This 17 minute broadcast tells the story of some Colombian musicians who were kidnapped and forced to play music at a paramilitary birthday party in the middle of the jungle. 10 questions in chronological order that follow the podcast and an essay topic for reflection afterwards make up the guide that follows this program. This lesson is best suited for a Heritage Learners Spanish class or a Level V AP where students can follow sustained spoken Spanish for a period of time. You may wish to break the episode down into smaller segments or repeat the broadcast several times for students who do not speak Spanish outside of your class. Lesson takes one class period to complete. Answer key is included.

This project is my brainchild of 10 years of teaching. The Cultural Investigation Portfolio contains 101 different activities linked to various aspects of Hispanic culture, organized by interest (music, culinary, historical, artistic, etc) These student led projects start my class every day for the first 5-10 minutes as the 1-2 students of the day present their project and findings show- and-tell style. Because there are so many different activities, there is something for everyone in the room. Often one project leads to another, as a student is inspired by a classmate to pursue a topic further or connect it to another. I love this portfolio because kids have so many different choices, and most will select projects that showcase their individual talents in other areas, so you and the class learn about each others artistic or musical abilities. Many of these adventures are designed to send students into the Hispanic community to interact with local employees and business owners...

This is one of my favourite lessons to do and one I am most proud of. I received an award for this lesson at the state level in a teaching lesson contest. Students work in small groups to replicate, research and interpret a mural by Diego Rivera. I never cease to marvel at how well their work turns out and everyone learns a ton about Diego Rivera. Great end assessment for a unit on art, or as prep for AP/IB programs this lesson is suitable for Spanish III students or higher. Includes commentary on how to execute the project, detailed student explanation, helpful weblinks and readings, list of murals that are suitable for research, helpful thematic vocabulary for students to prepare their written portion.

Octavio Paz writes about El Pachuco, who is the Mexican who is not American nor Mexican. Octavio's essay opens the door for some great discussions with students of Hispanic origin about Pachuchos, the Zoot Suit riots, discrimination against Hispanic Americans on the West coast and if the Pachuco still exists today. (Great discussion topic for students about how Cholos are similar/different than Pachucos.) This reading guide contains some questions to help students direct their focus and some key vocabulary that could give them trouble. Essay is appropriate for a Heritage Learner Class or an AP level V class where students have good comprehension skills and arent afraid to navigate some new vocabulary. Octavio Paz El Pachuco y Otros Extremos Lecture is available on line for free through a variety of websites.

One of my students favourite projects, the murder mystery project is excellent for 2nd year students finishing up preterite vs imperfect usage or for 3rd year students as a review of the concept. Students create their own powerpoint murder mystery where they present the victim, 3 suspects and the crime scene. Using preterite and imperfect they include motives, locations, descriptions, personality characteristics in a creative and unique presentation. I assign this project in pairs but a student could easily complete it alone. Students present their mysteries to classmates in powerpoint and peers can make their guess to arrest before the last slide gets revealed. This project won an award as a Missouri Best Lesson Showcase project. Project instructions are in English, model examples in Spanish, project could be easily adapted to Passe Compose/Imparfait usage in French.

This is a kind of spooky little short story from Puerto Rico about a girl who has a crayfish stuck in her leg. (Magical Realism) It has a surprise ending and lots to talk about in how the characters treat each other. I taught this story in my Heritage Language Speakers class this year but it would also work well for a level IV or V class with older students who are willing to work through the vocabulary. My students enjoyed the story and creepy surprise ending.

These questions accompany the short story CAJAS DE CARTON by Francisco Jimenez. There are T/F statements, general questions and essay prompts for students to complete after reading the story. This activity is best suited for a level IV or higher Spanish class and takes 3-4 days to complete the story and the questions.

Students research a famous Latino musical artist and create a powerpoint to present their artist to their classmates. Presentations are around 3-4 minutes in length and work best for a level III class or higher who already has some prior practice speaking in the past tenses. This lesson also works great for Heritage Learner classes who are already conversant in Spanish as a means to gain some practice public speaking with a topic they are comfortable . Download contains requirements of project with guiding questions for students and a long list of famous Latino musicians for students to choose one of interest. Plan at least 2 days of computer lab time and about 6-8 presentations can be seen per day.

This partner practice is best designed for a level one student who is working with larger numbers in Spanish and has some basic vocabulary knowledge of clothing and a couple of other gift items. Students take turns asking each other prices of gift items in a store and answering as if they were the sales clerk. Partner practice takes about 15 minutes in class to run. You can ask students to go over the answers afterwards in large group for additional practice.

