This 90 minute documentary produced by Netflix chronicles the trend in mass incarcerations, with emphasis on its impact on African American males. It follows trends in legislation through the Nixon, Reagan, Bush and Clinton presidencies and how policy decisions have negatively impacted minorities disproportionally. It also examines the role of ALEC in crafting legislative policy and how member corporations directly benefit from increased mass incarcerations. This documentary would be excellent for any Ethnic Studies or Social Studies class where you are discussing civil rights, racial disparities, and how current legislative policies affect populations differently in the US. Download contains 30 questions that accompany the documentary chronologically and a list of suggested follow up activities for students to take their learning to the next level around the issue.

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.

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 one hour fifteen minute NETFLIX documentary covers internet privacy policies and how our personal data is harvested and sold, sometimes used by our government to spy on people. It is an excellent film for high school students studying internet usage and abusage, or as a homeroom assignment to get kids thinking more carefully about what they choose to share or post on the plethora of popular social networking sites they use today. This documentary was excellent at educating us as to how our information can be used against us, as well as the size of the digital footprint we create for ourselves and the lack of confidentiality around our digital lives. Movie guide contains 27 questions in chronological order to get kids thinking about the ethics surrounding the sharing of personal data and a full page of topics for discussion followup in small and large group or journaling assignments. Lesson takes two class days to view with some time to share out answers.

This movie guide accompanies the biography of Selena starring Jennifer Lopez, Edward James Olmos and others. Totally kid friendly PG-13 rated suitable for any level of Spanish classes. Great as a sub plan. 27 questions, 3 discussion topics and several internet follow up topics for students.

Miss Representation is a documentary that explores how mainstream media and advertising contribute to the under-representation and discrediting of women in influential positions by circulating limited and often negative portrayals of them. The film explores the roles of news channels, commercial advertising and Hollywood as agents in the process of making women unhappy with their bodies, themselves and each other. Movie guide contains pre-watching activities for students to connect their own media habits and self image to what they will be watching, 18 questions for students to explore that follow the film and follow up topics for discussion and action. The film takes two class periods to view and could easily be extended to a third day with time built in up front and afterwards to process and contribute examples and personal experiences. This film is best suited for a high school audience in a Social Studies, Civics or even a Health class that is examining gender roles. It will generate some great discussion as well as heighten students awareness about the impact of the messages they receive through mainstream media and how that connects to political influence. Answer key included for the answers that wont vary. Film is available on DVD or NETFLIX.

Over 13 million American kids will be bullied at school, online, on the bus, at home, through their cell phones and on the streets of their towns, making it the most common form of violence young people in this country experience. BULLY is a documentary film that shows how we’ve all been affected by bullying, whether as victims, perpetrators or stood silent witness, to adults in schools trying to make decisions to protect kids. This movie guide follows the film with pre-watching questions to get kids thinking about bullying in their own lives/schools, where they may or may not feel safe and why kids get bullied, chronological questions that follow the film and some Think pair share activity follow up for group discussion. If you have taught the book THE MISFITS or just want to get kids thinking about the impact of bullying actions and non actions, this documentary is a great way to get at their heartstrings. This film is suitable for middle or high school age students discussing bullying as a part of restorative justice or just as a problem solver in a classroom. Movie is 90 minutes long so budget 2-3 days to complete with discussion opportunities. Movie is available on Netflix , Amazon or at the public library on DVD.

This lesson plan on street art in Bogota and other urban cities in Latin America takes students on a journey to explore the messages and meanings of street art murals/graffiti. Students will read about the booming graffiti art trend in Bogota, listen to an interview with a famous street artist, view a short documentary about creating street art, listen to a TED talk in Spanish about different kinds of fonts and then finally create their own piece of street art to communicate a message to their audience. Plan to spend a week exploring the different links and budgeting work time for students to get their creative juices flowing and inspire each other. Full size posterboards cut in half are a good size for students to work with when creating their own mini mural, some ambitious students may request a full size board. I ordered drawing pastels from Amazon to expose students to a new medium but magic markers (or spraypaint if you live in a warm climate and have access to an outdoor workspace) also work well. Students enjoy connecting their own works to what they learned about public art in urban spaces. This lesson is best suited for an AP Spanish V or Heritage Learners class and connects to the theme of Beauty and Aesthetics on the AP test. Download packet contains links to all the videos, free downloadable graffiti fonts, link to the news article, space for students to design their rough drafts and some reflection questions for after they complete their works

The newest documentary from the makers of Living on One Dollar, Zach and Chris head to Jordan for an up close look at life in a Syrian refugee camp. There they take on the challenges that refugees face daily living in close quarters in tents, in places where many amenities are non existent, and some of the survival mechanisms they have implemented to rise above their circumstances. Much like their first documentary, Salam Neighbor is very well made, with great explanations and up close interviews with refugees about the challenges they face and the hardships which forced them to flee their country. If you are teaching Middle East, this is an excellent overture into the conflict in Syria. Download includes warm up activities to build prior knowledge and separate fact from fiction, questions for the film and topics for follow up. Since many questions in this guide will depend on student opinion, answer key is not included. Lesson takes two days to complete and is suitable for any high school social studies class. Documentary is available on Netflix for free or available for purchase from http://livingonone.org/salamneighbor/

