I saw a tweet with a “Tournament of Books” in relation to the NCAA Basketball tournament that is going on right now in sports. I asked my PLN on twitter on ideas on how to incorporate this idea in the WL class.
I already have my students following a La Liga Spanish team, and we will do a World Cup unit before the end of the school year, so I wasn’t necessarily looking for something sports related.
Within minutes I had a response from @senordaves : “Best Spanish artists? Musicians?”
Of course! I play music all the time in class. My students know I am a huge fan of artists Jesse & Joy and Juanes. I could put together a “Sweet 16” bracket of songs that we have listened to in class. I can have students fill out their brackets at home. Each day, we can preview 2 songs and class and poll the students to see which song they like better. At the end of the day, when all classes have voted, we have a winner who advances to the next round!
You can find a blank bracket with 16 spaces and fill in your own songs. [Update: @senordaves found a great online bracket maker.]
In the meanwhile, I’ve created a bracket of 16 Juanes songs.
Post your picks in the comment below. Which song do you think will go all the way?
Update: We’ve decided to have a 12-song Bracket this year. Download it yourself. We created a playlist on youtube where students can watch/listen to the songs and then write 8 vocabulary words for each song. Here’s a FREE PDF.
If you want an editable version, check out our Foreign Language Music Lesson product.
SpanishPlans.org 
Pues, a mis estudiantes del tercer año les encantaría “Camisa Negra!”. Entre los dos años que los he tenido, “Camisa Negra” es la favorita sin dudo.
P.D. ¡Muchas gracias por compartir esta idea!
A Dios let Pido!
Yerbatero!!!
Michele Whaley does a “Tournament of Awesomeness” every March (mjtprs.com) where students each submit whatever they think is most awesome and then have to defend it against someone else’s submission when their ‘teams’ play. The things can be anything–ice cream, friends, “A Dios le pido”, party rockin, etc.
This is such a great idea!! Can’t wait to do this in my classes!
Thank you! I love the idea of mini tournaments (1-2 weeks) each month with different themes…one month music, one month comida, one month sports or games, etc. During that time you could make sure to read stories and/or use authentic resources that zone in on that topic/theme so kids are well informed before voting each day. 🙂 Awesome post!