Unless I am reading this wrong, in the AQA Spanish A level exam the gap fill exercises seem to focus on literary texts. Gap fill activities always seem to have traps in them and they do like to use an expression or two. Getting the students to focus on the types of words listed is key + then to work out the possibilities. If one of the possible answers is an adjective does the gap require masculine, feminine, etc? If a verb is needed  which tense etc? I try to get my students to do this before filling the gaps telling them that there are always more words than gaps and the extra words might be trying to catch them out.

Attached is an example I’ve put together within the topic area of “el paro entre los jóvenes” from the novel “En la Orilla” by Rafael Chirbes.

WORKSHEET: GAP FILL En la orilla LITERATURA answers GAP FILL En la orilla LITERATURA

With Year 11 students not taking their GCSE exams this summer amid the impact of Covid19, getting them ready for A level studies from September is problematic. Like may other schools we are putting together transition packs. Getting the balance between engaging them to do some work and taking it to the next level is clearly important. I don’t want to put them off! Attached is what I have put together so far. We are doing two booklets and this is the first. I have borrowed ideas from some other people who have posted their resources online, but this is mostly my own work. Students work through the three tasks independently.

TASK 1 – A Cambio de Nada (film analysis)

TASK 2 – Independent Research Project

TASK 3 – Comprehension + grammar (based on the Covid19 outbreak + guidance given in Spain)

BOOKLET: Step Up – SPANISH A LEVEL 1 v3

To try and keep my blog going (see previous post re: increase in blog costs), I have posted a group of resources on the TES website. I don’t want to charge much and have kept the price low. My aim has always been to share my resources for free and I will use the money (if I get any!!!) from the TES to keep this blog going.

The resources are on the A level topic of “las actitudes racistas y xenófobas”. They are mostly reading activities with accompanying videos to add some context. There is also a reading summary task. I have gone for issues which seem like the sort of thing that could come up in an exam and all of the activities are ones you get in the AQA Spanish A level exam.

So, here’s hoping this literally pays off.

LINK: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/racismo-a2-spanish-resources-12313821

I am updating some of my resources for the Monarquías y Dictaduras section of the A level Spanish course. I have decided to add something in about the removal of the remains of Franco from the Valle de los Caídos nearly four and a half decades after his burial. So, attached is a simple resource – just a video followed by a reading comprehension. I like the video because of the subtitles which make it more accessible + it provides a clear picture of the events.

POWERPOINT: La exhumación de Franco  WORKSHEET: La exhumación de Franco READING

This final post on transgender is focused on the use of the term “latinx”. A definition of this could be a person of Latin American origin or descent which is used as a gender-neutral or non-binary alternative to Latino or Latina. The -x suffix replaces the -o/-a ending of nouns and adjectives. The term, however, is only being used in Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. The resource starts with a slide pointing out that the term in unknown to many Spanish-speakers and is followed by a video where young people who identify themselves as latinx explain why they use it. A reading comprehension comes at the end.

RESOURCES: PowerPoint – 4. Los derechos de las personas transgénero LATINX Worksheet – LATINX READING

This third post on transgender is more grammatically focused. The debate over mixed or single sex toilets is used as a starting point for work on the conditional and future perfect – tenses I really want them to use more esp. in relation to the speaking exam and debate. I am not totally led by the slides on the PowerPoint in this and I ask the students for their views as well as adding in some grammar testing / hypothetical questions to test the grammar in a more spontaneous manner as we work through.

RESOURCES: PowerPoint – 3. Los derechos de los gays y las personas transgénero ASEOS MIXTOS + GRAMMAR v2 Worksheets – The conditional perfect WORKSHEET DEBERES The conditional perfect The future perfect WORKSHEET Baño neutro READING v2

This second post on transgender focuses on Alba Palacios, a trans footballer. It is a reading summary task which some of my students find tricky. After a video, which we just watch for context, there is a task where the students must work out from my summary what the bullet points would have been – a summary task in reverse. Following this activity we read through the full text together and find synonyms from the text for words listed in the PowerPoint. After all of this, they are in a better position to have a go at the summary by themselves.

RESOURCES – POWERPOINT: 2. Los derechos de las personas transgénero SUMMARY READING WORKSHEETS: Primera futbolista trans de España SUMMARY READING Primera futbolista trans de España SUMMARY work out bullet points

I have been trying to improve some of the A level resources. I feel that in the topic for the AQA Spanish A-level 3.3 Los derechos de los gays y las personas transgénero there is a lack of material on transgender, so hopefully the attached will help to address this.

I have looked at what are some standard areas of discussion:

• Terminology and identity
• An example of a successful transgender woman in the male dominated arena of sport
• The bathroom debate and its impact on non-binary people
• Use of the term “latinx”, especially in the US.

The first post is on terminology. In the PowerPoint I start off by showing a clip from a Pedro Almodóvar film in which Bibi Andersen or Bibiana Fernández, the trans actor, appears. This is because we are studying the film VOLVER and I am trying to drop in clips from other films by Almodóvar just to point out recurring techniques, etc. You can delete that bit if you prefer! Then, in a rather indirect way, we get to a video explaining different terminology. The slides on el español rioplatense are because the video voiceover is in this accent and I just wanted to highlight this.

RESOURCES – POWERPOINT: 1. Los derechos de las personas transgénero GLOSARIO DE TERMINOS WORKSHEET: GLOSARIO DE TERMINOS