Many Spanish teachers share about la quinceanera in Spanish class and its relevance to Latino culture. So, if you are a Spanish teacher looking to share about La quinceañera in Spanish class, keep reading to discover my favorite books and videos that can be used in the classroom. Then, I share authentic and engaging lesson plan ideas to incorporate when teaching about la quinceanera in Spanish!
What is a quinceanera?
In Latin American cultures, a quinceañera is a celebration of a girl’s fifteenth birthday and is her transition from childhood to adulthood. The celebration typically involves a Catholic mass followed by a party with family, friends, dancing, traditions, food, and music. This rite of passage is important for young girls and is customary to honor this special day with grand celebrations.
Videos and Books for Teaching About Quinceañeras
You may want to do some research on your own before teaching about quinceañeras. Or if you are familiar enough, you still want to have authentic resources to show your students. Teaching about holidays and celebrations can be enhanced greatly when students can visualize what they are learning about.
Authentic Videos
One of the best ways to get students really reflecting on a video, artwork, or text is to have them really imagine they are there. And how can they do that? They can use their 5 senses. What do you see, hear, taste, etc.? This works really well when watching any of these quinceañera videos, as students will try to imagine they are there taking a part in this special day.
- Quinceañera: tradición y evolución (1:42)
- What is a Quinceañera? Paulina Chávez Explains Netflix After School (3:20)
- Españoles en el mundo: La gran fiesta de quinceañera RTVE (4:05)
- Sweet 15 – movie to rent or buy on Amazon (1:45:00)
- Quinceañera: A Journey into Womanhood (27:36)
- 15: A Quinceañera Story – requires HBO – 4 mini documentaries following the lives of 4 different girls’ quinceañera celebrations.
- La Quinceañera Documentary – Tijuana, México (39:57)
Books About Quinceañeras
Once Upon a Quinceañera by Julia Alvarez explores the history and cultural significance of the “quince” in the USA, discusses the consequences of treating teens like princesses, and emphasizes the importance of celebrating Latina womanhood. This is a book more for the teacher to read before teaching a lesson.
The Fiesta Dress: A Quinceanera Tale is a children’s book about Lolo, whose big sister is celebrating her quinceañera, so everyone is too busy to play with her. So, she lets the family dog run free, and now everyone notices her!
If you enjoy readers, Los quince de Raquel is perfect for level 1, as it uses present tense. Raquel is on the verge of turning 15 over the summer. All she wants for her birthday is a new phone and to celebrate with her friends, but her parents have other plans. They bring her to Mexico, where they celebrate a traditional fiesta de quinceañera with her family in a small village.
Miss Quinces or Srta. Quinces (Spanish version) is a graphic novel for students. It is visually appealing and tells the story of a girl who would rather do anything other than celebrate her quinceañera!
The best way to start a lesson on quinceaneras
Before you can jump into a lesson on la quinceañera, it is best to first get students in the mindset of how birthdays are celebrated in the US (or the country you teach in). This will lay the groundwork for a more engaging and authentic cultural comparison at the end of your lesson or unit.
Start by asking general questions about birthdays. This can be done with a simple turn and talk conversation, or to get your students up and moving, try a gallery walk. Post these questions around the room. You can print them on regular computer paper, just in large font. Then, either have students rotate, discussing their answers to each question or give them post-it notes to write their responses and post next to each question.
- ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños?
- ¿Cuántos años tienes?
- ¿Qué haces en tu cumpleaños?
- ¿Qué comes en tu cumpleaños?
- ¿Qué ropa llevas en tu fiesta de cumpleaños?
- ¿A quién invitas a tu fiesta?
- ¿Qué regalos quieres?
- ¿Hay un cumpleaños especial en los EE.UU.? ¿Cuál?
After students do the gallery walk or turn/talks, have them share out answers as a whole class.
