Learning Activities

This introductory activity provides a gateway to exploring the town of Hershey, Cuba, a town built by Milton Hershey to produce sugar in the early 1900s. Using their taste buds, students will be captivated by this topic and will desire to learn more about Hershey, Cuba. This lesson provides opportunities to explore greater or reinforce the uses of the past tenses (preterit and/or imperfect) as well as build vocabulary related to sugar production and industry.

This activity is for the intermediate proficiency level and should be taught completely in the target language.

This activity is a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

This lesson should be used at the end of a poetry unit or lesson. Students will use technology tools, including the internet, word processing tools, and Canva to produce a page of original poetry which will be published in a collaborative e-book. 

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

This lesson is intended to be the first introduction to verb conjugations in level one. This introduction to conjugation relies on students discovering verb conjugations and testing a hypothesis by using the interpretive mode of communication. Students will initially watch a short clip in the target language, create a hypothesis on how verbs are conjugated, and finally will put their hypothesis into action in a simple interpretive mode activity.

This activity was created as a result of the World Languages Course of Study Resource Development Summit.

Students will make artistic choices in movement and vocalizations to connect and share the essential vocabulary in describing the beginning of civilization in the Indus River Valley as a "flashmob" for other students within their school. Through this method, teachers will front load tier three vocabulary instruction to support literacy in reading informational text. 

This activity was created as a result of the Arts COS Resource Development Summit.

Students will identify their current daily usage of digital devices through a personal log or estimation. Then, students will read an article and watch the corresponding video which describes a recent report that found the average American spends more than 12 hours a day on a digital device, not including time spent on school work. Students will discuss their opinions with a classmate. The teacher will lead students in a discussion regarding the impact of this digital consumption. Finally, students will brainstorm and discuss other activities they could do in a day if they spent less time on their devices.

In this activity, students will investigate the effectiveness of a pharmaceutical medicine and its natural counterpart. They will evaluate the pros and cons of each and make a recommendation about the best choice for the consumer. Students present their research to the class and evaluate the research of their peers.

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

The teacher will talk about the history of Cinco de Mayo (who, what, where, when, why). The teacher will read Marco’s Cinco de Mayo by Lisa Bullard. The teacher will teach the students the Mexican Hat Dance.

This activity was created as a result of the World Languages COS Resource Development Summit.

Students will choose a restaurant in a target language city to research and visit virtually. Students will then write a review of the restaurant and finally complete an unrehearsed conversation with a classmate about their experiences during their virtual visit. (This lesson includes 3 phases, uploaded as separate learning activities.)

This activity was created as a result of the World Languages COS Resource Development Summit.

This lesson will assist teachers in guiding students through identifying direct and indirect characterization, as well as, analyzing how dialogue and characters' actions contribute to the meaning of the text.

This activity results from the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

In this activity, students collaborate to plan a piece of art which reflects personal and cultural significance. Students work together to produce a cyanotype silhouette print using light-sensitive chemicals. During the cyanotype process, students will trace the chemical reaction backwards to identify the activation energy and how energy transfers. Students then write an explanation of the selection process for each item in their group's artistic composition.

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

Students will analyze the various products, practices, and perspectives of the Spanish-speaking world through the lens of music.  Students will practice interpretive listening using the song “Latinoamérica” by Calle 13 to complete a cloze activity with the lyrics.  Then, students will research and analyze the specific products, practices, and perspectives of Latin American culture that are mentioned in the song.  Finally, students will engage in interpersonal discussion to compare their results and opinions of their findings. The basic format of this lesson could be adapted to fit a variety of songs on a variety of themes, from any language.

This activity was created as a result of the World Languages COS Resource Development Summit.

Students will choose a real estate property for rent or sale in a target language city to research and then present to the class as a group. The students will prepare a group presentation about their property, in which they will speak freely to the class in the target language giving the basic information about the overall property and descriptions of each furnished room. Students will be using the interpretive and presentational modes of communication, as well as, strengthening their understanding of products and practices of the culture.

This activity was created as a result of the World Languages COS Resource Development Summit.

This activity engages students in expressing their opinion of a Coca-Cola Commercial that aired in Mexico in 2015. Using past Coca-Cola commercials from various decades and an opinion article from El País, students will reflect on prior knowledge of indigenous groups of Latin America to express their opinion on the 2015 commercial. This culminating activity incorporates presentational writing as students express and support their opinion in the target language.

This activity is for intermediate to advanced proficiency levels and should be taught completely in the target language. 

This activity is a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

This activity is used to introduce students to mythology. After this activity, learners will be able to identify and categorize the patterns found in various myths. Students will be able to write arguments to compare and contrast the patterns found in two myths.

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

Students will view target language movie trailers, select a movie that interests them, and research where and when they could see the movie and what the cost would be. Finally, students create a movie poster for the film providing basic information about the film. (This lesson includes 3 phases, uploaded as separate learning activities.)

This activity was created as a result of the World Languages COS Resource Development Summit.

This activity builds upon the Introduction to Melody activity and is intended for students at the novice level of ensemble participation. In this activity, students will develop their melodic listening skills and learn to transcribe melodies into graphic representations. It builds and reinforces their knowledge of pitch, step and skip intervals, and melodic contour.

This activity was created as a result of the Arts COS Resource Development Summit.

Down on the Farm is a two-part VEX IQ learning activity that provides a hands-on exploration into the impact of computing and simulations on human tasks and machinery. Learners will assemble VEX IQ clawbots to use in a programming activity and a simulation activity based on agricultural tasks.

This activity was demonstrated during the Exploring Today's Classroom (ETC) Summit.

