The two main celebrations in the Spanish-speaking countries are Christmas and Easter, and we have great resources for both of them.
We chose Seville (Spain) to film our Semana Santa videos and we're really glad about that decision.
Seville is awesome during Easter. Bueno, it's awesome at any time, but let's say it's even better during Semana Santa.
Filming Seville's Easter processions was a wonderful experience and also an excellent learning opportunity.
We witnessed how Semana Santa is obviously a religious celebration but also a huge tradition that brings neighbors, friends and families together, regardless of their spiritual believes.
These lessons will help you share that with your students, we're sure they'll love them!
1 Tradiciones de España: La Semana Santa (Spanish 1 & up)
This lesson is perfect for students who do not know much (or anything) about this tradition, since it covers when it takes place and what people do during Easter, including real testimonies from several people.
In Tradiciones de España: La Semana Santa you'll find:
- A warm-up activity to explain Easter in numbers (such as how long processions last).
- A short reading to introduce the most important ideas about this celebration, such as when it's celebrated, what people do and its typical food.
- An explanation and a listening comprehension activity to practice the verb venir.
- An engaging 5-minute video filmed in Seville that includes real testimonies from people watching the procession.
- Several activities to help students get the most from the video, including a self-graded quiz.
- A speaking prompt students will use to practice what they learn during the lesson.
2 La Semana Santa de Sevilla (AP Spanish)
We chose the Easter processions in Seville as the subject of our AP lesson about customs and values.
This engaging and helpful lesson includes:
- A warm-up activity in which students will listen to several clues to find out which celebration it's being described.
- Two listening comprehension exercises to summarize what the celebration of Semana Santa is about, and to hear an explanation from someone who participates in the processions.
- A 9-minute video filmed in Seville during the famous madrugá. It features several authentic interviews with different people involved in the procession: nazarenos, costaleros, viewers...
- An audio file so students can practice a simulated conversation about this tradition.
3 Semana Santa en Cádiz (Spanish 1 & up)
If you're looking for materials to help your students tell you what they did at Easter, Semana Santa en Cádiz is what you need.
This lesson focuses on the use of the regular verbs in the preterite tense, as well as the vocabulary about touristic places.
It includes an example of how to write a postcard and a picture story, with audio, about a young man's trip to Alcalá de Henares, the city where Miguel de Cervantes -author of Don Quixote- was born.
The 4-minute video is an engaging conversation between two young friends about what they did during Easter.
Your students will get lots of ideas and resources to explain what they did during the break!