Inside: February in Spanish class ideas. Are you stuck in a winter rut? It is time to mix it up in the classroom to try and bring the fun back. Here are some fun ways to bring in culture and fun this February. Black History Month in Spanish Class, Winter Olympics 2022 in Spanish Class & Valentine’s Day in Spanish class.
February in Spanish Class Idea 1 – Black History Month in Spanish Class
As well as incorporating diverse voices all year long, the month of February is the perfect time to specifially celebrate Afro-latinxs during Black history month. I know that BHM technically is celebrating African Americans, but as a Spanish teacher, I try to expose my students to the variety of ethnicities through the Spanish speaking world. See Black History Month in Spanish class for tons of resources. Below are the resources I have created to celebrate Afro-Latinx people.
Films with positive Afro-Latinx representation
- Pelotero – documentary set in the Dominican following 2 pro baseball prospects
- Vivo – a cute animated film set in Cuba & Florida (found on Netflix) with lots of music
- Encanto – you probably already know about this Disney hit set in Colombia, but just a reminder!
Afro-Latinx Music
My favorite way to introduce culture is always with music, so I created multiple slideshows to show and celebrate Afro-Latinx musical artists. Version 1 has classics like Celia Cruz and Susana Baca, mixed with current hitmakers like Choquibtown and Tego Calderon.
Plus, there is 2nd version with 22 more songs, including many recent hits, 3rd version & brand new Song of the day 4 Also, there is also a Bundle option as well for the best deal!
February Idea 2 – 2022 Winter Olympics in Spanish Class
Friday, February 4th through Sunday, February 20th the world will be coming together with the Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. I personally LOVE the Olympics and get so wrapped up in the heartfelt stories and the positive way it brings the world together. The Winter Olympics of 2014 I was home on maternity leave and watched hours of live ice skating with a sleeping baby on my chest (since that was the only way he would sleep at the time).
Any worldwide event is the perfect way to bring in culture from the Spanish speaking world. I am so excited for the #authres that will pop up in Spanish during the Olympics such as tweets, videos, news stories and more. I am sure there will be many more resources to add as the games begin. For now, here are a few if you want to get a head start.
- 5 Activities to Incorporate the Winter Olympics in Spanish Class – Mundo de Pepita (especially great for younger grades in Spanish!)
- Olympics for Foreign Language Classes – Mundo de Pepita (Pinterest Board with many ideas)
- La historia de los Juegos Olímpicos – pretty comprehensible article in Spanish
- Olimpicos- El País
- Olympics Vocab in Spanish
- Onlineeading in Spanish with Comprehension Questions
February in Spanish Class Idea 3 – Valentine’s Day in Spanish Class
For lots of resources from all over, read the blog post Lista lunes – Valentine’s Day in Spanish class.
& 10 Spanish Class Love Songs.
Valentine’s Day – Para Empezar
If you are looking for a variety of activities to spice up the dreary winter, then this is for you. This has 3 weeks of daily activities that could be used to start a class or as brain breaks.
Valentine’s Day – Find Someone Who
This activity was designed as a communicative way for students to practice the Super 7 high-frequency words in the present tense. (es, tiene, hay, le gusta, está, va, quiere) It focuses on those commonly used verbs to talk about Valentine’s Day. It is a great way to keep spiral reviewing those important verbs all year. This speaking activity has multiple versions to differentiate for your classes, all the way down to exploratory. See how to use is digitally and social distanced variations in this Find Someone Who blog post.
Valentine’s Day Novice Interpretive Reading Activity & Slides
If you only have a short amount of time to talk about the holiday, this quick authentic interpretive reading task would be great for novice Spanish students. It is made to support super novice Exploratory or Spanish 1 as a one day in class plan. It includes a printabvle or digital interpretive reading over an infographic, as well as editable Google Slides for the teacher to project directions, discussion, end extension ideas
Valentine’s Day Bundle
Get all three of the activities above for the best possible deal and a variety of activities using all modes of communication around Valentine’s Day in this Valentine Bundle.
(Bonus) Carnaval!
This year Carnaval fall Feb 17-25, 2023. When I taught at a Catholic school, this was a perfect time for a cross curricular church festival. A few years ago, I posted about resources for the Carnaval de Barranquilla, but I will be on the look out and share any #authres I see this year!
originally posted 1.22.18 by Allison Wienhold – most recently updated 1.11.22
