Beth Hanlon, OFLA Executive Recorder and Editor of The Cardinal
Spanish Teacher, Oberlin High School

As teachers, we all know that certain times of the school year can be harder than others.  Luckily, there are ways to spice things up and redirect students’ energy!  Here are some of the big activities I use in my classes during the year.   

As the “Dark, Evil Vortex of Late September, October, and November” (or DEVOLSON) sets in, it’s time for Señor Ashby’s Locotubre!  Locotubre began during the 2020-2021 school year as a Locura de Marzo spinoff in order to give teachers and students a little “pick me up” during pandemic teaching.  The popularity of this music competition has kept it around since!  Locotubre always has a theme.  For example, the 2023 Locotubre used different genres of Hispanic music.  This was a great way to bring culture into the classroom via a friendly competition using Hispanic music!

Once Locotubre is in the rearview mirror and we come back from Thanksgiving break, a great choice to bring cultural products and practices into your classroom is the Navidad Commercial Madness.  This commercial bracket competition uses holiday commercials from Hispanic countries that your students vote on in class after viewing.  The packet on Teachers Pay Teachers comes with various activities for use with each round.  

Then, in March, there is the big music competition…Locura de Marzo!  While the NCAA basketball tournament is happening, this Locura can be happening in your class.  Señor Ashby, the coordinator, works with teachers to take song suggestions, vet songs, and to vote on the final list before selecting the 16 songs that will be used.  These songs are always more recent and I love that my students often tell me the songs end up on their Spotify playlists!  

There are other March madness music competitions out there!  Mis Clases Locas has one available too.  There are also March Madness music competitions in other languages. For instance, French has Manie Musicale.

Last year, I stumbled upon Mayomania de Mayo to end the year and thought it was too wonderfully ridiculous to not use in class.  It was another bracket for students to vote on…after viewing mayo commercials from Hispanic countries!  Most commercials were very short and absolutely hilarious.  My students and I were baffled that someone was able to assemble this many mayo commercials.  I am not sure if this competition will run again in May 2024 but I will definitely be checking for it.

Between Locotubre and Locura de Marzo, Señor Ashby runs a weekly Batalla de la Semana.  Students view two music videos a week and vote on which song they like the best.  The national winner goes on to the next week to compete against a new song.  The Batalla de la Semana is paused during Locotubre and Locura de Marzo.

There are many resources for these events that can be found on the events’ websites, Facebook groups, and on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Many teachers build their lesson plans entirely on these events while others, including myself, use these as a small portion of their daily lessons while continuing with regular content.  There is no right or wrong way to incorporate them – do whatever works for you to spice things up!