El Gordo - Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad

The month of December is filled with opportunities for Spanish teachers to include culture. These celebrations include:
- Dec. 8 The Immaculate Conception
- Dec. 12 Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe 
- Dec. 16-24 Las Posadas
- Dec. 22 The Winter Solstice
- Dec. 24025 La Noche Buena y la Navidad
 
One celebration that is HUGE in Spain, in fact it's "fat", is "El Gordo", el Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad. It is Spain's, and the world's, largest lottery when you take into account the number and amount of prizes that are distributed.

In order to help the students experience (in a very small way) the excitement of El Gordo, I created billetes from an image of the lottery ticket from 2011.  At the bottom of the ticket, I added spaces for the students to write a number and their name.  

Today, as students entered the classroom, I gave each student a ticket. I explained the lottery system and that the tickets were sold as décimos.  At the bottom, the students had to write 5 numbers, and they were not allowed to write the same number twice, and their name.  They had to record the number they wrote on their tablet or on their phone because they will need to know that later.  (This will be my way of practicing numbers later in December - sneaky, I know.) Each class had their own container in which they put their billetes.

From now until December 21, the students will have to "buy" additional billetes by...suggesting cute answers to class stories, exceptional participation, showing kindness to another student, helping me distribute papers, or anything that deserves an extra billete. When they receive additional billetes they will write a 5 digit number (not the same as before), their name, and then place it in their class container.

On December 22, the day that Spain holds the drawing for El Gordo, we will hold our drawing.  Either I, or a student, will draw a ticket, and then s-i-n-g the number, in Spanish of course.  Students will look at their list of numbers and if they hear their number, they will have to repeat the number in order to claim their prize.  (The reason I have them write their name on the bottom of the ticket is in case they don't recognize the number, I will know whose ticket it is.)

The prizes consist of Spanish pens, homework passes, a small jar of my homemade jelly, baked goods (oatmeal cookies with cream are one of my students' favorites), free choice to sit where you want or to sit on the cushioned chair, small gift certificate to Dairy Queen, etc.

We will also watch several of Spain's great advertisements and film shorts on the national lottery.  Below are links to the clips from 2014 and 2015:

Anuncio Lotería de Navidad 2015 - Justino
Check Martina Bex's blog HERE for amazing & free materials for this short film.
 
Anuncio Lotería de Navidad 2014 - El Mayor Premio es Compartirlo


Another gem for Christmas: Mejor anuncio Navideño 2014/15 - Sainsbury's Christmas. 

I plan to be generous with handing out additional billetes to build the excitement and to give some extra encouragement for class participation. 
I'm looking forward to December 22!

20 Ideas for Navidad activities for Spanish class

I received an email from a colleague asking me for ideas for class on the last day before Christmas vacation.  I responded with five ideas, and then decided to write a last minute list of resources on my blog in case others are looking for ideas too.  There are so many choices available in addition to what is listed below that you could have several days of activities. Just make sure to keep it comprehensible!

The first suggestion has to be to let the students help you create a story via TPRS style.  If Santa Claus is something your students want to talk about, tell about the problems he encounters in different houses or choose your structures, start the story, and the students will take it from there, under your guidance of course.

Commercials (can use with MovieTalk):
- Santa vs. Los Reyes (thank you @mryedinak for sending me this link)

- Los padres no existen

- The Journey - The link will take you to Kieran Donaghy's blog, Film English. There is a video about snowmen, along with lesson plans in English that you can change to your language.  As always, his blog is PACKED with great lessons, so I suggest you free up some time and explore his website fully.

The Journey is a John Lewis advertisement from a previous year.  Find Christmas advertisements from this year and other years that are just as endearing HERE.

Stories in Spanish
- the app Bookbox (or find it online at Bookbox) has two audio stories with subtitles.  They are "La Navidad de Santa", and "La Primera Navida"

Food

Víctor - making buñuelos & snacking on Oreos

- Why not make buñuelos with your students? I made these with several times with my students because they're easy and delicious. This linked recipe uses a frypan but I also make them with my deep fryer.
 HERE is a variation with cheese.

- Ensalada de Buenanoche - I've never made this before but I saw it mentioned on a teaching forum last week.

