"Sicario" as the base of a unit

I created these resources for a colleague to fit into a unit about "el crimen." I haven't actually used these resources, but I am selling them here in case others would like to use them. Really, the activities in the packet could be an entire unit. It is definitely focused on being a pre-AP (or even AP) unit, with lots of cultural comparisons and touching on the themes of Global Challenges, Personal and Public Identities, and Contemporary Life. 

I really like this unit because it includes several unique and/or engaging things:

• Rubén Blades - such an important figure in Latin America!
• Panama! Probably a country that probably doesn't get much attention in Spanish class
• A great song and music video with a positive twist at the end
• Lots of things to compare and contrast -- With what American person will students compare and contrast Rubén Blades?

The center of the unit is the video and song "Sicario" by Rubén Blades. I recommend you watch it before reading the rest of the post. 

These are the Essential Questions:

• ¿Por qué cometen los crímenes los criminales?
• ¿Cómo son los criminales retratados en la cultura popular y/o la literatura? 

These are the Objectives:

• Puedo leer e interpretar información sobre una persona famosa de Latinoamérica y decir un resumen de los hechos más importantes.
• Puedo leer e interpretar información sobre el crimen en Panamá.
• Puedo leer, escuchar, e interpretar la historia de la canción y el video "Sicario".
• Puedo resumir la historia con vocabulario nuevo narrando en el pasado.
• Puedo comparar y contrastar Rubén Blades y/o esta canción/video con algo de mi cultura.

These are some of the activities in the unit packet:

• A reading and a few simple activities about Rubén Blades - He is from Panama and he is such an important figure in Latin America. There is a cultural comparison question as well:
• ¿Es similar Rubén Blades a una persona en los Estados Unidos? ¿Puedes pensar en alguna persona famosa del mundo del entretenimiento que se haya convertido en activista y/o político? ¿Quién? Explica.
• Some "Preguntas para pensar" about crime and criminals to get students thinking before seeing the video "Sicario.""
• A short reading about crime in Panama - The crime rate is pretty low there compared to other Central American countries.
• A vocabulary grid for students to fill in as the listen to and see a presentation of the story of "Sicario" in the slideshow.
• A reading activity that tells the story of "Sicario" - Students have to read and circle the correct word. 
• A cloze activity for the song
• A writing activity to go along with the song
• Some follow up questions after watching Sicario
• Some links to textivate activities with the reading for "Sicario"
• Some suggestions for assessments

The slideshow below is an important part of the "telling" of the story of the video. I have included vocabulary and exact expressions from the song to help tell the story of the song. That way, when students do the activities with the song, it will be much more comprehensible.

Music video for Tarea Semanal

One thing I love about having students do Tarea Semanal is that, sometimes, I end up getting something that I can use with future classes. I also really like it when students come up with their own ideas for assignments.

As a class, we studied and sang the song "Río Abajo" by Ana Tijoux during our Desafíos Medioambientales unit. One student liked the song so much that she asked if she could make a video to illustrate the lyrics. She did this as her tarea semanal for 3 or 4 weeks. She used WeVideo (similar to iMovie, but maybe better because it is in the cloud) and this is her final product. I can't imagine how many times she must have listened to the song in order to get the lyrics to match so well with the pictures! 

I will definitely be using this video next semester when we do this unit.

On another note, I highly recommend using music by Ana Tijoux. I am a HUGE fan... for so many reasons. Her music is like poetry and her songs often have a social message. She is also a strong female role model who speaks out against the objectification of women in pop culture (teenage girls need more "cool" role models like her!). I have found that students really like her music. Some favorites have been Somos Sur, Shock, and 1977. At first it can be difficult to sing along with her songs, but once students try a few times, they really can sing along.

Revised Unit: Chile, Machuca y Ana Tijoux

Chile: 

Los movimientos sociales 

y 

la importancia de la educación pública 

(unit packet here)

I have written about this unit, which I called "El movimiento estudiantil en Chile", before. After not having taught it last year, I am bringing back a new, revised unit with some changes. I will be keeping all of the original authentic resources used in the unit, but I have added a couple of excellent resources and changed the essential questions to slightly change the focus of the unit.

