Destroy stereotypes! Introduce the Spanish speaking world in its glorious diversity. Engage students with thought-provoking topics.
Culture units: art, sports, human rights, ecology and more. Read, write, speak, and think.
Oral presentation based on Internet searches with keywords. Cooperative learning.
Writing assignments as varied as our students. Keywords for Internet searches.
Give them the tools and they will flourish!
Destroy stereotypes! Introduce the Spanish speaking world in its glorious diversity. Engage students with thought-provoking topics.
Culture units: art, sports, human rights, ecology and more. Read, write, speak, and think.
Oral presentation based on Internet searches with keywords. Cooperative learning.
Writing assignments as varied as our students. Keywords for Internet searches.
Give them the tools and they will flourish!
Three thematic units on the Quinto Centenario, 1992.
500 years after Columbus. Please preview.
In 1992 Spain celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Encounter, mistakenly called the ‘discovery’ of the Americas. Barcelona hosted the Olympic Games, Seville had the World Fair and Madrid grew by leaps and bounds. These units are much more than just facts: compare the size of your classroom to the length of Columbus’ boats; analyze the consequences of hosting the Olympic Games and find out how the Prado Museum began.
**Unit 1. Sevilla. La Expo ´92 y la importancia del Encuentro
**
Subject matter: history; tourism
Vocabulary: views of the discovery of the Americas
Grammar: preterit; articles
Oral practice: a concert
Homework: immigration and emigration
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
**Unit 2. Barcelona. ¿Para quién son los Juegos Olímpicos?
**
Subject matter: history; sports
Vocabulary: sports / business
Grammar: preterit; articles
Oral practice: comparing products of the New World and the Old World
Homework: salaries of stars
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 3. Madrid 1992
Subject matter: general information
Vocabulary: the city
Grammar: preterit; articles
Oral practice: comparing products of the New World and the Old World; a concert
Homework: students’ background
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Two thematic units about tourism.
Here is a way to cover some Central American countries that we tend to forget.
They have so much to offer! Please preview.
Unit 1. Ecoturismo. La Ruta Maya
La Ruta Maya is a wonderful, although incomplete, initiative. It is a route that stretches from Mexico to Panama and goes through all the Central American countries. It promotes ecotourism in the entire region. This unit covers both the geography of the region as well as some of the animals that live there, specifically the quetzal. The Ruta Maya also stops at many archeological sites in Central America and some of those are covered. My students really liked the exercise on camping at Tikal.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: tourism, geography, history
Vocabulary: animals
Grammar: articles
Oral practice: tourism and ecotourism
Homework: letter requesting information
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
**Unit 2. Turismo. De San José a Puerto Limón
**
The unit describes an actual trip from San José down to Puerto Limón. Content based learning goes beyond mere geographical information. In Central America, temperature depends on altitude. Thus, it can be cool in the mountains but if you travel down to the coast, just a few hours away, it is very hot. Now, this might sound really boring, but check out the Preview and you will see it is not.
In addition to learning about weather, there is an exercise about countries that export bananas and import industrial products. Let the students come to their own conclusions about the basic economic problems that poor countries face. Ah yes, I sell bananas and I need to buy computers.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: tourism, geography, history
Vocabulary: agricultural products (bananas)
Grammar: querer and poder
Oral practice: comparing imports and exports of target culture and own country
Homework: Maya and Aztec cultures
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Entirely in the target language.
All Miraflores units include answer keys.
Three art units at the elementary levels. Enjoy. Please preview.
Unit 1 Goya
The teacher’s favorite beginners unit! Teach the vocabulary of the family with Goya’s painting, La familia de Carlos IV. In the picture find the parents (the king and the queen), the three sons, the three daughters, the kings’ brother and sister, even a little baby, the grandchild. And what are they wearing? Great fun!
