How well you do on this project will depend largely on whether or not you read the directions and keep referring back to them, whether or not you practice your presentation until you know what you’re saying, and whether or not you get your tenses right. Hint: use the Verb Help page.
FIRST AND FINAL WARNING: DON’T USE A TRANSLATOR. You’ll get caught, and I won’t waste my time grading a translator’s work.
Step 1: Pick a Vacation Spot
Find a Spanish-speaking country in Central America or South America that interests you. (Cancún, México is off limits. In fact, the number of people who can present on any particular country is limited to 3. So choose your country quickly and let me know.) Then search out things that people can actually do in that country during a vacation.
(Hint: You have a country. Within that country, find a city in which you can do things that you think you can advertise. Begin to collect pictures of those things.)
(More links below, after directions)
Step 2: Create a Vacation Business
Create a business that relies on tourists and activities they can do. Make a company name. Have prices. Be able to offer great accommodations. Can a family have a reunion at your place? Can you host weddings? Are extreme sports nearby? What is special about your location that will draw people?
Step 3: Put Together Advertising Material
Everyone will make a vacation brochure.
Part 1: The Brochure
You need to create a travel brochure to hand out to the class (at least 4 copies). In your brochure you will have pictures from the country you have chosen. You will:
- advertise your company by name
- suggest (using commands) what people can do on vacation with your company
- offer dining with your associated restaurant
- list prices for accommodations and contact information
- say how people can arrive/travel to and from airport
Consider that your whole brochure and presentation, grammatically speaking, should contain:
- the Present,
- Present Future,
- PSJK (for giving suggestions and commands),
- and that you want to advertise your hotel and restaurant as the best (use superlatives)
WARNING: You have lots of time to master these grammar points and produce your own sentences without the help of a translator. Need help? Visit the VERB HELP page.
Sentence count on your brochure? Minimum 15. Max 20. At least 10 sentences need to be in the PSJK (commanding or wanting visitors to do something).
There is a partial prompt script you can use to get started. (Spanish 10 Vacation Project Script Ideas)
Don’t forget to check the Rubric (Spanish 10 Vacation Rubric)
Part 2: Choose one to accompany your brochure for your presentation
CHOICE 1: 3D REPRESENTATION and FLOOR PLAN
Create a 3D version of your accommodations or activities, PLUS a well-labeled floor plan of your hotel and restaurant.
You may use all sorts of materials–Play Dough, clay, LEGOs, etc–provided that your representation is small enough to be portable. You will need to bring your 3D version to school and use it in your presentation. Shoe-box size is a good size.
Be sure your 3D version is colorful, and if you transport it in a box consider dressing up the inside of the box as well.
Show us the blueprints/floor plan of your hotel on large poster-sized paper and point to different areas as you describe your place.
CHOICE 2: THE TRIFOLD
Or… you can make a trifold (large enough for the class to see) that advertises your type of vacation experience: traditional vacation; historical vacation; extreme sport vacation; ecological vacation, etc.
Of course you need pictures, and you need your work to be in Spanish! This is not as hard as it seems at first. For the most part, you will use the Present Subjunctive to give commands (in the ustedes form) saying things like, “Enjoy our beaches!” and “Swim with the turtles!”
Remember to introduce your hotel/resort/company–it should have a cool name–along with prices and accommodations. You should also be specific about your location. What city is nearby? What can people do in that city? How can they expect to travel around, etc.
You can put the same information that is in your brochures on your trifold. That is professionally acceptable, but make sure you take the time to make your “Spanish words” correct. Don’t panic. Your sentences don’t need to be long, just correct.
CHOICE 3: THE PROMO VIDEO — Your only chance to skip a live presentation!
Or… If you already like to work with video and would rather create a cool, well-done promo video instead of a trifold, you may. However, it cannot be a last-minute, one-take, nobody-wants-to-watch-this-terrible-thing-you-filmed-in-your-kitchen-while-the-game-was-on-in-the-living-room, shaky-camera, poor-sound, you’re-just-mumbling video. No. It needs to be good. And…
- you must actually appear in the video while speaking Spanish–not just a voiceover
- and the video needs to be between 2:30 minutes to 3:00 minutes.
- Your script should still include all the necessary parts.
- And your video must be posted on YouTube and viewable — with a link sent to me FIVE SCHOOL DAYS before the project is due for everyone else in class. If you miss this deadline, you have to present live.
Step 4: Present Your Vacation Spot to the Class
Bring in your brochures and accompanying prop of choice and talk to the class about your vacation spot. For the most part this can be a recitation of what is on your brochure. Use your props. Point to your props. Engage with them. Connect your audience to your project. Be familiar enough with your project that you can talk about it without reading the whole time.
What You Can Expect We WILL and WON’T Do In Class
You WILL get time to check out some countries. Consider gathering the following information:
- where your vacation spot is located (in which country, near which city)
- typical tourist attractions besides your spot (People like to get out and see a variety of things, not just your fancy place. So where can they go? What else can they do besides your marvelous adventure?)
- what factually makes your country interesting?
You will NOT get time to cut, glue, print and/or construct your trifold, brochure, and location. That kind of work needs to occur outside of class.
And you WILL get time to practice saying the information/advertisement you have on your trifold and brochures with a partner before presenting to the class.
Señor
(more research links)
Contiki Central and South America
Spanish-Ace.com 