España

Sorry parents! I've gotten behind on posting lesson plans.

As the warm-up activity, students were to read over corrections I had made to their previous homework texts (comparing cultures and describing a festival in the Spanish-speaking world).

Students were given the attached handout to take notes while other groups presented about dance styles from the Spanish-speaking world. Groups who studied flamenco, tango, and ballet folklórico presented.

We talked as a group about what makes a good presentation:
* visuals
* clear information
* being interactive
* eye contact and not just reading from a sheet

I mentioned that student presentations are improving, but could continue to improve. Students should start their presentations writing up to 5 vocabulary words on the board that might be new to other students. Students should keep their presentations and clear as possible using vocabulary they already know and only looking up a few words if necessary. Students were divided into their festival groups and were given the rest of the class to divide up responsibilities to present on Tuesday. They will have a few minutes at the beginning of class to practice the presentation and then will present to the class.

Students received a map of Spain and had to label surrounding countries (España, Francia, Marruecos, Portugal).

First group presented on the style of dance they were assigned. Other groups will present on Thursday.

We listed several festivals celebrated in the Spanish-speaking world, including: Carnaval, Día de los muertos and Semana Santa. I introduced a few more: La Tomatina and El Encierro (running of the bulls). Students were divided into groups and were assigned a festival celebrated in Spain: Carnaval en Cadiz, El Encierro, o La Tomatina. Students were given an article about their festival, but could do some additional research. Each student was given a large poster on which to create a visual promotion of their festival.

Tarea: students need to be ready to present their dance on Thursday.