Hayley Fulton

Culture and Identity Lesson

Topic: Afro-Caribbean Culture and Identity

Essential Question: How do language and culture contribute to form our identity?

Description and Rationale: I want students to have the opportunity to encounter, investigate,
and interact with a rich cultural tradition of the region near the Caribbean coast of South
America. An accessible entry point for this is Shakira’s Super Bowl performance of 2020,
which integrates the Afro-Latin rhythms and dances. I will this and another example of the
Champeta as a way for students to engage with and reflect upon cultural perspectives, namely
racial discrimination and social injustice. Students will think about the themes and message of
Champeta music and how it corresponds to Afro-Latino identity. Then students will reflect
upon Afro-Latino identity and their own identity, and complete a journal reflection for
homework. Students will encounter the intersectionality of the Afro-Latino identity and
become more reflective, inclusive, and social-justice oriented after this lesson. This lesson
could be well suited for Latinx Heritage Month or Black History Month, since it serves to
investigate and reflect upon the intersectionality of these two identities within a target culture.
Level: Spanish II
Timing: 50 minutes

Objectives
● I can communicate with a peer about my music preferences in the Target
Language.
● I can interpret instruction in the TL about the Champeta to learn about its
characteristics and origin, and interpret some authentic examples.
● I can write an authentic mini blog post in the TL to interact with the Champeta
videos.
● I can reflect upon “Afrolatinidad” and the role it plays in Champeta and in
society, and think about my own identity and cultural practices/products.

Standards Addressed:
● 1.1 Interpersonal Communication (interactive skills): Students engage in
conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and
exchange opinions.
○ Students share their music preferences in the Target Language with scaffolding.
● 1.2 Interpretive Communication (receptive skills): Students will understand and
engage with authentic texts (performance video and song lyric video) and Target
Language instruction about the Champeta.
● 1.3 Presentational Communication (productive skills): Students will create a short
written response in Spanish to the Champeta videos in the form of a short blog post.
● Cultures 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the
practices and perspectives of the culture studied.
○ Students will investigate the Champeta as an Afrolatino cultural practice and
understand the underlying cultural perspectives.
● Comparisons 4.2: Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture
 through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.
○ Students will reflect upon “Afrolatinidad” and their own identities, and identify
important aspects of both.

Agenda
● ¿Qué música te gusta? What music do you like? Opening activity
● Shakira y la Champeta viewing and introduction
● Tumbamurallas
● Review the performances: mini-blog post
● Afrolatinidad video
● Reflection for homework

Materials
● Computer
● Projector
● Access to White Board for writing responses that students share
● Slides presentation
● Videos
○ All videos are mass media texts
■ Shakira Super Bowl Champeta
■ Tumbamurallas Champeta
■ Afrolatin identity
● Blog Post Assignment
● Reflection Assignment

Part 1: 10 minutes
● “Hola, clase y bienvenidos. Hoy es una clase muy divertida. Hablamos sobre…. ¡La
música!
○ Hello, class, and welcome. Today is a very fun class. We will talk about music!
● Primero, hablar con un compañero. ¿Qué tipo de música prefieres (say slowly, repeat
so they get the cognate for prefer) ¿Qué tipo de música te gusta?
○ First, talk with a partner. What kind of music do you prefer? What kind of
music do you like?
● Tienes 5 minutos (show 5 on hand) y después, ¡vamos a compartir con la clase!
○ You have 5 minutes and after, we will share as a class.
Interpersonal mode of communication, 1.1 (interactive skills)
● partners will be designated with seating chart, your “compañero” is your seat partner
● I will walk around and engage with students, see if they need support, make sure they
are using Spanish.
● After 5 minutes, I will count down from 10 in Spanish so they know to wrap up and
direct their attention to me. I will say, “Muy bien, clase. Quiero oir (point to ear to
gesture “hear” de ti…. (I will call on pairs since they had time to prepare their answer)
○ Very good, class, I want to hear from you.
● Students will share out their answer and I will write it on the board- it is good for me to
know what kind of music they like :)
● When we have a lot of responses, I will say, “Muy bien, clase.”
 ● TRANSITION
● La música es una cosa importante. Hoy, vamos a hablar mucho sobre la música…..
○ Very good, class. Music is very important. Today we are going to talk a lot
about music….

