La Misma Luna: Resources for the Spanish Classroom

Oh hey! Remember me?

I fell off the blogging bandwagon because I got too devoured by teaching to do much reflecting or sharing. (I still have managed to reflect on the end of my teaching at the end of each year, however... year 10 is in the bag!)

After teaching Spanish for years, I've transitioned into a new role at a new school, so this blog may adapt with me.

For now, however, I wanted to share some resources for the movie La Misma Luna, since some teachers were asking for resources on Facebook.

I love this movie. A student recommended it to me years ago in Detroit and ever since I've watched it with a wide range of 5th-8th grade students. I haven't had a single student not like it. Even the grumpy ones. More than that, it personally has held up to many, many viewings. I still enjoy watching it with my students and still cry every time. It's become even more meaningful since moving to a border community, with border and immigration issues prominent in the news.

Bonus: Want some easy sub plans that would work for almost any grade level and language level? Use this movie. If you need a last minute solution, here's a pretty generic packet that should last two class periods... because we've all been there. If you are not in the desperation stage of throwing together sub plans while deathly ill, keep reading and customize this for your particular students and program.

(Not quite) Spoiler Alert: This scene elicits screams every single time.
It's also at a perfect cliffhanger spot to stop. Soy cruel. ;)

Stats:

1 hour and 49 minutes. If you have hour long classes you can squeeze it into two. I almost always use 3 or 4 class periods. so we have time to talk about the movie, do follow up with vocab, and so on.

Access to the movie:

This movie was on Netflix for a while but as of this post it is not. You can buy the DVD on Amazon (if you use that link, I'll get a few cents) or borrow it from your library. Personally I think it's worth having a copy. I've used that DVD more than any other over the years. I strongly suggest not buying the video streaming via Amazon, as you don't have the same language controls. 

(If Amazon fixes this or you know of a way to adjust language settings on Amazon streaming, let me know!)

Parental concerns:

The movie is rated PG-13. For students younger than 13 I send home something like this. I've only had one parent ever not want their kid watching the movie. (I have a collection of alternative materials, in case.) Here's more info from Common Sense Media.

Activities:

In the olden days I used to have students answer comprehension questions, but eventually I found that I didn't need comprehension questions to keep students focused on the movie. I preferred to target language and culture, so switched to doing activities that connected to specific language objectives and needs for each class. Here's a bunch of activities that I've used. Usually I just print out relevant pages for a packet, or print out a variety of combinations for less homogenous levels. (For example, for a description of scenes and characters have several different versions for different levels, marked by chili peppers depending on how "spicy" they are.) Use whatever works for you!

The alternate endings is the newest addition to this collection of activities and has been the most fun, because it allowed students to use the energy and outrage that is always generated by the ending of the movie (no spoilers!) Even the most beginner students could use the language to get creepy and weird. (¡Carlitos y Rosario se casan! Rosario trabaja para la migra!) You could definitely adapt this to grammar structures your students are using.

More resources:

• Superman es ilegal - Follow up activity with a song by Los Hermanos Ortiz from the movie. 
• A las tres - Activity with another song by Los Enanitos Verdes (with a related theme of family and immigration.) 
• A few different Quizlet sets related to the movie (I like playing a quick Quizlet Live as a way to review or preview vocabulary. 
• Practice test for the questions asked in a naturalization interview. Can you and your students pass?
• If you have PearDeck, use it for students to describe characters.

We're loving @PearDeck pro features that let us draw favorite scenes of La Misma Luna (along with character descriptions!)🍐🌛@UrbanDiscoveryA pic.twitter.com/HEUzZV5URc

— Sara Kennedy (@profe_sara) April 5, 2017

Día de los Muertos - Resources you can use tomorrow

I'm finishing up some sub plans for upcoming absences, and let's be honest - this is the time of year where many teachers need some sub plans even if they aren't going to be absent. By that I mean: you're so swamped by parent emails, test administration, professional learning, and preparing for parent conferences that planning time is limited. (Also, Halloween is coming up this weekend, so kids are going to be a little distracted.)

I feel fortunate because as a Spanish teacher, I can use this time of year for some cultural lessons connected to Day of the Dead - something that's meaningful and engaging, even for burned out teachers and sugared up students.

I figured I'd reshare one of my favorite and most versatile Día de los Muertos resources - this brief digital short that's touching, really encompasses a lot of traditions, and is engaging for all ages. (I've used it successfully from everyone K-8.)

