Spanish geography

Sometime in the first month of the year, I go through the countries where Spanish is spoken. 

First I ask the students to write as many Spanish-speaking countries as they can in two minutes and then I time them.  There are 21, I tell them.  Many kids give up after 30 seconds, some realize there's a map on the wall or there's a bulletin board in the back of the room.  Most kids include answers that are WAY off base like New Mexico, Brazil, and Africa.  (I then explain the difference between a state, a country, and a continent.)

And then we watch this video on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKle4UFMjXI&index=5&list=PLgU6hXPsBxvI_RsrarB1-BcwR5iAy2wDT



This is my favorite of the country ones.  I think the girls are adorable, they are obviously the same age as my students, and they have good accents that my students can imitate.  We watch the video twice so students can focus on the video the first time and then fill in some more countries on their list the second time. 

FINALLY, I use the Smartboard to show all of the countries and label them as I go through the continents.  I'll try to insert my Smartboard file in September when I go back to school, but basically all I did was take the background for Central America, label each Spanish-speaking country, and then put the country shape over it.  Then I did the same thing for South America.  For North America I just write the countries on the map as I review it, since the islands are so tiny.

After this, I have a list on one of my word walls with all of the Spanish-speaking countries.  It's useful for me as I plan activities so I don't keep referring to the same few countries I'm most familiar with, and students refer to the list when selecting countries for their Culture Project each marking period.

Here are some other YouTubes I've found through the years.  Please add YOUR favorite Spanish geography links in the comments.

• Mnemonics to learn ALL the countries in Central America and the Carribbean.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSOLUieKmfk&index=7&list=PLgU6hXPsBxvI_RsrarB1-BcwR5iAy2wDT
• Mnemonics to learn ALL the countries in South America. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYSHaL2uGGE
• Incredibly creative teacher's original song that includes dancing, great for kinesthetic learners. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpYkL4ejW8U

There used to be a video to the Rock the Capitals song with a Peruvian professor dancing around, it reminded me of my grandfather trying to salsa dance in our basement.  I can't find it anymore.  If you know the one I'm talking about, PLEASE let me know!  It's just so cute!

This website is just FULL of information and images of South America.  Definitely a good resource for students to use for research or for teachers to use for planning. http://rediscoversouthamerica.com/  I also found this cute image on there.