Ketchup & Salsa: Hispanics in the U.S

Ketchup & Salsa: Hispanics in the U.S. Abstract This unit presents the benefits that Hispanic society and culture have brought to the United States an...
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Ketchup & Salsa: Hispanics in the U.S. Abstract This unit presents the benefits that Hispanic society and culture have brought to the United States and seeks to eradicate those stereotypes that students may have of Hispanic peoples. Topics of focus within this unit include: business, family, and faith. Students learn to form sentences in the subjunctive mood of the present tense in order to express their ideas and feelings about the influence of Hispanics on the culture of the U. S. On the basic level, students learn vocabulary associated with various aspects of the Hispanic culture in the U.S. and acquire knowledge about the traditions and values of Hispanic Americans in work, family, and faith. This is accomplished through videos of personal interviews and related class activities. On the values-centered level, students are challenged to examine U.S. culture in comparison with that of Hispanics. Students respond to and participate in class discussions of various video interviews and articles about Hispanics living in the U.S. Finally, on the faith-informed level, students relate biblical principles of love and hospitality to the treatment of the stranger (especially Hispanics living in the U.S.) as they respond to Bible verses, video interviews, and articles under study from the Christian perspective.

TIMELINE FOR THE UNIT This unit is intended to span the second half of a level of instruction in Spanish (level III is specifically targeted), whether the level lasts one semester or an entire school year.

I. Introduction to the Present Subjunctive mood A. Identification of forms/clue phrases 1. Cloze activity (“Que me quedes tú” by Shakira) B. Formation and use 1. Bellwork (¡Hazlo!) Timeline (continued) on next page…

Permission granted by Andrew Bell and Lauren Miralia for classroom use only

Timeline (continued) Topics of interest within the Hispanic community in the U.S.: [a new topic is covered biweekly] II. Family [2-3 days] A. Introduction of key terms/sayings & proverbs for theme [1 or 2 days] B. Video interview with a high school student from the Dominican Republic [1 day] 1. Venn diagram activity (Venn diagram handouts) 2. Partner discussion (share; compare/contrast Venn diagrams) III. Business [2-3 days] A. Introduction of key terms/sayings & proverbs for theme [1 or 2 days] 1. Full-class “interview” activity (“También he comido…” sheet) 2. Teacher direct instruction on foods/ingredients contributed to U.S. cuisine by Spanish speaking countries and groups B. Video interview with the owners of Compadres [1 day] 1. Response to online news article about Mexican restaurants IV. Faith [2-3 days] A. Introduction of key terms/sayings & proverbs for theme [1 or 2 days] B. Video interview with a couple from the D.R. [1 day] 1. Individual video worksheet (Faith Activity) 2. Group discussion (guiding questions on Faith Activity sheet) V. Final Project [introduced at beginning of course as summative assessment] A. Written Defense [compiled/revised throughout the course] 1. Pre-writing Activity [after Family topic is covered] 2. Formative Draft [after Business topic is covered] 3. Summative 1st Draft [after Faith topic is covered] 4. Summative Final Draft [second-to-last week of class] B. Oral Defense [last week of class]

Permission granted by Andrew Bell and Lauren Miralia for classroom use only.

Ketchup & Salsa: Hispanics in the U.S. GOALS OF THE UNIT Upon completion of this unit, the student will have completed the following goals and be able to demonstrate their personal understanding of and value for the contributions of Hispanic culture in the United States.

 The student will possess the necessary vocabulary, knowledge of expressions, and grammar skills that relate to each sub-topic within the unit.  The student will gain an understanding of the importance of the family in the Hispanic community by viewing personal interviews and reading culturally relevant pieces.  The student will gain an understanding of the positive influence that Hispanics have on the economy in the United States.  The student will develop an understanding of Hispanic faith(s) and the role it has in the lives of Hispanics in the U.S.  The student will discover biblical scriptures that discuss God’s desire for diversity and his command that His children walk in humility toward the stranger.

Permission granted by Andrew Bell and Lauren Miralia for classroom use only.

