Current Event Cultural Comparison FAQs
Purpose: It is irresponsible to learn a language without learning about the cultural context in
which it is spoken. When we learn about the countries and activities of that country, we begin
to see how another culture communicates and what is important to them. Of course the things
that get into the news are frequently the worst or the most unusual things that happen in a
community (thus they are the news), and so it becomes a belief that only bad things happen in
our Spanish Speaking countries. We are going to take a new look at what is happening and how
those who use Spanish really live their lives.
Article: Each month on the 15th, you will turn in a current event write up. You will begin by
choosing an article from an online newspaper from one of our Spanish Speaking Countries. This
article must have been published since the last current event deadline.
-Spanish I and II will use English Articles and will do your write up in English.
-Spanish III will alternate the language of the article and the write up. It begins in September
with a Spanish article and an English write up, and then switches the language for the October
article and each month thereafter.
-Spanish 3.5 and 4 will do both parts in Spanish.
-Students in Spanish III became an expert on one of our countries and so will continue their
efforts on that one country for the remainder of their studies, while the lower levels are free to
choose from any of the 21 countries.
Article Selection: Latin American newspapers cover the same wide range of topics as do our
North American newspapers. You may search any of the different sections of the newspapers
(International, National, Home, Business, Health, Science, Fashion, etc) once you select your
article, you will use your pre-reading skills of looking at titles, sub-titles, photos, captions to
determine which of the 6 themes (Contemporary Life, Personal and Public Identities, Families
and Communities, Beauty and Aesthetics, Global Challenges, and Science and Technology) the
article is focused upon.
Focus: We want to take the focus off of strictly reading about one more drug bust and begin to
look at the Products, the Practices and the Perspectives of the Hispanic culture as they show up
in the newspapers. Let’s clarify the terminology.
-Community, this is a group of people (as small as a family or as large as a continent) who are
the focus of the article you choose.
-Products, these are the things (foods, arts, craft, manufactured goods etc.) that are unique to
the community in your article.
-Practices, these are the activities (sports, religious celebrations, festivities, etc.) that are
unique to the community of people in your article.
- Perspectives, these are the underlying beliefs that cause people to act in the ways they do.
Chart: You will use the attached chart to gather your thoughts about the Community, Products,
Practices, and Perspectives that you find in your article. You may find some articles will offer
clear answers while others will make you search much more deeply for them.
Write up: After you complete your analysis of the article using the chart, you will do a 250 word
write up comparing and/ or contrasting one or more of the cultural elements from your article
with those of your own community. Again, the community may be as small as your family or as
large as the country or continent. Remember to use good written format. Include introduction,
content and summary. Make sure to site your source according to the standards set forth in
your English class. This is a formal writing assessment and may be used in your writing portfolio
as well as your LinguaFolio. The English write ups will be scored according to the BCHS Porfolio
Scoring Rubric and will count as a major test grade. The Spanish write ups will be scored with
the Spanish Written Rubrics that you have and will also count as a major test grade.
Include
-Heading (1. Your name, 2. article title, 3. complete article source location information, 4.
publication date of the article, 5. the turn in month,)
-Introduction
-Comparison/s
-Conclusion
-Citation infomation
-Copy of the original article (50 points)
Country:
Productos
Practicas
Perspectivas
What are they and are they
historic or recent? List as
many as you find in your
article.
What are they and are they
historic or recent? List as
many as you find in your
article.
What are they and are they
historic or recent? List as
many as you find in your
article.