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ORGANIZING A HOLIDAY EVENT

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All of the Power Points, readings, comprehension questions, door
signs, activity tickets, quizzes, AP cultural comparison, and video
links that we use for our holidays around the world event as well as for our holidays unit are included in this Spanish and Hispanic
holidays bundle
for intermediate and advanced Spanish students.

We organize a two hour event on the weekend during which Spanish level 2-5 students from several schools spend 20 minutes in five different sessions.  The sessions are Spanish holidays (las Fallas, los Sanfermines and la Tomatina), December/January holidays (las Posadas, la Navidad, el Día de los Santos Inocentes and El Día de los Reyes Magos), La Nochevieja, el Carnaval y las Pascuas, and El Día de San Valentín.  Upon arrival, each student receives a ticket to let them know in which activity he/she will begin.  All rooms are labeled with these fun door signs.  In each session, the students watch a video or Power Point presentation, eat or drink a related item from that holiday, and participate in an interactive activity that relates to the holiday.  

For example, the students in the Nochevieja activity watch this video on celebrating New Year's in Spain after they make wishes with grapes along with the young people in this video.  While completing the New Year's reading and questions, the students sip on sober sangria while enjoying some delicious tacos.  At the end of the session, the students all write a few resolutions and share them with their fellow classmates.  Upon leaving, everyone shares a New Year's Eve toast.

The students rotate sessions every 20 minutes so they visit all five of the holidays sessions and they do many of the interactive activities that are explained on each of the individual holidays pages.  We hand out tickets to the best speakers in each of the activities, and the student with the most tickets at the end of the event wins a prize.

Watch this excellent video as a culminating activity upon completion of your holidays unit or holidays event.  See images from the most well-known popular Spanish holidays for each month of the year in this video.

All of our students do not attend this event and they do not complete all of the documents, videos, or activities from this page in a two hour period.  We do make sure that all of our students read the articles, complete the comprehension activities, watch the videos, and complete a version of the AP formal speaking holidays and traditions assignment as a part of this unit though.  The entire unit can be broken into several mini units or the teacher can teach each of the holidays as they occur throughout the school year.

***We have many other cultural events that we organize throughout the school year with additional interactive activities that involve music, movies, telenovelas, game shows, holidays, commercials, TV shows, and more.  Click here to learn more:
Media/Pop Culture Event
Game Night
Immersion Day
Conversation Hour