These are the new Essential Questions:

• ¿Qué pasaba en los años 70 en Chile? Describe la historia de esta época en el contexto de la película "Machuca". ¿Cómo siguen algunas de las luchas de esta época?
• ¿Qué estaba pasando en 2011 en Chile? ¿Por qué estaban protestando los estudiantes? ¿Cómo protestaban?
• ¿El gobierno debe tener la responsabilidad de proveer educación gratis para todos los estudiantes en todos los niveles de educación? ¿Cuáles son las consecuencias si lo hace o no lo hace?
• ¿Quién es Ana Tijoux y cómo trató de ayudar a los estudiantes en Chile?  ¿Los puede ayudar ella? ¿Cómo refleja la realidad su canción “Shock”?
• ¿Con cuáles otras protestas se puede comparar esta protesta en Chile? ¿Por qué son los movimientos sociales tan importantes en un país?

I have added the movie Machuca to start the unit. I found some fantastic resources online (here and here) and I also created some questions to talk about what happens in the movie. This is a fantastic movie that will give students some important background knowledge for when we talk about recent events in Chile. It will also give us lots to talk about in class. The movie is available on YouTube with subtitles (here is part 1). Below is a basic slideshow about Salvador Allende, 9/11/73, Augusto Pinochet and el exilio to give students some context before starting the movie.

In addition to the song Shock by Ana Tijoux (which has always been popular among students), I have added another Ana Tijoux song, "Somos sur (Zambombazo site w/ wksht.)." This song has a strong cultural perspective and it will be interesting to see my students' reactions to the song. It will also be a fun challenge to try to sing this song. Here is a translation of the song.

I also added this slideshow to explain the 2011 Student Movement in Chile. See slide 28 for recent developments related to education in Chile.

Here are the evaluaciones for the unit:

• Evaluación oral (EQ #1) - Tell me about the Salvador Allende, 9/11/1973, Augusto Pinochet and el exilio. Use this slide show to help guide you.
• Evaluación escrita - (EQ #1)  About the movie Machuca
• Evaluación escrita y visual - Infografía (EQs #2, #4, and #5)

I am looking forward to starting this unit tomorrow. Have any suggestions or resources to share? Please do!

Los Colores de la Montaña y Juanes

It is always a challenge to find good, appropriate movies for Spanish class. So when I saw the movie Los Colores de la Montaña, I decided I was going to use it in class. Although the topic of Colombia during the 80s and 90s is not current, the conflict is, unfortunately, somewhat similar to what is happening in Mexico now. So, when we get to our Narcoviolencia unit, students will see a lot of parallels. Also, this unit works as an excellent pre-AP unit. It includes the major temas of Los desafíos mundiales and Las familias and las comunidades. It includes some of these sub-temas: los temas económicos, la población y la demografía, el bienestar social, la conciencia social,  la geografía humana, la estructura de la familia, las comunidades educativas, y las tradiciones y los valores.

Here is a sinopsis of the movie:

Una representación de la vida cotidiana en el campo montañoso de Colombia, que cuenta la amistad entre Manuel y Julián. Un día, mientras juegan al fútbol, tiran el balón a un campo de minas. Acompañados por Poca Luz hacen todo lo posible para recuperar su preciado bien, una parte imprescindible de sus vidas y sueños cotidianos.  (Fuente: Press Book de la película)


Also, although I don't use a lot his songs in class, I realize that students love Juanes. With the use of some resources from Sharon Birch (and here) and Zachary Jones, I was able to put this unit together. The three main components are the two Juanes songs and the movie Los Colores de la Montaña. These are the essential questions for the unit (unit packet here):

• ¿Qué pasaba en Colombia durante los 80 y 90?
• ¿Ha cambiado la situación en Colombia? ¿Cómo? Explica.
• ¿Cuál es el mensaje y/o el propósito de la canciones Minas Piedras y Sueños por Juanes?
• ¿Cómo se manifiestan las realidades de Colombia durante los 80 y 90 en las canciones Minas Piedras y Sueños y en la película “Los Colores de la Montaña“? 
• ¿La música y el cine pueden ser promovedores de la paz? ¿Cómo?

