The goals of "En busca de un personaje famoso" will give the student of Spanish level II the opportunity to, not only learn about Spanish speaking countries and their cultures but also research a famous personality in a specific country.

The students will learn that, even though, these countries are linked by a common language, they have their own culture and regional differences which make them unique.

In addition to making his/her own presentation, the student of Spanish II will learn about Spanish speaking countries as he/she listens to the presentations of other students. This exercise will make them aware that Spanish is spoken in over twenty countries around the world and this is important especially in a world where globalization is becoming more the norm of education, business, and technology.

The student will use the FireWorks© application to prepare a poster of the specific country and the famous person chosen to represent that country. They will also write a report with a minimum of 200 words. It will be written in Spanish using the MLA guidelines.

Finally, the student will give a two-minute presentation on his/her selected Spanish speaking country and a personality of that country. The rest of the class will learn the name, the location, the capital, the monetary unit, and other important facts of the country. They will also learn about a famous person of that country.

  1. The student will research and write about a Spanish speaking country and a famous personality who lives, or lived, there.

The student will

  • select one of 20 Spanish speaking countries using library and computer resources furnished. Use picture or drawing to present the title of the project: country and personality. (January 23, 2007
  • locate selected country on a map of the world. Show the geographical location of the country as well as basic statistics about the country, important physical characteristics, 3 additional major cities besides the capital, ports, monetary unit, recreational spots, mountains, rivers, sources of income, educational system, tourist industry if any, etc
  • a picture of the flag and its meaning (colors, coat of arms, etc.)
  • history of its government including today's head of state (from independence today)
  • holidays, music, national attire
  • a famous person of that country (explain why this person is famous.)
  • a bibliography page or works cited will complete the written report. It should include library and Internet resources
  1. During this first visit, students will learn about FireWorks and Dreamweaver and how to design their poster. After a brief introduction to Fireworks, students following the step-by-step instructions will create their poster using the "Text" and Drawing" tools available in Fireworks. The posters will be edited for grammatical accuracy and correct usage of vocabulary. The students will spend three more class periods working in the US CALC room.
  2. During these visits, students are:
  • to enhance their text using stroke, fill and effects options
  • incorporate illustrations from an onlkine graphics site such as arttoday
  • once the poster is completed all students will open Dreamweaver, and following the step-by-step instructions furnished, they will place their poster on the page, and make a link back to the student index page.
  • to change the color of their text and the background of the page.
  1. Students will make a folder in the "Persona" folder in curricular projects to hold all their work.
  2. After their project is published, they will give an oral presentation to their peers.
  3. During all of the process, the content of the poster and report will be checked for grammar accuracy and correct usage of vocabulary.
  4. The totality of this material will be the basis for the written document, which must be submitted to the teacher on February 2, 2007 and should contain the following:
    • location of the country of choice; the student will use the verb estar (to be) and the verb ser (to be)
    • the key points related to their country and their choice of illustration/background; the student will use the verb llamarse (to identify by name) and the verb tener (to have) for age.
    • the name of the famous character, and description through the use of adjectives; the student will use the verb ser(to be). Indicate where the character lives ( or lived) , and likes and dislikes, the student will use the verb viver (to live) and the verb gustar (to like); the goal the character wants (wanted) to accomplihsed. here the student will use the verb querer (to want, to wish) and the verb ir (to go).

  1. Select a topic by January 23, 2007.
  2. Start reading about it, research using the school library and the Internet (January 23 through February 2, 2007.)
  3. Get pictures from Internet sites, after receiving permission to use them. (January 23 through February 2, 2007.)
  4. Write the rough draft by January 24, 2007. Hand in for first revision, January 25, 2007. (20 points)
  5. First visit to the CALC Room on January 26, 2007. Start formatting the project.
  6. Continue revising, adding, deleting material.
  7. Second visit to the CALC room on February 2, 2007, to finalize project formatting.
  8. Hand in written document by February 2, 2007. Keep a copy. (20 points)
  9. Final visit to the CALC room on February 7, 2007. Complete project. (40 points)
  10. Two-minute presentations of projects to class on February 8, 9, 12, and 14, 2007. (20 points)

 


http://www.askjeeves.com
general information on any topic; ask a question

http://www.nga.gov
general information on art from any country

http://www.espanole.org/pais
general information on Spanish speaking countries

http://www.espanole.org/gente
general information on famous Latin American people

http://www.city.net/countries/mexico
general information related to Mexico. Change the name of the country to this site and you may visit other Latin American countries

http://www.oas.org/children
general information on any of the member Latin American countries

http://www.adventureonline.com
information on Central and South America

http://www.ciberspain.com
Spain

http://www.yahoo.com
search by country or person’s name

Check with the librarians for a more up-to-date list of references.

Get information form at least two text books.

All of the sources need to be mentioned in the "works cited" page.

 

Written Content:

Spoken Content:

Technical Content:

Listening skills:

The completed project will fulfill the following foreign language standards:

 

This project designed and implemented by Alicia Romeu for the Spanish students of Germantown Academy. Technical assistance and page design furnished by Carol Siwinski, Curricular Technology Specialist.

Last updated January, 2007