Inside: Resources for teaching the movie Coco in Spanish class. Coco in Spanish class as a part of a Day of the Dead Unit. Teaching Día de Muertos in Spanish class using Coco. Coco the movie in Spanish Class.
Coco in Spanish class was originally published by Allison Wienhold 3.12.18 on Mis Clases Locas & most recently updated 9.12.24.
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.
Spanish teachers can not wait to use the beautiful stories, themes, images, and music that are 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.
Why get this Coco Guide for Spanish class
The Coco guide I made is for watching Coco the movie in Spanish class. It also has additional character description, identification, post-viewing discussion, and character matching. The matching could be used as an assessment.
I created the Coco movie guide with the intention that I could use variations for every level I teach. As a #deptof1 I created differentiated activities that work for all levels. Thousands of Spanish teachers have used this guide across every level of Spanish class.
The Mis Clases Locas Coco guide has the perfect amount of questions during the film to keep students on track, but not overload them with busy work. UPDATE – there are now two places to get the Mis Clases Locas Coco guide Coco guide from my website MCL Shop or the same Coco Guide on TPT.
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 typically used 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 the guide.
- (pre-teaching and pausing to discuss and check for comprehension)
- Spanish 2 – Spanish audio. English version of the 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 the guide.
- Exploratory – English audio with English subtitles. English version of the 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 whether 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 below 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 – Coco Movie Guide
- My movie Guide for Coco – Then we would finally enjoy the movie and use my movie guide questions as a guide to keeping students on track. Coco guide from MCL Shop or Coco Guide on TPT.
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 prompts. We did it as an “Everyday IPA” setup 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 Thursday/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 at the bottom of this post.
More Day of the Dead resources for Spanish Class
To expand this movie into a deeper exploration of Día de los Muertos, check out the resources below.
- The Best Movies to Teach the Day of the Dead
- Día de Muertos Songs for Spanish class
- Day of the Dead – Find Someone Who – Get 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 & Día de los Muertos – Novice reading to introduce Mexico and the Day of the Dead
- El Libro de Vida Movie Guide – you could compare and contrast the two movies
- Finally here are all of my resources together in a Muertos Bundle.
- My Coco Pinterest Board
- Halloween Dance Videos
Coco The Movie in Spanish Class Freebie
As a recap get my Coco guide from MCL Shop or Coco Guide on TPT & get my FREE character introduction slideshow plus post-viewing reading, speaking, and writing activity by subscribing to my newsletter for Free Below. Use a non-school email for the best deliverability!
Other Spanish 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 for Spanish class with a connection to Mexico
- Book of Life – another great Day of the Dead option!
- NEW Going Varsity in Mariachi – a documentary about competitive high school mariachi – pair with Coco!
- McFarland USA – based on the true story of a Mexican-American cross country team
- A Million Miles Away – inspiring biopic about Mexican-American farm worker turned astronaut
- Chupa – cute real people Netflix film within connections to legends
- Selena – real people – a biopic about Mexican-American Selena Quintanilla
- El camino de Xico – animated films originally created in Spanish from Mexico
- Canela – real people film with connections to food & family set in Mexico City
- Good Cinco de mayo movies
- Editable Movie Guide Bundle for Spanish Class Culture Authentic Listening
- My Movie Guide Bundle on TPT
What other great resources have you found for Coco? Please share in the comments so I can add them!
