Showcase the lives and accomplishments of some remarkable Hispanic figures with these printable biographies.
As a Spanish teacher, I loved Hispanic Heritage Month. It is an excellent way to expose your students to Spanish-speaking culture early in the school year and ignite their curiosity about the world beyond the classroom.
Observed from September 15th to October 15th, Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to honor and celebrate the achievements of Hispanic Americans and their contributions to society.
But how can you teach your Spanish students about the lives of so many remarkable figures in the American Latinx community in so little time?
Make it a fun, on-your-feet activity for your students: a Hispanic Heroes Gallery Walk!
In this blog post, you'll learn how to set up a successful gallery walk to teach your students the lives and accomplishments of eight Hispanic heroes,
complete with a packet of printables, students worksheets, and lesson slides to use in your Spanish class, whether you teach Spanish 1 or AP Spanish.
A quick guide to a successful gallery walk
If you have never done a gallery walk, worry not! This step-by-step walkthrough will ensure your gallery walk achieves its full potential as an interactive and enriching experience.
Spread the materials throughout the room. Each station’s content—in this case, the printable Hispanic Heroes biographies—can be taped to the wall or placed on separate desks. You can also spread the materials to another location if you can access one. For example, you can tape them up in the hallway, the cafeteria, or a large student area.
Combine classes if you have colleagues teaching the same level. You can also do this outside in the fall or spring.
Provide students with a graphic organizer or a worksheet of questions to go with the materials. This will help guide their focus and give the activity structure. Students fill in the worksheet or graphic organizer at each station.
Set up timed rotations if students need more structure. Put a timer on your phone or screen, and every 5-10 minutes, have students move to the next station as individuals, pairs, or small groups. This helps them pace themselves at each item.
Prepare an early finisher or sponge activity for students who finish more quickly than others. Students should work on that secondary assignment as soon as they complete their primary assignment.
Wrap up the gallery walk at around 30-40 minutes. This depends on your students' skill levels and new vocabulary.
Assess student learning. Discuss the key insights students gained from the gallery walk, or ask them to write a summary of what they learned.
Key benefits of using a gallery walk activity in a Spanish class
Discover how incorporating a gallery walk activity into your K-12 language classroom can bring students a burst of interactive and engaging learning opportunities.
Active engagement and interaction. Gallery walks promote active learning as students physically move around the room and interact with materials. This dynamic approach keeps students engaged and encourages peer interaction, fostering meaningful discussions in the target language.
Critical thinking. Students develop thinking skills by analyzing content at different stations and responding to prompts.
Language use. Language learners get opportunities to use the target language authentically, enhancing their interpretive skills.
Differentiation and autonomy. Gallery walks allow for differentiation by catering to diverse learning preferences. Students can choose their path, spend more time on challenging areas, and work at their own pace, promoting autonomy and individualized learning experiences.
Hispanic Heroes gallery walk activity packet
Ready to bring the Hispanic Heroes Gallery Walk to your Spanish class?
Let's dive in and discover the stories that have shaped Spanish-speaking cultures and inspired us all!
The Hispanic Heroes Gallery Walk Google Slides Activity Packet includes:
Eight printable biography cards. These bios will teach your students about eight inspiring Hispanic heroes and their incredible stories. They feature Julia Alvarez, Bad Bunny, Carolina Herrera, Oscar Isaac, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jorge Ramos, Sonia Sotomayor, and Sylvia Rivera.
Student worksheets. Print out this set of level-appropriate comprehension questions for your students to carry with them as they rotate through the gallery walk.
An early finisher activity. If your students finish the gallery walk earlier than their classmates, have them work on an optional follow-up activity related to the content of the walk.
Download the activity packet for your level
To assess and follow up on student understanding, you can use various assessment methods that cater to different learning styles and skills. Here are some assessment and follow-up strategies you can consider:
Individual Presentations. Ask each student to choose a Hispanic hero from the gallery and prepare a short presentation. This can include information about the hero's background, achievements, and why they are considered heroes. This approach allows for individual research and creativity.
Interactive Quizzes. Create online or in-class quizzes that cover the material presented during the gallery walk. Include multiple-choice, true/false, and short-answer questions to assess factual knowledge.
Creative Projects. Allow students to express their understanding through art, poetry, or multimedia presentations. This can provide a different perspective on their comprehension of the Hispanic heroes' stories.
Remember to align your assessment methods with the activity's learning objectives and your students' level. Combining these methods will help you gauge their comprehension, critical thinking skills, and ability to connect the heroes' stories to broader themes.
The importance of honoring Hispanic heroes during Hispanic Heritage Month
As we and our students celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and reflect on Hispanic heroes' achievements and contributions throughout history, we’ll enforce students’ understanding that learning a language is intertwined with learning about people and culture.
Let us continue to honor the enduring legacy of these Hispanic heroes and inspire future generations to dream big and make a positive difference in our global community.
For more access to authentic Spanish voices, try ¡Qué chévere!, a 4-level Spanish language blended solution designed for grades 6–12 that supports students with tools for listening and speaking, interculturality, and differentiation.
A former Spanish teacher who is currently based in the Washington DC metropolitan area. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish Language and Literature from la Universidad del Zulia and a Master's degree in Spanish Linguistics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her interests include SEL education in the world language classroom, theater, and finding ways to make the world a less scary place.
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