Unit includes:
Subject matter: painting
Vocabulary: family
Grammar: agreement
Oral practice: student presentations of other paintings
Homework: a painting; family tree of Carlos IV
Internet: key words for web searches
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
Answer key
Unit 2 Rodrigo
Students are unfamiliar with Spanish music. Here is an introduction! Find out what music they listen to and why they like it.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: music
Vocabulary: family, music
Grammar: gustar
Oral practice: musical tastes
Homework: fiestas in Spain
Internet: key words for web searches
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
Answer key
Unit 3 Gaudí
Walk through Barcelona in search of the Gaudi sites. First visit the Casa Mila, then on to the church of the Sagrada Familia and finish the day at the Parque Güell. The metro maps and the street map serve as a great way to practice giving directions!
Unit inclues:
Subject matter: architecture
Vocabulary: giving directions
Grammarr: subir, bajar, tomar
Oral practice: compare 2 houses
Homework: give directions
Internet: key words for web searches
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
Answer key
**ALSO AVAILABLE IN AN “ARTS BUNDLE” THAT INCLUDES:
**
Goya / Gaudí / Rodrigo; 3 interdisciplinary thematic units - SP Beginners 1
Cervantes and Sor Juana / Picasso / Felipe VI; 3 thematic units - SP Beginners 1
Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros / Indigenous cultures: 2 thematic units -SP Intermediate 1
Fernando Botero / Cartega de Indias; 2 thematic units - SP Intermediate 1
Las Meninas / Felipe II; 2 thematic units - SP Intermediate 2
Three culture units for beginners. Each unit has 8 pages.
Easy to understand and rich in culture.
Entirely in the target language. Please preview.
Unit 1. Carlos V
Teach the family with Carlos V’ family. We have all done different versions of family trees in class. Here is the family tree of Charles V. Introduce his grandparents, Isabel and Ferdinand, the Catholic kings. Compare his family to your own and practice the vocabulary of the family. One of the neat exercises is a map of Charles V’s world to practice the names of the languages then spoken.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: family and empire
Vocabulary: family
Grammar: possessive adjectives
Oral practice: family
Homework: tree of royal families
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests and teacher’s guide
**Unit 2. Cortés y Moctezuma
**
A fun way to do animals and foods. The animals of the Old World! The foods of the New World! Today we cannot imagine Europe without tomatoes or the American west without cattle! And what about those invisible animals, the viruses and bacteria that killed the indigenous population? Only through content based units can you transmit so much information and promote cultural understanding.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: New and Old Worlds
Vocabulary: plants and animals
Grammar: tener
Oral practice: domestic and wild animals
Homework: animals of two worlds
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests and teacher’s guide
Unit 3. Simon Bolívar
Teach the vocabulary of the house with Bolivar’s home. His house had a large room to pray and an area for the animals. There were two dining rooms but only one small bathroom. Compare his house to your own. This is authentic cultural information! All in the target language.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: independence
Vocabulary: house
Grammar: ¿dónde? ¿qué?
Oral practice: house
Homework: houses
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests and teacher’s guide
I loved doing these units with my students. They were interested in the content. They empathized with Carlos V melded family, were surprised by both the chapel and the tiny bathroom in Bolivar´s house and liked the foods of the Americas.
Two units for intermediate students. Deal with the fate of our planet through ecology. This is of great interest to all. Content-based and interdisciplinary. Please preview.
Each unit includes a pre-reading, a level appropriate reading, comprehension, extension of the subject matter integrating both vocabulary and grammar. An oral that relates the content of the unit to the students’ reality, homework suggestions and Internet key words for further research.
**Unit 1. La contaminación en la Ciudad de México
**
The strength of content based units is that they present students with reality, including problems that are hard to solve. If Mexico City reduces the number of cars and cuts down the emission of CO2, the consequences are a large reduction in jobs.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: ecology
Vocabulary: urban life
Grammar: poder plus infinitive
4 .Oral practice: urban transportation where you live
Homework: transportation
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
**Unit 2. La mariposa monarca
**
If the forests where the monarch butterfly spends its winter are fully protected, the people who live in the area and use the wood for cooking are left hungry. How can Mexicans solve these problems?