Ketchup & Salsa: Hispanics in the U.S. Background

Hispanics form the second largest minority group in the United States and, therefore, have a significant influence on the culture and society of the U.S. This influence began in the 15th century— before the first English settlers came to rest on the East coast—when Christopher Columbus opened America’s gates to the Spanish conquistadors. The Spanish owned much of the southern U.S. until the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, and physical memories of this inhabitation remain in the form of Spanish missions in the Southwest, the names of streets and geographical features, and the names and cultural traditions of some states (Arizona, Colorado, Texas, etc.). However, after this land was ceded to the U.S. almost two hundred years ago, not all of the Mexican inhabitants (who happened to speak Spanish) left the area, and many of their descendants thrive there now legally as contributing citizens of the United States. Because of the resident groups of Mexican-Americans and the steady flow of immigrants from other Central and South American countries, Anglo-Americans living in the U.S. have begun to feel threatened and have taken action against the Spanish-speaking community. Many of these complaints are founded upon stereotypes and prejudices fed more by the media and politicians rather than fact, and many citizens of the United States remain blind to the true situation of immigrants and to the benefits that Hispanics have brought to the country.

Level – This unit targets students of Spanish in their third year of study.

Permission granted by Andrew Bell and Lauren Miralia for classroom use only.

Ketchup & Salsa: Hispanics in the U.S. Activities and Assessments

Basic Level The basic level introduces new vocabulary and grammar in order to establish a foundation and word bank which the student can build upon and access throughout the unit. This level is a vehicle that enables the student to move from the basic level of knowledge to the values level of the material. Activity #1: This activity introduces students to the forms of the present subjunctive and the music of Shakira. First, students read a short biographical piece about Shakira (there is the additional option of including a piece about Colombia). The students then complete a Cloze activity in which they listen to a song that uses the present subjunctive (“Que me quedes tú” by Shakira). The Cloze worksheet contains the lyrics of the song with blanks where the present subjunctive is used (there may also be a word bank to help students recognize the new conjugations). The teacher plays the song two or three times to allow students sufficient time to fill in the blanks in the lyrics; the teacher then leads the class in correcting their answers. This activity is designed as an introduction to teaching the forms and uses of the present subjunctive. Activity #2: This activity serves as an introduction to the topic of business (more specifically, food businesses). The students will reference a worksheet with a list of various foods and ingredients from Hispanic cuisine as they circulate through the classroom and interview their classmates to find out who has eaten which food before. Once the students have interviewed each other for about 7-10 minutes (their table may or may not be completed), the teacher will conduct a lecture about the Hispanic foods that have influenced or become a part of U.S. cuisine and poll students as to how many of them enjoy each food that is mentioned. The goal of this activity is that the students will come to recognize the importance/positive influence of Hispanic cuisine on that of the United States.

Values Level The values level seeks to build students’ morals and values with regard to their view of the Hispanic culture in the United States. The student will be able to identify the positive influence that diversity (specifically, as brought by the Hispanic community) has on the United States. They will gain a genuine desire to treat the Hispanic people with dignity by developing their understanding of the Hispanic culture and society. This level challenges the student to look beyond himself and think about the stranger as a human being. The students come to recognize that while there are distinct differences in culture and language, there remains an equality of creation shared by humans.

Permission granted by Andrew Bell and Lauren Miralia for classroom use only.

Activities and Assessments (continued)

Activity: The students view a video interview of a high school student from Mexico who is studying in the United States. After viewing this video interview the students complete two different Venn Diagrams that compare and contrast life in the U.S. with life in Mexico. In one diagram, the students compare the Hispanic student’s life here in the U.S. with their own life in the U.S. In the second, the students compare the Hispanic student’s life in Mexico with the Hispanic student’s life in the U.S. This is followed by a class discussion that is guided by the teacher. The teacher completes two Venn Diagrams at the front of the classroom with contributions from the students’ individual diagrams. Upon completion of the Venn Diagram, the teacher divides the students into groups of three or four and gives them a list of guiding questions to discuss and record the results of the Venn Diagram activity.

