My primary teaching assignment is Spanish 1. Spanish 1 is the most basic level of Spanish and focuses on very simple, survival Spanish. Because of the simplicity of the language portion of the class, not a lot of research needs to occur on the part of the students. However, many cultural projects that we undertake do require research. For example. during the meal taking unit, scholars may need to create a Menu in Spanish featuring cuisine from a specific country. During the travel unit, scholars may need to research what attractions and cultural experiences are "must sees"!
One of the most valuable resources online for these types of projects is World Book (Encyclopedia). Sure, the library has hard copies of this resource, but our world is quickly changing. Digital resources can be updated far more quickly than hard copies. As a bonus, World book is simply written and extremely easy to understand! Students who are taking Spanish 1 at the high school level typically have experienced many struggles in their education and have low reading levels. World Book Encyclopedia uses pictures and illustrations to support the text information, making it more approachable and meaningful to students who struggle.
What I need to do now is contact my district and find out how I can give my students access to this wonderful resource so I don't have to continuously harp on them in regards to finding reliable resources and spend a lot of time double checking all of their information.
You're probably already using this, but it was new to me: https://escolar.eb.com/ Brittanica in spanish. And definitely get in touch with your library staff or with Colleen Sadowski to find out how to access the World Book Online.
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