Spanish Lesson: Conoce la papa
Lesson Plan
2 hoursGrades9, 10, 11, 12Spanish
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Written by Gennifer Giuliano
About this lesson
Students use Spanish to learn about the potato, including its cultural importance, nutritional value, Indigenous origins, cultivation in Peru and Maine, and challenges posed by climate change. Students discuss their experiences, play a game, complete listening and reading comprehension activities, create an art project, and write a reflection.
Inquire: Students watch a video about International Potato Day, discuss familiar potato dishes, and brainstorm what they know about potatoes.
Investigate: Students learn the parts of a potato plant, play a game, and complete listening and reading comprehension activities to compare the cultivation of potatoes in Maine and Peru.
Inspire: Students create portraits of a potato, participate in a gallery walk, and write a journal entry or artist’s statement.
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Suggestions
- This lesson can be taught during a unit on food, cooking, nutrition, environment, or Indigenous cultures.
- This lesson can be used during the growing season to complement the planting of a school garden, or taught in conjunction with a science class focused on plant breeding, biodiversity, soil health, or climate change.
- The Investigate section activities can be completed over several class periods, and the Inspire section can be completed on a subsequent day.
- The potato portraits can be conducted outdoors with potatoes harvested locally where possible.
- In the Inspire section, the written portion of the potato portraits can be adapted to the needs of the class. For example:
- Students can write a first-person narrative in the “voice” of the potato describing its journey from planting to harvest using the past tenses.
- Students can write a poem, such as an “ode” to the potato.
Prerequisites
- This lesson is designed for students at the intermediate-low to intermediate-high proficiency level, based on ACTFL benchmarks.
- Students should be familiar with the present, preterit, and present perfect verb tenses, as well as vocabulary related to weather and food.
- Students should have a basic understanding of climate change.
- Teacher needs to gather art supplies and varieties of potatoes that can be used for the potato portraits.
Differentiation
- In the Investigate section, students with lower proficiency levels can focus on describing what they see in the videos, while students with a higher proficiency level can take notes on the information they learn from listening to the video and reading the Spanish subtitles.
- In the Inspire section, students can demonstrate learning by recording their responses in the target language rather than producing a written response.
- As an extension, students could prepare a recipe with ingredients that reflect cultural traditions, good nutrition, and climate resilience based on their own local community.
- Advanced students can research the different types of climate present in Peru and Bolivia and identify which areas are ideal for meeting the needs of potato plants.
- Students preparing for the AP Spanish Language and Culture exam can record a 2-minute cultural comparison exploring:
- The role of the potato in their own community and in Indigenous communities in Peru.
- The intersection of technology and traditional ecological knowledge. For example, Encontrar is a website developed by and for small-scale potato farmers in the Altiplano to share experiences and best practices for addressing the challenges of climate change.
From the scientist review
This lesson compares and contrasts case studies from Maine and Peru to help students understand how climate change affects potatoes. In fact, people in Maine and Peru have come to appreciate the ways that the majority of potato cultivars may be used in their cuisines despite the changing climate. This is a fantastic adaptive strategy that supports their cultural identities as well. This lesson passed our science credibility test after we evaluated it.
Esta lección compara y contrasta estudios de caso de Maine y Perú para ayudar a los estudiantes a comprender cómo el cambio climático afecta a las papas. De hecho, la gente de Maine y Perú ha llegado a apreciar las formas en que la mayoría de los cultivares de papa pueden usarse en sus cocinas a pesar del clima cambiante. Esta es una estrategia adaptativa fantástica que también apoya sus identidades culturales. Esta lección pasó nuestra prueba de credibilidad científica después de que la evaluamos.
Esta lección compara y contrasta estudios de caso de Maine y Perú para ayudar a los estudiantes a comprender cómo el cambio climático afecta a las papas. De hecho, la gente de Maine y Perú ha llegado a apreciar las formas en que la mayoría de los cultivares de papa pueden usarse en sus cocinas a pesar del clima cambiante. Esta es una estrategia adaptativa fantástica que también apoya sus identidades culturales. Esta lección pasó nuestra prueba de credibilidad científica después de que la evaluamos.
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About the teacher writer
Gennifer Giuliano
Gennifer Giuliano is a devoted teacher, parent, and community organizer. She teaches Spanish in Southern Maine, where she also partners with local ecology and environmental education nonprofits to connect more young people with nature. When Gennifer is not in the classroom, she can be found chasing sheep, hiking and camping in the Maine woods, or making things with her hands.
