Name: Paige Penry and Lauren Detrich

Title: How do the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries

compare to that of the United States?
Grade: 9th
Overall Goal: Students should be able to describe certain aspects of Spanish culture in detail
with a visual presentation of knowledge.

The ideas of this lesson stemmed from the current misunderstanding of cultures in todays
society and the desire for students to have a broader understanding and widened view of other
lifestyles.

Our idea is to assign groups of of 4-5 students a country from the list below and have them
research and develop a presentation based on guidelines detailed in the rubric. They will
research the following topics: cuisine, holiday, celebrations, and art forms. A visual aid will need
to be created to help the presentation audience understand their topic.

Countries:
- Mexico
- Puerto Rico
- Spain
- Argentina
- Peru
- Venezuela


Standards Learning Objective Assessment

1.4.2 Products Students will be able to Students will each be assigned

Identify products of the target
cultures, such as fine arts, cuisine,
holidays, etc.
describe the typical cuisine a Spanish-speaking country and
of a specific country will be tasked with making a
including, but not limited to creative presentation (poster,
the meals eaten, the basic video, Prezi, etc.) educating the
menu, and the class on their countrys culture
view/importance of the meal. from the 4 aspects described in
Students will be able to learning objective.
describe the holidays of a
specific country in detail.
They should describe a brief
history of the holiday, when it
is celebrated, and any
traditions that go alongside
it.
 Students will be able to
describe different
celebrations of the assigned
country. This can include
festivals, ceremonies, and
more.
Students will be able to
describe different art forms
from the assigned country.
These can include dances,
paintings, music, and theatre.

Key Terms & Definitions:

Holiday: A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities,
especially business or work, are suspended or reduced.
Celebration: the action of marking one's pleasure at an important event or occasion by
engaging in enjoyable, typically social, activity.
Art form: any activity regarded as a medium of imaginative or creative self-expression.
Cuisine: a style or method of cooking, especially as characteristic of a particular country,
region, or establishment; food cooked in a certain way

Lesson Introduction (Hook, Grabber):

At the beginning of the lesson, a video will be played:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCQnUuq-TEE&list=PLR-Wk1OFUuAr1ePxg4jQgl9YaHYYsqap
h)
The video is a short animated film illustrating Dia de Los Muertos, a Mexican holiday that
celebrates the life of relatives and loved ones that have passed away. It is a traditional holiday
that is a staple in Mexican culture. The video is an interesting way to grab students attention
because it is animated like a movie and shows, very creatively, traditions of the holiday and
practices of it without giving all of the details. This will lead students to ask more questions and
become more interested in what the holiday is about. It provides a perfect segway for the teacher
to begin to introduce holidays and culture. The teacher will lead the discussion by asking the
students what they thought of the video and what they already know about the day of the dead.

Lesson Main:

Students will be split into small groups. Each group will be assigned a Spanish-speaking country
to research. Students will be given class time to do in-depth research of their country. Research
will be independent. Some resources will be provided for reference, but not required. Teacher
will provide guidance to how much research should be done by doing daily conferences with
each group for the first 20 minutes of class. They will be required to put together some sort of
presentation for the class. It can be a powerpoint, a video, etc. As long as the student created it
and it is presentable to an audience.

Lesson Ending:

The small groups will present their projects one at a time. They will have to speak in Spanish
during the presentation. In addition to the visual presentation, there will need to be an interactive
element for the rest of the class. This can be a game, a song, or an activity. As long as it is related
to the culture of the country.

Assessment Rubric:
Great (5 points) Average (3 points) Poor (1 point)

Visual Student has a very Student has a Student has a

Presentation detailed and informative
presentation. It covers
four aspects of the
countrys culture
somewhat
detailed/informative
presentation. Could
only cover two or
three cultural aspects
presentation that is
not informative and
lacks detail. Only
covers one cultural
aspect

Knowledge of Student seems to know a Student seems to Student seems to

Topic lot about many aspects of know basic facts know very little about
the culture that they were about the culture that the culture they were
assigned. they were assigned. assigned

Interactive Students use an Students use an Students either do

Element interactive element that is interactive element not have an
creative and relates to that doesnt really interactive element or
the topic. relate to the topic. it does not relate at
all to the subject.

Resources / Artifacts:

Paiges Research Guideline:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_k9U3lpr8W7N_29_Q0AU0V818OhGXTb8TZQlF4SsTLE/e
dit?usp=sharing

Laurens Example Project:

https://prezi.com/p/_ri0jlbjzp9m/

Differentiation:

1. Differentiation for ability levels

High ability learners, low ability learners
Expectations of each student will be based on the individual students abilities.
Higher ability students will be expected to have more thorough research. Students
will be judged mostly on the effort that they put forth.
Make an effort to pair high ability students with lower ability students.

2. Differentiation for demographics

Gender, race, culture, and/or sexual identity
If the student is comfortable, it would be great for him/her to incorporate their own
cultural experiences into the comparison.

3. Differentiation for languages
ESL, EFL, ENL
Students will be graded based on their Spanish skills. For students that have an
additional language barrier, they will be given extra time to translate their
research. Upon request, the teacher can provide students with reading guides or
other assistance.

4. Differentiation for access & resources
Computers, Internet connection, and/or Wifi access
Students will be given class time and class resources to use in their research. If a
student feels that this is not enough, then they may speak with the teacher in
order to work something out individually. If a case arises where a student has put
forth an effort to complete work and is unable to do so to the best of his/her
ability, the teacher can choose to waive any negative consequences.



Anticipated Difficulties:

Many holidays are celebrated in many different countries but the ways in which they are
celebrated vary country to country. This could lead students to become confused in their
research but it is important to remind them to be careful in looking for information and to pay
attention only to the country in which they have been assigned.