Project Based Learning Activity

AP Spanish Literature

Making connections with works of literature and the real world

through public service announcements

Introduction Identify a problem in a literary work that is

also reflected in our world and create a public service announcement that educates the public on this problem.

From the literary works read, you have observed many different issues that are used to convey the poem, short story, prose, or play to the public.

Vuelva usted mañana Mariano Larra Spain Business Burocracy

Mariano Larra’s “Vuelva Usted Mañana,”

You experienced the frustration of Monsieur Sans-Délai as he attempted to start his business in what appears to be an unfriendly business environment. An issue you can choose for this project based learning activity would be that of poor business planning could lead to disastrous results.

Once you have identified that problem, now it is time to begin the research of finding a similar problem in our world. For example, an online search of a similar situation could lead you to a real life story where an entrepreneur has fallen short of fulfilling his or her expectations of starting a company. Next, identify similarities and differences of the problems you have selected in your literary work and the real life example of the problem.

After making connections of similarities and differences, you will make a public service announcement that educates the public of the problem you have chosen and how the problem is reflected in literature and in the real world.

Present reasons on how this problem negatively impacts: society, the economy, families, education, relationships, government, religion, etc, and what other’s can do to avoid a similar problem.

The PSA must be filmed or acted out in class, be entirely in Spanish, and in between 4 and 5 minutes in length.

Standards Covered Communication: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 Cultures: 2.1, 2.2 Connections: 3.1, 3.2 Comparisons: 4.1, 4.2 Communities: 5.1

Prerequisite Experience Video production techniques and software,

sound editing techniques and software, and digital (video) camera operation.

Knowledge of the works covered

Teacher Prep Time Depending on previous experience, 1-2

hours.

Project Students will create a 4-5 minute public

service announcement for educating the public on a problem that appears in a literary work and in real life, using video and sound production software to yield a professional-looking result, or a live performance in class without notes.

Time Management Tips Begin immediately. You will have two

weeks to prepare your research, write, film or act out your public service announcement.

Lesson Plan Details Form teams of two or three. It is in these

groups that they will complete the project based activity.

Discuss the different literary works for interesting problems to investigate, and guide them to begin their independent research.

Allow the students time to analyze the pieces to be used in their comparisons and their public service announcement.

If possible it would be ideal to show a few public service announcements to the students to model.

The culminating day of the activity will be the presentation of the teams’ findings with the class.

After watching each PSA, allow for brief discussion of the problems brought up, literary works chosen, and the real world problems.

Activity extension Record each presentation and compile

them to make a Podcast. Students are encouraged to consider

the opportunities to further develop and use their skills in making connections with the literature they read to our world.