Hello October, welcome! And hola todos, todas, todes! Here is an updated October-packed blog post for you, full of engaging & diversity-filled activities! If you have any questions, always feel free to reach out to me: hola@theculturalclassroom.blog
*last updated Sept 2024
¡Oye! Hispanic Heritage Month isn’t over yet! 💃🏽
And not only is it because Oct 15 marks the official end of #HHM, but because honestly, Hispanic Heritage Month is never over! Especially in Spanish class! Affirming and uplifting our Hispanic brothers & sisters is a year-round activity! Below are some great resources, all different in duration and type! Enjoy!
Previous Helpful Blog Posts:
- 📝 “Getting Ready for Hispanic Heritage Month with These Classroom Tips!”
- 📝 “Uplifting Diverse Voices During Hispanic Heritage Month: Resources for Your Classroom”
YouTube Playlist
- 🎶 “Hispanic Heritage Month Playlist”
- 🎶 “🥳🎉Celebrando México🥳🎉”
- 🎶 “Tiny Desk Concert Series | Spanish Language”
Freebies:
- 🆓 Add some diversity to your #HHM celebration by looking at the lives of Afro-Latinos & Indigenous Latinos! CLICK HERE for FREEBIE
- 🆓 FREEBIE: Celebrity Highlights on Celia Cruz in Spanish (includes video & info sheets)
Awesome Resources for the Classroom!:
🎉 Click below for additional resources:
✨ October’s estrellita: introducing: Día de los Muertos:
Previous Helpful Blog Posts:
- 📝 Ways to Celebrate Día de los Muertos in Spanish Class!
- 📝 Get Your Class in the Mood of Día de los Muertos with a LyricsTraining Song!
- 📝 How to create a simple Día de los Muertos/Day of the Dead Bitmoji Classroom
- 📝 Freebie! “La Llorona” Fill-In Song Cloze
YouTube Playlist
Freebies:
- 🆓 Pear Deck Freebie: A Taste of México Mini-lesson.
- 🆓 Freebie! “La Llorona” Fill-In Song Cloze
- 🆓 Trio of song clozes with comprehension questions for any level!
Awesome Resources for the Classroom!:
- 🎉 Día de los Muertos Bundle | Activities | Projects | Songs | Mexico + LESSON PLAN
- EVERYTHING YOU NEED to teach Día de los Muertos in a fun & engaging way! Includes songs, presentations, Pear Decks, activity stations and more! Lesson plan included to organize the material for you! Check out the previews and grab these resources at a steal!
- 🎉 Día de los Muertos | Day of the Dead Pear Deck Presentation
- A wonderful presentation to introduce students to Día de los Muertos! Colorful, multimedia, and engaging!
- 🎉 Día de los Muertos: Creating Ofrendas In Person or Digital | Day of the Dead
- A project that can be done online or in person, students create ofrendas that are meaningful to them.
- 🎉 A Taste of México: No Prep/Flexible Cultural Blended Learning Activity
- Teach students about México with this flexible resource! They can learn all about the country that they are exploring for Día de los Muertos.
- 🎉 Día de los Muertos – Day of the Dead Webquest Activity | NO PREP & Answer Key!
- This Webquest is hands-down tons of fun. I do it every year with my students. Can be done as stations or individually. Activity sheet with answer key included.
- ******most activities have Google Form assessments included! Check them out!
Celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day!
Usually, the second Tuesday of October is reserved to recognize and uplift Indigenous voices! This is a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge Indigenous contributions in the Spanish classroom! Check out some great resources below:
Previous Helpful Blog Posts:
- 📝 “Celebrating Indigenous and Native Peoples in the Spanish Classroom!”
- 📝 “Why teach about Indigenous Peoples in Spanish Class?”
Freebies:
Awesome Resource for the Classroom!
🎉 Click the tile/picture below ⬇️ which reviews indigenous influence and contributions in Hispanic culture!
And now, introducing one of the official themes of October in the US–let’s welcome LGBT History Month! 👏🏽
Many of us teachers belong to a totally different generation than our students. However, characteristically, our students believe in inclusion and respecting the differences that everyone brings to the table. Acknowledging and making a space for LGBT History Month in your class may increase student buy-in, create powerful student conversations, and/or continue the work of social justice.
Social Justice work you can do in the class:
- First, educate students on the month and why you are doing this work. You can find a short summary here.
- To make it relevant to Spanish class, you may want to highlight famous Latinx people who identify as LGBTQ+ and do a biography reading/activity about them. In my Women’s History Month Activity, I have a great Pear Deck section about Chavela Vargas, who is an icon in the LGBTQ+ Hispanic community.
- My chiquis are making a bulletin board where they researched famous Latinx people in the LGBTQ+ community and printed pictures of them. That way, we can all learn & grow! I’ll be sure to post pictures of the final product!
- Update Oct 19th: as promised, here is a link to my board. You can also scan this QR code with your phone:
- This would be a great time to go over pronouns: pronouns that students identify with and pronouns in Spanish! See my available resources here! ➡️CHECK OUT THIS INFORMATIVE BLOG POST HERE!!⬅️ See an example of my posters with “elle” below, posted by @senoritacabral on Instagram below! Also, don’t forget to download your freebie below!
And just when you thought that the October festivities were over, it surprises us with another official theme relevant to Spanish class: National Emotional Wellness Month! 🙋🏽♀️
As a person who personally struggles with their mental health yet is thriving, I find this topic very important and close to my heart. So many of our students are hurting but don’t have the vocabulary to express their hurt. So many students were traumatized by the pandemic but were ill-equipped to handle the weight of that trauma. Our classrooms should be a safe space for our students. So here are some resources that I have/offer for the emotional wellness of our chiquis.
Daily SEL Activities
If you use Pear Deck, it is easy to include daily SEL activities in the class! SEL activities can allow us to check in with our students–a temperature check. Did you know that there are templates in Pear Deck for SEL activities? Did you know that they also occasionally release new SEL slides to add to your repertoire on their website?
- 🆓 Link to Pear Deck Slides Library
- My Favorites from this Library:
- 🆓 Pear Deck SEL Slides en Español (by The Cultural Classroom)
Music: YouTube
Sometimes my kids like to listen to ambient noises while they work. Or even watch other people study while they study. And honestly, so do I! It is so relaxing.
Yoga/Mindfulness Playlist
- 🎬 Mindfulness Playlist en Español
- 🎬 Link to seated yoga activity en Español
- 🎬 Link to 5 minute yoga en Español
Recursos para “chilear” en la clase
- 🎉 Descansos Cerebrales | Brain Breaks in Spanish
- 🎉 *FREE* Spanish Language Choiceboard for Early Finishers
I hope this post gave you some fun ideas for October! Enjoy the month!
Con mucho amor y cariño,
Allison