And these are the assessments for the unit:

• PRESENTATIONAL ASSESSMENT: Explica la situación en Colombia durante los años 80 y 90. Puedes usar fotos y/o dibujos para ayudarte con la presentación.

o
Crea una presentación multimedia que describe la situación en Colombia durante  los años 80 y 90. Usa fotos, audio, y texto. Cita tus recursos.

• INTERPRETIVE ASSESSMENT: Compara y contrasta la canción y la película y describe ciertas líneas y/o escenas que muestran las realidades de Colombia durante los años 80 y 90.
• INTERPERSONAL ASSESSMENT (possibly next time): Escribe una carta a un niño de la película describéndole tu niñez y cómo era similar y diferente de la suya.

Before we started the movie, I wanted students to be able to answer the first and second Essential Questions. Without background knowledge about Colombia, the movie would not be meaningful. This is not the type of movie you use for a sub day ;)

The first day of the unit, I gave students notes about what was happening in Colombia during the 80s and 90s. I explained the four groups that were fighting: FARC, ELN, AUC, and the Colombian Army.

In order to get the students more familiar with Colombia, and to have some concept of what the country and its people look like, we watched (most of) Anthony Bourdain's show "Parts Unknown: Colombia" (available on Amazon). The show is in English, but as we watched it, I paused it and gave students notes in Spanish. This video addresses the first and second Essential Questions. 
And here is an article about the game that they play (thanks Bethanie) in the episode (beware Anthony makes a vulgar joke when they are playing the game, definitely want to skip that!).

For homework, students watched this UNICEF video (in English) about las minas antipersonales. Students wrote about what they saw in Spanish and we reviewed it the next day. I think the next time, I might this video instead.

They also watched this video, did a cloze activity and answered some questions about it. The idea that land mines remain active and are not removed after a conflict is a particularly foreign idea to students in the US. And, again, in order to understand the movie, they have to know that this is still a problem, and not just in Colombia.

Next, students explored the website for Juanes' Fundación Mi Sangre. As they looked at the sight, they answered some questions about the Fundación and what it does. Although all of the information on the site might be a little advanced, the questions (on page 6-7 in the unit packet) are basic and guided so they are able to "interpret" the authentic resource.

As we talked about these videos and the Fundación Mi Sangre, and focused on answering the 1st and 5th essential question, we started with some music. Students did a cloze activity for Minas Piedras, translated the song, and answered some comprehension and discussion questions. They did not particularly like this song, but it is quite powerful and it will help them to answer this Essential Question: ¿La música y el cine pueden ser promovedores de la paz? ¿Cómo?

Minas Piedras por Juanes

 Students also created infografías to illustrate the answers to the first and second inforgrafías. I got this idea from Carrie Toth (@senoraCMT). It was a good way for students to organize their thoughts and review all of the information that they learned during the first four days of the unit. I will get some examples here soon.

After four days, we finally started the movie. I found a fantastic and very comprehensive film guide for the movie, so I incorporated that in to my unit packet. We read the sinopsis and talked about the main characters. I warned students that we would be watching short segments of the movie and that we would be talking about those segments... in other words, we are going to take our time watching the movie. The movie is excellent and very easy to talk about. We did watch the movie with subtitles in English, as the Spanish would be rather difficult for my students to understand.

As we watched the movie and did the assessments, we started with the second song, Sueños by Juanes. Students liked this song much better!

Sueños por Juanes

There were two evaluaciones for the unit:

• The first was a spoken assessment. Students had to answer the first and second essential questions. This assessment was done after about five days of the unit.
• The second was a written assessment (click here to see it). This assessment focused on the other essential questions. (There was also a small spoken part on this one)

A few other things we did during the unit:

• We sang almost every day in class.
• Lots of talking in partners and repeating information.
• When students were answering movie questions, they worked with a partner and spoke as they wrote.
• Lots of summarizing what we saw in the movie, together as a class and then in partners.

The next time I do this unit, I will use this song as well. It is played throughout the movie - Los caminos de la vida (wksht from Zachary Jones):