Unit includes:
Subject matter: ecology
Vocabulary: seasons, animals
Grammar: stem change UE
4 .Oral practice: migratory animal
Homework: an animal
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
These two units will elicit lively and thoughtful class discussions! Your students will automatically relate the problems to their own environment and you will see how excited they can get!
Two thematic units. Interdisciplinary. Content based. CI. Please preview.
Unit 1. ¿Es la marimba un instrumento latinoamericano?
The New World has welcomed people, animals, objects and ideas from many continents. Take the marimba. This instrument combines African, European and indigenous elements. Is the marimba Guatemalan? Of course it is. The example I give for the United States is jazz: it is played on both European and African instruments, it has an African beat and it began in the United States. The students understand how so many elements are needed to make something entirely new. Make those grey cells work!! I had fun writing this and teaching it.
Unit includes
Subject matter: music, historical background
Vocabulary: rural and urban population
Grammar: agreement
Oral practice: jazz
Homework: students own musical interest
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 2. El transporte: Honduras
Everyone has an opinion on transportation, cars, buses, trains, airplanes. In Central America the bus is the most common form of transportation but the unit deals with other means of transportation as well. And since transportation is similar in the various countries of the region, there is information about those countries too. In writing this I thought it sounded deadly boring. Trust me, it is not. Click on Preview and read both units.
Unit includes
Subject matter: general information
Vocabulary: various means of transportation
Grammar: por and para
Oral practice: buses
Homework: trips, food
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Learning about other cultures is such an enriching experience. It opens minds and hearts.
Two content based units about Panama and Costa Rica. Please preview.
Unit 1. Carretas y autobuses, Arte popular en Panamá y Costa Rica
We do not normally think of Panamá and Costa Rica as rich in art. Yet here we highlight the buses in Panamá and the carts in Costa Rica. Immediately the teacher will see that we are dealing with transportation and of course with comparisons to the students´ own reality. Are the buses in your city painted a certain color? Do they have any other decorations? In Panama every driver decorates his own bus and writes the names of his mother, sisters and girlfriend on the windows! And in Costa Rica, they decorate the carts. In the past, oxen pulled the carts; today they have trucks and the old carts are filled with flowers and used as lovely decorations. Cultural traditions are so varied.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: popular art
Vocabulary: adverbs of place
Grammar: agreement
Oral practice: school transportation
Homework: transportation, public advertisements
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 2. El Canal de Panamá entre Atlántico y Pacífico
Normally when you think about the canal you think about locks and boats. But the Panama Canal could not be built until the problem of yellow fever was solved. Thus the unit combines science and technology with the canal. Two great scientists are featured, Finley and Reed. Talk about the importance of medical breakthroughs and their impact on major engineering projects.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: history and geography
Vocabulary: medical
Grammar: verbs
Oral practice: map work
Homework: hospitals, old people
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Entirely in the target language.
Answer key included.
Two culture units for SP 2. Please preview.
Unit 1. Las culturas indígenas
Although only parts of the Maya and Aztec script have been deciphered, we can learn a great deal about other cultures from their sculptures, drawings and architecture. My students analyzed the picture that is included in the units, the stone statue of a mother with her children and were able to figure out information about foods they ate, the clothes they wore and child rearing. Deductive reasoning at its best.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: how to read the Maya hieroglyphics
Vocabulary: nouns and verbs related to cultures of the Americas
Grammar: gender
Oral practice: student plays role of archaeologist
Homework: research indigenous culture
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 2. Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros
These Mexican muralists are world renown. Introduce your students to some paintings and link the painters to Frida Kahlo, the wife of Diego Rivera. All teachers like this subject. The students will like it just as much. The picture of Frida lying in her bed was an excellent discussion catalyst in my class.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: Mexican art
Vocabulary: art
Grammar: prepositions
Oral practice: student plays role of archaeologist
Homework: research indigenous culture
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
ALSO AVAILABLE IN AN “ARTS BUNDLE” THAT INCLUDES:
1. Goya / Gaudí / Rodrigo; 3 interdisciplinary thematic units - SP Beginners 1
2. Cervantes and Sor Juana / Picasso / Felipe VI; 3 thematic units - SP Beginners 1
3. Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros / Indigenous cultures: 2 thematic units - SP Intermediate 1
4. Fernando Botero / Cartega de Indias; 2 thematic units - SP Intermediate 1
5. Las Meninas / Felipe II; 2 thematic units - SP Intermediate 2
(You get ALL five for the price of four)
Three interdisciplinary units. 7 or 8 pages each. All units have a level appropriate reading, comprehension, extension on the subject matter, oral and written exercises, Internet key words for further research. Comparisons are made with student´s own reality. Please preview.
