At my school we use the Understanding by Design model for our curriculum. As part of the end of the year, we have to turn in a binder with all of our units. So, I have been revising and updating all of the units that I taught this year in my Cultura y Civilización course (Spanish 4 or 4+ for some). I thought I would share them in case anyone else uses the UbD model, which I really like. The Essential Questions are an excellent way to guide the units, and I think I will be able to adapt many of these units for AP Spanish next year (teaching it for the first time).
As I revised and updated these documents, I became very proud of how well my students have done this semester with some complicated Essential Questions that do not necessarily have a "right" answer... and of course, in Spanish! They have improved so much this semester, and learned a lot of other things along the way.
These are the eight units that I will have done by the end of this year. I have blogged in detail about most of them on this blog. All of the units revolve around songs and music videos (= more engaging), but they include many other authentic resources as well. Big thanks to Zachary and Betsy Jones for all their work, which made my work easier when creating all of these units!
I also realize that these units will always be evolving and, hopefully, improving, so if you have any suggestions, please share!
- UbD Unit Document: Los Miedos and website with authentic resources
- Revamped (January 2014) UbD Unit Document: Los Miedos y Las Leyendas and website with authentic resources (also uses a TPRS Publishing novel: La Llorona de Mazatlán)
- UbD Unit Document: El Movimiento Estudiantil en Chile and website with authentic resources
- Revamped (September 2014), now called Los Movimientos Sociales y La Importancia de la Educación Pública. Also, added the movie Machucha
- UbD Unit Document: La Narcoviolencia en México and website with authentic resources
- UbD Unit Document: La Diversidad de la Gastronomía and website with authentic resources
- Update - I will not use the movie Canela (movie guide) with this unit.
- UbD Unit Document: El Fútbol y la Copa Mundial and website with authentic resources
- UbD Unit Document: Los Desafíos Medioambientales and website with authentic resources
- Update - I now use the TPRS book Noche de Oro with this unit.
- UbD Unit Document: Perspectivas de la Inmigración and website with authentic resources
- UbD Unit Document: Identidad Lationamericana and website with authentic resources
- UbD Unit Document: Perpsectivas de la Salud and website with authentic resources
- UbD Course Description
- Coming Soon:
- UbD Unit Document: El Salvador: La Guerra Civil y La Mara Salvatrucha and website with authentic resources
- UbD Unit Document: La cultura de las telenovelas and website with authentic resources
- UbD Unit Document: Los Colores de la Montaña y Colombia and website with authentic resources
- UbD Unit Document: Lo Sobrenatural (EQs and some resources here - Thanks Kristy Placido and Carrie Toth!) and website with authentic resources
- UbD Unit Document: La Lucha Libre (EQs and some resources here) and website with authentic resources
- UbD Unit Document: El Internado (this is not really a unit, but rather an ongoing part of the class, mostly on Fridays of every week)
- UbD Unit Document: La Corrida de Toros (EQs and some resources here) and website with authentic resources
Thank you so much! I am writing a similar class on social issues in Latin America, and I love the way you've set up your units!
ResponderEliminarGreat! Glad you are finding these useful! Some need to be revised and, as you can see, I have some to add as well. Please share what you come up with.
EliminarGRACIAS, Gracias, Millones de gracias por compartir TUS IDEAS!!! Two weeks before school started, I was given the AP Lang Culture course! Very excited, but have never taught it--training was many years ago. ;o)
EliminarVery grateful for the resources, it really gets the students working, thinking!!
Best wishes to you!
Hola Kara:
EliminarSoy profesora en Viena, Austria y me encantó tu blog y has sido la respuesta a muchisimas preguntas que tengo acerca de UBD. Me gustaria preguntarte algunas cosas cómo te puedo contactar.
saludos
Coco Scharrer
Hola Coco,
EliminarMi email es karacjacobs at yahoo.com
Hola! In a graduate class, we are learning all about UbD. I decided to start with a novice unit and it was pretty difficult to complete Stage 1! Have you implemented it in more than Spanish 4/AP? I'd love to hear/see more! My unit is pretty novice level itself--both of my curriculum classes are this semester!
EliminarIve been teaching for 13 years and I really wonder where UbD has been all of my life! :-)
Any words of wisdom as I move forward?
Victoria Hamilton (vrh1980@gmail.com)