Subject: Elementary Spanish at the high school or college level.

Duration: 1 class

Goal: To identify the Taino roots of some Spanish words.

Objective: To practice basic Spanish vocabulary.

Activities:
1. Briefly explain the history of the Tainos and their influence on contemporary Dominican society See also, The Tainos: Rise & Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus by Irving Rouse.

2. Show students the vocabulary in the sheet "Ciertas Palabras Taino del Uso Comun Actual" (from El museo del Hombre Dominicano, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic). Students identify any cognates and then look in the dictionary for the meaning of the words.

3. Students complete the Taino crossword puzzle.

Assessment:
In pairs, students create a crossword puzzle using a minimum of twenty-five words. Students exchange puzzles and complete them.

Materials: (Available at the PIER Resource Center)
Dictionaries
Ciertas Palabras Vocabulary
Graph paper
Taino crossword puzzle.
The Tainos: Rise & Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus by Irving Rouse