Choice+LP2-+Culture+Day!

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= Choice Plan #2: “Culture Day!”=


 * Level:** Spanish I, High School


 * Description**: Students will have the chance to experience Caribbean culture during this interactive activity! A dance instructor from the community will come into the classroom and teach the basics in some form of Latin dance, whether it be salsa, meringue, bachata, etc. Students will then listen to different types of Latin American and Spanish music and decide what they like and don’t like in this interactive activity.


 * Rationale**: There are several reasons why this is a great activity for the classroom. First, it exposes the students to a native speaker, so they can practice listening to a native accent. Also, the students will be engaged in the activity because it’s interactive and gets them up and moving. It’s also a great way of bringing the community into the classroom. Lastly, the students will have the opportunity to compare their music with the new music they’re being exposed to, and decide what they like and don’t like about it, which also connects the grammar aspect of gustar that they’ve been learning that week.


 * Objective:** The objective of this activity is to expose the students to the unique sounds and movements of Hispanic culture. They have probably heard of some of these styles of dance before, but may not know the history behind them or how to do them since there are proper techniques involved. After this lesson, the students will be able to recognize the basic dance structure of Caribbean dance, and at recognize some of the music styles also.

1.1.N.SL.j Share likes and dislikes in the target language with a classmate 1.2.N.L.a Demonstrate understanding of oral classroom language in the target language including directions, commands, or requests. 2.1.N.F.d Describe typical leisure activities commonly practiced within a community or culture in which the language is spoken. 3.1.A.a   Acquire new content knowledge about unfamiliar topics through the target language 4.2.N.b  Identify basic target culture products and compare them to one’s own 4.1.M.a  Identify the significance of the cultural practices within the target culture(s) and compare them to one’s own.
 * Standards addressed:**

•	Salsa powerpoint •	Spanish instructor •	Music of whatever form is being taught (salsa, meringue, etc.)
 * Materials needed:**

1.	I will start off with a brief PowerPoint. The first slide will be a slide of Puerto Rican culture. The next slide will be a little humorous intro into salsa (ex. NOT the salsa you eat with chips, NOT the kind of gravy, but Salsa dancing!). The third slide will be a brief history of salsa music that will give information like where it is from, some popular dancers/musicians/songs, and a few other facts (15 min). 2.	Now, we dance! An instructor from the community (and actually my personal friend) will come in and show the students the basics of salsa. He will show how to go forwards/backwards and also side to side. The students will be behind him as he shows them, practicing first, then doing it with the music (15 min). 3.	The students will then listen to a song or two and be able to have some practice time (5 min). 4.	Lastly, we will have a short discussion about the similarities and differences between the music they’ve heard in class compared to the music they listen to. What did they like? What didn’t they like? What was similar? What was different? (10 min)
 * Procedure:**