This past year Spanish III spent most of fourth quarter reading La Llorona de Mazatlán by Katie Baker. A large majority of what we did was from the amazing teachers guide by Carrie Toth. Some of the main cultural elements that can be expanded from this book are México, fútbol y leyendas. Since this particular class had spent a large amount of time on soccer the year before with a World Cup unit, we decided to focus more on legends instead. The supernatural legends fit nicely with our Friday watching of El Internado. If you are looking for soccer resources, check out all of these by Zachary Jones.
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Introducing the novel
I happened to be sick the first day of the unit, so instead of starting like I had planned, students completed this La Llorona activity by Martina Bex. It was originally designed as an assessment, but worked great as a sub plan, where students read about the legend and answered questions. It gave students a good overview of one version of the legend, which could later be compared with the legend as shared in chapter 13 of the book.
For introducing the novel and the first two chapters, I used a lot of Señorita Barragan’s ideas. This included using :30-1:10 of this video as a teaser.
New ideas (2019)
During the novel

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Embarrassing moment Twitter feed |
Assessing the novel
- Most enjoyed the book, but wished there was more action and more to do with the legend of La Llorona. Many had interesting suggestions about which characters they would have liked to see more of and who they believed should have ended up together romantically. There is a lot of teenager dating drama, which many students could relate to.
- Those who had thought of questions in advance were obviously more prepared and successful at asking questions, but they still had to negotiate meaning and respond to unknown questions. I have also done this type of assessment where pairs or groups talk and I just circulate around the room listening. If time allows, pairs is definitely preferred.
The link to the teachers guide is not working. Can you kindly send it to me? Thanks for all your ideas. I will be teaching this book for the first time this year and I love all your ideas!
You should be able to search for it on the Fluency matters website!
Hi! I searched and searched Fluency Matters but the only guide available costs $59! Would you be able to share the file if you have the time? [email protected]
Thank you so much!
I am sorry, but sharing a purchased guide would be against the terms of use. The guide is worth every penny and contains enough material for an entire quarter long unit. I would suggest purchasing it, and any other official guide
No prob! I thought it was free and that the site didn’t have it available anymore. Thank you!
Hi! I am trying to access Señorita Barragan's ideas but the link is not working. I also tried Google, but I can't seem to find her content. Do you know if it is still available somewhere? Thank you in advance!
i am sorry, but I think she deleted her website
Are there any specific grammar units that go along well with La Llorona? I know some novels focus on past tense and others on present- do you have any ideas?
The book is written in past tense if you need a specific grammar point
Thank you!!