Teaching Suggestions
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Background
Noemi and her family live in Mexico near the monarch sanctuary called Sierra Chincua. The two videos you are about to see were made in their kitchen, an out-building where they cook on a wood-fired stove. In the first video, Noemi and her father send a greeting and invite you to visit the monarch sanctuaries in their community. In the second video, they introduce the Spanish words used when studying monarch butterflies in Mexico.

Video Clip #1: Greetings from Mexico!
Introduce and play the first video, Greetings from Mexico. Encourage students who do not speak Spanish to listen for words they can translate into English. Here are a few words students with little or no background knowledge of Spanish may "catch" when they hear the video greeting for the first time: hola, mariposa, monarca, Canada, Mexico.

If you have students who speak Spanish, invite them to help translate words to understand what Noemi and her dad are saying. If no student translators are available in your class, provide copies of the written transcript and challenge them to find familiar words. After they have had a chance to read the Spanish version of the message, provide the English version. Have students explore the Spanish and English versions of the message side-by-side. After exploring the written texts, replay the video message. How many words were they able to understand?
What visual details in the video clip caught students' attention?

Video Clip #2: Learning Spanish Words With Noemi and Her Dad
In the second video clip, Noemi and her dad will help your students learn Spanish words related to monarchs. When you play the clip for the first time, have your class focus on listening and capturing words. Play the clip multiple times, inviting students to pronounce and decipher the words they hear. Give students the word list of Spanish words used in this clip and challenge them to predict the English translation. Complete the sheet together using the answer key provided. With a copy of their completed sheet in front of them, play the video clip again, encouraging students to pronounce each word on the list along with Noemi and her dad. Have students predict which five words they'll need most often as they study monarchs. Ask students to share their reasoning.

  • Just for fun: Did you catch what Noemi's dad says at the end of the clip? "¡Soy una estrella!" ("I'm a star!")


Lesson Extentions

  • Invite students to use the words they learned from Noemi and her dad to create a Spanish-English dictionary. During your study of monarchs in Mexico, encourage students to add words to the classroom dictionary.
  • Use the map of Mexico and have students locate Sierra Chincua, the monarch sanctuary near Noemi's family's home. Read through "The Story Behind the Video" together. Encourage students to share their responses to the video greeting and story.

Read

Map

The Story Behind the Video

Noemi's family lives near the Sierra Chincua sanctuary. Can you find it on the map?

Noemi

Noemi's Dad

Video Clip #1
Greetings from Mexico!

 

Video Clip #2
Learning Spanish Words With Noemi and Her Dad




National Geography Standards

Human Systems
The characteristics, distributions, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.