Spanish · Grades 9 to 12

Heritage Spanish SEL activities

36 ready to use activities that teach Heritage Spanish content and build one Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skill, about 20 minutes each.

Matched to textbook chapters: Galería de lengua y cultura 1 and 2 (Spanish for Spanish Speakers).

Mi español: acentos, ortografía e historias

• Mi español, mi historia Self-awareness · Week 1Students write a language autobiography and name the feelings, pride or insecurity, attached to their Spanish.
• No hay español malo Social awareness · Week 2Comparing words across Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, students reject the idea of bad Spanish and respect every variety.
• La sílaba tónica Self-management · Week 3Students learn accent rules step by step and treat mistakes as normal steps rather than proof they do not belong.
• Tilde sin vergüenza Self-management · Week 4Students edit their own writing for accents with a calm checklist instead of shame.
• Mi nombre con tilde Self-awareness · Week 5Students write their names with correct accents and explain why their name deserves to be spelled and pronounced correctly.
• B o V, S, C o Z Responsible decision-making · Week 6Students build strategies for common spelling choices and decide which tools help them most when they write.
• Los cuentos de mi abuela Social awareness · Week 7Students interview an elder in Spanish and capture a family story, honoring the voice of the storyteller.
• Escribir lo que oímos Relationship skills · Week 8Students turn an oral story, from their family, a book, or an imagined elder, into a written narrative and may share it with the person who told it or someone they choose.
• Dichos y refranes Responsible decision-making · Week 9Students analyze family "dichos" and decide which advice still guides their choices today.

Registro, comunidad y voz académica

• El registro: casa y escuela Relationship skills · Week 10Students compare how they talk at home and at school and see moving between registers as a skill, not a flaw.
• Spanglish y cambio de código Self-awareness · Week 11Students reflect on when they switch languages and what feelings or audiences drive the switch.
• La carta formal Responsible decision-making · Week 12Students write a formal letter in Spanish to a local official about a community issue they care about.
• Intérprete de mi familia Self-management · Week 13Students reflect on the pressure of interpreting for family and practice phrases that let them pause or ask for help.
• Mi vecindario habla Social awareness · Week 14Students practice interviewing an imagined neighbor in Indio or Coachella with accented question words and listen for the stories behind the answers.
• El ensayo de opinión Responsible decision-making · Week 15Students write an opinion essay in academic Spanish and support each claim with reasons rather than emotion alone.
• Las palabras que hieren Relationship skills · Week 16Students analyze how words like "pocho" and "nopal" hurt heritage speakers and practice repairing harm when language is used to shame.
• Leer en voz alta Self-management · Week 17Students read a poem aloud and set a personal fluency goal, building confidence in academic Spanish.
• Reflexión del semestre Self-awareness · Week 18Students compare their first writing sample to a recent one and name their growth in accents, spelling, and register.

Literatura latinoamericana y chicana

• Gloria Anzaldúa y la frontera Social awareness · Week 19Reading excerpts from Borderlands, students reflect on living between languages and cultures and how others experience that space.
• La casa en Mango Street Social awareness · Week 20Reading vignettes from "La casa en" Mango Street, students connect Esperanza's search for belonging with their own.
• Y no se lo tragó la tierra Social awareness · Week 21Reading Tomás Rivera's stories of migrant farmworker families, students connect their resilience to farmworker history in their own valley.
• Odas de Neruda Self-awareness · Week 22Students analyze a Neruda ode and write their own oda to an ordinary object that brings them comfort.
• Realismo mágico Responsible decision-making · Week 23Reading a magical realist short story, students decide what the magical element symbolizes and connect it to a real problem.
• Corridos de mi gente Relationship skills · Week 24Students write a short "corrido" in pairs that honors a person from their community.
• La voz de las mujeres Responsible decision-making · Week 25Reading "Sor Juana" and Julia "de Burgos", students argue how women writers used language to claim their voice.
• Mi ensayo personal Self-management · Week 26Students draft a personal essay about their identity that could grow into a college application essay.
• Revisión entre pares Relationship skills · Week 27Students give specific, kind feedback on a peer's essay and receive feedback without defensiveness.

Orgullo y puente entre casa y academia

• Orgullo latino Self-awareness · Week 28Students create a pride map of people, foods, and places in their heritage and name what makes them proud.
• Los medios en español Responsible decision-making · Week 29Students compare Spanish language news coverage of a local story and detect bias or sensationalism.
• El español en el trabajo Self-management · Week 30Students explore bilingual careers in the Coachella Valley and set a goal for using their Spanish as a professional asset.
• Del hogar a la academia Self-management · Week 31Students build a glossary that connects home words to academic equivalents and value both ways of speaking.
• El Sello Estatal de Lectoescritura Bilingüe Responsible decision-making · Week 32Students plan the steps toward the California State Seal of Biliteracy and decide how they will show their skills.
• Historias de mi barrio Social awareness · Week 33Students create a short story map of their neighborhood that honors local voices and what neighbors care about.
• Enseñar mi idioma Relationship skills · Week 34Students plan a mini lesson to teach a younger sibling or classmate something in Spanish, practicing patience and leadership.
• Carta a mi yo futuro Self-awareness · Week 35Students write a letter to their future self in academic Spanish about the language and identity they want to keep.
• Despedida: mi voz bilingüe Relationship skills · Week 36Students present a final reflection on their bilingual voice and thank someone who taught them Spanish.

RoseThread Connect activities are drafted with the help of AI and shaped by educators. Students never have to share anything personal. Our five SEL skills are informed by CASEL's SEL Framework; RoseThread Learning is not affiliated with or endorsed by CASEL.