Dive into traditions, values, and challenges faced by families and communities in the Spanish-speaking world with differentiated activities featuring Peru, Dominican Republic, Chile and Uruguay. These activities are made to be fun and engaging, helping your students improve their language skills while learning about diverse cultures.
Versatile Activities for Differentiation
One awesome thing about these activities is that they work for everyone, no matter their Spanish level. You get three versions for each activity - beginner, intermediate, and advanced. This means you can pick the one that fits you best and join in on the cultural journey.
These activities match up with AP Spanish Language and Culture themes, so you're getting a head start on exploring real cultural stuff right from the start of your students' Spanish learning adventure. Even if some of your students are not planning to pursue the AP Spanish class, they will get to talk about families, communities, education, health, and more, all while boosting your language skills and getting a taste of what life is like in Spanish-speaking countries.
The activities are a lifesaver for teachers with mixed-level classes. They come with handy teacher's notes that give you tips on how to run the activities smoothly. Plus, there's an answer key included, so you can check how you're doing and get feedback to help you learn better.
These materials are all about mixing culture with language skills. They will read, speak, and write about real cultural aspects, giving them a chance to share their thoughts and opinions. By tackling tasks that make them think and engage with the material, they'll not only get better at Spanish but also become a pro at thinking critically and understanding diverse cultures.
Teachers who've used these activities love how they make learning fun and easy for everyone. They're like a roadmap that guides you through exploring different cultures while making sure your students are challenged at your own pace. With reading tasks, writing prompts, and speaking activities, these resources create a lively and exciting learning space where you can chat, learn, and grow together.
They are definitely a goldmine if you want to spice up your Spanish lessons with real cultural content.
Las Familias y las Comunidades: 14 Scaffolded Cultural Activities
La familia tradicional ha cambiado (Chile)
A cultural comparison activity about how the traditional family structure has changed. In this reading comprehension activity, students read about modern families in Chile and how they have changed over the years. Differentiated for levels Novice, Intermediate Low/Mid, and Intermediate High/Advanced to explore world news.
Why your students will ❤️ this activity: Students express their opinions about same-sex marriage, and how the concept of family has changed in Chile and their countries!
- Novice students read a text about a gay family, they learn vocabulary in context, and answer questions in English.
- Intermediate Low/Mid students also compare the laws and concept of family in Chile to their countries.
- Intermediate High/Advanced students read an interview, answer questions in Spanish, and talk about the changes in the concept of family.
Festival de Viña del Mar
In this Mini-Project, students learn about Chile, the famous Viña del Mar Music Festival, famous singers and bands who participated in the past, and learn how to advertise an important musical event.
Why your students will ❤️ this activity: Your students will be enthusiastic about this project because they will have the opportunity to gather their favorite singers or bands, and they will be also using platforms, such as Spotify and YouTube to design their events!
- Novice students read an article about the festival, answer questions in English to brainstorm ideas, and make a poster to advertise their own events.
- Intermediate Low/Mid students read the article and answer with complete sentences in Spanish and design and advertise their poster.
- Intermediate High/Advanced students read the article and write an email to the authorities to ask for permission to carry out the event.
El merengue: Costumbre y valores
In this Reading Comprehension and Visual activity students read about Merengue, the national dance from the Dominican Republic.
Why your students will ❤️ this activity: Students learn about a typical dance from the Dominican Republic, talk about dances from their own countries, and move their bodies to the rhythm!
- Novice students read paragraphs and match them with the pictures, find cognates, talk about dances from their countries, and learn how to dance merengue!
- Intermediate Low/Mid students also complete a true or false activity.
Intermediate High/Advanced students read an article about merengue, read questions in Spanish and talk about what they read giving their opinion and making decisions.
Carnavales: Tradiciones y valores (República Dominicana)
In this Visual Interpretation activity, students learn about Carnivals, traditions, and values in the Dominican Republic.
Why your students will ❤️ this activity: Students learn, investigate and talk about carnivals, and will be amazed to make a colorful mask!
- Novice students read a short text, match sentences with pictures, learn new vocabulary in context, and identify nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
- Intermediate Low/Mid students also make a carnival mask following instructions.
