Listen to this quick message from Leslie on our in-house “Culture Integration Survey” The results are surprising & solutions are here!
Time is a problem! Apparently, it’s the #1 thing we are lacking these days. We discovered in our culture survey, nearly 70% percent of you indicated that due to limited time or the amount of time it takes to find good resources, you integrate culture on a “hit or miss” basis. TIME in the primary obstacle that prevents us from implementing more culture into our classrooms.
The great news is… YOU are not alone and the even greater news is… Common Ground International is listening and we have an immediate solution for you to test out and see if this tactic works for you…Learn more about this survey in the video AND check out some solutions to our “time issue” below!
¡Cultural Activities That Save You Time!
Solution # 1- Guided Student Investigation | Intro to DDLM
If you have the desire to teach your students about Día de los Muertos this year, but don’t currently have:
- The instructional time to sneak it into your lessons
- The time to look for high quality resources (or the energy)
- Or the time to figure out where to start (lot of information out there)
Download this FREE Introduction to Día de los Muertos Activity for your students. This takes ZERO prep time on your part and hardly any instructional time if any, and I have done all the vetting work for you. All you need to do is:
- Grab the download to this guided student activity
- Assign it to your students for homework
Students can complete this activity independently and it is a great way to INTRODUCE Día de los Muertos. Here is a sneak peak of what this activity entails:
- Paso 1: Lean la introducción | Read the Introduction
- Paso 2: Miren los vídeos abajo para aprender más | Watch the videos below to learn more
- Paso 3: Escriban el vocabulario nuevo que escuchan | Write down the new vocabulary you hear
- Paso 4: Contesten las preguntas de comprensión | Answer the comprehension questions
- Paso 5: Entreguen esta actividad a su maestro(a) | Turn in this assignment to your teacher
Solution # 2 — Guided Student Reading & Vocabulary
Section 2
This DDLM activity is focused on the unique vocabulary centered around this holiday. It delves a little deeper into the tradition and is a great follow up the to the first activity above. It includes:
- a texto corto en español
- a comprehensive DDLM vocabulary list with Spanish definitions
- a Spanish word search of the DDLM vocabulary
This student guided activity does not take up a ton of instructional time. Simply:
- Download this reading and vocabulary activity
- Assign it for homework
Of course, if you would like to bring it into the classroom, go for it.
My goal is to share relevant, authentic and easy to implement activities for your Spanish classes… thank you for joining me and sharing your ideas also!
Solution # 3 — Día de los Muertos Culture Unit
Section 3
This Culture Unit is digital and will save you a ton of time. For 5 days only, you will be able to get access to this digital unit of all materials (for less than $10) that are already vetted, templated, and ready to either use with your students in the classroom or print out and give to them to use outside of class.
Watch this video to see what this cultural unit entails…
p.s. skip to minute 6:19 if you don’t have 9 minutes:)
As you are already aware, Halloween falls on a school day this year. Instead of trying to compete with the energy of sugar loaded students, bring something new, fun and creative into your classroom that will prick their interest. Teach them about Día de los Muertos!
And back to the issue of time…If you don’t have the time to:
- Prepare activities — they are already prepared for you here!
- Take up valuable class time — download some out of class activities here!
- Vet and look for great resources –get pre-vetted, high quality resources here
IN THIS CULTURE UNIT YOU YOU FIND…
Diverse and easy to implement activities! Pick or choose which lessons and activities you would like to use or use all of them. You can use them in sequential order or not! The 3 lessons are:
- Introducción a Día de los Muertos ¿Qué es el Día de los Muertos?
- Delve deeper into the history and traditions. DDLM authentic text, vocabulary & comprehension questions
- Student led presentations, creation and re-enactment of the following 3 traditions: (all investigative materials, step-by-step instructions and recipes are included, just need to hand out to students) calaveritas de azúcar, ofrendas y pan de muerto
The following templates, lesson plans, materials, activities are included in this lesson for ONE week only!
- Article: Día de los Muertos text is written primarily in the present and past tenses and is great for advanced beginning levels and beyond. Vocabulary and comprehension questions are included.
- Pan de Muerto Recipe in Spanish and English (tie in command form lesson into baking)
- Step by Step Instructions to build your own Ofrenda in Spanish and English
- Template to implement a Día de los Muertos cultural experience in your classroom. Follow this to have a student directed cultural celebration in your classroom. You students will present, create and re-enact 3 traditions. All materials included
- Fun, creative calaveras coloring pages
- Resources to videos, songs, and more activities all about Día de los Muertos
- Easy to follow lesson plans included