Activities for a Quinceanera Unit
Legend of the Quinceanera
One of my favorite ways to incorporate culture is with Hispanic myths and legends. One of my favorites is the Legend of the Quinceañera. It is a bit spooky, and can be great for Halloween time! But you can definitely use this story at any time of year to enhance your Quinceañera unit.
Here is a quick summary of the legend: Many years ago, a young girl who was about to celebrate her quinceañera passed away tragically. Her family and friends buried her in her quinceañera dress. The gravediggers at the cemetery have since seen appearances by her ghost. This is the story of Samuel, a gravedigger on duty, who encounters the ghost of la quinceañera!
When I read myths and legends, I like to incorporate images to retell the story. Students will use put the images in logical order, and then rewrite the story in their own words.
Carmen Lomas Garza painting “Quinceañera”
There is so much you can do with just one simple painting. Here are five quick ideas:
- Play I Spy – “I spy a yellow car” Now of course this will be done in the target language, making it a bit more challenging since it is strictly a listening activity. Students can race each other to find the item first.
- How many…? – How many pink dresses, steps, etc. are in the painting? This is a simple practice with numbers and quinceañera vocabulary.
- Write a story – Students can see the painting, but do not know the background behind the story. They can write a story from the point of view of different characters in the painting. For the “real” story behind this artwork, Carmen shares about it in the book “Cuadros de familia.” I really recommend both this book and “En mi familia” for cultural images to use in the classroom. I use these books all the time. They make great writing prompts, cultural discussions, family unit lessons, holiday activities, and more!
- Extend the Painting – This painting takes place on the front steps of a church. But what does the rest of the scene look like? Could students illustrate what is going on in the church or down the street at the reception hall?
- Create a Conversation – It looks like there are many groupings of people, all preparing in different ways for the quinceañera. Assign each student or student group a different section of the painting. They will create an interpersonal conversation that could be happening between those characters. Then, they can share the conversations with the class.
Compare/Contrast to a Sweet 16
After learning about quinceañera customs, have students compare and contrast this special day to the customary Sweet 16 in the United States. A simple Venn Diagram and class discussion can suffice. Or you may choose to do a Socratic Seminar, essay, or presentation assignment.
Plan and Throw a Quinceañera Party
This is the most authentic an assignment can possibly get! Have students work in groups to plan and throw a quinceañera party for the class. Depending on the size of your class, you may have the entire class work together to divide up the tasks. Students can complete the party planning process starting with the budget, all the way to the final touches of the decorations! Here is a 9-step interactive quinceanera planning project for students to complete!
Now, take it one step further and have them actually “throw the party!” One girl should be the “quinceañera,” and other students can be in the court or represent her family members. They will need to think of every detail from drafting the invitations, to preparing a playlist of music, to practicing a waltz, and more! Don’t forget to have them include all of the important symbols like the last doll, flat shoes and high heels, food, and more! On the day of the “party,” students will have the quinceañera, with everyone participating. They should also be responsible for explaining what is happening and what the symbols represent.
Quinceanera Escape Room
I am a huge fan of escape rooms. They promote teamwork, creative problem solving, and give students extra motivation. When I design escape rooms, I like to make the resources and scenarios as authentic as possible.
With this quinceañera escape room, students decipher an invitation, analyze a famous painting of a quinceanera, interpret a timeline of events for a quinceanera, match common questions and answers about quinceaneras, and complete a budget using receipts. It doesn’t get much more authentic than this!
Here are some tips for designing or using escape rooms in the world language classroom.
IPA
Many teachers have an entire holidays and celebrations unit in their curriculum. You may cover a variety of holidays and then need an end-of-the-unit assessment. I love using Integrated Performance Assessments because they show what students “can-do” by the end of a unit. Plus, they are authentic and practical! Here is an IPA I created about quinceañeras. To learn more about how to administer an IPA, read this blog post.
And now you have an entire list of authentic and engaging activities to teach about la quinceanera in Spanish class. You can get 4 of the products I mentioned above in a money saving bundle of quinceanera activities... 4 products for the price of 3!
Let me know which activities worked best in your classroom in the comments below.