- Intermediate High/Advanced students read extracts with descriptions of the carnival celebration in the Dominican Republic, think and talk about how celebrations represent the culture of a community, and compare their own traditions.
Fundación Chiyangua: Costumbres y valores (Colombia)
With this visual interpretation, reading comprehension, and presentation activity, students learn about Fundación Chiyangua and the work that 300 women do to preserve traditional crops and Afro-Colombian gastronomy.
- Novice students read short simplified text clips and proceed to match the cognates. They also relate words in Spanish with the correct image.
- Intermediate Low/Mid students read the text and answer the comprehension questions. They also relate words in Spanish with the correct image.
- Intermediate High/Advanced students read the full text, including statistics about poverty among the black community. They create a presentation about the Foundation and questions to discuss additional questions with their classmates.
El carnaval mas largo: Tradiciones y valores (Uruguay)
With this writing activity, students learn about Uruguay’s carnival, considered the longest-lasting in the world.
- Novice students read a short text in Spanish that briefly describes the carnival. They match words in Spanish from the text with the corresponding English meaning, identify adjectives and write an email describing the Carnival celebrations.
- Intermediate low-mid students read a text in Spanish that describes the carnival and work on writing a text to be included in a digital brochure.
- Intermediate high-advanced students read the text in Spanish work on a 200-word writing piece for a digital brochure that describes Uruguay’s carnival.
El impacto de confinamiento en los mayores (Chile)
In this reading comprehension activity, students read a text about the pandemic, and how elderly people in Chile are protecting themselves and at the same time suffering the consequences of COVID-19.
Why your students will ❤️ this activity: They solve a crossword puzzle and express support for the old people who need help in Chile.
- Novice students read a text in Spanish and solve a crossword puzzle with antonyms, synonyms, and basic words they learn from context.
- Intermediate Low/Mid students also identify the main idea of the article, compare their answers to their classmates’, and support their choices.
- Intermediate High/Advanced students read a more detailed article, and are also given a specific situation to brainstorm ideas, express their opinion, and find a solution for old people living alone.
Los retos de la educación: Comunidades educativas (República Dominicana)
In this Reading Comprehension activity, students learn about the challenges of Education and Health in the Dominican Republic during the pandemic.
Why your students will ❤️ this activity: Students will enjoy thinking and talking about how they can change the world with their own ideas!
- Novice students read short texts in a classification chart and complete the missing words in the sentences.
- Intermediate Low/Mid students also make mind maps to compare the challenges in their own communities.
- Intermediate High/Advanced students read an article and make a mind map to talk about different points of view and debate giving solutions to improve education and health in the Dominican Republic.
Tomar once en Chile: Costumbres y valores
In this reading comprehension and visual activity, students learn about “Tomar once”, a tradition in Chile that consists of a special meal with family and friends.
Why your students will ❤️ this activity: Students will enjoy imagining how delicious a Tomar Once meal could be! They can even prepare their own menu in class!
- Novice students read what Tomar Once is about, they learn different terms, match them with images, and write an invitation for their friends.
- Intermediate Low/Mid students also answer questions written in Spanish, and write the new vocabulary using a dictionary.
- Intermediate High/Advanced students read a more extensive text with details about the tradition, and describe in their diary what they ate today in their first Once prepared by their host family.
Tipología de la familia: Estructura familiar (República Dominicana)
In this Reading Comprehension activity, students learn about families in the Dominican Republic, their traditions, and values.
Why your students will ❤️ this activity: Students will love to learn about the Dominican Republic and its traditions, and will enjoy exchanging their own experiences!
- Novice students read a text, find words in context, answer questions written in English, and look for words in a word-search game.
- Intermediate Low/Mid students read and answer the questions in Spanish.
- Intermediate High/Advanced students read the text with more detailed information, read questions in Spanish, and debate in class about the families from different countries.
Pueblos indígenas en Perú: Costumbres y valores
Actividad audiovisual de comunicación interpretativa y comunicación interpersonal donde los estudiantes conocen cómo viven las comunidades indígenas en el Perú.
- Novice level students will learn vocabulary related to indigenous communities in Peru, understand basic information about their living conditions and activities, practice matching words with images, describe scenes from a video using the learned vocabulary, and gain exposure to the culture and traditions of indigenous communities in the Andes of Peru through video and contextual learning activities.
