ASSIGNMENTS & ACTIVITIES
1. Discussion: Gender Roles
What are the traditional gender roles in Latin American society?
How are they changing among Latinos in the U.S.?
Two films, Tortilla Soup and Mi familia/My Family, offer
characterizations of Latino families in the U.S. How are family
relationships and responsibilities as well as gender roles depicted in
these two films? Are there any stereotypes that they perpetuate?
Are there any stereotypes that they challenge? Why? How?
What differences in customs and traditions do you find between
“anglo” and “latino” families? Does language play a role in
determining these differences?
2. Participants’ Self-Assessment: Rate yourself on a scale from 5 to 1 (5=excellent; 4=very good;
3=good; 2=fair; 1=insufficient) In today’s activities, I
Asked for clarification if I did not understand,
Actively participated in discussions in English,
Actively participated in discussion in Spanish,
Was prepared for class.
3. Descriptive Adjectives
Make a list of the adjectives you think would
describe the members of the Naranjo family and the members of the
family you created. Describe both their physical appearance and their
personality traits.
4. Family Tree
Complete a family tree for the Naranjo family, using your
imagination to fill in the missing members of the family. Use the outline
provided below.
LOS ABUELOS
Nombre:
Apellidos:
Edad:
Profesión:
Descripción:
Nombre:
Apellidos:
Edad:
Profesión:
Descripción:
LOS PADRES
Nombre:
Nombre:
Apellidos:
Apellidos:
Edad:
Edad:
Profesión:
Profesión:
Descripción:
Descripción:
LOS HIJOS
Nombre
Apellidos
Edad
Descripción
Nombre
Apellidos
Edad
Descripción
Nombre
Apellidos
Edad
Descripción
Nombre
Apellidos
Edad
Descripción
(pasatiempos)
(pasatiempos)
(pasatiempos)
(pasatiempos)
5. Una ficha biográfica (Biographical Data Card)
FICHA BIOGRAFICA
Nombre y apellidos:
Edad:
Fecha de nacimiento:
Nacionalidad:
Lugar de nacimiento:
Dirección:
Teléfono:
Profesión:
Educación: primaria, secundaria, universidad
Descripción:
Pasatiempos favoritos:
6. Ejercicios de gramática (Grammar Exercises)
Using the passage about the Naranjo family, identify all the verbs in
the passage. Classify each one as follows: conjugation (first,
second, third), state whether it is regular or irregular, stem
changing, reflexive, in the infinitive or the present indicative, and
identify the person (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and number (singular or plural).
Using the passage about the Naranjo family, locate all adjectives and
state: the noun modified, gender, and number.
Using the passage about the Naranjo family, identify all conjugated
verbs and their subject and state the person (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) and
number (singular or plural).
7. Situations and possible role plays
Pair Exercise: Ana Naranjo goes to talk to the school counselor
about José Luis. Invent a short dialogue that details their
conversation. Remember Ana is still learning English and her
listening comprehension is not the best; the counselor speaks
adequate Spanish at the Novice High to Intermediate Low level but
also has difficulties with listening comprehension.
Pair Exercise: Using a good bilingual dictionary, describe, in Spanish,
a member of the “group”, or fictitious, family. Present this
description to the entire class. Can the rest of the class
understand you?
Role Play: Imagine the first day of school for Leticia Naranjo when
she began fourth grade. Her mother’s English is still limited and
she meets the teacher and describes her daughter’s academic abilities
in Spanish. She is trying to be certain the teacher and the
assistant principal understand that Leticia is a very good student
and should be tested for the gifted program that a neighbor has
told her about. Write a short conversation among these three
individuals and present it to the rest of the class.
Vocabulario—Las cosas en el salón de clase. This is a whole group
exercise. Introduce the vocabulary using objects in the classroom.
Select a number of moveable (light) objects and present them as
part of the vocabulary lesson. Give each object to a participant,
name the object, ask them to repeat the name of the object and
give it to another participant. That person must also name the
object and put it in a large shopping bag that you can place in the
middle of the classroom. Repeat this procedure for each object.
After all the objects are in the shopping bag, you tell the class they
must now name all the objects in the bag, in Spanish. As they
name an item correctly, remove it from the shopping bag and
return it to its original place in the room. The exercise ends when
they have correctly named all the objects. If there are one or two
they simply can’t remember, you might give them verbal or visual
cues until they guess correctly. If all else fails and time runs out,
remove the remaining items and ask them ¿Qué es esto?
Situation: you have a Spanish-speaking student who is not doing
his/her homework. Although the student’s English is satisfactory,
the student is falling behind in the class. What do you say to the
parent (in Spanish) to appraise them of the situation and to ask
for their help?
Writing (a cinquain poem, a five-line poem). This exercise can be
done individually, as a pair exercise, as a small group exercise, or as
a whole group activity, provided the whole group is a small one.
Participants will write a poem, in Spanish, according to the following
outline:
Line 1:
a noun that states the subject of the poem
Line 2:
two adjectives that describe the noun in line
1 OR a noun and an
adjective
Line 3:
three verbs in the present participle that
describe the subject in
line 1
Line 4:
four words that express an emotion about
the subject
Line 5:
a noun that restates, i.e. is a synonym of,
the noun in line 1
Below is a rather flexible example of a cinquain poem in English.
Tree
Green branches
Growing, living, reaching
Your shade protects me
Peace*
*Alice Omaggio Hadley, Teaching Language in Context, 3rd edition.
(Heinle & Heinle, 2001), p. 288.
Other examples and explanations cinquain poetry can be found in:
Shrum & Glisan, Teacher’s Handbook Revised—Contextualized Language
Instruction, 2nd edition. Heinle & Heinle, 2000.
Allen & Valette, Modern Language Classroom Techniques, 2nd edition. (New
York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1977), pp. 321-322.