How Can I Enrich My Spanish Curriculum Effectively Through the Use of Culture from Mexican and Other Spanish-Speaking Countries?

When learning a new language, one needs to not only learn about the grammar rules and/or vocabulary, but also learn about the cultural aspect of the language. The purpose of this project is to develop Spanish One lesson unit that cover six different topics on culture from different Spanish-speaking countries: Spanish-speaking Country Research, Latin American Painters, Día de Los Muertos, Quinceañera, Las Posadas, and Música Mariachi. A total of 11 lessons were created to cover these topics. These lessons are designed to supplement the textbook that mostly addresses Spain culture. The following three questions guided this research project: (1) How can Spanish language curriculum be supplemented with culture of Spanish-speaking American countries? (2) How can Funds of Knowledge be incorporated into the world language curriculum? (3) How can supplemental cultural lesson plans from different Spanish speaking American countries into a secondary Spanish language curriculum using the world language and English language development standards? This project seeks to improve the Spanish language curriculum to benefit and motivate students to be aware of other cultures. The curriculum was designed using backward planning, with a focus on the assessment, evidence of learning and then the development of the learning activities. In conclusion, there is a need for culture to be integrated into the Spanish classroom, not only to cover a world language standard on culture, but to also help students become aware, understand, and appreciate not only their own culture, but those of others and the target language being learned.