Unit 1. Adiós peseta
Numbers! What a great way to do numbers again. Spain is part of the European Union and the Euro permits free access to all the countries. Students compare the old bills with the new ones. Who are those people on the bills?
Unit includes:
Subject matter: money
Vocabulary: money (caro / barato)
Grammar: verbs, gustar, interesar, encantar
Oral practice: prices
Homework: literary, mathematical or artistic options
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
Answer key
Unit 2. La Copa Mundial de Fútbol
Soccer! The beautiful game! The whole world plays soccer. All you need is a ball! Get your students to talk about the World Cup, about other sports and all of this using gustar, interesar and encantar.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: sports
Vocabulary: sports
Grammar: verbs, gustar, interesar, encantar
Oral practice: a poll
Homework: internet search
Internet: key words for internet search
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
Answer key
Unit 3. La computadora / el ordenador
Not only will the students learn the vocabulary of the computer, they will find out that there are words that are said differently in Spain and in the Americas. The unit gives excellent information on search engines in Spanish and prompts the students to write emails in Spanish.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: computers
Vocabulary: computers
Grammar: verbs, gustar, interesar, encantar
Oral practice: prices, a poll
Homework: ID card
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
Answer key
These three subjects appealed to many of my students: money, sports and computers. Through comparison and contrast the target culture comes alive!
Three contextualized culture units.
Three contextualized culture units.
The indigenous cultures of Central and South America. Read, write, speak, think.
Culture for beginners. Please preview.
All Miraflores resources are entirely in the target language.
Unit 1. Copán; una ciudad maya
The unit on the Maya reviews numbers in two different formats: the Maya and ours. Ours is based on 10, theirs on 5. Discover how pyramids are built, or shall we say layered. Yes, layered.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: Maya culture
Vocabulary: numbers
Grammar: adverbs of place
Oral practice: other calendars; extraterrestrials
Homework: other calendars
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
**Unit 2. El calendario azteca
**
**The Aztec Calendar is round. Ours is usually a rectangle. This shows the diversity in form but not in substance. It does not matter whether we divide the year into 20 months or 12 months, we will end up with the same number of days. How is this possible? This unit underlines the fact that we are all inhabitants of the same planet. Learning that there can be several ways of describing the same facts is important!
**
Unit includes:
Subject matter: Aztecs
Vocabulary: days, weeks and year
Grammar: tener
Oral practice: other calendars
Homework: other calendars
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
Unit 3. Las misteriosas Líneas de Nasca
You can only see the Nazca lines if you fly above them. So it was only in the era of the airplane that they were discovered. Why were they made? Here is a real mystery that still needs to be solved. This unit reviews the vocabulary of animals and body parts. Please note the spelling of Nazca. In Peru the Spanish spelling is now Nasca.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: Nazca / Nasca (the newer spelling is with an S)
Vocabulary: body
Grammar: articles
Oral practice: extraterrestrials
Homework: mysteries
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
The Piedra del Sol is in the Archeological Museum in Mexico City. Have you seen it? It is huge and there are always groups of school children and tourists milling around, photographing and pointing.
Cultural images for the Spanish classroom
· 100 PowerPoint slides. Many have two or more pictures for comparisons.
· All have suggested questions for three levels of difficulty. Scaffolded.
