Students, I could tell you all the benefits of learning a world language. I could go ON and ON about the opportunities you get when you able to respectfully and appropriately communicate in another language. I could babble for hours about my own journey of language learning. Like that job I had in Switzerland calling people and asking for their current contact information in Spanish and French, or the job in Mexico where I helped research the possibility of a National Football League team on the border of Mexico. We all know that you would probably not be impressed.
Ladies and gentlemen - I am doing you a HUGE favor by telling you this now as opposed to you finding out the hard way.
OUTLETS ARE DIFFERENT IN OTHER PLACES
This means you have to buy/borrow a dohickie (aka adapter) to plug in between your phone charger and the international outlet. And ladies, I cannot tell you how many times I have ruined a perfectly good hair dryer or hair iron because the wattage is also different in other countries. (Pro tip - get comfortable going natural with your hair or waste money on a appliance once you get to the country you're going to.)
Hot Tamale Activities (email your response to bordner@cityhigh.org)
identify the country for the flags - extra bonus include the watt power
send me links to different adapters that you can buy online and tell me which one I should get and why
Students in 10th grade have been researching and planning a trip to Mexico City. On Wednesday, they will be looking up places to go/things to see in and around Mexico City. Below are some links to slideshows of when I visited Mexico City.
This is an image of a mural by Diego Rivera in el Palacio de Bellas Artes
El Palacio de Bellas Artes has theatrical performances and murals by famous performances.
First, I love talking about food. Second, many of you know that I am new to Pittsburgh. There are a lot of things in this city that I still need to figure out, and one of them is where to get some good latino food!
Last weekend my parents were in town and we went to the strip and I was so happy to see a Mexican grocery store Reyna Foods!
Apple soda!
My mom in the isle of sweets, coffee, tea and piñatas!
Maté tea!
My dad holding up a bag of pork rines saying "I've never seen them so big before!"
Hot Tamale Activities
Where do you go for a good taco or latino food? (Taco Bell and Chipotle don't count!)
Research online Latino Food in Pittsburgh - What stores/restaurants come up? Where are they? Which one looks like you'd try it?
What is yerba maté? Where do people drink it? How do they drink it? How is it similar to coffee? How is it different than coffee? Would you like to try it? Why or why not?
When at your neighborhood grocery store, go through the Latino isle - write down what is there and report back. More points for photos!
Check out this video version of the flowchart to become a legal American citizen.
There are so many stories of people coming to the United States for a chance at a better life for themselves and their family. Below are a few stories from StoryCorps, an organization that goes around the country recording friends and family telling each other their life stories.
Recently I just finished reading Esperanza Rising, a young adult novel about a 14 year-old girl who lost everything in Mexico and had to immigrate to the United States to start over. I learned about what it was like in the 1950s to be a field worker, and how the workers were treated.
Hot Tamale Activities
Do you know someone who has immigrated to the United States? Maybe an older relative or a neighbor? Interview them. Where did they come from? Why did they come to the U.S.?What was it like for them that first month? What is something they miss from their home country? Would they ever go back? Email a summary.
What stories touch you? What story do you sympathize with the most and why?
Read Esperanza Risingand have a brief, one-on-one discussion about the book with me.
Some of our classes have really been delving into various issues regarding illegal immigration. But it's important to remember that there are many legal immigrants, or American-born citizens who are Latinos and they can vote in elections. This group has been identified as the fastest growing group of our country.
Hot Tamale Activity - Create an info-graphic based on Latino Perspective on Government Policies. Here's how.
Tonight I stopped by Mexico Lindo to see their Day of the Dead altar. It was phenomenally beautiful. See the photos below.
I also ate a chapuline (grasshopper). Yum!
Hot Tamale Activities
Anytime you go to something related to Spanish bring in a flyer from the event and hand it to us. or snap a photo w/ a camera or phone and email it to me. Along with a summarizing report of Who/What/Where/When you'll get Hot Tamale Points
Locate other Spanish related restaurants, businesses, etc in Pittsburgh. Include address and phone number.
Look at the photos/videos then select a Hot Tamale Activities - email bordner@cityhigh.org or leave a comment
How do the photos show similarities between Halloween and Day of the Dead. How do they show the differences?
