SpanishPlans

Posted on July 30, 2021 by SpanishPlans

Check out our new About us page with an overview of our website, including how to connect with us on social media, our top blog posts, our top products, and some free resources.

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4 things you may have missed

Posted on September 14, 2022 by SpanishPlans

It’s been a while since we’ve posted an update, so let’s take a look at a few new things you may have missed from us.

  1. The World Cup is taking place during the school year for the 1st time ever  (November 20 through December 18) which means that Spanish teachers are getting excited to have lessons about the event. Collaborate with fellow profes here or get a ready to use unit, “Copa Mundial 2022: Qatar World Cup“
  2. Our Ice Cream Posters have been a huge hit this fall. Our “Language Proficiency Ice Cream Posters” has become our number 1 seller and is getting rave reviews among all world language teachers. It is also part of our “Spanish Proficiency Level Bundle”. To celebrate, we are encourage teachers to snap a picture of your bulletin board or the posters in your classroom, tag us @SpanishPlans on a public social media account (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) and throughout the month we’ll repost our favorites and award 2 teachers with a $50 giveaway of SpanishPlans goodies each. (Now through Nov. 30, 2022)

SpanishPlans Ice Cream Posters

3. More music, more fun. We’re working on some new things, but we’ve already rolled out two new songs that are likely finalists to be a part of our 10th annual March Music Madness tournament. We think your kids are going to love these new songs: “506” by Morat with Juanes and “Miel” by Lauri Garcia.

4. Hispanic Heritage Month is here. More and more school districts are finding ways to use our Spanish Speaking Country Stamps for events they are hosting for HHM. We just updated this FREE Passport Stamp Sheet. We’d love to hear how you or your school are using our stamps.

Collect all 22 stamps
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Copa Mundial 2022

Posted on August 28, 2022 by SpanishPlans

This year provides Spanish teachers an opportunity that hasn’t happened ever and will likely not happen again… the world’s biggest sporting event will take place during the school year. Normally taking place in the summer, the controversial decision to host the soccer tournament in Qatar forced an unprecedented change of dates.

With the tournament kicking off November 20, 2022, we are less than 90 days away. It’s a perfect opportunity to have your students follow along with the World Cup, research teams, and learn about its history. And we have that all prepared for you in our Copa Mundial 2022: Qatar World Cup lesson.

This product contains an editable document with:

  • Infographic of past World Cup Finals (both in Spanish and English)
  • Information about the tournament (both in Spanish and English)
  • Comprehension Questions (in English and Spanish)
  • A Spanish text: “7 cosas sobre Catar 2022”
  • A research section for students to look up information about a team
  • A map with list of the 32 participating countries for students to label

    The tournament takes place from November 20, 2022 and runs through December 18th and features 6 Spanish Speaking Countries:
  • Argentina
  • Ecuador
  • Costa Rica
  • México
  • Estados Unidos
  • Uruguay

How do you plan to talk about the World Cup in your classes this year? If you are interested in collaborating, join our Facebook group: “Copa Mundial 2022: profes de español”



If you like this resource, don’t forget to share it or Re-pin it.

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March Música Madness 2022

Posted on February 18, 2022 by SpanishPlans

The anticipation is building. Hopefully you’ve got your bulletin board bracket put up and you’re previewed all 16 songs in our YouTube video and are now just waiting for the polls to open on Feb 28.

Here’s everything you need to have a successful time for our Spanish class music tournament. Be sure to share with your colleagues so they can also join the fun! You can tag us on social media @SpnishPlans or use the Hashtag #SpanishPlansMMM

Shared Google Drive
Bracket: Final 16 songs
Google Doc with artist and song info, embedded video, and voting links
Song info with everything you need to know about the songs. See the second tab for info on the artists social media.
Previous Winner Banner – Display previous winners
Bulletin Board Bracket Labels – Print and create a bulletin board bracket
Tik Tok Dance Challenges
Teacher Digital Bracket Prediction – submit picks to be eligible for PRIZES
Facebook Group – If you create any of your own documents, you can share them with other groups

Access the Google Doc with Song/Artist Info plus embedded videos for match-ups

For more information, check out our FAQ page or post on our Facebook March Music Madness Group.

And if you want to show your support, please SHARE, SHARE, and SHARE. Post to your social media and tag your friends in our posts. You can also support the countless hours we put into putting everything together by purchasing our TpT Bundle which includes all the basics plus a ton more to get the most out of this tournament. You can also choose to support us with a “buy us a coffee” donation:

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#SpanishPlansMMM

Posted on January 16, 2022 by spanishplans

It’s back. Our 9th annual music competition is gearing up and we’ve got 16 songs that your students are going to love. This year we will be hosting a qualifying round in Jan/Feb of 4 songs to determine the last entry.

If you are new to this competition, you can check out our FAQ page which details everything you need to know about how to implement this tournament into your Spanish class. It is consistently regarded as one of students’ favorite activities of the year.

If you are ready to dive in, head to our MMM22 homepage where you will find the official bracket, playlists, calendar and links to voting!

If you want to make it into a full unit you may be interested in purchasing our one stop download which includes all the necessary resources such as ranking sheets, bulletin board bracket labels, lyrics, lyric activities, and other activities. Your purchase helps us offset the costs of the polls and offset the investment of the 60+ hours we spend putting this all together. *Purchase is not necessary to participate in our competition, but at the price of a large coffee, it does show appreciation!

