Spanish Class Activities for April

We are halfway through March, so it’s time to dig into April’s lesson plans to get you organized and see what kind of themes and cultural insights you can bring to your classroom next month.

For April, there’s a huge variety of resources to offer. And it’s not just lesson plans. There are some really crucial things inside, like emergency sub plans and the cultural spotlights that are truly fascinating.

👉 Click here to download the list of suggested lessons for April and see the whole journey your students will take in the upcoming weeks. (🔗👩‍🏫 Remember to log in to the Community first. If you are not a member, you can join here.)

April’s Cultural Spotlight

National Poetry Month, la Feria de Abril, Semana Santa y Pascua, and environmental awareness for Earth Week—all leading up to a special focus on how Spanish can change lives to celebrate Spanish Language Day.

I think one of the biggest things you are noticing here is that you can’t separate language learning from culture, and the materials I’ve put together for next month really show how important it is to bring in these cultural themes, current events, literature, etc., and truly weave them into your students’ learning process.

You will see that the selection of materials truly reflects the effort put into bringing language and culture together. 🤝

And it’s already organized for you. It’s not random. It’s very intentional.

Spanish 1 Class Activities: Present tense verbs, infinitives, health 🩺

Some of the big grammar focuses are on the verb HACER in the present tense in the context of school exams, which is really practical for students at that level, and the uses of infinitives.

Then, you’ve got body parts and health vocabulary to introduce the verb DOLER and indirect object pronouns.

And they will even start working with numbers all the way up to a thousand.

Plus, you are going to integrate music into all of this with specific songs that weave it all together.

Music 🎶 can do so much more than just help students memorize vocabulary or grammar concepts. It actually taps into emotional connections and rhythmic patterns that can really make language stick.

You can use the song Vivir mi vida by Marc Anthony—I have to say, it gets stuck in my head all the time—to wrap infinitives, Si nos duele by Víctor Manuelle for the verb DOLER, or La bilirrubina by Juan Luis Guerra for health vocabulary.

The emergency sub plans are interesting because you will connect them to real events happening next month. You will have an option to celebrate 🥟 National Empanada Day on April 8 and 🪅 Piñata Day on April 18. These are ways for students to actually experience a little piece of the culture even when you are not around.

As I mentioned before, the cultural spotlight in April is pretty impressive. 🎉

For National Poetry Month, they focus on Ecuadorian poetry and learn about Elizabeth Acevedo from the Dominican Republic.

For Earth Week, they’ll work on specific examples from Puerto Rico, including bioluminescent bays and El Yunque Rainforest.

Spanish 2 Class Activities: Subjunctive and environmental initiatives 🌱

If you also teach Spanish 2, you’ll see a pretty big shift in terms of grammar. For this level, the subjunctive is really starting to take center stage.

You will start the present subjunctive with irregular verbs in the context of travel and stem-changing verbs related to staying in a hotel and interacting with tourists.

Then, they get into this really important use of expressions of doubt when talking about the environment, environmental issues, and potential solutions.

It’s a really nice fit for Earth Week because the subjunctive often has this feeling of uncertainty or desire, which ties in perfectly with environmental issues where they can express different perspectives and potential outcomes.

If there’s time, you’ll introduce the future tense, tied to professions, future plans, and earning a living, and also bring in the present perfect subjunctive to talk about the media.

To connect all this grammar and put it into context, just like in Spanish 1, don’t forget about the reading reviews I’ve listed.

The emergency sub plans continue with the main themes of the month, including a practice of nature vocabulary using Nina Simone’s song Feeling Good, environmental issues in Spanish-speaking countries, and Elizabeth Acevedo is back with her slam poetry.

For Earth Week, your students will explore the diversity of the environment in different Spanish-speaking countries. They’ll learn about the Eco Schools program in Puerto Rico, natural wonders of Argentina, and Volcán Arenal in Costa Rica.

Spanish 3 Class Activities: ⚽️ Soccer, rights and responsibilities, and social justice

At this level, students will see more subtle uses of the subjunctive and dive into the contrast between the present and past subjunctive, all in the context of soccer, which is so fun!

There are really cool optional extension activities, like the one about the legendary Peruvian soccer player Teófilo Cubillas, and a fun song called Dame Fútbol.

After that, you’ll introduce the passive voice (SER + past participle), framed in the context of rights and responsibilities, which is a really important topic. This allows you to incorporate activities about Equatorial Guinea and human rights activist Rigoberta Menchú.

The past perfect subjunctive is next, and this time, it’s about government and individual rights, with even more amazing extension options for your classes. Check out the materials on the dictatorship in Equatorial Guinea, Sonia Sotomayor, and songs by Sting and Maná to encourage your students to think critically about social justice.

It’s not just about learning the language anymore. It’s about what you can do with the language to understand the world and these issues.

And to finish with a little bit of fun, there’s a lesson about hair and descriptions using a Pantene TV ad featuring Selena Gómez. To bring in different cultures and representations, you can also expand this lesson with the Cabello afro al natural activity.

National Poetry Month options suggest a poetry writing sub plan, working with Ricardo Miró’s poem Patria, and learning about Felipe Luciano from Puerto Rico, who’s not just a poet—he’s also an activist, musician, and journalist.

For Earth Week, you can present environmental activist Tito Kayak’s story, revisit the Eco Schools initiative in Puerto Rico, and introduce two really powerful songs: La Selva Negra and El Progreso.

AP Spanish: Global challenges—economy and environment 🌎

This month is focused on starting a new unit—Los desafíos mundiales—to continue working towards your students’ goal of using advanced language skills to analyze and discuss pressing global issues.

The subtopics are super detailed, covering the economy, cost of living, and the environment. They will talk about Argentina’s economy and plastic pollution concerns.

You also have a really interesting grammar review of SI clauses, which is crucial for students to make arguments for hypothetical situations and different outcomes.

The unit also includes the documentary El último hielero, about a man in Ecuador who is the last person to harvest ice from a glacier. It’s a sad story but really powerful and will make your students think about the environment.

To connect to real-world events, use some of the suggested scaffolded activities about:

• The reopening of markets in Spain after COVID, which is tied to the economy
• Hurricanes, eco schools, El Yunque, and bioluminescent bays in Puerto Rico
• Natural wonders of Argentina

National Poetry Month at the AP level is a whole other ballgame. Bring back Ricardo Miró, but with a focus on national and public identity. Include Rubén Darío from Nicaragua and Julia de Burgos from Puerto Rico.

Making connections 🔗

With all these suggestions I’ve put together, you can really see how next month’s materials are not just about the mechanics of learning Spanish.

It’s about using language to engage with the world and understand different cultures, social issues, and even political realities.

 It’s about preparing your students to truly engage with the Spanish-speaking world on a much deeper level.
 
Now that you see the whole scope for the month, let me ask you: What connections did you see between the different levels and the themes I suggested today? What do you think those connections will tell your students?