This sci-fi film released in 2012 opens your mind to what the future might look like for global labour relations between the US and Mexico. Set 50 years in the future, water is controlled by the US and rationed at high prices, workers with "nodes" in their arms work remotely from factories called Sleepdealers. Workers connect in Mexico and work in the US. The film is evocative, and sets students thinking about what the world might look like. Great film to use in conjunction with teaching the FUTURE/CONDITIONAL tenses and discuss global challenges, or technology, both AP prep themes. Recommend for any Spanish class level III or higher. Film is in Spanish and English, Movie Guide in both Spanish and English so you can use it for a variety of different levels. Takes two class periods to show film.

This 25 minute audio episode interviews several high school students in Oakland CA that survived difficult immigration journeys from their home countries in Central America to the US. Students discuss their transition to American life, reconnecting with family they haven't seen in years, difficulties of adjustment. Download contains 20 questions in chronological order. Different than my other episodes, these questions are structured in multiple choice format (still super challenging) that could be used as a test. Answer key is included. This episode is excellent, teachers of heritage learners will find lots to identify with in the students testimony. Listening practice is best suited to a Heritage Language Learner, but could be used with an AP level V class if you cut it up and replay the pieces a second time for students. Answer key is included.

Students studying identity or simply interested in recent current events will respond to this short 8 minute film on the topic of wearing the Hijab in school. Lesson includes link to video (there are a lot great free short films on this site) and questions for students to respond to as they view the short film. Writing prompt discusses the topic of mandatory dress codes in schools vs uniforms and provides opportunity to respond to a prompt in a persuasive paragraph. Lesson takes one class period to complete, but could easily be expanded to two. class periods for a discussion/debate after students have seen short and answered preliminary questions. Writing prompt can be completed in class or assigned as homework. This mini lesson is an excellent activity for a level V or Heritage Learner class preparing for the AP test.

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

This four page packet reviews usage of verbs like GUSTAR (encantar, importar, fascinar, molestar, fastidiar, interesar) and then applies them to subjunctive clauses. Lesson contains one page of reference notes and charts with examples, 1 page of review simple sentences using verbs like GUSTAR and two pages of practice sentences with GUSTAR verb clauses that prompt for subjunctive. (one page of translations, one page of questions to answer) This lesson works best with a level III class or higher where students have already been practicing the basics of subjunctive usage and conjugation. Practices may be assigned as homework or completed in class together.

This project is designed for students at any level of middle or high school Spanish to investigate the life of a famous Hispanic athlete, artist or musician. It could be completed in English at the lower levels or Spanish at level II or above. Students have four options in the presentation of their person, but all of them treat the famous person as if the student were producing project as an autobiography. Project includes overview, list of famous Hispanics for a class to sign up, questions to consider in their work and a grading rubric that applies to any of the students project choices. Project appeals to a wide variety of student interests and will lead to some very entertaining moments in class when they present!

Students use a new and interactive website to create dialogues in the form of mini animated movies. Characters speak Spanish or French in different accents and students can create different scenes, motions and feelings to go with the dialogue they enter. Website is free, easy to use and not difficult to master. Lesson description is in English, so this lesson could be easily applied to Spanish, French or German. Best suited for level I at the end of the year when students have seen interrogatives and regular verbs.

The childhood fairy tale becomes the challenge for students to decide if preterite or imperfect verbs should be used. This works best for 2nd semester Spanish II or Spanish III where students have been working with preterite and imperfect in shorter sentences for some time and are ready to transfer their skills to longer texts. The story is familiar so its a good place to begin as students will have prior knowledge of plot. 73 blanks, answer key with reasons for P or I is included. Practice can be done in class together, in small groups or assigned as homework. Answer key also included.

This 6 station rotation game reviews present tense regular verbs (ar/er/ir) Ser vs Estar, Tener + expressions and IR + a/al/a la. It takes one class period to run as students rotate through 6 challenge stations and conjugate verbs. At the next station students check their work using the answer key and take on the next challenge. Download includes rules of play, student gamesheet and 6 stations of 12 questions each for each category of verbs. Answer key to previous station is posted at the top of each station. Game is easy to follow and makes conjugating verbs and reviewing associated grammar fun. This game is best suited as a year end review for Spanish I students or as a review activity for Spanish II students. Requires at least 2 players, but could work for groups as large as 30.

This A-B partner practice gives students the opportunity to practice conjugation of reflexive verbs, to differentiate between reflexive and non reflexive verbs and to review telling time French. Students first answer questions about their own daily routine, then take turns exchanging information to complete the grid about themselves and other people. Practice takes about 15 minutes to complete in class and works well as a review or warm up before a quiz or after students have been practicing reflexive actions for a few days.