After reading, analyzing, and discussing the article “E-Cigarettes: A Dangerous Trend” and using the hyperdoc, students will synthesize information to learn the dangers of e-cigarettes and design, create, and publish a Public Service Announcement video that explains the dangers of e-cigarettes.

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

In this lesson, the students will use authentic websites and digital resources to find jobs which require knowledge of a World Language. The students will identify a job(s) of interest and then answer an e-mail regarding an interview time and ask additional questions of the company's manager.

This activity was created as a result of the World Languages Course of Study Resource Development Summit.

This activity provides the students with a visual description of the four types of chemical reactions using cartoon illustrations and then allows them time to interact with their peers so they will understand the components of each reaction. Students will also create a flip-book for the following reactions: synthesis, decomposition, single, and double replacement in order to describe the conservation of mass. Finally, students will use a digital tool to produce a "Cartoon Chemistry" artifact which will allow them to demonstrate their understanding of chemical reactions.

This activity was created as a result of the DLCS COS Resource Development Summit.

This resource provides instruction and graphic organizers for the Prewriting, Drafting, Revising, Editing, and Proofreading stages of the writing process. The resource is designed to facilitate creating an expository essay. The purpose of the essay will be to compare and contrast traditional and virtual learning. Students will need to research to gather support for their proposed solutions. 

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

This learning activity will allow students to observe real-world examples of Newton's Second Law of Motion through a video clip. After the video and class discussion of the video, students will work with a partner to create a list of other real-world examples of Newton's Second Law of Motion.

This activity is a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

In this activity, students will investigate a number of places in Madrid (or any city) and use directional commands to get their partner from place to place. The students will take turns giving directions and tracing their route. The students must also make a comparison about the places they “visited” while in Madrid and a similar location in the U.S.

This activity was created as a result of the World Languages Course of Study Resource Development Summit.

This learning activity shows how energy is transferred from one object to another and can engage students in a discussion related to kinetic energy. The students will observe an animation and record the movement of the objects much like that of a "Rube Goldberg" contraption that sets a chain of events in motion to complete a task. The students will then answer a series of questions related to the animation and apply concepts associated with the law of conservation of energy. 

This activity was created as a result of the GAP Project Resource Summit.

This learning activity is intended to be used as an introductory lesson on rational exponents and solving exponential equations.  It can also be used as a bellringer for a day two lesson on rational exponents.

In this activity, students work in groups to draw molecules showing the individual atoms in a chemical formula.

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

In this activity, the students will review the school technology/acceptable use policy.  The students will research items to include in these types of policies, including legal protections such as CIPA, COPPA, FERPA, ADA Compliance, etc. Finally, the students will collaboratively draft their own policy and share with their classmates, school, and/or board of education. 

This activity was created as a result of the DLCS COS Resource Development Summit.

Students will choose a restaurant in a target language city to research and visit virtually. Students will then write a review of the restaurant and finally complete an unrehearsed conversation with a classmate about their experiences during their virtual visit. (This lesson includes 3 phases, uploaded as separate learning activities.)

This activity was created as a result of the World Languages COS Resource Development Summit.

During this before activity, the students' prior knowledge will be assessed and activated by completing an ABC brainstorm of matter using the Alphabet Organizer tool. The digital tool allows the student to create an alphabet chart or book using words and pictures. The students can have voice and choice by choosing to create an alphabet chart with five words per letter or with a word, note, and picture for each letter. When the project is complete, the students can save their work, print their work, or share their work through an e-mail link. This web tool requires a computer with internet access and Adobe Flash Player.  

This activity was created as a result of the GAP Resource Summit.

This lesson incorporates an interactive image created in Genial.ly to explore three works by Pablo Neruda. Working together, students will listen to and analyze the lyrics of each poem to compare and contrast the themes and symbols of each.  

This activity is a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

In this activity, students will design an experiment to test factors that affect the strength of an electromagnet.  

This resource was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

This lesson is intended to provide students with an authentic way to use noun-adjective agreement while allowing them to investigate the target language culture. Students will begin by working with a partner or small group to identify the qualities that make a person a leader. Students will then learn how to use a dictionary to look up new words (adjectives/characteristics) of leaders. Ultimately, the students/groups will research leaders from a specified country and identify each leader’s top qualities/characteristics making sure their target language adjectives agree with the person they are describing.

This activity was created as a result of the World Languages Course of Study Resource Development Summit.

School-based music ensembles perform concerts at various times during the school year. In this activity, students will create a program for an upcoming concert by one of their school's ensembles. Students will compare and contrast how the elements of music and expressive qualities are used within the music selected for performance to contribute to the overall structure and intent of the concert. In creating the program document, students will also address the specific purpose of the concert, interests of the audience, and the educational experience of the event.

This activity was created as a result of the Arts COS Resource Development Summit.

Musescore is an online music library for instrumentalists. Students may search specific song titles and then choose from various options available at varying levels of difficulty. Students may also listen to a recorded example of the music selected.  Students can choose to publish a composition of their own and make it available to other students through Musescore. The activity will provide students with greater knowledge of the impact of computing as referenced through R3. of the Alabama Course of Study.

This learning activity should be used as an after activity to allow students to demonstrate their understanding of patterns and characteristics associated with the traditional Hero's Journey myth (mono-myth). This learning activity could be used with the learning activity "What Makes a Hero?" to introduce these concepts. The students will brainstorm ideas for a personal hero who fits the characteristics of the traditional myth using a My Hero's Journey Book Proposal and The Hero's Journey. The assignment is presented to students as a letter from a publisher asking them to submit their ideas for a book using the traditional hero's journey pattern and characteristics.  The students will answer questions and insert illustrations from The Hero's Journey to help them think through their ideas.  

This activity is a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.