Many of the calavera photos are scenes from actual events. Select one or more of the scenes of the calaveras. Describe what is happening. Who is in the scene? When did it take place? What is happening?
Would you travel to Mexico to witness Day of the Dead? Explain.
Are there other celebrations from other cultures you would want to witness? What holiday? What country?
Every culture has spooky legends, and La llorona is one of Latino culture's most terrifying stories!
La llorona is Spanish for The Weeping Woman. Read about the legend here, here and here and complete one of the following Hot Tamale Activities by emailing me bordner@cityhigh.org or leave a comment.
What is she crying about?
What would you do if you were her?
What legends/scary stories do we have that are similar to this story?
La llorona is now mainstream in the United States. NBC's show Grimm used La llorona in their Halloween episode. Watch the behind the scenes below.
You can watch the whole episode here. Here are some additional Hot Tamale Activities
How does the Grimm episode and the story compare? How is the TV show different than the legend?
I recently heard a new episode of Alt Latino, my favorite PodCast about Latino music. The episode was all about new Latino Hip Hop. Here is a video of one of the songs they showcased.
I was blown away by the styles of the clothing, the bmx biking, and the view of the salt flats. IT LOOKS AWESOME.
Click here to go to the podcast. Complete the following Hot Tamale activities by emailing me at bordner@cityhigh.org or leaving a comment.
Listen to a song and review it. Do you like it? Why or why not? What other groups do they remind you of?
Where are all the artist from?
Find their lyrics in Spanish and English - what do they rap about?
Right after we spent a few days learning about Quinceñeras, this video went viral.
Watch the video and then complete one of the Hot Tamale Activities by leaving a comment or emailing me bordner@cityhigh.org
Describe the video in English. What happens? Do you like it? Why or why not? Do you like the song? The singer?
Do a basic web search on Colibritany. Who is she? Where is she from? What other videos has she made?
Describe how the video is similar to what we've learned about quinces in class. What is a chamberlán? What in the video is different?
Here is an episode of Yo Quiero Mi Quince, the Spanish version of MTV's My Sweet 16 show. Watch the episode (there are multiple videos) and then complete one of the Hot Tamale Activities by leaving a comment or emailing me bordner@cityhigh.org
Summarize the episode. What happens? Where is Briana from? Where is her family from?
How is the show similar and different to My Sweet 16? Do you like watching these shows? Why or why not?
Would you want to have a quince? What would be different? The same?
Last week in 10th grade Spanish we learned about Guatemala, and it's troubled recent history with democracy. There is a fabulous TRUE story that illustrates how towns in the country were devastated. Here is a preview of the story. "In 1982, the Guatemalan military massacred the villagers of Dos Erres, killing more than 200 people. Thirty years later, a Guatemalan living in the US got a phone call from a woman who told him that two boys had been abducted during the massacre -- and he was one of them. ProPublica's print version: Finding Oscar."
Hot Tamale activities - this is a time consuming story (about an hour) but very interesting and well worth it. Students who listen to/read the whole story please email me (bordner@cityhigh.org) and we will have a conversation. This can be done for 50 Hot Tamale points.
Did you know as a City High upperclassmen you will get the opportunity to go to Costa Rica? (Costa Rica is a country in Central America). They blogged about their trip here.
Check out some of the videos that City High class of 2013 made about their trip this past summer.
I've been to Costa Rica too and made a video! (Not with City High...yet!) Check out my video
Here are some Hot Tamale Activities
Watch the City High students' Costa Rica videos and summarize the trip - what did they do? Would you want to go on the trip?
Have you ever done a service trip? Tell me about - where did you go? What did you do?
If you could go on a service trip where would you go? What would you do?
Interview someone who has gone to a Spanish speaking country (it can be a City High student who went to Costa Rica or someone else). Write down the questions you asked them and their answer.
Find out the City High requirements for going to Costa Rica.
Hot Tamale Activities email bordner@cityhigh.org your reply
Find out what people cook cow nostrils/tongue for. How do they cook it? What other countries do they use cow nostrils and tongue in their food? Does it sound tasty? Explain.
Which of the foods pictured above would you be most likely to try? Explain. Which of the foods pictured above would you be least likely to try? Explain.