- Intermediate low/mid students will focus on learning and using vocabulary related to indigenous communities in the Andes of Peru, completing sentences in the present tense based on visual and contextual clues, describing scenes from the video using the learned vocabulary, engaging in conversations with peers about the video content, and gaining a deeper understanding of the culture and traditions of indigenous communities in Peru through interactive language tasks.
- Intermediate High/Advanced students will identify and learn vocabulary related to indigenous communities in Peru, describe video scenes using the learned vocabulary, connect phrases to form coherent sentences reflecting cultural practices, engage in discussions with peers about the indigenous communities, and analyze the cultural significance of the activities depicted in the video to deepen their understanding and appreciation of indigenous traditions and values.
Las redes sociales (Uruguay)
With this speaking activity, students will learn what are the top 5 social networks in Uruguay.
- Novice and Intermediate Low/Mid students read information about Uruguay’s population, internet users, and social network users. Then they have a chart with the top 5 social networks in Uruguay and compare it with their use. They will also create a social media post and talk about their social media preferences.
- Intermediate High/Advanced students read about social networks in Uruguay and create a new social media platform. They will also write a post in their favorite social network from a list of topics.
Sistema educativo uruguayo: Comunidades educativas
In this reading comprehension and visual interpretation activity, students will learn about the education system in Uruguay, its characteristics, values, and outstanding details that make it one of the most advanced in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Novice students read short statements about the characteristics of education in Uruguay and proceed with the comprehension questions where they write simple sentences, express their opinion, and do comparisons.
- Intermediate Low/Mid In students read short statements about the characteristics of education in Uruguay and match each one with the given pictures. They also work with a second text to complete a mind map with 5 or more characteristics of the Uruguayan education system. Then they will share their mind maps with their classmates and talk about the differences and similarities in the education of their own country.
- Intermediate High/Advanced students will read about the education in Uruguay and propose a title for the text. They express their opinion and compares the Uruguayan education system with the one in their own country.
El país del tango y el mate: Tradiciones y valores (Uruguay)
With this activity, students learn that tango and drinking mate is not just a tradition from Argentina, but from the Río de la Plata region that includes Uruguay.
- Novice students read a short text in Spanish that briefly explains el mate and tango. They identify the cognates, form words with jumbled letters, and complete sentences by conjugating verbs in the present.
- Intermediate low-mid students read a text in Spanish that briefly explains el mate and tango. They identify the cognates, form words with jumbled letters, and answer the reading comprehension questions.
- Intermediate high-advanced students read the text in Spanish and reflect on the importance of tango. They also watch a video about mate and answer the multiple-choice questions.
Integrating These Activities into Your Curriculum and Lesson Plans
To seamlessly weave these scaffolded activities into your lesson plans and supercharge your students' language skills and cultural savvy, here are some tips:
- Introduce the activity by setting the stage with a brief overview of the cultural context or theme. This primes students for what's to come and gets them excited about diving into a new cultural adventure.
- Assign the appropriate version of the activity based on each student's proficiency level. This ensures that everyone is challenged at the right level and can make meaningful progress in their language skills.
- Provide clear instructions and guidance on how to approach the activity. Break down the tasks step by step, so students know exactly what is expected of them and how to tackle each part effectively.
- Encourage students to draw parallels between the cultural aspects they're exploring in the activity and their own experiences or knowledge. This helps them make personal connections and deepen their understanding of the cultural content.
- Emphasize the use of Spanish throughout the activity, whether it's reading, speaking, or writing tasks. Encourage students to express themselves in Spanish, reinforcing language skills in a meaningful context.
- Foster collaboration and discussion among students as they work on the activity. Encourage them to share their thoughts, ask questions, and engage in conversations related to the cultural topics at hand.
- Provide constructive feedback on students' language use, cultural insights, and overall engagement with the activity. This helps them reflect on their progress and areas for improvement, guiding them towards greater proficiency.
- Encourage students to delve deeper into the cultural themes explored in the scaffolded activities through additional research, presentations, or creative projects. This allows them to expand their cultural competence beyond the activity itself.
