Blossoms of Fire - A Film Resource

Another of my favorite film resources is the film "Blossoms of Fire" by Maureen Gosling. I discovered this film in the National Endowment of the Humanities Institute in Oaxaca, when it was introduced to our group by Professor Stephanie Wood. 

               

As our group chuckled along with and were encompassed by the lives of the strong women of the Isthmus of Oaxaca, I realized that this would be a wonderful resource to use in my Spanish I classroom.

With this film resource, students are able to connect with and empathize with the strong women of the Isthmus, and see the vibrant and friendly communities that exist in one of Oaxaca's most storied communities.

 This resource can be used as a 2 day lesson, or as a film-based exam (Criterion A, for MYP/IB teachers). 

To access the film resource, please visit my TpT page at the following link:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Blossoms-of-Fire-A-Film-Based-Exam-3019262

The film can be purchased at the following link:

https://www.amazon.com/Blossoms-Fire-people-Juchit%C3%A1n-Oaxaca/dp/B000FDEUYY

Enjoy!

Rebelión en Oaxaca: Film Resource

A film that I've used with great success in my IB Spanish I course for the last two years is the film "Women, Media and Rebellion in Oaxaca". If you're looking for opportunities to teach your students about social justice in Latin America in a comprehensible way, look no further. 

In this film by Gabriela Martinez Escobar, a professor at the University of Oregon, Gabriela delves into the complexities of the 2006 rebellion in Oaxaca from the point of view of the women who helped to spur the movement. Not only does this film focus on the pivotal women in the uprising, but it also focuses extensively on educational issues and the role that teachers played throughout the movement. 

This is a two day lesson plan that helps students to reflect on the power of peaceful protest. Although the resource could be used as a lesson plan, I have also used the worksheet a Criterion A Summative Assessment (for MYP/IB teachers). To access the film resource, please visit my TpT page at the following link:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rebellion-in-Oaxaca-A-film-based-exam-3005101

If you'd like to preview the film before using the resource (which I highly suggest), please visit :

http://tinyurl.com/rebellioninoaxaca 

The film resource utilizes the segment from 0:00 - 14:00 and 25:25 - 27:00.

Rebelión en Oaxaca: Resources for teaching students about the Oaxacan Uprising of 2006

¡Hola amigos! Today I'd like to share a few resources with you that are close to my heart. One of the most charming places I've travelled is the state of Oaxaca, and as you can see by my earlier blog post, I'm quite enamored with this Mexican state. I first visited Oaxaca when I was 19, and it has captured by attention ever since. 

In my second year teaching in Baltimore, I applied to attend the NEH (National Endowment of the Humanities) Mesoamerican Institute, taking place in Oaxaca, Mexico that summer. I was lucky enough to be able to join this outstanding group of twenty educators from across the United States for the month of July to learn about the continuation of Mesoamerican culture throughout Oaxaca. 



Due to the inspiring instruction given by Dr. Stephanie Wood and Dr. Robert Haskett, I was able to create a plethora of resources for the high school Spanish classroom that center around the rich cultural heritage of Mesoamerican culture in Oaxaca.

In the reading I created,"Tengan Puestos Los Ojos en Oaxaca", students will learn about the 2006 uprising in Oaxaca that centered around the teacher protests for better school funding. This engaging and comprehensible reading can be used for Spanish I or Spanish II, and can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teacher-Protests-in-Oaxaca-Mexico-Spanish-Reading-2983213




When teaching students a comprehensible lesson with a social justice theme, I begin with a standard routine so students don't feel overwhelmed by any new vocabulary they may encounter. 

First, students define the words at the top of the page. I begin by using TPR actions to teach the words and phrases, and then give students time to write the definitions of the phrases.

Second, I give students five minutes to silently read through the passage, with the instruction to underline cognates and circle any new or unknown words. 

Third, we define the words that students circled in the reading as a group, and students annotate the meaning of these words in their reading.

Fourth, the students and I read the passage as a group in a chorus, to teach students inflection and pacing while reading aloud. This also helps to build student confidence in reading in front of their peers.

Fifth, students complete the "Airplane Reading" segment of the reading, which consists of students reading together in rotating pairs. Please see my post on the "Airplane Reading" method if you are unfamiliar with the term.

Sixth, after students have completed the "Airplane Reading" segment, students answer the comprehension questions in Activity 2, forming full sentences and working with a partner.

