This week, I had my students create an album of 4-6 songs using specific vocabulary from the text we're using in all levels (Spanish 1, Spanish 3H, and AP Spanish 4).  They are doing this using udio.com, a "ChatGPT" style platform that create music from a solid idea using different types of genres. They will then create an album cover, also using the power of AI like I just did here, a page with the lyrics for each song, and present their albums to their peers in class.  I’m also considering an extension project where they make a music video using the song that was generated.  That will be decided at a later date.

Here are some songs (some still in process) we created together as a class:

Canción No. 1 - Ritmos de Chino Hills

Canción No. 2 - Aulas de Ingenierí­a

Canción No. 3 - Navegantes del Saber

Canción No. 4 - Amor Astral 

Click below to learn more:

https://www.udio.com/

A few teachers at on a local thread shared some amazing strategies and activities after AP testing. Thank you for everyone who shared! Here are some ideas:

Sometimes after the exam my French AP students put together a little French-speaking newspaper for all the French students (and interested adults) in the school. Each takes responsibility for a different section and they do the layout. One interviewed our Chem teacher, who happens to be a native speaker of French, one wrote a film review, we made sure to include a few word games / riddles for lower levels, and writing horoscopes was a big hit. Nice way to promote the language in your school, as well!

We watch The Motorcycle Diaries and students make a Powerpoint presentation on a person who inspires them. They enjoy it.

A few years ago after the AP we started reading Cuentas de Hada (fairy tales). We used the originals and some very creative variations in play form. I got them from a book that a some recommended on the list. I do not have it with me today. I broke them into small groups. Everyday we would tackle one or two. They would prepare what they wanted to do and then act it out. Since everyone was working on the same play they would have to come up with some very creative versions. When we were finished and they had some creative ideas, I had them write and film their own versions. I was very impressed with their creativity! Many of the students were excellent with the video camera and editing. The special effects were amazing. They really enjoyed watching the videos too. 

For the past 2 years I've had my seniors create magazines. They form groups of 3-4 students and pick a theme. Then, each student is responsible for 5 items/articles. Every student must write an editorial, a feature article and an ad for something related to the theme of their magazine. Then they can pick two of the following: crossword puzzles, word searches, recipes, how-to columns, advice columns, etc. They have to create an interesting and catchy cover. I find that most of the students love this project and I have gotten some very creative and interesting mags. Of course, I have them show all their work ahead of time and we edit before we put together the final copies.

I buy the spiral bindings since one of my colleagues has the machine to bind them, so they come out really nice. It also works well because each student is required to submit the 5 pieces, so if you have students who do nothing (as many of my seniors do, especially last quarter!) the other students in the group are not penalized. I have some wonderful mementos of my former students because of these magazines and I feel they are a true testament to how much some students can do in the language after 4 or 5 years of high school study.

Plan a French night with activities, culture, and food and have it within the language with some minimal translation for the visitors? I am currently thinking about planning an end-of-year project I can do with my upper-level French class (levels 4, 5, AP) after the AP exam on May 7. Last year I had them write a children's book with great results, but since it's a mixed level class I don't want to make the students who did one last year do the same thing this year.

After the AP exam, we did a unit on French films, focusing on well-known directors and performers with the students Our school had a generous final exam exemption policy and the AP students almost always were qualified to be exempt, so in fact, there was no final.

https://bestpowerpointsforspanishclass.com/what-do-i-teach-after-the-ap-spanish-exam/

IEFLA has collected 101 ideas for classroom activities that students enjoy. There are a few below.

•       Publish an end-of-the-year issue of a newspaper or magazine for the lower levels to use as a reading activity.

•       Design a T-shirt and have it delivered near the last day of school: "I survived the Spanish AP Exam!"

•       Have a Trivial Pursuit® competition between sections of the same level or between levels.

•       Have students pick a romantic site for their future honeymoon in a Spanish-speaking country and develop a travel brochure to show to their significant other to convince him/her to go there instead of London, England.

•       Have a volleyball challenge where all cheering and commands are given in the target language.

•       Read a thriller novel like El Tune/ by Ernesto Sabato.

•       Have a picnic with some bilingual students in the lower grades; play games, have relay races, get silly in Spanish.

•       Get some inexpensive address books/memory books and spend an hour writing despedidas and e-mail addresses for one another as you all go your separate ways. Take a group photo and promise to write to one another.

Middle and high school students in Paraguay will be able to learn Korean as a second foreign language under an agreement between the two countries, officials said.

The education ministry said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with its Paraguayan counterpart, effectively adding Korean to the list of second foreign languages that can be taught in middle and high schools.

Click below to learn more:

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2024/04/135_373032.html

1. Cuexcomate in Puebla state holds the title of the world's smallest volcano, standing at a mere 43 feet (13 meters) tall.

2. Mexico is the world's leading producer of avocados.

3. Mexico City is the second-largest city in the Western Hemisphere, after São Paulo, Brazil.

4. The Mexican Great Pyramid of Cholula is the world's largest pyramid by volume, even exceeding the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt!

5. Mexico boasts the world's greatest diversity of cacti, with over 1,500 species found throughout the country's varied landscapes.

6. Mexico is the only country north of the Rio Grande where jaguars, the largest cat species in the Americas, can be found in the wild.

7.  Mexico holds the crown for the most reptile species in the world, with over 700 slithering and scaly residents!

8. The Mexican flag's three colors – green, white, and red – symbolize hope, unity, and the blood of national heroes, respectively.

9. Mexico is the birthplace of chocolate, with the word "chocolate" itself derived from the Nahuatl word "xocolatl." 

10. Papantla, Veracruz, is considered the birthplace of vanilla cultivation. The Totonac people cultivated the precious vanilla bean for centuries before the Spanish arrived.

11. Mexico holds the crown for the world's largest Spanish-speaking population, with over 121 million native speakers.

12. Mexican cuisine was inscribed on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage due to its rich history, diversity, and unique flavors.

13. Located at over 2,200 meters above sea level, Mexico City holds the title of the highest capital city in North America.

14. Mexico is the world's largest beer exporter, with over 2.8 billion liters shipped worldwide annually.

15. The Chihuahua, the world's smallest dog breed, comes from Mexico and was named after the state of Chihuahua.

16. Mexico is the world's largest silver producer.

17. Mexico City was built on top of a drained lake called Lake Texcoco.

18. Mole, a complex and rich Mexican sauce, can have over 100 ingredients and take days to prepare!

19. Mexico City has the second most musuems of any city in the world.

20. The meteorite that wiped-out dinosaurs 65 million years ago struck Mexico in the Yucatán peninsula.

21. Mexico is home to the oldest university in North America. The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) was founded in 1551.