Teaching Latin American Countries in Heritage Spanish Class

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Sneak Peek: Students expand geographical knowledge and strengthen cultural connections of all 21 Spanish-speaking countries!

Calling all geography lovers! Get ready for a set of comprehensive lesson plans  highlighting the unique cultural products and practices of the Spanish-speaking world. It’s especially critical for heritage students to not only know their own cultural roots and heritage, but to open their minds to the perspectives and life experiences of students whose roots trace back to various other Latino countries as well. 

Your students are likely well-versed in one, maybe two,  countries because of their personal connections to them; but, a deeper study of the customs of other nations helps them gain a fully-developed understanding of what it means to be Latino. Students will not only learn the countries, flags, and capitals, but more importantly, the elements that make up the lives of those who reside there. Each lesson has videos embedded into slideshows that will transport students to that country. They’ll see aerial footage of the landscapes and cities, watch cultural dances, and even learn how to cook authentic recipes. 

Year after year I think you’ll find this unit to be one your students will be excited to engage with. Additionally, it can be taught in a flexible way! You can choose to learn about all of the countries back to back over the course of a few weeks, or you can spread them  throughout the year as a way to break up the other units in a fun way. There are also quizzes (with answer-keys prepared) to use as needed. Some teachers prefer to use the quizzes for review, while others prefer more of an open-note approach (especially if you’ve covered several different countries over a short period of time).  Point is, it’s entirely up to you, and empowers you to teach to the specific group of students you have each year. Flexibility is huge in the classroom, as we all know. And I designed these resources to be able to address the shift in needs and requirements a school year will inevitably bring. 

In a pinch, these lessons also work  beautifully as a set-it-and-forget-it sub plan. Although the materials are all in Spanish, students have access to the content they need to go through the slideshows and fill out the notes pages, whether you are physically there or not. 

Check it out for yourself! Below are some downloadable resources for Equatorial Guinea to serve as a sample and give you an idea for the content and its layout. If you love it, and you are wondering where to find the rest of the unit…This full unit, with all 21 countries and supporting materials, is available in the Ascendencia Year One curriculum. 

Guinea Equatorial Lesson Plan

Learning Objective: 

Students will take notes on the products, practices and perspectives of Equatorial Guinea.

Materials

For the lesson on Equatorial Guinea you’ll need:

Resources for all additional lessons:

    • Culture unit packet (members only)
    • México y Guatemala (members only)
    • Honduras y El Salvador (members only)
    • Nicaragua y Costa Rica (members only)
    • Panamá y Colombia (members only)
    • Ecuador y Venezuela (members only)
    • Perú y Bolivia (members only)
    • Chile y Argentina (members only)
    • Paraguay y Uruguay (members only)
    • España y Cuba (members only)
    • Puerto Rico y La República Dominicana (members only)
    • Countries and Capitals Memorization (members only)
    • Flag Drag Digital Assignment (members only)
    • Summative Assessment (members only)

Prep: 

For this lesson you’ll need the culture unit notes worksheet for note-taking for your students. Print enough copies for your students. 

Next, upload the Guinea Equatorial slideshow into your LMS, or have it ready to present to  students on a big screen.

Decide if you want to print off copies of the quizzes, or adapt it to be taken online via your school’s LMS. 

Duration: 

This lesson is designed for a 57 minute class period, but if it does not fill the time allotted, you could have students write a summary paragraph in Spanish discussing what they learned about Equatorial Guinea. If your school has 1:1 devices, students could come up with one or more questions they still have about the country, and use their devices to research further, then share with the class. 

Teacher instructions:

  1. Present the slideshow, or students can be assigned to look at it on their own. This can be a good option if they have iPads or laptops and you prefer to have them do it as independent work. Depending on the day, it can be nice to have this as a flex choice. Sometimes I show one or two of the videos from the slideshow to the whole group, and let them look over the rest by themselves. 

Note: The information in the embedded videos is not included in the quizzes so the videos are technically optional. You may wish to require students to take further notes on what they learn in the embedded videos or perhaps require that they write a summary paragraph. This would hold them accountable for watching all the videos.

  1. Explain that the purpose of the activity is to help them understand the geography and culture of Equatorial Guinea. If you have a student from this country in class, allow them to share about it if they are comfortable. Some students find a deep sense of pride in being able to educate others on what makes their heritage so special or unique! Keep this option in mind as you study some of the other countries as well. Students usually are open to share about their culture! 

I absolutely loved having students share about their own countries- one student made pupusas for the whole class, and brought in cultural clothing to share and even the shoes his brother immigrated in. The more you can let your students take the lead in class, the more buy in you get from the other students as well. 

  1. After going over the slideshow, ensure that all students have completed the notes packet. Then, decide how you will use the quiz, whether it will be open-note or not. It can be taken directly after the conclusion of the notes, or as a starter for the next day. 
  2. Collect the quizzes for grading. 
  3. As an extension, students could write a paragraph summarizing what they learned.

If you enjoyed this lesson, the full unit Cultura por todo el mundo hispanohablante, with all 21 countries and supporting materials, is available in the Ascendencia Year One curriculum. 

Looking for more information about teaching heritage learners? Check out this blog post: The Three Disciplines included in Heritage Spanish Class.

If you are ready for all of your lesson plans for heritage class done for you, join us in the Heritage Spanish Club!

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