KL+Sub+Plan

The Real Road to El Dorado (Sub Plan)

Level: Spanish I

Description: Students will watch a portion of the movie //The Road to El Dorado//, then read historical articles about the time period and compare the movie’s portrayal with the reality of the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

Objective: Students will get in introduction to the history of Mexico, and will begin to learn discretion in their interpretation of cultural portrayals.

Rationale: Understanding culture is a huge part of studying another language. This lesson will give students practice with using real facts to think critically about what see and hear regarding another culture. The use of English in this lesson is designed to make it easier for a substitute teacher to implement, as well as allowing students who are at such a basic level to focus on taking in the cultural and historical information.

Standards Addressed: 2.1.N.H.e- Identify and explain how the language and culture expanded throughout the world. 2.2.N.C.b- Identify historic culture icons (arts, music, literature, film, and the creators of these products as well as natural sites)

Materials: //The Road to El Dorado// movie, printouts of articles for students.

Procedure: 1. Students will watch a portion of the movie //The Road to El Dorado// (dubbed in Spanish with English subtitles), which combines the legend of El Dorado from South America with the story of Cortes’ conquest of Mexico. (20 minutes) 2. They will then read this article on the origins of the legend and the real lake in Columbia where the treasure was said to be located from http://www.eremite.demon.co.uk/Tairona/1pages/seca/a6eldor.html. They will also read the article //Cortes the Conquistador// from http://www.pbs.org/opb/conquistadors/mexico/adventure2/a1.htm#txt. (15 minutes) 3. After they have read the texts, the students will write a short essay of 2-3 paragraphs comparing the Hollywood portrayal of the Spanish conquest of Mexico with the reality. (15 minutes, or whatever remains of class after students have finished reading the articles) 4. Whatever the students do not finish in class will be their homework for the next day, when the teacher will begin class with a discussion of what they saw, and the implications of this discrepancy in the portrayal of history for the way they interpret portrayals of modern Latin American countries and cultures.