Learning Resource Type

Classroom Resource

Investigando la Educación y la Alfabetización en Centroamérica

Subject Area

World Languages

Grade(s)

7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Overview

This intermediate mid to intermediate-high Spanish activity walks students through an exploration of educational systems in Central America. The countries covered include Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Students start by watching a short news report in the target language about the challenges that face education in Guatemala. Afterward, they answer a series of comprehension questions to see how well they understood the report. Students are then broken into groups and each group researches the educational systems in different countries. The UNICEF website (Spanish version) is one of the resources used in this step because it provides many of the requested statistics. Finally, students participate in a class discussion as they use guided questions to discuss the information gathered in their research. 

    World Languages (2017) Grade(s): 07-12 - World Languages

    WL17.WL.L4.1

    Communicate and share on familiar and new topics in various time frames and moods.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:WL17.WL.L4.1

    Knowledge

    Students know:
    • the target language vocabulary for specific topics.
    • a variety of time frames and moods.

    Skills

    Intermediate Mid Level
    Students are able to:
    • start, maintain and end a conversation on a variety of topics.
    • talk about daily activities and personal preferences.
    • use language to handle tasks related to personal needs.
    • exchange information about subjects of special interest.
    • Intermediate high level students are able to:
      • exchange information related to areas of mutual interest.
      • use language to do a task that requires multiple steps.
      • use language to handle a situation that may have a complication.

    Understanding

    Students understand that:
    Intermediate Mid Level
    • effective communication requires knowing how when and why to say what to whom.
    • the purpose of language study is to communicate so one can understand others and be understood.
    • other understandings will depend on the theme being taught.
    Intermediate High:
    • effective communication requires knowing how when and why to say what to whom.
    • the purpose of language study is to communicate so one can understand others and be understood.
    • other understandings will depend on the theme being taught.
    World Languages (2017) Grade(s): 07-12 - World Languages

    WL17.WL.L4.2

    Interpret, restate, and react to what is heard, read, or viewed on familiar and new topics.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:WL17.WL.L4.2

    Knowledge

    Students know:
    • the target language vocabulary for specific topics.
    • how to communicate in a variety of tenses and moods.

    Skills

    Intermediate Mid Level
    Students are able to:
    • understand basic information from advertisments and announcements, audio or print.
    • understand the main idea(s) of voice messages and videos
    • understand basic statements and questions in an interview.
    • understand questions in a survey or questionnaire.
    • understand information in a variety of print formats (ex: brochures, magazines, labels, etc.).
    • understand information in interpersonal communication.
    • understand main ideas, supporting details, themes, settings, characters and plot lines in literary texts.
    Intermediate High Level
    Students are able to:
    • understand basic information from advertisments and announcements, audio or print.
    • understand interpersonal exchanges, spoken or in print.
    • understand information in a variety of print formats (ex: brochures, magazines, labels, etc.).
    • understand main ideas, supporting details, themes, settings, characters and plot lines in literary texts.

    Understanding

    Students understand that:
    Intermediate Mid Level
    • effective communication requires knowing how when and why to say what to whom.
    • the purpose of language study is to communicate so one can understand others and be understood.
    • other understandings will depend on the theme being taught.
    Intermediate High:
    • effective communication requires knowing how when and why to say what to whom.
    • the purpose of language study is to communicate so one can understand others and be understood.
    • other understandings will depend on the theme being taught.
    World Languages (2017) Grade(s): 07-12 - World Languages

    WL17.WL.L5.1

    Communicate and share on familiar and new topics in various time frames and moods using varied vocabulary and more complex sentence structure.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:WL17.WL.L5.1

    Knowledge

    Students know:
    • the target language vocabulary for specific topics.
    • a variety of time frames and moods.
    • how to ask and answer questions.

    Skills

    Intermediate Mid & High Level
    Students are able to:
    • exchange information related to areas of mutual interest.
    • use language to do a task that requires multiple steps.
    • use language to handle a situation that may have a complication.

    Understanding

    Students understand that:
    • effective communication requires knowing how when and why to say what to whom.
    • the purpose of language study is to communicate so one can understand others and be understood.
    • other understandings will depend on the theme being taught.
    World Languages (2017) Grade(s): 07-12 - World Languages

    WL17.WL.L5.2

    Understand the main idea and a few details in texts on a variety of topics related to everyday life and personal interests in various time frames and moods using varied vocabulary and more complex sentence structure.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:WL17.WL.L5.2

    Knowledge

    Students know:
    • variety of time frames.
    • the target language vocabulary for specific topics.
    • the target language vocabulary for various types of documents (written or audio/video) (i.e., literary texts, newspapers, magazines, websites, radio/tv ads, announcements, or live presentations).

    Skills

    Intermediate Mid & High Level
    Students are able to:
    • relate the main themes and significant details on topics from other subjects and products of the cultures as presented on TV, radio, video, or live presentations.
    • describe the main themes and significant details on topics from other subjects and products of the cultures as found in printed sources for target language audiences.
    • identify the principal characters and discuss the main ideas and themes in selected literary texts.
    • comprehend spoken and written messages in the target language.

    Understanding

    Students understand that:
    • effective communication requires knowing how when and why to say what to whom.
    • the purpose of language study is to communicate so one can understand others and be understood.
    • other understandings will depend on the theme being taught.
    World Languages (2017) Grade(s): 07-12 - World Languages

    WL17.WL.L5.7

    Acquire information related to diverse perspectives in the target culture using varied vocabulary and more complex sentence structure.

    Unpacked Content

    UP:WL17.WL.L5.7

    Knowledge

    Students know:
    • how to communicate in a variety of tenses and moods.
    • the target language vocabulary for specific purposes.
    • how perspectives of a target culture are portrayed through media and advertising.

    Skills

    Intermediate High Level
    Students are able to:
    • use the target language to investigate, compare, and contrast current events and advertisements from the target culture to a student's own culture.
    • identify and explain the diverse perspectives of the target culture through the lens of a culture's perspectives.
    • communicate in the target language in a variety of time frames and moods.
    • use the target language to make comparison of current events and how they are reported.
    • use the target language to identify advertisements and compare them with target culture and students'own culture.
    • research how a major figure from history, science, or the arts is described in the target language and use it to expand what they already know.
    • compare how products are marketed in the target culture versus the United States.
    • compare news articles on front pages of newspapers from countries where the target language is spoken.

    Understanding

    Students understand that:
    • proficiency in a foreign language is a vehicle to gaining knowledge that can only be acquired through that language and its culture.
    • world language learning offers opportunities to uncover big ideas in and about other disciplines.
    • strategies used to acquire a language are transferable to other areas of learning throughout life.
    • a second language facilitates the acquisition of information about the world outside our experiences.
    Link to Resource

    CR Resource Type

    Learning Activity

    Resource Provider

    Acceso University of Kansas
    Accessibility
    License

    License Type

    Attribution Non-Commercial
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