Sneak Peek: A free, easy-to-use lesson plan for upper level Spanish classes focused on poetry that bridges African and Spanish-speaking cultures.
In this lesson students will complete four interactive learning stations about a poet from Equatorial Guinea named César Brandon Ndjocu Davies. Fun fact: He rose to fame after winning Got Talent España in 2018! His poetry explores identity, relationships, belonging, and more, which aligns perfectly with our goals for Spanish class.
Spanish literature is global, and African heritage is embedded into the culture of many Latin American countries. Davies’ poetry highlights how emotional storytelling can be a tool for social and self reflection. If you’d like to teach more background on Equatorial Guinea prior to this lesson, visit my TpT store to download this free resource.
February is the perfect time to implement this lesson along with others for Black History Month. Students will gain knowledge to feel empowered that Black history and voices exist within Spanish culture.
Learning Objective
In this lesson students will analyze poetry to appreciate how diverse voices strengthen their world view, connect art with emotion, and develop deeper understandings of themselves.
Materials
Guinea Ecuatorial (FREE, Optional)
Video Link: Felicidad, y yo (FREE)
Video Link: Introspección (FREE)
Cesar Brandon Davies Ndjocu Slideshow (FREE)
Worksheet (Station 1): Felicidad, y yo PDF (FREE)
Worksheet (Station 1): Poesía en colores PDF (FREE)
Worksheet (Station 2): Dibujo creativo PDF (FREE)
Worksheet (Station 3): Poema espejo PDF (FREE)
Worksheet (Station 4):Who is César Brandon Davies? PDF (FREE)
Who is César Brandon Davies? Answer key PDF (FREE)
Pen/pencil
Colored pencils/markers
Ear buds/headphones
Prep
For this lesson you will likely want paper copies of each worksheet for the stations (one copy per student) or have the PDFs uploaded to your learning management system. These stations will work best if students can listen to the poems independently on their devices, but fill out the paper worksheets as they listen and reflect. In order to make this easier, we have provided shortened links on the worksheets that students can type into their browsers. You can also upload Cesar Brandon Davies Ndjocu Slideshow to your Learning Management System that has the links embedded for each station in it so students can access them that way.
Depending on your classroom set up you may want to move desks or tables into groups (4 total) before class begins, or have students help you do this. I also like to label each group of desks so students are not confused about what station number is happening when they arrive at it. A sticky note or a sheet of paper with the station name and number would suffice. Stations 1 and 2 will need colored pencils or markers provided if the students don’t already have them.
Duration
These stations are designed for one 57 minute class period, but it could be extended by using the Equatorial Guinea slideshow presentation as your opener on day one with the stations then happening on day two. Students will likely need more time for their drawing in station two and you could consider assigning that as homework for the next class period.
Teacher instructions
*These instructions are for the stations. If you choose to use the Equatorial Guinea TpT lesson, you’ll follow the instructions provided on that resource first.
- Greet the students as they settle in for class. Present the Cesar Brandon Davies Ndjocu Slideshow. Communicate the learning objective and how the stations will work:
Station 1: Read/listen to Felicidad, y yo while completing a coloring activity.
Station 2: Listen to Introspección and then make a creative drawing
Station 3: Write your own version of the poem from station one
Station 4: Learn more about the poet and answer comprehension questions
- Arrange desks into four groupings if you haven’t already. Then assign equal numbers of students to each group and have them move to the correct area.
- Distribute the appropriate materials for each station. Let the students know how many minutes they will have. Consider using a visual timer so students can stay on track with pacing.
- Students progress through the stations until they have completed all four activities.
- If students are comfortable, ask them to share what they wrote for their original poem at station 3. You could do this with partners, or call on students individually to read their poems. Alternatively, you could hang them up and do a gallery walk.
- Decide if you will collect the completed worksheets for grading. You may also choose to roll a die and only grade that station #’s work.
Optional closing activities:
Have a whole class discussion with the following prompts:
- Have you ever written poetry before that wasn’t part of an assignment for class? What made you want to write? How did you feel while writing it? Did you share it with anyone? Explain.
- How does your community celebrate Black History Month? Do you partake in any of it? Explain what it means to you, or what it might mean now that you know more about it.
Have students complete an exit ticket with one of the following questions:
- How does learning about a Black poet who writes in Spanish change your idea of who Spanish-language literature belongs to?
- Why do you think voices like Davies are often missing from literature classes? What could be gained by including them?
Or, show another poem by Davies. Please note, there is a mention of poor treatment of immigrants. You may want to preview the entire poem to ensure suitability with your classroom and school. Ask students to reflect in a journal style format after listening.
What’s next? Now that you’ve gotten students thinking about cultural identity and artistry, you could expand this topic into another lesson by using this digital poem analysis assignment: Me gritaron negra.
If you’re ready to get access to more units, join us inside the Heritage Spanish Club!
Looking for additional resources? If you’d like more content on Spanish speaking countries, check out this blog post: Teaching Latin American Countries in Heritage Spanish Class!
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