Día de la Tierra - Earth Day in Spanish

Get them talking in Spanish about Earth Day! This lesson includes vocabulary, culturally authentic pictures to inspire conversation, a sample dialog to practice, a critical thinking activity, a speaking activity, and a prompt for a creative activity. They do everything in pairs so that they can put their heads together, share their thoughts, collaborate, and speak the language. There is enough scaffolding provided so that even beginning students can engage in basic conversation. The activities also prompt students to think about Earth Day, develop environmental awareness, and practice responsible stewardship of our planet.

And the best part about this lesson is that I’ve included three different versions of it – a basic lesson with instructions in English for Spanish 1, a somewhat more advanced version that uses higher level vocabulary and stem-changing verbs for Spanish 2, and a final version using examples of the subjunctive in context for Spanish 3. So you can make one purchase and have lessons for levels 1, 2 and 3!

Please allow one entire class period if you intend to do all the activities in this lesson. However if you intend to allow your students to do the creative prompt at the end of the lesson or present their dialogs to the class, you may want to allow 90 -120 minutes depending on the size and focus of your class.

Read the Teacher Guide I included with this lesson for information about standards, how to make the most of the lesson, and extension activities that might interest you.

Caution: Before purchasing this, please be aware that it is designed to be done orally in pairs. It has vocabulary and critical thinking, but overall it is intended to get students talking out loud – so it might not be the best idea to leave with (non-Spanish-speaking) a substitute. And you might want to choose something else for an observation day or test day, if your principal likes silence in the classroom.