Have you watched any of those TV shows where people eat crazy stuff from around the world? Tell me about an episode. What show was it? Where did they go? What did they eat? Would you have eaten it?
Have you ever tried something from a different culture that you thought would taste bad but was actually tasty? Or something that was nasty that you expected to be delicious? Tell me all about it!
In 9th grade Spanish we've been listening to a Calle 13's Latinoamérica this week to frame our discussion of what it means to be Latin American. Here are the videos we've been looking at and a few Hot Tamale activities.
Hot Tamale Activities
Write a short biography of Calle 13. Where are they from? What awards have they won? What kind of music do they play? What do they rap about? (I suggest you check out their official website and wikipedia page.)
Listen to this radio show where Calle 13 is a guest talking about their music (it's in English) and summarize what you heard. What song did you like the best? What did you learn about the band you didn't know before?
We learned about Maximilian I of Mexico in our Cinco de Mayo lesson. This guy is really interesting to me, if for no other reason than because he wanted to do well as leader of Mexico, but wasn't really smart enough to be successful.
For example, when he took over power from the elected Mexican President Benito Juarez, he really thought the Mexican people wanted him there. It's hard for me to understand why he thought Mexicans wanted a foreign born dictator over the guy they already elected.
This is a painting of Maximilian accepting power from the people of Mexico.
Also, Mexico was not rich, but he led a life of luxury. Check out the photos I took of his house when I was in Mexico last year.
Maximilian's ride - do you see the gold baby?!
Just your average hallway decorations.
Staircases, chairs and gold clocks
So here are the Hot Tamale questions to email me or reply as a comment in this post.
Would you want Max to be your leader? Why or why not?
If you were one of Max's trusted team members, what would you tell him?
Are there leaders like him today in the world? Who are they and what country are they ruling?
What would you do if you were Benito Juarez, the elected president that Max had pushed out of power?
Every year I teach about Mexican Independence Day, and all my students say "I thought Mexican Independence Day was cinco de mayo. What's cinco de mayo about?" So this year we learned about the key players in cinco de mayo, and how President Benito Juarez was like America's Abraham Lincoln.
We only touched on the tip of the cinco de mayo iceberg, so I want to offer more meat to chew on. Answer part of all of these questions for Hot Tamale points.
Cash Money
All these people we learned about are famous enough to have their faces on money. What currency was Napoleon III on? General Zargosa is on what Mexican peso bill? How much is that bill worth in US dollars? What Mexican peso bill is Benito Juarez's face on? How much is that bill worth in US dollars? Which person's currency is worth the most money (US dollars) today?
For 10th grade students, who else have you studied at City High that has their face on a Mexican peso bill?
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln's mom died of milk disease when he was 9 years old. What is that? How can someone die from drinking milk?
Napoleon III
There are so many Napoleons I can't keep them straight, can you? The text mentioned his uncle Emperor Napoleon I, what was he famous for?
I thought Neapolitan ice cream got it's name from one of these guys, but I was wrong. Where does the ice cream's name originate from?
Create a timeline explaining who was in power in France in the 1700-1800s. How did it go from Emperor Napoleon I to King Louis Philippe to Napoleon III?
How do you think a president can make themselves an Emperor? Who has done that recently in Latin America?
Describe what kind of leader you'd like to be of a country- an emperor, dictator, president, or King/Queen. Why would you prefer that kind of leadership?
America's Got Talent is in it's final weeks. One of the TV talent show's final contestants is a 10 year-old boy named Sebastian who sings Mariachi music with a powerful voice.
Hot Tamale Activities - leave a comment or email me bordner@cityhigh.org
Look into Sebastian's style. What does "el charro" mean? Describe traditional mariachi outfits and why they dress that way.
Describe traditional mariachi music. What are the instruments of a mariachi band? How many people are in a group? What do the songs typical talk about?
Find other performances of mariachis and link them. What do you like/dislike about the music? Why?
I've been there. NBD.
Actually, it is a HUGE deal.
Hot Tamale Activities - reply in the comments or email your response to bordner@cityhigh.org
Write a basic report on La Sagrada Familia. Who made it? Why is it special? When was it built (trick question!)? Where is it? What is it's theme? Link photos, videos, and other sites you used to find this information.
