Spanish teacher uses activity to engage students

As spring break nears, students in Rachel Rodriguez’ Spanish II classes participate in a final project, a fashion show. The classes are tasked to design different outfits and write a script explaining what they are wearing.

Spanish teacher Rachel Rodriguez concludes the clothing unit with her second annual fashion show. Rodriguez enjoys giving students an opportunity to be creative.

“I started this project last year and thought it went well so continued on this year,” Rodriguez said. “This year, however, has been different in many ways. The students were a lot bolder and a lot more comfortable with themselves which was nice, but (they) needed to be steered in the right direction. The purpose of the show was to exercise Spanish vocabulary, explain how the clothing fits and where you can buy them.”

In groups of five to six students, each member takes a turn on the ‘catwalk’. One of the group members reads the script as others in the group model the clothing. Through various dances, poses and struts a panel of judges watch and make critiques for each individual on a scale of, 1-5.

After presenting her outfit Shauna Howard, ‘20, decided to be a judge. She enjoyed suggesting improvements and thought of it like a competition. Howard also shares her thoughts on the fashion show.

“To prepare for the fashion show, our group utilized time in class,” Howard said. “We practiced reading our description of the clothing and presentation. This project put clothing description into practice and helped us perfect our annunciation of the words. Right now we are studying vocabulary that will be used in writing a story and conjugating words in the imperfect form. The fashion show was a fun project.”

From surfers to farmers students enjoyed designing an outfit to showcase to the class. Many students brought in special effect including disco balls, strobe lights and music.

Students in Rachel Rodríguez’ 1st period Spanish II class participate in a fashion show, March 21. Students explain their clothing in Spanish and show it off through different poses. Stay tuned to the #thefeather for a closer look into the project. @fresnochristian #FCspanish pic.twitter.com/A1x7cqP6VE

— The Feather Online (@thefeather) March 21, 2018

Suky Cheema, ‘19, enjoyed choosing music for the members of his group and having fun with his friends.

“Before the show, we got together as a group and practiced our catwalks,” Cheema said. “We wanted to focus on our song selection and poses as well as our outfits and descriptions. The best part of the show was watching my friends and the different ways they decided to do the project. I thought the project was beneficial because it helps us interpret what we’re wearing every day.”

Following the fashion show project, the classes will move into storytelling. Rachel Rodriguez looks forward to reading each of the students’ depictions of popular stories as well as reviewing original stories. She also shares ways to improve the show.

“Next, we will be working on creating and telling a legend,” Rodriguez said. They will create one of their own or recreate a story that currently exists. Students will be portraying their legends through a book or a movie. Next year for the fashion show I think I need to set more boundaries and be more specific on what to do and what not to do. I understand that I need to let them express their creativity but it also needs to remain appropriate.”

The following video features clips from the fashion show.

Spanish fashion show from The Feather Online on Vimeo.

For more articles check out, Style Session No. 14- Hello Goodbye and Spanish secret Santa.

The author can be reached via email: Braden Bell, Instagram and Twitter.