Date: May 2, 1999

Grade Level(s): 9, 10, 11

Subject(s):

• Foreign Language/Spanish

Description: This lesson is intended for a beginning-intermediate Spanish class. Students design postcards to reflect the life and/or work of a Spanish-speaking artist. Students also write personal messages in Spanish for practice in vocabulary terms that have to do with traveling, greetings & farewells, food, climate, and other such typical themes found on postcards.

Goals: Students will:
1) gain and use vocabulary words that deal with traveling, greetings & farewells, food, climate, and other such typical themes found on postcards.
2) learn about Hispanic culture as they use their creative juices to interpret and "duplicate" a painting by a famous Hispanic artist on the opposite side of the postcard! 
3) practice researching methods while gathering information on the artists' life and works.
The projects can then be posted all over the room as decorations for Open House or Back To School Night.

Objectives: Students will learn about the life and works of a Hispanic artist. They will practice addressing letters and using short, descriptive phrases to share their impressions of the Hispanic country they chose to write about. The project will take 2-3 days to complete.

Materials:

• White 4x6" index cards
• markers
• rulers
• textbook or Sp-Eng. dictionaries (for vocabulary)
• chalkboard or whiteboard & writing tools
• the Internet or encyclopedias

Have students do some research to find an artist and one of his/her works they want to duplicate. They should plan to do the artwork at home, or for a short time in class (and individually) while Hispanic music is played in the background. In class, students will do the following:

1. Discuss what kinds of things are usually written on postcards.
2. List ideas on the board and have students take notes.
3. Talk about general themes in various Latin American countries (people, weather, popular vacation spots, music, food.)
4. Write a rough draft of at least 5 sentences in length. Then exchange writing samples with a neighbor for peer revision of the rough draft.
5. On one side of the index card, duplicate the artwork they researched (at home). On the other side, hold the card horizontally and draw a vertical line down the middle, dividing the card into 2 halves.
6. Write the letter on the left half, and the address on the right half.

Assessment: Grade for neatness, originality, artistic ability, and correct use of grammar and accent marks.

Useful Internet Resources:

The Life of Frida Kahlo
http://www.jlhs.nhusd.k12.ca.us/Classes/Social_Science/Latin_America/Frida%20Kahlo/Frida_Kahlo.html