Faith-informed Level This level seeks to enlighten the students from a distinctly biblical perspective. The goal is to challenge the student to recognize God’s commands with regard to diversity and humble hospitality. The students interact directly with specific scriptures and hear a testimony from a Cuban-American on the impact of faith in her life. Activity: After reading the scriptures and hearing the video testimony, the student writes his own defense of diversity/humility in Spanish (depending on the class’s achieved skill level in Spanish, the defense can be done in a form of “Spanglish” or English). The defense should reflect his ideas on diversity and humble hospitality from a biblical perspective as a response to the prompt: ¿Cuál es la importancia de los hispano-americanos en los EE.UU. y los beneficios de una cultura diversa? (What is the importance of Hispanic-Americans in the U.S. and the benefits of a diverse culture?). Students will form their response based on the material covered throughout the semester/year to explain how their view of the world has changed. The teacher distributes a rubric that explains the criteria that is required in order to have a successful defense. This includes a written statement as well as an oral presentation of the defense. The student has to defend his position in a court scene before a Judge and Jury. The student attempts to persuade the Judge (teacher) and the Jury (classmates) that he has a valid argument based on evidence collected from scripture. The Jury does not make comments on the student’s defense (this is explicitly stated by the teacher before the defense begins). The Jury deliberates and determines a grade for the student (this only comprises a small portion of the student’s final grade, the rest of which comes from the teacher’s evaluation).

Permission granted by Andrew Bell and Lauren Miralia for classroom use only.

Ketchup & Salsa: Hispanics in the U.S. Formal Assessments Performance: The student’s performance in the courtroom activity will be assessed through the use of a rubric that contains several criteria. One-third of the points toward the student’s final grade on the project will come from the quality of his written defense (aspects to be graded: content, grammar, spelling/punctuation, and appropriate level of vocabulary in Spanish). One-third of the points will come from the student’s oral presentation of his defense (aspects to be graded: content, grammar, appropriate level of vocabulary in Spanish, and professional dress on the day of the presentation—this will be defined for students in the rubric). The final third of the points toward the student’s final grade on the project will come from his amount of and nature of participation in the presentations of his classmates (aspects to be graded: paying polite, quiet attention during other presentations and participating in the jury’s discussion of the defense). This grade will ensure that he is engaged throughout the activity, not just when he is giving his own oral defense. [Note: the performance grade is the culminating grade for this project. Additionally, the student will be graded on a pre-writing activity, his first draft of the written defense, and the final draft of the written defense.] Written Quizzes: The students will take vocabulary quizzes and will complete verb conjugation bellwork practices throughout the unit. The quizzes and practices will test students’ knowledge of new vocabulary and verb forms; they will also include a smaller comprehensive portion. These quizzes/practices are intended to ensure that the students are studying and maintaining the necessary vocabulary and the new verb forms in order to continue developing their understanding of the unit.

Informal Assessments: Guided Practice: The students will receive a done/not done grade for the completion of the day’s worksheet or other guided practice activity during class. This will allow the teacher a chance to monitor student progress and will also keep students involved in the lesson. Discussions: Each student that participates during a class discussion will receive points for their contribution(s). Points will be awarded for the effort invested, rather than accuracy of the student’s speech.

Permission granted by Andrew Bell and Lauren Miralia for classroom use only.

Ketchup & Salsa: Hispanics in the U.S. Answers to The Gift of the Stranger Questions

The mission of this unit is specifically designed to engage the student in the development of a positive perception of the Hispanic culture in the United States. The student should come to possess this perception of Spanish speakers worldwide and diversity at large, but the focus of this plan is on Hispanics in the United States. If the goal of this unit is achieved, then the student also will have gained a positive perception of Hispanics and the “stranger”. This “positive perception” includes seeing the stranger and his culture as valuable and as an opportunity to learn through humility and mutual respect.

Each of the assignments and lessons within the unit is designed to present the positive attributes that Hispanics possess and have shared in the U.S. within the categories of: family, business, and faith. The student will be challenged to recognize many of these attributes and even compare them to their own culture. In some of the video interviews in this unit, the student will hear the testimony of some Hispanic restaurant owners and an exchange student. The design of these video interviews is to present the students with authentic examples of Hispanic people who have made a transition in their life from their native country to the United States. These video interviews encompass the process of immigration, experiencing a new culture, leaving family behind, and much more.

