I have always loved New Year's. It is one of the only holidays that everyone, regardless of race, religion, gender, or age can get excited about. The Spanish-speaking world has so many unique New Year's traditions that I can't wait to share with my students. Here are some ideas for easy, fun and interesting activities for learning about el Año Nuevo while using the target language.
1. ¿Comprendes? - This is a game that my students love and can be played with any cultural information that is not too complex. First, you get kids into teams of 3 or 4. Then, you tell them that you are going to explain something completely in Spanish and their job is to guess what you explained with as much detail as possible. I award 3 points for the team with the most correct details, 2 points for second place, and 1 point for third place. With lower level classes (like Spanish 1 & 2), I give them a few pictures as hints to get them started. In this particular game, I explained 8 different New Year's traditions completely in Spanish using the power point below as my picture hints.
1. ¿Comprendes? - This is a game that my students love and can be played with any cultural information that is not too complex. First, you get kids into teams of 3 or 4. Then, you tell them that you are going to explain something completely in Spanish and their job is to guess what you explained with as much detail as possible. I award 3 points for the team with the most correct details, 2 points for second place, and 1 point for third place. With lower level classes (like Spanish 1 & 2), I give them a few pictures as hints to get them started. In this particular game, I explained 8 different New Year's traditions completely in Spanish using the power point below as my picture hints.
2 - Infographic Reading Activities - there are some great infographics out there about New Year's traditions. Create reading activities to help students figure the traditions out for themselves or check out our ready made activities here.
3 - El Año Nuevo Greeting Cards - Have students create greeting cards, in Spanish, that only wish someone a "Prospero Año Nuevo", but also teach them something about New Year's traditions in Spanish-speaking countries.
 Wear red underwear to bring love in the New Year and yellow underwear to bring luck! |  Coins should be thrown in the air while large bills should be kept in your shoes. |  Sweep your house and throw all the dust out the front door. Walk around the outside of your house with a suitcase to bring travel in the New Year. |
RSS Feed