Part 2: 30 minutes
Interpretive mode of communication 1.2 (receptive skills)
“Shakira es una cantante colombiana muy famosa. Ella tiene música en inglés y en español. Es
popular por el mundo hispanohablante y también aquí en los Estados Unidos. También, ella es
la cantante favorita de Señorita Fulton :) (gesture to myself)”
○ Shakira is a famous Colombian singer. She has music in English and Spanish.
She’s popular throughout the Spanish-speaking world and also here in the US.
Also, she is Ms. Fulton’s favorite singer :)
(Flip slide) Shakira tocó en la actuación de halftime de Super Bowl LIV en 2020. Ella incluye
mucha música y baile de Colombia. ¡Vamos a ver!
○ Shakira performed at the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in 2020. She includes a
lot of Colombian music and dancing. Let’s see!
La champeta es un ritmo afro-colombiano con un baile. (show video of Shakira)
○ The champeta is an Afro-Colombian rhythm and dance.
Investigate and identify cultural practices and perspectives (Culture 2.1)
¿Qué notas, qué llama tu atención por este video? Pensar en el tono…. El tono (repeat so they
get cognate for tone), el baile (dance around and repeat so they remember baile = dance) el
ritmo (pantomime drumming)
○ What did you notice, what called your attention in this video?
Call on volunteers, encourage a few different thoughts/opinions. English is fine for their
answers, because they may not have the vocabulary for this.
○ If they need help, make broad suggestions, like “Was it cheerful? Was it sad?
Was it slow or fast?
● ¡Muy bien! Gracias por tus respuestas. Voy a hablar un poquito sobre la Champeta.
○ Very good! Thank you for your answers. I am going to talk a little about the
Champeta.
● La champeta tiene origen afro-caribeño. De Africa y el Caribe. Afro-caribeño. (point to
map to clarify) Es de la parte de Colombia que está en la costa del Caribe. Aquí. (point
to map). Esta parte está en América Latina, también.
○ The Champeta has Afro-Caribbean origin. From Africa and the Caribbean.
Afro-Caribbean. It is from the part of Colombia on the Caribbean Coast, here.
This part is in Latin America, also.
● Es de los barrios más pobres de esta región. La gente, las personas (say slow so they
get cognate, point to picture of all the people for clarification) aquí no tiene dinero
(gesture for money, pantomime wallet/pocket) ni poder (pantomime a muscle) en la
sociedad. La gente no son blanca. Es una cuestión de raza.
○ It is from the poorest neighborhoods of this region. The people here do not have
money or power in society. They are not white. It is a racial matter.
● La gente aquí experimenta la discriminación (say slow and repeat so they can capture
cognates). La vida no es justa, hay discriminación.
○ The people here experience discrimination. Life is unfair for them, there is
 discrimination.
● La gente aquí crea la música que se trata de eso. Es la idea central (gesture with hands
to clarify main idea) de la champeta. Es la música de la gente que no tiene el poder en
la sociedad (gesture broadly).
○ The people here create music about this. This is the main idea of champeta. It is
the music of people who don’t have power in society.
● Vamos a ver un ejemplo más claro sobre esta idea, de la injusticia social. Primero,
tenemos vocabulario.
○ We are going to watch a more clear example about this idea, the social
injustice. First, we have vocabulary.
● “Puña arriba (gesture). Puña (point to my fist) Arriba (lift fist up) Puña Arriba (lift fist,
point to picture) Repite, Puña arriba (class responds).”
○ Raised fist. Fist, raised. Repeat, raised fist.
● “La libertad (gesture, open arms, mimic being freed from something) La libertad.
Repite, la libertad (class responds).
○ Freedom.
● “Sin calla. Sin (shake head, make x with arms) calla (finger over lips, shushing). Sin
calla, repite (class responds). Sin calla (gesture) no es silencio. Es hablar.”
○ Without keeping quiet.
● “Ok, muy bien. Ahora, el video.”
● (play video)
● Presentational mode of communication: 1.3 (productive skills: writing), Interact
(Culture 2.1)
● “Ok clase. Vamos a crear unas entradas de blog, blog posts, sobre la champeta. EN
ESPAÑOL. Has aprendido mucho hoy. Aquí tenemos la hoja. Escribir unas frases con
las palabras en el banco. La entrada es mini, es muy corto. Más como un “tweet.”
○ OK clase. We are going to create blog posts about the champeta. In Spanish.
You have learned a lot today. Here’s the sheet. Write phrases with some of the
words in the word bank. This is a mini entry, it’s very short. More like a tweet.
● Aquí tengo mi ejemplo. (Read my blog post verbatim in TL) Don’t copy mine, that’s
why I didn’t fill it out fully! El objetivo es escribir, no tiene que ser perfecto.
○ Here is my example…. The goal is to write, it doesn’t have to be perfect.
● ¡Tienes 10 minutos para completar! Pregúntame, estoy aquí si necesitas ayuda. I’m
here if you need help.
○ You have ten minutes to complete. Ask me, I am here if you need help.
● (As they work independently, go around and see if they need help. Help with words,
grammatical phrasing. Do not keep the example on the board, because the goal is for
them to construct the basic sentences on their own)
● TRANSITION: OK, clase, necesito tus entradas. Muchas gracias. (Go around and
collect, if anyone looks like they are still finishing up, collect theirs last). Tenemos una
actividad final sobre la “Afrolatinidad.”
○ OK class, I need your entries. Thank you. We have one final activity, about
Afrolatinidad.