This partner practice reviews big numbers with food items. Students take turns asking about prices of items in a supermarket. Works best with students in Spanish I who have been studying fruits, vegetables and other basic food items. Each partner has 8 items to inquire about and 8 items to record. Takes about fifteen minutes in class to complete and is a great review or a warm up before a quiz.

Partner practice for students to take turns asking a classmate how long people have been doing actions. Each partner has 8 people to ask about and 8 people to give answers to their partner. Practice takes about 15 minutes to run in class and practices using the formulas Hace + time + que and Cuanto tiempo hace + que + action. Works best with Spanish II students who have had some basic leisure time activity vocabulary.

This partner practice combines the preterite tense of the verbs comprar and pagar with a review of big numbers. Each student gets eight questions and eight purchases. Students take turns asking each other what each purchase was, and how much they paid for it. Takes about 15 minutes to complete in class and works best for a level II class where students are first learning the preterite tense and/or could use a quick brush up with larger numbers.

This powerpoint covers step by step negation and other indefinite words. Each slide introduces a different combination and in between there are lots of examples for practice that students can do either orally as a group or on paper. Presentation takes one full class period with time included for practice and checking Best suited for a level II class where students are being introduced to this tricky concept.

Every teen seems to fantasize about getting a tattoo, some of my student already have several. This activity is designed to get kids talking about what they would get using the conditional tense. The activity can be given out as homework for the day you introduce the conditional. The fun begins when they bring the assignment back the next day. I have put kids in small groups to share them out, but even more fun is to stick the assignment under a document camera and let kids see what their classmates have drawn. This assignment works best for a level III or higher class where students have been introduced to the conditional tense. There are some guiding questions to help students think about the tattoo of their dreams.

This 4 page practice packet on the conditional explains to students step by step how to form it and when to use it. Packet contains detailed notes, 40 practice exercises and conjugation boxes, and an essay prompt for students to demonstrate creatively their usage. Can be assigned as homework, extra practice or completed in class. Best suited for a level III or higher class as introduction or extra practice for this concept.

Many years ago Kevin Costner produced a series of documentaries on the stories of the various conquests of indigenous peoples in the Americas; 500 Nations to date is still one of the best resources for providing true stories that are far less romanticized than what students get in their history books This video episode fits in one class period and details what happened from the moment Columbus set foot on the ground in Puerto Rico to the demise of the Taino people. Movie guide has 26 questionst that follow the film and four follow up topics for large group discussion or as essay prompts. This film works well for a level I Spanish class (especially on Columbus day) or in a Social Studies class where students are learning about Europeans colonizing the Americas. Suitable for either middle or high school level students.

This A/B partner practice has students reading short statements about some problems they might have and the other partner makes recomendations on how to resolve the issue using an impersonal expression from the list and verbs in the subjunctive tense. Practice works best for a level III or higher class where students have been working with the subjunctive and are familiar with how to form regular and irregular verbs. Takes about 15 minutes to run in pairs and answers can be shared out in large group following.

This partner practice combines imperfect verbs and childhood vocabulary. Students take turns asking each other about peoples childhood. Each student gets 8 questions using imperfect verbs and childhood vocabulary. Works best with students who are learning imperfect verbs and are familiar with forming both AR and ER/IR verbs. Practice takes about 15 minutes in class and is a good warm up before a quiz or as an extra speaking practice.

Cautiva is the story of a teenage girl who suddenly learns that she is not the child of her parents, rather the daughter of disappeared activists who were murdered by the Argentine Govt during the dictatorship of the 1970's. Cristina has to figure out who she is and what she believes as she begins to unravel the mystery around her own identity. If you have always taught Desaparecidos with LA HISTORIA OFFICIAL, this is a really nice movie with a teen protagonist around the same theme. Students enjoyed the film despite the difficulty of the subject matter. This film is best suited for an upper level Spanish class who has some prior knowledge of dictatorships and the disappeared. It is an excellent launch point for further discussion around the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo and their efforts to reconnect with the children of their disappeared relatives. Movie and movie guide are both in Spanish.

This A/B Partner practice has students completing conditional sentences with past subjunctives. EX: Compraria un coche deportivo si... --> ganara el powerball. Students take turns starting the conditional sentences and then waiting for their partners to complete the situation creatively using the past subjunctive. Practice works best in a level IV or V AP class or a Heritage Speakers class where students have already been working with the past subjunctive for a couple of days and are familiar with forming both regular and irregular verbs. Download also includes an essay prompt for students to practice writing past subjunctives in response to a condition, prompt has rubric included as well.