words are provided. Teacher´s guide. Has further information on the 15th birthday in other countries, including Spain and the United States. Further pedagogical suggestions are provided. Answer key. Additional resources. Music and film. List of the 54 photographs suggested for page 4.

Theme Global challenges – Social justice The unit has two themes: · Racism · Black pride This unit will give students · an understanding of racism during the colonial era and into the present · knowledge about the exclusions according to color and race · an example of the power of religion and faith in San Martín de Porres · information about the rules and regulations for slaves in colonial Peru Total pages 14. Teaching time: One or two class periods. The unit includes: A reading – 2.5 pages Reading comprehension. Further information is included in the questions. Vocabulary. Popular culture. Grammar. Preterit and imperfect related to the rules and regulations for slaves in Peru. Oral discussion topic. Rules and regulation that governed slaves’ lives. Historical information. Presented in game format. The XX and XXI centuries. Blacks in present day Peru. Poem. “Me gritaron negra” / Self-knowledge furthering black pride. Homework. Analyze the poem. Questions are provided. Answer key. Teacher´s guide with further information. Model test.

Voting is a key element in a democracy. The battle for women to win the right to vote is one great successes of the twentieth century. The reading contrasts Clara Campoamor, Spanish suffragist and Eva Perón, famous Argentine politician and cult figure. Both fought and won the right for women to vote under very different circumstances. Read about women’s voting rights in the Spanish speaking world and the hard fought battles again patriarchy. Often, they were won only to be lost again. Number of pages 15 - 90 minutes Índice: Páginas 2 – 4 Ejercicio preliminar - el voto femenino – teoría y realidad Páginas 4 – 7 Lectura – Clara Campoamor y Eva Perón Página 7 Interludio música y letra de la canción No llores por mí, Argentina Página 8 Comprensión del texto Página 9 Diminutivos - Evita Página 10 Tarea / Oral – Igualdad de géneros Página 11 - 12 La Red / Guía del profesor Página 13 Prueba Página 14 Clave / Fotos Página 15 Leer, comentar, discutir y concluir