Those that know me, realize that hanging in a crowd this large is NOT my scene, but, I will admit that it was an incredible experience well worth being outside of my comfort zone. Afterall, what teacher doesn´t like cultural bragging rights with her students :) In any case, in Spain it is traditional to eat 12 grapes as the clock strikes midnight on New Year´s eve. You will see hundreds upon on hundreds of people with their plastic baggies of grapes ready to go. On T.V. during the Campanadas, they even have a countdown to eating them. Each grape devoured is believed to be a month of good luck.
With this in mind, I decided to recreate this experience with my students.
Learning Objective: To be able to describe New Year's Traditions (I go over the daily objectives with my students everyday--they need to know what they are responsible for learning)
I start my lesson by having my students read an article about New Year´s eve traditions in Spanish. It includes Puerto Rico, Mexico, Ecuador and other Spanish speaking countries. I follow this up by going through a powerpoint I created explaining many of these in detail. The last of the slides is of Spain, where I explain the grapes and the campanadas.
Instead of just talking about it, I have my students watch the Youtube clip of ¨Las Campanadas¨ and interact.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV1VFcCKijY
As they watch the video, I have them eat 12 gummy bears... or deliciosos ;)
It seems like a silly task, but with all sincerity, this really does make for a memorable experience for the kids. In fact, my Spanish 2 students asked me if we would be celebrating again this year. They are ready.
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