Grade/Subject: Upper level Spanish, History

Duration: If done as a unit several weeks. Individual components noted.

Goal: To introduce students to the history and culture of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.

Objectives:
To compare and contrast the historical development and current issue of the islands (i.e., political stances, racial and social attitudes, cultural diversity, and US intervention).

Background knowledge: Students should be familiar with the basic history and culture of Spain, especially from 711 to 1492 AD.

Activities:

Part One: Impact of Christopher Columbus. (2-3 days)
1. Review/teach the impact of Christopher Columbus. To begin the lesson, as a class, students brainstorm the events leading to his voyages and those occurring after his voyages. To do this, students assume the role of investigative reporters. As each question is volunteered, the teacher writes it on an index card and hands it to a student to research. We are looking for infobytes here, not a report! Sample questions include:

Who was C.C. anyways?
What was the background of his crew?
Where did they land?
Why land there and what did they do once they landed?
Who was already living there? What happened to them?

2. Students research their questions on the internet or in the library.

3. After a designated amount of time, students present their findings to the class. As the "factoids" are given and discussed, they are noted on computers or large sheets of paper so that a sequential history is eventually fleshed out. Designate one or two students to write the facts.

Assessment: Create a quiz based on the historical facts, essay, or the timeline.

Activities Part II: Cuba Va (2 days)
1. Distribute study guide in English and Spanish to help students focus and summarize the issues discussed.

2. Watch Cuba Va video in two segments. Total duration of video is 59 minutes.

3. Students discuss and fill in the required information (attachment 4 includes the answers).

Assessment: Choose part of the study guide as a quiz.

Activities Part III: The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico (2 days).
Students watch the videos and discuss their observations.

Assessment: Students write a short essay comparing and contrasting Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, focusing on the following three topics: models of education, political climate, and family values.

Activities Part IV: Project on the Caribbean islands. (3 weeks minimum)
1. Distribute the project guidelines in English and Spanish.

2. Divide the class into groups and allot a specific amount of time for project development.

3. Students present their study guide projects on assigned days.

Assessment: Create a test based on the study guides that each group produced. This will vary from class to class depending on student interests, current events, and depth of knowledge produced!

Materials: (available at the PIER Resource Center)
Cuba Va
Puerto Rico Tourism
Mary Knoll Dominican Republic
VCR
Cuba Va Study Guide and Answer key (English and Spanish)
Caribbean Islands Project Guidelines
Access to computers with internet or school library
Large sheets of paper
Samples of student questions