· All have suggested story lines.
· Ideal for cultural comparisons.
· Cultural relevancy.
· Age-appropriate and culturally engaging.
An insider view, not a tourist’s view.
Many daily life pictures that include children and adolescents.
Although all the pictures were taken in Mexico, the great majority could be anywhere in the Latin America.
**TEN CATEGORIES, 10 pictures in each category:
**
Mercados
En venta
Gente
Transporte
Flora y fauna
Calles
Comidas y restaurantes
Carteles
Deportes
Gente en grupos
Each category has a different background color for easy identification.
For each picture, I start with the most basic, identify, then go on to describe, and finally to analyze and to compare.
I love taking pictures and I am often asked why I take pictures of what people consider everyday things. Those are the ones that are best for the classroom. Students get a real feel for another reality.
If you like these pictures and would like another set with other categories, like for example music and musicians, or others you might suggest, please comment below. I have a huge number of pictures.
Thee mini thematic units for real beginners. Please preview.
Do not wait to introduce Cervantes, Picasso and the King of Spain, Felipe VI until your students are «ready.» Writers, painters and kings! What a combination! Introduce these Spanish icons to beginners.
Unit 1. Miguel de Cervantes y sor Juana
Two icons. A man and a woman. Two writers they have never heard about. Work on cognates, famoso, importante, autor, poeta. The pre-reading prepares the short reading and it is packed with information. Yes, it is possible to do culture with beginners!
Unit includes:
Subject matter: introduction to Spanish literature, art and history
Vocabulary: basic literary
Grammar: articles; agreement
Oral practice: Cervantes
Homework: book
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 2. Pablo Picasso
Another icon, in this case a painter. My students really liked the paintings. Practice ¿cómo se llama?, practice ser and llamar which are often confusing for the students. All in context. How many students have you corrected when they said, ¿Cómo es tu nombre? Yikes. I don´t want to count.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: introduction to Spanish literature, art and history
Vocabulary: basic basic art
Grammar: articles; interrogative pronouns
Oral practice: music and art
Homework: change paragraph to 3rd person
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 3. Felipe VI
The family! Everyone teaches the family in Spanish 1. Here is the Spanish king´s family, parents, grandparents, children. Language in context! The students find out that Spain is a constitutional monarchy and learn or review the vocabulary of the family. What more can you ask?
Unit includes:
Subject matter: introduction to Spanish literature, art and history
Vocabulary: royal family
Grammar: interrogative pronouns
Oral practice: the King´s family
Homework: my family
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Four mini-culture units. Each one is only four or five pages long.
Please preview to see if units fit with your curriculum.
Unit 1. Deportes
Sports and music! Two subjects that both students and teachers like. Introduce your students to the World Cup. Have them do a logic exercise to determine who will win the Cup. Inductive and deductive skills are part of the learning process and the Spanish classroom is one more place to learn.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: sports
Vocabulary: names of sports
Grammar: ser / hay
Oral practice: sports
, 5. Homework: sports figures
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 2. El fútbol - Messi
Unit includes:
Subject matter: sports
Vocabulary: names of sports
Grammar: jugar
Oral practice: cartoon about sports
Homework: sports figures
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 3. Música
The music of Spain and the Americas is rich and varied. Introduce your students to the merengue, the chachachá and the tango; learn the names of the instruments and extend the vocabulary. Simple verbs like cantar, presentar and bailar have corresponding nouns. Content based means that the information comes from the text and the students make the connections!
Unit includes:
Subject matter: music
Vocabulary: names of instruments
Grammar: interrogative pronouns
Oral practice: music
Homework: music
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 4. Las estrellas de la música popular - Shakira and others
Unit includes:
Subject matter: music
Vocabulary: verbs related to music
Grammar: prepositions en and de
Oral practice: music
Homework: song and dance
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Entirely in Spanish.
Three short culture units for beginners, all entirely in target language. Content based. Please preview.
