The power of biography-based units
Dia Mixon, OWLA Immersion Programs Chair
Upper School Spanish Teacher, The Wellington School
It was my first year at a new school and my first time teaching high school Spanish 2. The time had come to introduce the past tenses, and I decided to rely on a thematic unit plan from a textbook that I had never used before. After the first few lessons, everyone was bored, especially me. I had already deemed the unit a massive failure, and we were only a week into it. Back to the drawing board I went.
In previous years, when I wanted to introduce verb tenses and forms, I would use song lyrics so that the students could see and hear them in context. Although I had never explicitly taught the past tenses until then, I was certain I could find some good songs to use. I turned to my extensive playlists and even my old CD collection. Among the dusty mix CDs from the late ’90s, I saw a disc with the sloppily written title “Anything for Selenas.” I popped the CD in and listened until I came to one of my favorite tracks by the late Tejana superstar Selena Quintanilla Pérez, “Si Una Vez.” The ultimate breakup song, with enough preterite and imperfect to expose students to the past tense in an authentic way. I couldn’t wait to restart the unit with my students.
During the next class period, I played the video of Selena’s final televised performance of the song, filmed in 1995, a month before her tragic death. To my surprise, only one student in the class had ever heard of Selena, and she was a superfan! She and I were both shocked when we discovered that no one else knew anything about Selena’s life. The superfan student started to share bits and pieces of Selena’s life story, and the follow-up questions started flowing: “Wait, what happened?” “Who shot her?” “Did she die?” My very first biography-based unit was born. Selena saved me from weeks of a dull, passionless unit.
Seeing the student-led inquiry unfold day after day was incredible. Engagement and excitement returned to my classroom. The students read Selena by Nelly Andrade-Hughes, explored various authentic resources such as news articles and TV reports, analyzed two more songs, wrote biographies to practice using the past tenses, and, of course, watched the 1997 hit movie Selena, starring Jennifer Lopez. We had deep discussions about various topics related to Selena’s experience.
The success of the unit has inspired me to seek out more biographies to introduce new vocabulary, grammar concepts, and culture in context. In these units, the students research more than just fast facts about people. They study the impact those people are making or have made on the world. They make intercultural connections as they reflect on their own histories, icons, beliefs, and values. Besides developing their communicative skills through the biographies, students build empathy and respect for people and their experiences. In the end, they have a better understanding of life’s circumstances, possibilities, and opportunities from a different perspective than their own.
The next time you are looking for content, consider a biography. Notable historical figures, singers, athletes, artists, activists, world leaders, writers, actors, or anyone else who interests your students just may be the key to creating engaging and unforgettable units. I will never forget that Spanish 2 class. Their curiosity and motivation to learn about someone new changed how I plan my units. Since that year, student interest has driven most of the content, but there is always room in the curriculum for Selena.