The Holiday season is upon us. A time when language teachers have the innate ability to connect our content to both the culture of our students and the target culture. The holidays bring along with them a wealth of traditions rooted in family and religion. Each year I work to expand my students knowledge of the different happenings around the world, specifically in Spanish Speaking countries. From Las Posadas to Tió de nadal and even to Januká, students can embrace the festivities while fostering cultural competency and having fun! This year I decided to run with a Polar Express theme. As middle school students, they were super excited about this. Just because I used the theme does not mean I used the movie, however I based the lesson off of the idea of Polar Express, traveling, stops, and golden tickets that I punched at each station to reveal a word in Spanish by the end of the lesson. "Creer." As students entered the room I decorated my door with the theme of the lesson! I wore a Santa Apron and fun headband! If you aren't sold on what you are doing then they certainly wont be! Each student received a golden ticket upon entrance and a number. Each student number corresponded with the group number in which they were to sit. The numbers on the cards were just numbers, and the tables were labeled with the spelling of the number, so students had to think just a little more! When the bell rang for class to start I yelled "Todos a bordo!" and they all knew they were in for some fun! Students had 6 stations: 1. Raquel y Januká: where they read a story in Spanish about a young girl and her celebration of Januká. Students had flash cards for difficult words and comprehension questions to discuss as a group 2. Caga Tio: where students watched a brief video in Spanish on their iPad about the tradition, then listened to the traditional song sung by the children of Cataluña and even had the opportunity to hit the Caga Tio to receive a gift of their own! 3. Cartas a Papá Noel. This actually was joined with the Macy's Make-A-Wish Believe Campaign. For each letter that is submitted Macy's donates $1 to the MAW Campaign. I have 150 students which means $150 dollars was donated to MAW because of this activity! Pretty cool! Students had to fill out basic biographical information about themselves in Spanish and tell Santa what they would like for Christmas in Spanish. Students used their iPads to submit these letters on the Macy's website. 4. 'Twas the Noche Before Navidad. Students examined a Spanglish version of "Twas the Night Before Christmas and as a group they were asked to guess the meaning of the words in Spanish from the context of the story. It was a competition to see who could get the most words correct based solely on context! Competition always adds motivation and excitement. Students used their iPads to access the story. 5. Vamos de compras. Students were given $200 which they had to convert to Euros. They had to go Christmas shopping for 3 people in their family. They had to fill out a short bio about who they were shopping for in Spanish in case the clerk at the store asked them if they needed help shopping. Students converted Euros to Dollars and purchased items from El Corte Ingles. Here is the document I used. We are talking about 1st year and exploratory language students, so they document can surely be edited for more seasoned students of the language. Students used their iPads to navigate El Corte Ingles website to make their selections. 6.Students created an "Ojo de Dios" ornament with two popsicle sticks and yarn. I found a quick basic explanation in Spanish on YouTube and had students watch it on their iPads. They then followed the directions to create their own beautiful ornaments! As students were working, I walked around the room at each station, answering questions and hole punching their golden tickets. Creer only has five letters so one station did not have a letter punched, rather just a festive sticker attached! I really enjoyed this part of the lesson, although it took so much time. The kids were SO curious about what I was spelling. :) I used resources that I found online, YouTube, Pinterest, and of course things that I have created in the past. I covered the tables in festive table cloths and played Canciones Navideñas thorughout the lesson. I think it is wonderful to give students the chance to hear actual Christmas songs in Spanish aside from "Feliz Navidad"- although, a great song... others like "Burrito Sabanero" are much more authentic. There are so many exciting things about the holidays and sharing that excitement with our students at a global level makes the celebration of culture so much better! If anyone would like some of the other resources I have used, please don't hesitate to contact me! Keep inspiring! -Caroline
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Author14th year Spanish teacher Archives
June 2020
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