Introduction

"How can I effectively teach culture in the target language?"  As a Spanish teacher working with novice-level language students, I have often asked myself this question.  When I began teaching, I set aside time every few weeks for "culture lessons", in which my students and I discussed aspects of the target culture in English.  While these lessons were a lot of fun, they were far from best practice, as they took crucial time away from acquiring Spanish.  I wondered: Is it possible to teach culture without compromising language acquisition?  

I began working to develop culture lessons that were comprehensible, engaging, and 95% or more in the target language.  Each lesson required hours of planning time, but the results were more than worth it.  My students responded enthusiastically to culture lessons in the target language -- in fact, many of them began telling me that culture lessons were their favorite part of Spanish!

I currently teach Lower School Spanish and one section of Upper School Spanish 1.  In Lower School, we study one country per grade level.  Kindergarten students spend the entire year learning about Spain, first grade students learn about Puerto Rico, second grade students learn about Argentina, third grade students learn about Peru, and fourth grade students return to Spain for a more in-depth study of history and culture.  The advantage to spending an entire year studying one country is that students are able to view that country through multiple lenses.  One of my favorite Ted Talks is "The Danger of a Single Story," by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.  If you haven't watched it, the link is available here:

When we focus on one country, we give our students the opportunity to learn more than a "single story" about its people, history, culture, and traditions.  We are able to delve beyond the superficial and stereotypical and develop a more nuanced curriculum.

This year, my kindergarten and fourth grade students are learning about Spain.  I had never been to Spain, so I applied for a grant to travel and study there.  I am extremely grateful to the Faculty Advisory Committee at my school for approving my grant and giving me the opportunity to spend five weeks in Spain this summer. 

The purpose of this blog is to share what I learned on my summer grant trip.  Throughout the school year, I will post lesson plans, readings, YouTube videos, songs, teaching suggestions, and other resources.  I am excited to explore the history and culture of Spain with my students this year, and I am also excited to share our culture curriculum on this blog!  I hope you will find it useful.