Cinco de Mayo celebrates the victory of the Mexican army against the French invaders more than 160 years ago, it is also known as the Battle of Puebla. In Ms. Jaraba’s Spanish class, students learn and
become more familiar with this date through special and different activities in the library, organized exclusively for this day by her and the librarians. She has been doing this celebration since she started working at Liberty High School, 4 years ago.
To commemorate this day, besides doing written activities, they do a hands-on project. Each student or in pairs has to cook a typical Hispanic dish and bring it to class, they are free to choose the country and dish that they will make. In class, they do a small party, tasting all the delicacies that Hispanic culture has given us, accompanied by music, dancing, and laughter.
“In Hispanic culture, it is very common to gather all together to share food and enjoy, so I really see this celebration as a great way of cultural integration within the curriculum and the classroom,” said Ms. Jaraba.
This also has another educational point, the students have to make a video in Spanish showing how to make the dish as well as a presentation about it. This is the last and biggest project of the year. In the video, they can’t talk in English and they have to use everything they learned these months, even so, what stands out in this project is the imperative mood, as it is perfect for showing a recipe and giving instructions. The students have been doing videos and presentations throughout the year, for example, they did a video of their life routines where they explained everything they do during the day and they also sang a rap learning about the preterite imperfect.
“I always try to integrate both physical and technological tools, students have the freedom to make the video as they want and using the app of their choice such as Tiktok or Cap Cut, I always make sure that the task fits their preferences and age,” said the Spanish teacher.
This is a great way of teaching as the benefits of hands-on and step-by-step explanations make the students more involved in the task and they retain the information more easily.
“My favorite method of teaching is for students to learn by experience, this process is called “learning by doing”. When an experience is meaningful it has a major impact on the learning process and the acquisition of knowledge as well as the subsequent use of it in real situations”, explained Jaraba.
The students love this project and enjoy both the process that goes into their recipes and their classmates’ dishes.
“I like trying the deer fajitas, that was really cool, I did not expect that they tasted like that,” said senior, Karen Valdizon.
For some students, it has been really easy to cook and did not have any complications in the process. Karen Valdizon made a Mexican sauce called Queso Blanco and she said that there were no complications, “I enjoyed making it”.
Although there have also been others who have found the process complicated, senior, Lara Prandi, who cooked a Spanish dish called “tortilla de patata” or Spanish omelet, explained that the recipe was easy but the final part was a challenge. “It was difficult to flip the omelet because the pan was really big and huge,” explained Prandi.
In conclusion, Ms. Jaraba’s classes never lack laughter and joy. Students are already looking forward to the next Cinco de Mayo because of the Spanish teacher. Thanks to her great technique of mixing the historical and cultural with the educational, makes learning dynamic and entertaining. These little projects motivate the students and of course, improve their Spanish, as well as their culinary skills!