- Rosca de Reyes - Click HERE to see a blog post by Carrie Toth that explains how she made this with her students last year.  Included especially for all the super ambitious teachers out there like Carrie.  :-)

Songs and Podcasts
 There are several versions of Juanes' El burrito de Belén on YouTube; or search for other traditional songs/villancicos.  One song my students enjoy when I take the Spanish club Christmas caroling (cancelled twice this year due to snow) is "Gatatumba". I did a google search and couldn't find a version with the words.  I have an old cassette tape from teacher's discovery from years ago that maybe, by chance, the previous Spanish teacher has stashed in a closet somewhere that you can listen to.

Most students have already heard the song Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano so it might be fun to sing along with a video of it. 

- Notes in Spanish podcasts, by Ben and Marina, have an several episodes related to Christmas:
Inspired Beginners: ¡Feliz Navidad! found HERE. 
Intermediate: La Lotería found HERE.
Advanced: Feliz Navidad found HERE.

- Audiria - Cómo celebran la Navidad los españoles, script included

Culture
- You may want to wait until January to show a video on The Three Kings Day/Día de los reyes magos.  HERE is a short clip in English.  I used a Spanish clip last year but I'm not sure which one.
- A few years ago I made a Powerpoint with multiple choice questions about Christmas time traditions in Spanish countries.  I put the students in groups of 3 and they discuss the answers among them and write them down.  After they have answered all the questions on the powerpoint, they switch their papers with another group. As I tell them the correct answers, I add information about the traditions.  It is a fun way to share a lot of information such as el gordo (la lotería), las posadas, new year's eve traditions (such as eating grapes or sweeping the house clean), and others.

BINGO - I'm not a big fan of Bingo because it is usually played with vocabulary only, out of context.  However, if it the last day before Christmas vacation, keeping students' attention can be extra challenging and this activity may fit the bill. You can personalize the vocabulary first by first teaching the words with TPR.

Resources
One word: PINTEREST!  Go to Pinterest and google Navidad and you'll find more than you can digest.  I suggest starting with Martina Bex's Navidad board found HERE.  


Other Activities
 - Years ago I printed pictures on cardstock and laminated them to represent the last words in each line of the "spanglish" version of Twas the Night Before Christmas that you can find HERE. Sometimes I take my class to the office or to a Spanish 1 class to perform the poem for them.
 

23+ Activities for Halloween and Day of the Dead

http://www.celebrate-day-of-the-dead.com/day-of-the-dead-facts.html

I've seen several posts on Twitter and on Edmodo that mention activities for Halloween and for Day of the Dead.  Since Blogger has not only been a way for me to share my materials, but also a means to help organize resources so I don't lose them, I decided to list the resources here, in one place, so it will be easy to find in the future. (update: I posted 2 additional ideas as a separate post a year later HERE.)

1. Pumpkin Powerpoint - Guaranteed...that your students will like this powerpoint.  Click HERE for the file. Thanks to the creativity and work of Marta Yedinak and her willingness to share this with us.  (If you download the powerpoint, you'll be able to see when different parts of the sentences appear instead of having it all appear at once.)



2. Canción de la Brujas - I used this song last year, along with a cloze activity.  It is a cute, short video that was easy for my Spanish 1 students.  Click HERE to take you to my post from last year. 

3. Se Hace de Noche - Luis Pescetti leads this short story-like echo that is fitting for Halloween.  I think the first place I saw this suggested was on Kristy Placido's list of YouTube videos.  Click HERE to watch the video.

4.  La Leyenda de la Llorona - Undoubtedly there must be a Spanish teacher that has materials prepared to go along with the legend, but I don't have a link to offer at this time.  Click HERE to see the legend on video.
OR...listen to Joe Hayes tell the legend of La Llorona in Spanish HERE.  He speaks slowly and clearly so students should be able to follow along. I tell the story to my students in Spanish, but leave out some of the details that Joey Hayes tells.  Then the students listen to his retelling and they list new details that I had omitted.

5. La Llorona Cloze activity - Here is a CLOZE activity for La Llorona.  It's very basic, but ready to go if you're in a pinch for an activity.  It's by Joan Baez and the website is:

-->http://youtu.be/4ZsCRrWrNoI  

6.  La Bruja Loca - Lyrics only can be found HERE. The video is HERE.

7. Canción de las Calaveras - I had this on my list of resources but haven't done anything with it thus far. HERE is the video.

8. Go to Zachary Jones' Zambombazo for an activity a song by the Claxons entitled "Día de los Muertos".  Another teacher, Nelly Hughes, made this video of the same song and added lyrics to the video.

