AP Spanish Unit 2 Updates

Ok, so school is in swing and you’re almost done with unit 1. Now it’s time for the next thing, and you’re wondering how to attack the unit 2 updates. Of course this is overwhelming. We are all stretched thin with multiple preps, and I’m sure there are some of you out there like me, who don’t have a colleague to collaborate with. I’m the only one that teaches this course at my school. So let’s be unit 2 updates buddies!

Where To Start with Unit 2 Updates

The first place to start making unit 2 updates is with the essential questions. They have been updated since the last time I wrote curriculum for my school. These questions are the most recent, and the basis of the unit that I revised.

Cómo se inluyen la lengua y la cultura entre si?
Cómo evolucionan la lengua y la cultura a través del tiempo?
Cómo refleja el arte de una comunidad su identidad pública?

Major Unit 2 Updates in AP Spanish

If you are reading this blog post, you probably know that I create and sell my lesson plans, projects, activities, etc. on Teachers Pay Teachers. You probably also know that I am 3/4 of the way through a 35 year teaching career, and still at it! This summer (2026) I am updated the lesson plans that I use with my students (and sell on TPT) to reflect the new exam.

For me, these are the major updates in AP Spanish Unit 2 needed this year. They all revolve around the fact that the AP Exam will now include a project presentation.

Students Need To Connect What They’re Learning About To the 3 P’s.

Given that we know students will be presenting a project that they’ve worked on, we know that they will be asked recorded questions about their project. Almost certainly, there will be questions about the products, practices and perspectives of the culture.

Therefore, I created some new activities and adapted some of the ones that I already had to focus specifically on identifying the 3 P’s. If you need a starting place, here is a free reading activity with a 3 P’s focus!

If you have worked for years to develop curriculum and activities that you really like, don’t just throw it all out! Adapt what you have!

Students Need Chances To Research and Report

Another of the updates to AP Spanish Unit 1 I made in my lesson plans is that students need to have the chance to practice researching and reporting what they learn. This can be done with projects, with reading articles and reporting to groups, and in other ways too.

I think it’s important that students don’t feel overwhelmed with the scope of their research. Within each unit, the task should be very focused and not require a great deal of time. They will have plenty of time to do that for the AP Exam project!

In this unit, I updated a project that I already had about cultural values. Things below the surface, like social norms around flirting, how people perceive justice and the criminal justice system, how they view death… these are all choices that students have when conducting a mini research project.

Part of the project is to compare what they learn to their own culture’s value system. It’s interesting for students to learn what values are seen in a similar way, and which ones may be really different.

Activity Updates To AP Spanish Unit 2

It’s been a little while since I wrote this curriculum. The changes to the AP Spanish Exam forced me to take a close look at the curriculum I designed and update it. Students will learn about things like how one’s personality or identity can change based on how many languages they speak or which one they’re speaking at the moment!

A new element I included in this unit reflects one of the essential questions- about how languages change over time. This is a great time to incorporate ideas about slang (which teenagers love) and also a great time to talk about how languages can go extinct.

The Last of the Big Updates to AP Spanish Unit 2

The cultural comparison is no longer a specific task for the AP Exam as it has been in the past, but there will be a Q & A section about their semester-long project. We all anticipate that students might be asked to compare some aspect of their project with their own lived experience.

That’s why I will be sure to include direct instruction on how to answer this kind of question and ask students to answer at least one cultural comparison question in every unit. Here are the updated direct instruction slides.

The project I mentioned above has a cultural comparison aspect. This will allow students the chance to think and reflect on similarities and differences between cultures, and have ample practice talking about them leading up the AP Exam.

Hopefully this will give you a starting point as you think about what changes you need/want to make to unit 2. As always, below you will find helpful resources and other blog posts that may make life easier for you!