Finally, students describe what they see in the photos and paintings provided in Activity 3, by forming full sentences to describe what they see. Each sentence should start with the phrase "Veo que hay...".

Enjoy!

El Día de San Valentín

¡Feliz día de San Valentín! This week in preparation for Valentine's day my IB Spanish I students are focusing on a holiday themed unit. This short unit focuses around reflexive verbs, which can be challenging to teach in a full-immersion classroom with first year language students. Therefore, teaching grammar with an engaging theme, in an exciting and comprehensible way, is essential. 

My favorite unit to utilize when teaching reflexive verbs is Martina Bex's four day unit based on a short film entitled "La Receta de Amor". 

This comprehensible story, based on a short film, centers on a technique called movie talk which I have found to be very effective in my classroom. See Martina's excellent explanation about movietalk at the following link: 

https://martinabex.com/teacher-training/movietalk/

Student engagement in the short film's movietalk portion is teacher-centered, and the movietalk can take quite a bit of practice on the teacher's side to be made into a useful tool for your comprehensible classroom. 

But, please don't be scared off! A successful movie talk can spur almost a week's worth of comprehensible activity that focuses around a relevant grammar topic (such as reflexive verbs, in this case), which proves to be invaluable for student engagement and recall of the grammar taught within the unit. 

If you're interested in teaching Martina Bex's unit, follow the link below. I highly recommend this outstanding unit!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Storytelling-Unit-Film-Grammar-based-Love-Recipe-4-days-reflexive-verbs-748213

Within this unit, I've found it very helpful to have a class set of whiteboards for student CFU responses. While the class set does not absolutely have to be purchased to teach the unit, I use the student whiteboards at least once a week, and they have proven invaluable for my student's understanding of complex tasks. 

I purchased this set (I bought 3 packs):

https://www.amazon.com/Charles-Leonard-Lapboard-Whiteboards-35036/dp/B00JFKQTPG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1486552226&sr=8-2&keywords=whiteboard+classroom+set

And these markers: 

https://www.amazon.com/Low-Odor-Markers-Chisel-16-Pack Assorted/dp/B000J09OLM/ref=pd_sim_229_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RBR7HARB2VYPMTME2SFK

Thanks for stopping by! If you're interested in teaching a few of my resources, check out my TpT page, we're throwing a sale!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Immersive-Classroom

¡Feliz día de San Valentín!

Nuevo Sencillo de Natalia Lafourcade: "Tú sí sabes quererme" - Natalia Lafourcade's New Single: "You Know How to Love Me"

Natalia Lafourcade has been a favorite artist of mine for the last four years, since I first taught her gorgeous tune "Amor de Mis Amores" to my Spanish I students. In a homage album to Agustín Lara, Natalia captured the hearts of my students with her cheerful and fresh rendition of a 1930's Mexican classic. 

Throughout four years of teaching "Amor de Mis Amores" as the Spanish I introduction to "Haz Ahora" songs, now most students at my school that have taken Spanish know the tune, and students tell me that the tune helps them connect with upperclassman who have fond memories of the class and their first Spanish song. Music has such power to invoke memories, and I love that students have such fond memories of Natalia's rendition of this classic tune.

Since then, I have taught Natalia's "Adventurera" from the same Agustín Lara tribute album, as well as her tune "Ella es bonita". 

I am a big fan of her newest album, "Hasta la Raíz", but have yet to teach my students those beautiful tunes. 

So, you could imagine my excitement, when on my Instagram feed last Friday, I saw that Natalia had released a new surprise single. I immediately took a listen, and made a new "Haz Ahora" sheet for my Spanish 2 students. In a beautiful and uplifting love song, backed by "Los Macorinos", Natalia has done it again. She's created an immaculate and instant classic. 

I started teaching it this week, and my students are hooked! I hope you enjoy the tune as well.

If you're interested in teaching this song to your students, please follow the link below for the free PDF resource on TpT. 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Song-Warm-Up-Tu-Si-Sabes-Quererme-Natalia-Lafourcade-2996018

If you're curious about how the song warm-up structure works: 

The instructions for the eight-day warm-up cycle can be found in the following post.

http://www.theimmersiveclassroom.com/2016/11/song-warm-up-procedure-in-world.html

To see the Song Warm-Up resource, please follow this link on my TpT page.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Song-Warm-Up-Tu-Si-Sabes-Quererme-Natalia-Lafourcade-2996018