Inside: Resources for teaching the movie Coco in Spanish class
Spanish teachers have been talking about Coco since the first trailer was released years ago. It has replaced The Book of Life as the movie many teachers use. Once it was in theaters the rave reviews started. Now that it is out on DVD and is Academy Award winning, it is everywhere. Spaish teachers can not wait to use the beautiful stories, themes, images and music that is a part of this wonderful movie. I watched the movie Friday night for family movie night, and by Sunday I had a Movie Guide for Coco. When I first created it, I had novice Spanish in mind, but then later added questions in Spanish as well.
The guide I made is for actually watching the movie, with some additional character description, identification, and a post viewing discussion and character matching, which could be used as an assessment. I created it with the intention that I could use variations for every level I teach. As a #deptof1 I like to create differentiated activities that work for all levels.
What audio, subtitles & guide should I use when watching Coco in Spanish class?
I bought the DVD from Target and it has options for both English and Spanish audio, as well as English and Spanish subtitles. (Be careful that many digital versions just have English). Here is how I see using the movie in my Spanish classes. Please do whatever works best for you and your students to meet them where they are at. *Update it is on Disney+ right now as well.
- Upper Level Spanish – Spanish audio with Spanish subtitles. Spanish version of guide.
- (pre-teaching and pausing to discuss and check for comprehension)
- Spanish 2 – Spanish audio. English version of guide to check for comprehension.
- (English subtitles if with a sub or very early in the year, Spanish subtitles if watching with me pre-teaching and pausing to discuss)
- Spanish 1 – Spanish audio with English subtitles. English version of guide.
- Exploratory – English audio with English subtitles. English version of guide.
- (Using as a tool to discuss culture and the day of the Dead in Spanish).
A whole Coco in Spanish class Unit
What we use for subtitles will also depend on if we are using the movie as a whole unit. Using the great materials below from others could easily create a full unit.
Before Watching Coco Ideas for Spanish class
- **Coco Character Introductions – Use my Free Slideshow to introduce the characters of Coco in novice Spanish (for SURE do this activity)
- Trailer activities (Arianne Dowd) Intro the movie with many activities focusing on the trailer and the cultural components.
- la cena de Dante (Aprendemos Juntos) – Movie Talk this animated short
- Coco Family Tree (Arianne Dowd) – Work on describing family, while connecting to the movie.
- Infographic – This would be a great authentic resource to describe facts relating to the books, as well as characters.
While Watching Coco
- My movie Guide for Coco – Then we would finally enjoy the movie and use my movie guide questions as a guide to keep students on track.
Post Watching Coco in Spanish class
- Infographic – This would be a great authentic resource to describe facts relating to the books, as well as characters.
- Finally, I added a novice full day post movie extension of #authres interpretive reading, interpersonal speaking, and writing prompt. We actually did it as an “Everyday IPA” set up and did each activity for about 15 minutes as a post movie review. I created this activity for an observation I had on a Monday, after being gone on a Thusday/Friday where my Spanish 1 watched Coco with my guide and the sub. The observation went well and the admin loved the day of plans! Get the post viewing activity for FREE HERE.
More Day of the Dead resources
To expand this movie into a deeper exploration of Día de los Muertos, check out the resources below.
- Day of the Dead – Find Someone Who – Get in personalized questions about vocabulary related to the holiday.
- Para Empezar – Day of the Dead – Class starters for 3 weeks around the holiday.
- Cultural Reading: Mexico – Geography & Día de los Muertos – Novice reading to introduce Mexico and the Day of the Dead
- El Libro de Vida (The Book of Life) Movie Guide – you could compare and contrast the two movies!
- Finally here are all posts with the label Day of the Dead.
- My Coco Pinterest Board
- Halloween Dance Videos
As a recap get my Coco movie Guide HERE & get my FREE character introduction slideshow plus post viewing reading, speaking and writing activity by subscribing to my newsletter for Free HERE.
Other Film Resources
If you are not interested in Coco, here are some other movie resources to save you time. My top appropriate movies for Spanish class Blog post
Movies will a lot of music
- VIVO movie guide + blog post for Vivo
- Selena guide + (opens in a new tabSelena Blog PoBlog post for Encanto
Other Movies for Spanish class
- EL CAMINO DE XICO guide + blog post for Xico
- FERDINAND
- DORA Y LA CIUDAD PERDIDA + blog post for Dora
- EL LIBRO DE VIDA + blog post for Book of Life
- PACHAMAMA + blog post for Pachamama
- CANELA
- Blog post for Encanto
- My Movie Guide Bundle for Spanish class
What other great resources have you found for Coco? Please share in the comments so I can add them!
Post originally published by Allison Wienhold 3.12.18 – Updated 9.30.18, 10.8.19 & 9.16.21
Do you have a special version of the DVD that has Spanish audio that matches the Spanish subtitles? I know they are usually done by different companies which make it hard for us to show the film in class with both Spanish audio and Spanish subtitles…I have the same problem when I show Nemo to my classes. Just wondered if you had any ideas or solutions to this problem! I just wish they matched!!!
I wish we could find a perfect match! I got mine at Target and it does not match all the time :/
Netflix