AP Spanish Projects: Part 2

Last week we talked about 3 different kinds of AP Spanish projects that you can assign for presentations. This week, we will continue our theme of AP Spanish projects, but this time we will focus on projects that involve writing.

AP Spanish Projects: Writing Idea 1

Let’s go in the same order as last week: first we can talk about a group project. The benefits of having students work in groups are many. Here are just a few: many of our students learn better in groups because of their cultural background. Often, higher quality work results from group work. The strengths of each individual are showcased! And of course, it reduces the amount of correcting. This is not to say that we teachers are lazy. It is simply an acknowledgement that there are only so many hours in the day, and less correcting means more timely feedback for students.

Ok- so the project. Here is one idea my students really enjoy; it’s a group writing project about don Quijote. After we read a few chapters, students can choose to either write another chapter, or they can choose to write and perform a skit! Students love this assignment because they have the chance to be really creative and funny! And- depending on the group, I also give the choice for students to work alone if they want. This year, I had one student take me up on that. He loves to write, and he turned in a 10 page chapter! That was a double-edged sword!!

AP Spanish Projects: Writing Idea 2

Next in my list of AP Spanish projects is an individual project. I have 2 projects that require students to interview other people. One is regarding immigration, and the other is regarding how your job affects your quality of life. In both cases, students have the opportunity to use their Spanish in a real-world application while they converse.

Once they have completed their interviews, they must write. The key to success is to give students a clear rubric about what will be scored, and an outline to help them organize their writing. These AP Spanish projects are some of the most successful and most remembered projects of the school year. Students make connections with adults, sometimes in their own families, and leave with new wisdom and perspective that they can carry with them into young adulthood!

AP Spanish Projects: Writing Idea 3

Is it just me, or do many students still struggle with the basics of organizing an essay?? Years ago, I assumed that students in my AP Spanish class were coming to me with excellent writing skills, like topic sentences, ability to use quotes, etc. I find that the reality is that many students still need support with the basics.

That AP Argumentative Essay is a big task on the Exam. Especially the first time we write one in class, we turn it into a project. First, I do some direct instruction with examples, especially on how to form an introductory paragraph. Students write a rough draft. I have a paragraph by paragraph checklist to make my correcting and feedback go faster. I also have a list of abbreviations to indicate what kind of mistake they made. When I give back the rough draft, students use my checklist and the error codes to improve their work.

I won’t lie. This process is time consuming. But it also provides tremendous learning opportunities. And the silver lining is that the final drafts are so much better, and take far less time to correct than that rough draft!