Unit 1. La Ciudad de México
Get a sense of the size of one of biggest cities on our planet. Discover how the past and the present are visible in the city. Lots of pictures.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: city
Vocabulary: city
Grammar: definite articles
Oral practice: two pictures
Homework: my city
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
Answer key
Unit 2. La calle Madero
Walk down a street between two of the main plazas and practice street numbers.
Small confession. I have walked down Madero recently and some the stores mentioned are gone. I would have to update the unit annually to keep it up to date and I am not there often enough nor have enough time to do it. The great majority of the stores and places are correct. Last time I was totally distracted by an increasing number of street vendors. Francisco Madero is now a ´peatonal´, no cars allowed.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: one street
Vocabulary: street
Grammar: agreement; hay/ no hay;
Oral practice: a street
Homework: identify a given street
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
Answer key
Unit 3. Coyoacán
March around the lovely square in the neighborhood that Frida Kahlo called her own. Practice the basic vocabulary of the city, the times of the day and review the singular and plural of nouns. Basic language structure and vocabulary are well matched to sophisticated ideas.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: cone neighborhood
Vocabulary: meals
Grammar: hay/ no hay; ar, er, ir verbs
Oral practice: two schedules
Homework: two schedules
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
Answer key
The first time I visited Mexico City I was a college student on my way home to Peru. I have a vague memory of staying in a hostel, of meeting some German students who suggested we go to Acapulco. Of course I agreed. Such a long time ago.
Three interdisciplinary CULTURE units for beginners. Short, no more than seven or eight pages each. Entirely in the target language. Please preview.
Unit 1. La independencia de México
Miguel Hidalgo declared Mexico’s independence from Spain from the steps of a church in a little town. Have your students practice right, left and center by finding the stores and restaurants in that same town today. Practice the vocabulary of the house with Miguel Hidalgo’s home. Compare Mexico’s independence to your own country. There are many comparisons that can be made: dates, bells, heroes and more.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: independence
Vocabulary: city and buildings
Grammar: prepositions of place
Oral practice: independence
Homework: draw a map
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 2. El metro de la Ciudad de México
Take the metro and the bus! Learn the vocabulary of transportation. Do some simple arithmetic to figure out the number of metro riders in Mexico City by car, by day and by hour. Attractive pictures make you feel like you are there.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: transportation
Vocabulary: transportation
Grammar: articles
Oral practice: transportation
Homework: transportation I use
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 3. Los ambulantes
Visitors to Latin America are always surprised by the number of street vendors. Why are there so many? What do they sell? Practice the vocabulary of clothing. Most importantly, compare to your own reality and show respect of other cultures. This is fundamental.
Unit includes:
Subject matter: street vendors
Vocabulary: clothing
Grammar: singular and plural
Oral practice: street vendors
Homework: describe a picture
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key.
Have you ever visited the town called Dolores Hidalgo? It looks like a set for a Mexican tourist advertisement. It is about half way between Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende and sometimes people tend to just drive by. If you are traveling there, please stop. The square is marvelous. And if you have been and liked it as much as I did, please leave a comment below.
For all levels including SP Beginners 1.
Those of you who have used Set Maps 1 (the free set) probably want to know why I put together Maps 2. There are several reasons, the first is that I get bored very quickly and after doing Maps 1 for several years, with several groups, I knew there were other ideas I could implement. The idea of teaching the alphabet while learning geography worked well, so then I added some basic information without maps. I wanted my students to know from the outset that some countries were very large, others very small and that in some cases the small countries were very densely populated. I also found that I had to keep going back to show Spain on one side of the ocean and the other Spanish speaking countries on the other side of the ocean many times.
Contextualized maps! Practice the alphabet and geography, first with basic information and then with a game. Learn to recognize the shapes of different Spanish speaking countries! Practice the pronunciation of the names of the countries! Analyze and compare the size and population of different countries and compare them to your own country. Make logical conclusions with the information. Combine lots of content with very elementary language. Only with content-based units is it possible to introduce so much cultural information!
Please preview.
