Introduction
I teach 7th and 8th grade Spanish in an inter-district communications and technology magnet school in New Haven. The middle school World Language program schools is a two-year course, and is equivalent to the Spanish I course in high school. I am fortunate to see my students five days per week, in 47-minute periods.
In the time that I have been in my school, Language has only been offered to those students that have achieved high scores on the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT). Unfortunately, the numbers of students enrolled in World Languages in my school have traditionally been quite small as a result. My Spanish students are generally very bright and eager learners, which allows me to incorporate a lot into their language learning.
The majority of students in my school are from the city of New Haven. At least thirty percent of my school's students come from such diverse districts as East Haven, West Haven, North Haven, Hamden, Derby, Naugatuck, Ansonia, and Milford. Most of these are suburban areas, but they vary greatly in populations and incomes. Because of this diversity, the student population in my school has a range of ethnic backgrounds. Most of the students in my school are identified as Black, or African-American. The next largest ethnic group in the school is Hispanic, or Latino/a, followed by Whites, or European-Americans. There are very few (if any) Asians in the school during a given year.
Most of the students in my school are native English speakers, but many of the Hispanic students in my school speak Spanish at home, or have parents that do. Very few of the Hispanic students are fully literate in both spoken and written Spanish. The majority of Spanish-speaking students in my school can understand and speak Spanish, but cannot read or write in the language. While these Spanish-speaking students hail from a variety of backgrounds, most are of Puerto Rican, Mexican, or Dominican origins.
Teaching in an urban environment offers me the unique opportunity to work with a widely diverse student population, in a culturally rich community. Students will be able to take the knowledge they gain from this unit and use it to identify, appreciate, and create Spanish speaking communities in their own local areas. Also, the Yale University Art Gallery is located in New Haven, offering my students and me reasonable access to original artworks. Students are especially fortunate to attend school in New Haven, where they are surrounded by all kinds of exciting learning opportunities.
The diversity within the student population, as well as within the community, allows for a very enriching educational experience. Various aspects of Hispanic culture are present throughout the city. For example, Mexican and Puerto Rican restaurants, Hispanic markets, and Spanish billboards can be seen in many areas of New Haven (not to mention the Hispanic people!). In spite of this, the majority of my students base their knowledge of Hispanic cultures solely on what they see in movies and on television (which is often inaccurate, stereotypical, and/or negative).
It is sometimes difficult to "un-teach" students the false information that they are so sure they know about Hispanics. It can be very challenging to teach students the Spanish language and Hispanic culture in a way that honestly relates to their own individual lives. Ideally, by the time we reach the family unit, students will have shed any negativity toward Spanish and Hispanics, and adopted a more open view of world cultures. If students still view Spanish-speaking people as completely different from themselves at this point, the family unit will help to broaden their minds.
Because family is part of one's identity, it is something each and every one of my students can relate to in some way. When learning a language, family is always a major topic (usually the theme of an entire chapter or unit in the textbook). While its practical definition varies from culture to culture, and from situation to situation, the concept of 'family' is universal. This important theme of 'family' is often seen in art, literature, film, music, and other media, and offers much insight into the values and cultures of the people portrayed, as well as into those of the artists.
This coming year, we will be using a new text in our Spanish classes in New Haven, Realidades. Tema 5 (Chapters 5A and 5B) addresses the family in the context of birthday parties and restaurant outings. While the chapters focus on a few different Spanish-speaking regions, many of the cultural aspects featured are Mexican. I found it interesting that even though each chapter opens with a work of art created by a Hispanic artist, the family chapters incorporate more of these than any others in the book. Several of the artists mentioned in this unit are actually included in the text.
We will spend between three and four weeks on the family unit, most likely at the end of the 7th grade and/or beginning of the 8th. The unit can be adjusted as necessary to suit any level of Spanish learning, by adding or eliminating vocabulary. Other modifications may include adding readings of different difficulty, as well as using different works of art. Where possible, this unit might also be timed to tie in nicely with Cinco de Mayo celebrations. This unit may also be used to support Social Studies lessons on Mexico and Central America, or as part of an art class.
Investigating other peoples' ways of life and families will help my students relate the Spanish language and Mexican cultures to their own lives; making learning more fun, more authentic, and more successful.
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