9. Video on Día de los Muertos - My colleague told me about this video last year.  Check it out if you're looking for a short video in English about the Day of the Dead.

10.  Make-Up instructional video for Día de los Muertos - This young lady is an expert on transforming her face into a traditional Day of the Dead "look".  If you have a lot of patience, you might want to give this a try and you'll be sure to stand out.   

11.  Pan del Día de los Muertos  - AllRecipes has a recipe to make Bread for Day of the Dead.  I've made this for my students for several years now, or ask them if they want to make it and bring it in.  My suggestion is to go light on the anise seed.  That's one strong seasoning!

12.  Molde de calavera 3-D - I bought this mold at a craft store last year for half price on Halloween, just in time to use it for Day of the Dead. 

13. Task Magic has some worksheets with photos and activities related to Halloween.  Click HERE to go to their website. 

14.  Audrey Misiano, a Spanish and French teacher, shared this odopod sketch on Edmodo.  Fun to watch as the sketch develops.    

15. Skeleton Craft - Audrey Misiano tweeted about this craft, easy enough for elementary school students, a few nights ago. She also made a sample and posted it on her Pinterest board HERE. I'm definitely sharing this activity with my classes this year!

16.  Diá de los Muertos Calavera Collage - THIS is another project that looks fairly simple.

17.  Chocolate Molds for Día de los Muertos and other supplies at Reign Trading Company website.  I found this website and promptly ordered some chocolate molds for my Spanish Club.  There is a variety of objects for sale at this site.  I called the number because I had a few questions about the molds and the lady was super friendly and shared where on the site you can find materials to download to use in class.

18.  Other PINTEREST Boards of Día de los Muertos:

Kelly Ann - http://pinterest.com/kellyann224/day-of-the-dead/

Norma Breaux - http://pinterest.com/normajean333/day-of-the-dead-dia-de-los-muertos/

Celebrate Day of the Dead - http://pinterest.com/source/celebrate-day-of-the-dead.com/

Kimmie Duff - http://pinterest.com/aggiechiquitita/dia-de-los-muertos/

19.  Kristy Placido told me she uses the song "Mi Novio es un Zombie" around Halloween.  Google the title and you'll find several videos from which to choose. 

20.  Los Esqueletos is another song for beginner classes.  Find the video HERE.

21.  Dancing Skeleton - If your students are in need of a brain break, show them THIS VIDEO of a street performer with a dancing skeleton.  It's worth a few laughs.

22.  Teacher Suggested Activities for el Día de los Muertos can be found at THIS website.

23.  Kathy de Lima has a blog in which she posted several videos on Día de los Muertos.  Find her blog HERE.  

Additional resources:

- Skullflake - found at Crafty Lady website - remember those snowflakes you used to make as a child in elementary school.  This is the Day of the Dead version of a "skullflake".  

- Mis Cositas - In-Flight Movie en español - Día de los Muertos

- Ofrendas - bknelson website with ensayo de imágines, entrevistas, una canción

- Video - by Angel Benito.  Sr. Benito says it is appropriate for levels 2 or 3, but there are not many words that would be unfamiliar to my level 1 students, so I think I'll show it to them, as well as my level 2 students. 

- Short Video on Day of the Dead  You can find a worksheet made by C. Miller HERE.

- QUIA Vocabulary Games - concentration, matching, etc. If you go to the home page of Quia, you can find other vocabulary lists and you don't have to be a member to play the games.

- Milk Jug Skeleton - HERE are directions how to make a skeleton out of milk cartons.  Scroll down to see a photo at the bottom.   

- Online Book - Mi Abuela Ya no Está - Joy mentioned this on moretprs. 

- Images "Los Elementos de la ofrendas" - shared by @karajacobs on Twitter.  

**UPDATE: Here are 3 more sites with resources that Martina Bex shared**

http://martinabex.com/?s=halloween

http://martinabex.com/2013/05/09/spanish-ii-final-exam-take-2/  

http://martinabex.com/2013/10/27/el-dia-de-los-muertos/

 

Canción de las Brujas

I found the song "Canción de las Brujas" on YouTube. It has several words that my Spanish 1 students know so I made a cloze activity on GoogleDoc with the lyrics. On Halloween, (Monday), I'll add this activity to others to tie into Halloween and save the Día de los Muertos activities for Wednesday. 



Canción de las Brujas