Part 3 (10 minutes)

● Ya tenemos una introducción (pause so they get cognate) de eso con la Champeta, pero
 la Afrolatinidad es más (gesture) que la cultura y la música. Es una identidad (pause,
repeat to get cognate) de gente de todo el mundo (gesture around the world). Pero no
soy (gesture to myself) afrolatina, no puedo hablar sobre la experiencia. Entonces,
tenemos un video.
○ We have already had an introduction of this with the Champeta, but
Afrolatinidad is more than culture and music. It is an identity of people from all
over the world. But I myself am not Afrolatina, I can’t speak about the
experience. So, we have a video.
● Show Afrolatinidad video.
● When it is finished, pass out reflection.
Culture 2.1, reflect over practices and perspectives, Connections 4.2 (understanding of
concepts of culture through comparisons of their own and the culture studied)
● OK, clase, ya es la hora…. Tenemos esta reflexión para tarea…. No te preocupes, es en
inglés. Por favor, pensar (point to brain) reflexionar, sobre la leccion hoy.
○ OK class, it’s already that time… we have this reflection for homework. Don’t
even worry, it’s in English. Please think hard, reflect over what you learned
today.

Assessment
● Entrada de Blog: ___%
La Categoría Puntos _/5 Para Mejorar…..

3 Frases Completas

3 Palabras del banco

Los Hechos Verdaderos

La Concordancia/La
gramática
● Here is the Rubric students will receive with their scores and feedback on the Blog
Post. I will write individualized feedback on each one to explain why they received the
score they received. If they have 3/3 for each of the first three categories, they will
receive a 15/15. I will award proportionate points if some of these elements are
missing. Finally, the last category of agreement/grammar is not scored, rather it is
formatively assessed and students will receive feedback with corrections. They will
also receive feedback for the graded categories.

Backpocket activities (2)

● Option 1: I will show Shakira’s #ChampetaChallenge tutorial video, which is in
the target language. If anyone wants to try it, they can in small groups a few at a
time (if space allows). This could maybe even be an extra credit opportunity, to
perform for the class or record as a video :) This gets students on their feet and
actively engaging with Afro-Latino culture, and listening and understanding a
native speaker’s instructions!
● Option 2: Students can investigate and create a short playlist (7-10 songs) of
 Champeta songs by going on a search through the internet, Spotify, Apple Music,
etc! We could use personal devices or school technology, if available.

Critical Questions:
● Did I try to do too many things in this lesson? Should I have replaced one of my
activities with something more grammatical/content focused?
● Was I sensitive enough in my explanation of Afrolatinidad? Would it be better if I
had someone who identified this way come and speak? I believe it should
absolutely be centered in the Spanish classroom.
Materials
(All materials are hyperlinked so you can view them more closely, but there are copies here as
well)
Slides
Nombre: ________________________________ Hora: ______ Fecha: _________________

Escribir una entrada de Blog muy corta. No

más de tres frases. Frases completas (con
sujeto y verbo), ¡por favor!
La Champeta
Por ________________________ (Nombre del Autor aquí)

____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
_________________________________________________

Rápido Feliz Raza Poder

Discriminación Ritmo África Injusticia
Afrolatino Colombia El Caribe Barrios pobres
Nombre: ________________________________ Hora: ______ Fecha: _________________

Reflexión: La Champeta y la Afrolatinidad

Respond to the following questions in English. Be specific and elaborate (answer all questions!
Your answers for 1-4 should be between 3-5 sentences).
1. What kind of music do you like? Is it important to you? Why or why not?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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2. What is the Champeta? What is Afrolatinidad? What role does

Afrolatinidad (Afro-Latino identity) play in the Champeta?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What struggles are faced by Afro-Latino people? How do their
experiences differ from other people of Latino identities? How did their
experiences make them feel?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What is an identity you have that is important to you?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

5. The Champeta is an important part of Afro-Latino, specifically Afro-
Colombian identity. Think about your own identity. Is there a type of
music, or food, or holiday, or any sort of practice that is important to
your identity?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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