This partner practice works best for level 2 or higher who have already been introduced to regular verbs and SER in the preterite. Questions are geared to a class returning from a long weekend or break. Students complete their portion of the survey first using preterite YO verbs, then interview a classmate and record their answers using EL/ELLA preterite verbs. Activity takes about 25 minutes if you allow them time to complete their own answers in class or it could be assigned as homework the night before and just run the partner interview in class. (15 minutes) Great review to get them thinking in Spanish again after some time off.

This little comparison activity works great as a warm up or reinforcement when working with comparisons and numbers. (Plus de, moins de and autant de) Students tally up their candies and then make some comparisons between the colors, then they compare their candies to a classmates. Teacher needs to provide a small cup of M & M's or similar candies to each student. (I use dixie bathroom cups) Students enjoy the activity and when finished, eating the results. Works well for French I or intro students who can count to 20 and know their colors.

There are 5 separate Vocabulary squares in this lesson. These work great as warm ups at the start of class for Spanish II or higher level students, or you could assign them as homework if you are studying any of these units thematically. Students choose 2 words from the grid and explain the relationship between two words, either how they are connected, are similar or are different. Gets kids thinking about vocabulary words relationship to each other and offers a change from standard Spanish to English vocabulary practice. Animals, clothes, food, house and weather words all combine with adjectives.

With Cuba in the news more and more this article is a great read for Spanish Heritage Speakers or Level V AP students who are proficient at reading newstext. Lesson download includes a copy of the article formatted to word.doc, and a guided reading lesson with useful vocabulary/matching to definitions, 10 predictions for the pre-read to get students ready to watch for details and a grid chart to complete comparing what they read about Cuba to Mexico (or their home country) and the US. There are follow up questions for think/pair/share and a place for students to respond based on what they learned. This lesson takes two class periods to complete if you give time for sharing out at the end, or you can start it and assign the writing prompts as homework. Great information about all the benefits that Cubans get, plus all the restrictions imposed on them by their government. Excellent launch piece if you want to teach students the basics about Cuba today.

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 queestions in chronological order that follow the podcast and an essay topic for reflection aftewards make up the guide that follows this program. This lesson is best suited for a Heritage Learners Spanish class or a Level VAP 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.

With Cuba in the news more and more this article is a great read for Spanish Heritage Speakers or Level V AP students who are proficient at reading newstext. Lesson download includes a copy of the article formatted to word.doc, and a guided reading lesson with useful vocabulary/matching to definitions, 10 predictions for the pre-read to get students ready to watch for details and a grid chart to complete comparing what they read about Cuba to Mexico (or their home country) and the US. There are follow up questions for think/pair/share and a place for students to respond based on what they learned. This lesson takes two class periods to complete if you give time for sharing out at the end, or you can start it and assign the writing prompts as homework. Great information about all the benefits that Cubans get, plus all the restrictions imposed on them by their government. Excellent launch piece if you want to teach students the basics about Cuba today.

This lesson is designed for a Heritage Learners, AP Spanish Lit or AP V Spanish class where students will be creating short stories. Lesson contains five famous intros from Latino authors and charts for students to record what they learn about a story from the intro and further wonderings they may have. I like to divide students into groups and assign them each a quote, then share out their results as a large group. This activity is particularly useful if you will be asking students to create a short story and want to encourage them to present information in a way that piques readers curiosity. Lesson takes one full class period to complete, key not included bc student answers will vary.

Radioambulante.org has many engaging story episodes about various people throughout Latin America. This episode tells the story of a fisherman lost at sea for 438 days who survived until he landed in the Marshall Islands. Episode is about 25 minutes long and is best suited for a Heritage Speakers or AP level class where students already have high levels of proficiency. Non native speaker classes will work better if you pause the program periodically and replay parts to ensure students understand. Download includes 20 questions for comprehension and two follow up questions for students to process after listening. Takes one class period to complete. This is one of the most compelling stories I have heard yet on Radio Ambulante and your students will certainly be engaged. Link to episode is at the top of the page for easy access and absent students who can listen at home on their phones. Answer key also included.

Two simple table charts for students to practice adjective agreement. One with a list of common adjectives, the other with a list of countries and their corresponding nationalities. No rocket science here, just a little extra practice for students who need it or for that text book that never seems to offer enough support for the concept. Works best for students at level I who are learning adjectives for the first time or level II beginning of year when they need a quick jump start review. Grid has some answers already in place to help students think about how each adjective works.

This little chart is great for episode one to introduce students to the characters. Students track what they know to be true about each character (professions, relationship) and what they observe to be their personality. At the end, students make quick predictions about what will happen next. This telenovela works great for Heritage Spanish students and fits neatly in one class period.