This 5 page easy read short story by Sandra Cisneros is so cleverly narrated, easy to read and opens the door to a great discussion around childhood, identity, and personal experiences. I teach this story in my Spanish Heritage Learners Classes, but its suitable for a level IV or higher where students are comfortable with past tense usage. Reading guide includes a couple of questions for pre-reading to get students thinking about their own childhood experiences, then some relational questions where students can form their own connections between characters and items as they read. Finally there is a follow up project with a graphic organizer to help students brainstorm before crafting a poem about themselves at a specific age. Budget 3-4 classes for reading the story, discussion, brainstorming and final project production depending on their level. Download link to the pdf version of the story. https://genius.com/Sandra-cisneros-eleven-spanish-annotated

This step by step lesson plan will guide your Heritage Learner students through an oral presentation on their two (sides of) identities. Many Heritage learners navigate between the world of their parents home country traditions, language, foods while simultaneously functioning the US world of friends, language, fast food, pop culture and social media. This scaffolded project helps them to brainstorm the moments when they feel more one than the other and create a compelling oral presentation for small group setting. Download contains charts for both worlds, guiding questions for reflection, and a rubric for presentation day. Project works best if you allow students at least three days to brainstorm, create slides and the weekend for them to practice.

This is an easy little listening practice that can be used as a warm up for a French I class that is learning ALLER + place and ALLER + action. Students match 9 pictures to their descriptions. Includes listening script. Knowledge of basic regular verbs and some cognate destinations would be helpful.

an excellent book for young readers and has won many awards. It is probably best suited for 8th-11th graders. It does contain a few swear words, but for the most part is appropriate for young readers. Reading guide has 115 questions in chronological order, organized by chapter with pages. Also included are 6 follow up discussion questions. If you are reading the book for the first time with the students, these will be useful to you as well as your students. An excellent book if you have a multi-cultural classroom or students that come from impoverished backgrounds as they will be able to identify with the narrator. Creative Commons License The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Barbara Davis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Powerpoint contains 20 slides of art from various famous Hispanic and spanish artists. In pairs, students imagine they are visiting an art museum and asking about each work of art. (Partner A asks about odd numbered paintings, Partner B evens) Students describe the paintings, their styles and reactions to each painting. This lesson works well with anyone teaching art from Realidades level III or any higher level Spanish class learning about art and art vocabulary. It ties in well with one of the AP prep themes on beauty and aesthetics.I broke the practice into two separate class periods and had students discuss 10 paintings total each day. If you use the powerpoint as a class as opposed to having students download it on their own device, you might want to set a timer for each picture for 2 minutes. Students will be speaking Spanish fast and furious to answer the questions bc their time on each is limited. Practice takes about 20 min.

La Muñeca Menor by Rosario Ferré is a short story full of magical realism. This story is great to teach for a Heritage Learner class or a level IV or higher where students already have a fair vocabulary base in Spanish. Files also contain a supporting powerpoint that provides information about the author, some definitions of key vocabulary and some guiding instructions for students as they read, re-read and discuss the story. Story will take about 4 class periods to teach with thorough comprehension. Download contains comprehension questions, essential questions and a graphic organizer for students to summarize the story and identify incidents of magical realism as well as a copy of the story. (Story is available on line for free as well, google the title + free PDF) Ferre has a lot to say about the way women are treated in this story that finishes with a kind of spooky surprise ending.

This powerpoint serves as a game to review conjugation of regular AR preterite verbs and verbs that take a YO change. (CAR, GAR, ZAR) family. Directions for the game can be downloaded from the free preview file. Guaranteed that EVERY student will be engaged and practicing, this game works best when students have already been working with preterite AR conjugation for a few days or as a review before a quiz. 25 examples to practice, first person back to their seat in descending order wins the game.

You can teach your students all regular and irregular preterite verb conjugations through this rap song, and you will look hilarious. The lyrics accompany the old RAPPERS DELIGHT song by the Sugarhill Gang. Powerpoint will flash the lyrics on your smartboard so everyone can participate . You will need to download a karaoke version of this old school favourite at Amazon.com and rap out the lyrics as you teach them the verbs. Especially successful in the urban school I taught in as the students recognized the song their parents listened played at home. One of my students favourites!

This book centers on the topic of name calling and fitting in at a small town middle school. Four students labeled by their peers on a repeated basis take a stand and run for Student Council on a platform of No Name Calling. The characters are all people who kids can relate to, this book is an excellent launch point for the topic of in-school bullying. Reading guide contains 79 questions organized by chapter and opportunities for students to REFLECT and share in small groups along the way on a variety of topics. REFLECT opportunities can be assigned as independent journal entries and help to facilitate discussions in class, and 8 discussion topics, with suggestions for interviews, independent research and large group discussion. Best suited for a middle school audience, alternates between narration/play format with good places for read alouds. It will prompt some excellent discussion around acceptance, difference, and hopefully some solutions to making middle school experience better.

This powerpoint is a good launch point for beginning to explain the difference between SER and ESTAR. Each question is covered in detail with examples and is followed by 8 photos to practice. There are also opportunities on the slides for students to think out their answers and interact with the teacher. Last slide is 16 vocabulary words where students decide SER or ESTAR for the question. Download also includes graphic organizer for students to take notes as you present. Presentation takes about 30 minutes to complete in a 25 student class.

This is a very basic but fun activity for students first learning GUSTAR. There are 30 powerpoint slides of photos, actions, and items both single and plural. Download also includes the worksheet that accompanies the powerpoint. Students see pictures and respond by highlighting the right choice for their own personal opinion, then record the item/action in the last column. After the activity you can discuss likes and dislikes with the group or tally them up for a class survey. This lesson is very basic but works great for the day after you have introduced the concept of GUSTAR to a Spanish I class and just need another way to practice with students. Activity takes about 20 minutes to run.