Find more images of La Sagrada Familia, specifically from the inside. Post them on a word document, ppt, or use another site like Glogster.
Happy Labor Day! Labor Day is a pretty awesome privilege that we often take for granted or are ignorant about.
When we think about labor, we usually think it's the same thing as work. Sometimes we tend to narrow our focus and only think about work as a job, so we can make money, so we can buy things we want.
But what if you thought about work like Jiro thinks about making sushi?
Jiro talks about improving his technique for 70 years. After all those years, he still sees that there is room for improvement, that he can achieve more. After 70 years, he still says "I feel ecstatic" and loves making sushi all day.
Hot Tamale Activities - comment or email a response to bordner@cityhigh.org
What do you think your labor of love would be? What can you see yourself doing for a long long time?
What are some characteristics that Jiro has that you think makes him successful?
Compare and contrast Japanese traditions and cultures to your own traditions and culutre.
Write a list of questions you would ask Jiro or other people in the film.
Write a review of the film. Did you like it? Would you recommend it? Why?
I want to let you know, that teaching is a labor of love for me. I used to think traveling was my passion, but I got lonely. I love sharing about new and exciting things. I love learning and helping other people learn about different cultures. I really enjoy getting to know my students.
Sometimes I get the sense that politicians and the media are telling me that the United States are going to be destroyed due to excessive immigration. So I was very surprised and interested in this graph showing that there is a smaller percentage of foreign born residents than 100 years ago.
What has really changed is where they are coming from
There are a ton of videos on YouTube showcasing why it's useful/super awesome cool to learn another language. Earn some Hot Tamale points by emailing me or commenting on this post with some you found. Here are a few to get you started.
In general I am fascinated by what people eat around the world. There is an awesome book that has taken photos of families around the world and their weekly groceries. Click to see a sneak peak here and here.
Part 1 Hot Tamale Activities - reply in the comments or email me bordner@cityhigh.org
Respond to the photos. What struck you as familiar? Different? Crazy? Which family looked like they had the most "interesting" groceries? Which family looked most "tasty"? Which family's groceries looked most simliar to yours?
Do your own family's grocery photo and share it with us!
Part 2 Hot Tamale Activities - reply in the comments or email me bordner@cityhigh.org
Respond to the photos. What struck you as familiar? Different? Crazy? Which country looked like they had the most "interesting" lunch? Which country looked most "tasty"? Which country's lunch looked most simliar to yours?
Part 3 Hot Tamale Activities
This website takes photos of what you could buy in different countries if you lived under the poverty line. Spend some time exploring the website then write your reaction in an email.
It's almost cinco de mayo. Do you know what that celebrates?
Mexico owed Spain, France and Englad over 82 million dollars, so the European countries came over to get their due. The battle of Puebla, celebrated as 5 de mayo, was the battle that Mexicans won against those countries trying to take over Mexico/get their money back.
Last summer when I was in Mexico I went to Puebla, the town where the battle of 5 de mayo was fought. Below are some photos from the museum.
These are the countries that came to Puebla to get the money owed them.
This is how much money Mexico owed these counties.
This is Benito Juarez, the President of Mexico at the time.
Another Spanish Teacher in Chicago has two really good posts about 5 de mayo worth checking out
On fb and twitter we type n shorthand all the time, amirite!? SMH, LBVS!
Check out some shorthands for spanish- x = por - k = que xq= porque / Por qué nls = no lo sé vdd? = verdad? a2 = adíos bs, bss = besos b7 = besitos bb= bebé tq = te quiero tkm = te quiero mucho ntp = no te preocupes nkv= nada que ver tb= también + = más msj = mensaje finde, fds = fin de semana hl= hasta luego q tl = qué tal? qt1bd = que tengas un buen día km= como pf = por favor salu2 = saludos pa = para xat = chat tas = estás mg= me gusta “=” = igual cdt = cuídate bn = bien ps, pss = pues kiero= quiero
ways to earn extra credit -
translate these to English (real English, not text English mmkay?)
send me a text/email in Spanish using some of these shorthands (312-772-6055)