- Wrap up the activity with a reflection session where students can share what they've learned, what surprised them, and how their perspectives may have shifted. This helps solidify their cultural understanding and language skills.
The Benefit for Students at Different Proficiency Levels
These activities provide tailored learning experiences that cater to their specific language abilities.
- Easy Access: You get three versions for each activity - beginner, intermediate, and advanced. So, no matter where you're at with your Spanish skills, there's something just right for you.
- Mix it Up: Teachers can mix and match activities to suit each student's level. This means they won't feel overwhelmed or bored.
- Stay Interested: The activities are all about stuff that's interesting and relatable. They will be learning about real-life topics that matter, keeping them engaged and eager to learn more.
- Language Boost: These activities are like a language workout. Students will be reading, speaking, and writing in Spanish, which will help them get better at the language without even realizing it.
- Culture Dive: By exploring different cultural topics, they will get a peek into how families and communities live in Spanish-speaking countries. It's like traveling without leaving the classroom!
- Think Big: These activities make them think by sharing their thoughts, discussing ideas, and looking at things from different angles. It's all about flexing those brain muscles.
- Everyone's Welcome: No matter your level, you'll find something that fits just right. It's all about making sure everyone feels included and valued in the learning process.
Helping Students Connect with Diverse Cultures
Think of these activities as your passport to exploring the awesome cultures of Spanish-speaking countries. Here's how they make that happen:
- Culture Dive: These activities let you dive deep into the traditions, values, and daily life of families and communities across Hispanic cultures.
- Real Deal: You'll be using real cultural resources to learn about how people in Spanish-speaking countries live, celebrate, and face challenges.
- Language and Culture Combo: While you're brushing up on your students' Spanish skills, you'll also be soaking them in the cultural vibes of each country.
- Make it Personal: These activities encourage them to think about how their own experiences compare to those of people in Spanish-speaking countries. It's all about finding those connections and understanding each other better.
- Share and Learn: They will be sharing their thoughts and hearing from others about their perspectives on cultural topics. It's like having a cultural exchange right in your classroom, where everyone's experiences and ideas are valued.
- Celebrate Diversity: Through these activities, you'll get to celebrate the amazing diversity of Hispanic cultures. It's like taking a colorful journey through different traditions, foods, music, and more - all from the comfort of your classroom.
Endless Options to Explore More Cultural Themes
Explore the additional set of activities to enrich your Spanish classes with a wider range of cultural topics tailored to every proficiency level.
1. La belleza y la estética - Activities tailored to different proficiency levels, exploring diverse cultural topics related to beauty, aesthetics, and heritage in Argentina, Colombia, and Ecuador. Through a combination of reading comprehension, vocabulary building, and critical thinking exercises, students enhance their Spanish language skills while gaining valuable insights into the richness of Spanish-speaking cultures.
2. La Identidad Pública y Privada - These suggested activities designed around the AP Spanish theme of La identidad pública y privada or public identities in the Spanish-speaking world, but they have been also adapted for students at novice and intermediate proficiency levels.
3. La Vida Contemporánea - This set of activities cover cultural topics such as canopy tours in Monteverde, Costa Rica, bullfighting in Spain, Antonio Gaudí’s architecture in Barcelona, and the Plaza de España. These topics offer insights into diverse aspects of Hispanic culture, fostering intercultural understanding and language proficiency among students.
4. Las Familias y las Comunidades - Dive into traditions, values, and challenges faced by families and communities in the Spanish-speaking world with differentiated activities featuring Peru, Dominican Republic, Chile, and Uruguay.
5. La Ciencia y la Tecnología - Students engage in various activities that explore the theme of science and technology in Colombia, Paraguay, Guatemala, Cuba, and among indigenous communities.
6. Los Desafíos Mundiales - Explore global challenges across all student's level with these activities featuring Puerto Rico and Equatorial Guinea. They will get to explore topics like natural disasters, environmental conservation, social challenges, and cultural aspects. It's all about real-world issues while improving their Spanish skills.
7. Afro-Latinos Scaffolded Cultural Activities - Use these scaffolded activities in any order during Black History Month or through the school year. Each activity includes 3 versions to use with novice, intermediate low-mid, and intermediate high-advanced students.