What you can start doing now is start playing the music in the background of your class as students work or as they enter the room so they start to hear the songs. No need to tell them that they are going to be voting on them in March, just let the music burrow its way into their ears and minds. When March comes around you’ll surely hear “I think I’ve heard this song before”.

As the competition nears, we will once again host the Bracket Prediction Contest so stay tuned on our MMM Facebook Group where hundred of Spanish teachers collaborate.

The 2022 SpanishPlans MMM Bracket features 15 berths and 4 play-ins battling it out to the the Top Song of the Year

Comment on this post telling us what you are looking forward to most about MMM this year or what you and your students have enjoyed about it in the past.

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De compras class activity

Posted on December 12, 2021 by SpanishPlans

This week, as part of the clothing/shopping unit, we went shopping! I had students explore a real Mexican department store and let them browse on their own for a while before I put them to the task of helping me look for gifts for my family.

I projected a screen with an item that I was looking for with a description of them person and their likes/dislikes and certain things that I was looking for about the item.

Students then looked through the website to find the perfect item. As I walked around the classroom and students would show me the items they found, I would be able to discuss in the target language with them. I could comment things like “Oh, he doesn’t like shirts that have letters on them” or “That shirt is short sleeve, she is always cold, she needs long sleeves” or “I love that, but it’s a bit expensive, I’m looking for something cheaper” or “I don’t think that they will like that style. They prefer something more casual”. Students competed with their classmates to see who could fit the best item. It was a totally fun, engaging, and authentic lesson.

If you want a ready-to-use lesson with descriptions for 6 family members, we’ve published it at TpT. It was a perfect complement to our shopping unit, but I think it’s a great review to practice numbers (prices), clothing words, descriptions, and just provide great input and discussion during the time of year when looking for a gift for someone is a real-life scenario.




If you want 3 activities to use throughout the whole unit, check out our Ropa / De Compras Bundle:

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Spanish Teacher Gift Ideas

Posted on December 3, 2021 by SpanishPlans

Looking for that perfect gift for a colleague… or yourself?

Check out our T-shirts, Hoodies, Coffee mugs, and facemasks of our popular “¿Qué hace un pez? / Nada” chiste as well as our sarcastic “Did you seriously just ask if you have to do it in Spanish?”

And it’s always a good time to get our Spanish Teacher Stamps, with a unique design for each Spanish-speaking country. You might also enjoy our Feedback Stamps, such as our popular “Me Gusta” or “Me Encanta”

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Using the movie Encanto in your Spanish class

Posted on November 17, 2021 by SpanishPlans

Movie Poster for Encanto with caption Using the Movie Encanto in your Spanish classMany Spanish teachers are rightly excited about this movie that’s based on Colombia and how we can incorporate it into the classroom.

Here’s are some options for using with your Spanish classes including our ready-to-implement lesson: Continue reading →

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Back in the Classroom

Posted on August 22, 2021 by SpanishPlans

After a year with many teaching from our homes, most of us are back in the classroom this year. Seems like a good time for a fresh start and new beginnings. End of the last year I purged a lot of stuff I haven’t used in years. This year due to a new board panel, I had to rearrange my set up. So whats are the “must have’s” and “think twice” when it comes to classroom decoration:

Must Haves for language acquisition

  • Spanish Rejoinders: Let the students use useful phrases to react to situations around the classroom. There are some great rejoinder posters from Grant B.  or you can spanish rejoindersprint your own from us. 
  • Question Words and Common Expressions: My school has a poster maker so I print out these lists of useful words and phrases to hang up.
  • Proficiency Level: Trying to explain the various proficiency levels can be difficult. To keep expectations clear to students, I use the ice cream analogy. I get requests all the time for the link to our bulletin board posters.
  • Language Acquisition quotes: Free printable posters describing how language acquisition words and benefits of reading.

Must Haves for Culture / Classy Decoration

Vinyl Wall Quotes in Spanish

Think Twice before hanging up

  • I see a lot of classrooms that are filled corner to corner with posters, decorations, and color. Sometimes it is best to keep it simple. An overly decorated classroom could be overstimulating and distracting to your students. 
  • Cognates word walls. I’ve seen it and I’ve even done it myself. But if the word is true cognate students will recognize it when they see it. Is this the best use of your space?
  • Word walls filled with words. Again, too many words on it might be overwhelming and how useful are those words you put up?

What are you most proud of in your classroom? What is something that every classroom should have? What is something that you’ve seen a lot and aren’t quite sure why? Comment below and if you have links to pictures, even better!!

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Join us for the Final 8

Posted on March 10, 2021 by SpanishPlans

If you felt like you didn’t have time to join us for the whole tournament of 16 songs, we are down to the final 8. For the rest of the MusicadeMarzo21 tournament, you could use a modified 4 day or 7 day bracket.

See our modified calendar. You can pass out the full bracket with the songs advancing or just show the final 8 bracket. Both are available for free download here: http://bit.ly/mmm21final8 


Also, for those of you who have been with us since Round 1, what activities have you been using in your classes? Let us know in the comments! 
For more information about the activities see our post on Lyric Activities and Music Video Activities.

Continue reading →

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