A Trip to Spain

Before beginning your research each of you will be writing a short essay.  Download the first attachment and write your essay based on the questions presented on that page.

Where to begin:

1.  The class will be divided into groups of 4 and each person will have a specific responsibility within the group.

2. Students one and two will be designated to find essential phrases while students three and four will be designated to find general information about Spain.  

3.  While looking for information, be sure to collect some pictures along the way that you can incorporate into the final product.

4. As you go along and do your research you may want to type up what you have found to make it easier when it comes time to design your book.  (That way you don't have to hand write everything - appearance counts!)  

5. Your group will divide up responsibilities in the following way:

Student One: You will be responsible for finding out some essential phrases that you and your family will need to know in order to do certain things while you are in Spain.  You will focus on the following areas:

    -    Common foods/drinks
    -    Phrases for ordering in a restaurant
    -    Numbers
    -    Miscellaneous phrases that you feel would be useful                    (Consult with student two about which phrases you wish to include)

Student Two:  You will be responsible for finding out some essential phrases that you and your friend's family will need to know in order to do certain things while you are in Spain. You will focus on the following areas:

    -    Modes of transportation
    -    Phrases you would use in an airport, bus station, train station or metro
    -    Finding and/or checking in a hotel
    -    Miscellaneous phrases that you feel would be useful                   (Consult with student one about which phrases you wish to include)

Students one & two can use the following links to get started:

Elementary Spanish - Basic Spanish vocabulary with pictures.

Spanish Phrase Finder - Index of a variety of topics that include vocabulary and common phrases.

Spanish Tutorial - Very basic Spanish phrases & greetings.

Student Three:  You will be responsible for finding out some basic, but important information about Spain that will help your friend’s family to plan for their trip and enjoy their trip while they are there.  You will focus on the following areas:

    -    Climate & the clothing you should bring
    -    Customs/Celebrations
    -    Hotels
    -    Any other aspects to the country you feel are important to know.    (Consult student four to discuss this part).

Student Four:  You will be responsible for finding out some basic, but important information about Spain that will help your friend’s family to plan for their trip and enjoy their trip while they are there.  You will focus on the following areas:

    -    Foods
    -    Tourist Attractions (At least 3 attractions for each city that will be visited)
    -    Any other aspects to the country you feel are important to know. (Consult student three to discuss this part).

Students three and four can use the following links to get started:

In-Spain.info - Culture in Spain - Gives a variety of information about the culture of Spain, the different regions of the country as well as popular sites to visit.

All About Spain - Offers a variety of information about Spain from bullfighting to flamenco to information about the climate.

Now what do we do with all this information?

    Now that you have collected all your information it is time to come together as a group, share what you have found and begin to organize it into your book.  Your book should contain the following sections:

1. Essential Phrases (Be sure to categorize them according to topic)
2. Climate
3. Hotels
4. Foods
5. Tourist Attractions
6. Customs/Celebrations

    Include any pictures or photographs you found while searching for information.  See your teacher for materials to put your book together (Paper, glue, markers, scissors, etc.).

Presentation:

    So you're all done!  You've completed your book and your family is very grateful for your hard work.  Now they can go on their trip and enjoy themselves without having to spend their time learning some Spanish and figuring things out on their own about Spain.  But now you must present your book to your family and show them what you have found.

    You and your group members will spend about 5-10 minutes to briefly explain to the class what you have found.  While you are listening to other presentations you will be comparing in your mind the information you found and the information other groups found.  Were they similar?  Were they completely different?  After the presentations we will spend a few minutes discussing what the groups have found.

Post Activity:  

Time to get out that journal from the beginning of this task and do some writing.  Open the second attachment in order to write your conclusion essay.