Maps include:
Subject matter: geography; countries and languages
Vocabulary: alphabet, countries, capitals, languages
Grammar: es / no es; es / son; singular and plural of nouns
Oral practice: names of countries, capitals; alphabet game
Homework: identify countries where different languages are spoken
Internet: key words for Net search
Model tests
Teacher’s guide
Entirely in the target language.
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.
Three easy mini-thematic units for beginners.
Packed with information, creative and fun, they are all about Spain. Review and present both the grammar and the vocabulary for Spanish 1 in context.
We used to teach our students about the Moorish influence at the advanced levels. Here is the opportunity not only to admire the architecture but also to counter stereotypes and racism. Your students will walk through the Alhambra and practice gustar. They will choose a place to visit in Andalucía and also spend the day at one of Spain’s most popular holiday resorts, Torremolinos. Deductive thinking skills and important information about Muslim Spain are the corner stones of the three thematic units.
Unit 1. Ganador(a) del premio " Visita Andalucia"
By having the students decide between cities, which one they will visit, they get to know them. ¿Qué lugar vas a visitar? is the basic question the students need to answer in this thematic unit. And of course tastes vary. Students will make different choices and all the time practice gustar, encantar and interesar. Contextualization is the name of the game.
Unit 2. Granada: La Alhambra
Comprehensible input means that the students understand and enjoy. Here is a text on the Alhambra written for Spanish 1. It includes a lot of information about that most iconic palace and integrates it with basic language skill such as the vocabulary of the house and a review of numbers. Again, both the rooms of the house and the numbers are contextualized since they deal with the rooms of the Alhambra and the dates of the same. This worked well in my class and beginners started to get a real sense of the extraordinary cultural riches of Spain.
Unit 3. Una ciudad española: Torremolinos
The geography of Spain, with so much water to the north, east and south, makes for a huge number of beaches. Spaniard love their beaches and head for them every summer. They are joined by a large number of foreigners, and in the spring and fall when Spaniards would never go to the beach, these are filled with Scandinavians, Germans, Brits and more. Even in the winter, many northern europeans spend time in the Costa del Sol. This short thematic unit includes beach and hotel choices as well as a full day in Torremolinos. Do food in context.
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Includes:
1. Subject matter: Andalucía: places, people, history
2. Vocabulary: house, hotel, tourism; numbers; meals
3. Grammar: gustar, interesar, encantar, preferir; por la mañana, por la tarde, por la noche
4. Oral practice: interview, an exceptional building, the Alhambra; visit Torremolinos
5. Homework: Decision on place to visit; a postcard; visit Torremolinos
6. Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
7. Answer key
Four mini-culture units. Everything in the target language. Please preview.
Students tend to group all Spanish speakers together. Here are four short units that point out the similarities and differences between the more than 20 countries where Spanish is spoken. Not only do they eat different foods, they also have different money. What a wonderful way to review geography, nationalities and the family!
Four thematic units for beginners, all about the Spanish speaking world.
Preguntas sobre el mundo hispano
Unit 1. La importancia del español
Unit includes:
Subject matter: general information
Vocabulary: names of languages
Grammar: prepositions de & en
Oral practice: work habits
Homework: languages taught at my school
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 2. Los nombres de los hispanos
Unit includes:
Subject matter: general information
Vocabulary: family
Grammar: ir verbs and stem changes
Oral practice: languages taught in different countries
Homework: family tree
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
Unit 3. ¿Quiénes hablan bien el español?
Unit includes:
Subject matter: general information
Vocabularay: nationalities; names of languages
Grammar: review of ar, er, ir verbs
Oral practice: regional accents
Homework: countries where Spanish is spoken (map); languages taught at my school
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
**Unit 4. Monedas latinoamericanas
**
Unit includes:
Subject matter: general information
Vocabulary: names of money
Grammar:
Oral practice: work habits
Homework: weekly schedule; my language
Internet: Key word list to facilitate a search
Answer key
I am a believer in doing lots of different activities in class so the kids don’t get bored.
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!!