Some things you can do with this video:

1. Focus on listening and reading! Learn more about Movie Talk here (including a demo by Martina Bex.) See some slides with stills that I put together to talk through the story (it was just clearer than pausing the video for me.) I also use a written text with vocabulary questions at the end. (I started with Dustin Williamson's as an example, but changed it to present tense and edited it to make it fit with my students' needs.) 
2. Cultural focus: Show the video as an intro to the traditions involved in Día de los Muertos and have students compare and contrast it with traditions in their own families. Here is a packet of information I've used.
3. Follow up: Depending on how much time you want to spend and the grade level of your students, follow up with one of these resources or a simple calavera mask using one of HappyThought's free templates or the one from AZ Central's teacher packet.

¡Buena suerte!

A mask using AZ Central's template.

Calaverita - La Santa Cecilia

It's that time of year again!

Chicano Park - Día de los Muertos, 2014

I have some absences coming up due to training, jury duty, and out of town weddings, and so I'm trying to come up with sub plans that are engaging. Luckily, it's Day of the Dead season, and there are lots of resources out there! Last year I shared some of the resources I've used, and a list that I've added to since then.

I just bought the Book of Life movie, which was released last year. I'll be leaving that with my sub plans. While researching resources for the film, I stumbled across a newly released song by La Santa Cecilia from nearby Los Angeles. I'm definitely going to use this to introduce the holiday and set the stage for when I'm gone.

I love so many things about this video. It includes many traditional Día de los Muertos symbols, as well as some not-so-subtle references to current events (did you catch Zombie Trump?) Most importantly, it conveys the spirit of the holiday and the underlying attitudes toward death.

It was Kara Jacobs who pointed me to this song and compiled several great resources. I will be using a revised version of the lyrics she posted, with questions that fit with my diverse student levels.

If you'd like a copy: Google doc here, or as a PDF here.

Movimiento Naranja - Movimiento Ciudadano

I haven't posted much here recently. I've been busy with some exciting things (working to expand the Spanish program at our school, lots of cross-curricular planning for next year, and some end-of-the-year projects with the middle school students.)

Every year at the end of the year, I find myself trying to do things that are too complex and too long for the inevitable chaos of end-of-the-year schedules, where student and teachers alike are affected by state testing, field trips, camps, absences, and (in my case recently!) immune systems that are succumbing to end-of-the-semester stress. I'm excited about some of the projects my middle school students are doing - but a little hesitant to share before I see how they turn out.

However, I want to use this blog to reflect on what I'm doing, and to share what is working - so I'm attempting to do that, even in these last crazy weeks of the school year! Here's something that may be useful to you as the school year winds down.

Here's a song that I heard on the radio* a few weeks ago. It was so catchy that I immediately looked it up. As it turns out, it is a promotional music video for a Mexican political party.

As a disclaimer: I am not promoting this political party or any of their campaigns. But I am congratulating them on writing a simple, catchy song with a feel-good music video that includes lots of beautiful images of Mexico. There are quite a few familiar shots for my students and I - the border fence, and scenes from our neighboring city across the border, Tijuana.

I've used this for some grammar practice in middle school, and played it for my younger students to wrap up our Mexico-focused lessons about Cinco de Mayo. (It's a good "get the classroom cleaned up" song, too.)

Thanks to the folks in the Spanish Teacher Share group on Edmodo for helping me find and correct the lyrics! Here they are, with several different activities I did with my students:

• Cognates: Matching translations (to lines with lots of cognates)
• Grammar/Conjugation: Ser, Estar, and Tener conjugations
• Advanced: What does this song tell us about the party's political platform? (Led to some interesting discussion of political propaganda in middle school.)

If you find any errors in the lyrics, let me know!  Also, I haven't been able to find the name of the artist who wrote the song - do you know?

*Side note: Since moving to San Diego, I've discovered a new hobby: Listening to Mexican political ads awkwardly translated into English, on the English stations broadcast from Tijuana.

Día de los Muertos: Resources

This is one of my favorite seasons with my students, and I have a feeling that this year I will be learning even more than I teach. As a newcomer to San Diego, I am excited to see some local celebrations, and to get input from my students who have celebrated this holiday with their families.

Here are some of the things I have done with my students in the past, and some things that will be included in my lesson plans for this week.

Let students explore some of the sights and sounds of the holiday.



I love the opportunity to hook students with something mysterious. As a traveling elementary teacher, in past years I have put together a mini portable altar in a wooden cigar box, with a picture of Frida Kahlo (a favorite figure that most of my students learn about at some point in their time with me.) I light the "altar" with battery operated candles, and the flicker of yellow light from inside a closed box gets everyone's attention. Usually I extend the suspense and leave the box closed until we have explored some resources together, and then I will invite students to gather around and look at what is inside the box (photos, candles, flowers, sugar skulls... all things they just saw in a book or video.)