Winning the United States Immigration Lottery

When we talk about immigration in class, sometimes we talk about how hard it is for just "anyone" to be able to come live in the United States legally.

Abdi

Read or listen to Abdi's story. It's a true story of the fear, sacrifices and struggles some people face trying to become U.S. citizens.

Hot Tamale Activities

After reading/listening to the story answer at least four of the following questions in a blog post on your Spanish Blog Portfolio.

• Summarize Abdi's story in your own words.
• What part grabbed your attention the most?
• After listening/reading this story, what do you think about our immigration system?
• If you were in Abdi's position how might you have done something differently?
• If you could talk to Abdi, what would you ask him? What would you say to him?

Música de Juarez, México

National Public Radio recently covered a rapper from Juarez, Mexico, and his new song.  Watch the video and click here to listen to the radio piece.

Hot Tamale Activities

Create a new blog post in your Spanish Blog Portfolio. Embed the video and answer the following questions.

• What's the name of the song? What is the song about?
• Provide three details about the artist. 
• In the song there is a woman who lost her sons to violence in Juarez, Mexico, talking to the then President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon. In your opinion, what do you think a President of a country is responsible for doing to decrease violence in their country?
• What is your opinion of the song?
• As you watch the video, what do you notice? What does the song or video make your wonder?

Latinos on the Reservation

Mexican-American and Yakama students at White Swan High School. In the past, there was a lot of hatred between the two groups. But the next generation is learning to get along.

In CultLit class in 9th grade you read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and learned about the history of the indigenous people in the United States.

Over Thanksgiving weekend I listened to a story about a reservation where there are more people who live on the reservation that are Latinos (people from Latin America) than Yakama (the indigenous population).

 Click here (or here) or below to listen to the story (you can download it on your smart phone by subscribing to LatinoUSA podcast).

Hot Tamale Activities

Create a blog post on your Spanish blog and include answers to at least 5 of the questions below

• Summarize the situation in your own words. 
• What brought Latinos to the reservations?
• Who owns most of the land on the reservation? How were they able to acquire it?
• Describe in your own words what a blood quantum is and why it's important in the context of this issue.
• Think 10-25 years into the future and describe what you think will happen on the reservation.
• Why are "tensions high" between the Latinos and the Yakama people?
• Do you think that the people you get to know in this story are treated fairly? Explain your answer.
• In what ways are the Yakama people and the Latinos who move to the reservation similar?
• What new information did you learn while listening to this story?  

Arabic and Spanish

We have a few students who speak Arabic. Ever wonder how the two languages compare?

Check out the video below!

Click here to listen to a podcast about Spanish and Arabic similarities

Hot Tamale Activities

Create a blog post in your Spanish Blog Portfolio and include the following

• Explain in your own words why Arabic and Spanish are so similar. 
• Create a list of 10 cognates in Arabic and Spanish. Include an image for each word.

el día de los muertos - más videos

Feliz Día de los Muertos! Here are some videos/activities to learn more about Day of the Dead. You can also click here to visit previous posts about Day of the Dead on this blog.

A quick 60 second summary of Day of the Dead from Al Jazeera news.

A 3min. animation about a girl celebrating Day of the Dead

How Day of the Dead is celebrated in Guatemala

An explanation in Spanish about how Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico

Here is the Google Doodle for Day of the Dead, el 2 de noviembre 2015.

Click here to read more about Day of the Dead

Hot Tamale Activities

• Create a blog post on your Spanish blog and include at least 2 of the following
• A summary in your own words what Day of the Dead celebrates, where is it celebrated, and how it is celebrated.
• Who would you honor on Day of the Dead? What would you put on an altar for this person? What is their favorite food? Passtime? Include a photo of this person and explain why they are important to you.
• How do you remember friends and family that are no longer living?
• Include images that you have found of Day of the Dead and explain what is happening.
• Include a video that explains/shows something about Day of the Dead and summarize the video in your own words.
• Compare Day of the Dead and Halloween. How are they similar? How are they different?

The Pros and Cons of Being Bilingual

It turns out that research has proven that being bilingual means you are smarter than others who only speak one language! But wait - there's more! Watch the video below.

Write a blog post in your Spanish blog answering the following questions and link/embed the video.

• What are some benefits of being bilingual?
• When they say that people who are bilingual are "smarter" - what do they mean?
• What are some difficulties that people who are bilingual face?

Hispanic Heritage Month

Hola! We are currently in Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States so I wanted to post some resources related to the month.

Here is another video about some basic facts about Hispanic Heritage Month

After watching the two videos above, write a blog post in your Spanish blog summarizing what you learned about Hispanic Heritage month and Hispanics in the United States.