Ni�os Soldados

This WebQuest is about the use of child soldiers in armed conflict (civil war) around the world.  It is an extension activity after watching the film - Voces Inocentes (Innocent Voices) - which highlights the travesty of child soldier recruitment during the Salvadoran Civil War.  It is intended for advanced level Spanish students, but can be adapted using English language texts for other courses.  This WebQuest is designed to take 2 weeks, which includes work done inside and outside of the classroom and presentations.  

Standards

The WebQuest address the standards of the American Council of Teaching of Foreign Language (ACTFL) standards of communication (interpersonal, interpretive and presentational), cultures, connections and comparisons.

Students are asked to communicate their findings with each other in their small groups, interpret meaning from text and video and to present their findings to a larger group in the target language (Spanish) in order to bring about change. Students will make cultural comparisons regarding child soldiers and how child recruitment (practices) comes about in poor countries but does not happen in the United States. Students make connections between their own lives as a teenager in the United States, where military service is voluntary, and the lives of child soldiers in other countries who have no choice. Students will reflect upon the cultural differences in a country that supports human rights efforts through various organizations and countries where human rights are not valued.

In addition to using the foreign language skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening in the target language (Spanish), students engage in critical thinking in this WebQuest as they develop a team plan to address the problem of child soldiers throughout the world.

Other

Although this WebQuest is designed for my Honors Spanish 4 class, it can be easily adapted to a social justice unit for a religion or social studies class. See resources below.