This unit presents the student with real life examples of Hispanics in the U.S. Upon experiencing these examples, the student will then compare and contrast his personal life with that of Hispanics. As he makes these connections, the student will be challenged to identify the positive attributes of diversity and the Hispanic culture in class discussions and a study of biblical scriptures about diversity and humility. One of the unit’s culminating activities will challenge the student to persuade his peers that the Hispanic culture is valuable to the United States and has much to offer. Not only will the student take ownership of his belief, but he will be able to discuss his ideas after a thorough examination of various sources. The design of the activities is to challenge the student to develop the ability and desire to hear the stranger and to approach the stranger with humility. This humility will continue to develop over time as the student continually compares and contrasts his own culture with that of Hispanics through encounters with the “stranger”.

Permission granted by Andrew Bell and Lauren Miralia for classroom use only.

Ketchup & Salsa: Hispanics in the U.S. Bibliography

Avalos, Hector. “Religion.” Encyclopedia Latina: History, Culture, and Society in the United States. Ed. Ilan Stavans. 1st ed. 2005. Print. Avalos’s contribution to Encyclopedia Latina explains the nature of the religion(s) that Latinos in the United States practice. He gives statistics to illustrate the differences in religious practices in Latin American countries in comparison with those of Latino immigrants to the United States and their children. This resource only lacks statistics that are specific to each ethnic group.

Bio.True Story. A&E Television, 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2010. http://www.biography.com/articles/Shakira-189151 This resource gives a useful and succinct version of Shakira’s life story. It is optimal for use in the classroom as a quick introduction to Shakira and her music because it is short, uses language that high school students will understand readily, and promotes the singer and music positively.

Chen, Alicia Berta. 300 Proverbs and Sayings. Web. Aug. 2000. http://cogweb.ucla.edu/Discourse/Proverbs/Spanish-English.html

Flores, Yvette G. "Family." Encyclopedia Latina: History, Culture, and Society in the United States. Ed. Ilan Stavans. 1st ed. 2005. Print. This article in Encyclopedia Latina gives a thorough explanation of how and why the Latino family functions. Flores not only gives general information but also breaks down the larger group of Latinos by country of origin and socioeconomic status to give details specific to people of certain demographics. The article examines the difference between idealized family values and those that are enacted in reality.

Heise, Dorothy. Hispanic American Influence on the U.S. Food Industry. National Agricultural Library, Sept. 2002. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. http://www.nal.usda.gov/outreach/HFood.html This article discusses the increasing influence of Hispanic food in the U.S. The article states reasons for the increased influence such as the sheer Hispanic population increase. The article also delves into the importance of food in the Hispanic culture.

Hispanic Achievements Foundation, Inc. Hispanic Contributions to the United States of America. Web. 2005-6. http://www.hispaniccontributions.org/

Permission granted by Andrew Bell and Lauren Miralia for classroom use only.

Latino Marketing and Advertising Consulting and Trends. Hispanic Trending, 15 Oct. 2004. Web. 16 Oct. 2010. http://juantornoe.blogs.com/hispanictrending/2004/10/supermarkets_th.html This article discusses the growing trend of Hispanic supermarkets in the U.S. It gives a brief history of the downward trending in the 90’s, but then a turn-around in the 21st century. As the Hispanic population increases, so does the Hispanics purchasing power and influence on the American economy.

New York Authentic Mexican food. Examiner, 19 Nov. 2010. Web. 29 Nov. 2010. http://www.examiner.com/authentic-mexican-food-in-new-york This article discusses popular Mexican food restaurants in the greater New York City area. More importantly, this article offers readers’ comments in regards to the article and their own opinions. This article provides a foundation for promoting discussion of the impact that Mexican restaurants have in the United States.

Roca, Ana. “Spanish in the United States.” Encyclopedia Latina: History, Culture, and Society in the United States. Ed. Ilan Stavans. 1st ed. 2005. Print. This article focuses on important dates and events in Mexican-American and Spanish history that significantly altered life for Latino- and Anglo-Americans alike. It focuses on the linguistic history of what is now the United States and presents the country’s current state of affairs in terms of bilingualism. The author writes against the “English Only” mentality rationally without making radical statements.

Smith, David, & Barbara Carvill. The Gift of the Stranger. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2000. Print.

**This bibliography includes the video interviews that have been conducted with several Spanish speakers.

Permission granted by Andrew Bell and Lauren Miralia for classroom use only.