In my very first year of teaching Spanish, I was teaching middle school 6th and 7th grade. My upcoming unit was to teach about jobs in Spanish. Jobs, professions, careers to 6th graders? How would I connect with them? They probably have a dream job, but other than that, what else were we going to talk about? How would I make this lesson relatable? Then, the greatest idea hit me… a personality quiz. Which career matches your personality? Who doesn’t love taking those types of quizzes?! So, I made a novice-level personality quiz to start our unit and the kids loved it!
So, I am sharing with you seven of my favorite resources for teaching about jobs in Spanish class! Your career unit will be engaging, exciting, and relatable when you add content about jobs like ice cream taste tester or share facts about how being bilingual can increase your odds of getting a job by 35%!
Start with Vocabulary – a List of Jobs in Spanish with over 100 words!
As with any unit, you will want to start your jobs in Spanish unit with some vocabulary. Students will not need to know every job vocabulary term. They won’t even need to know how to describe what most jobs do. I always think it is most important for students to choose vocabulary words that are important to them, words that they connect with and will see themselves using.
You can start by giving them a big list of jobs in Spanish vocab (and snag yours for free here – it comes with over 100 words!). Then, let them look at the list and make a personalized vocabulary list of 20-30 words that make sense for their future, their personality, or even their family so they can talk about other people. Of course, you can just print out the mega list and have your students use it as a reference during the entire unit.
Reading Gallery Walk
One of my absolute favorite activities to use in the language classroom is a gallery walk. Students get up and moving, they still communicate in the target language, and they can work individually or in pairs. For this particular unit, I like using readings about common jobs like teacher, mechanic, doctor, etc. I would print the readings out and hang them around the room. Students will circulate around the room, reading the descriptions of each job. (And with this resource, you get novice & intermediate versions of the text!) Students can either complete a scavenger hunt, write one thing they learned about each job, one new vocab term, or even draw something that symbolizes each profession!
If you want, you can even do some post-it activities during your gallery walk! Learn more about that here.
Which Career Am I? Career Personality Quiz
Take a fun career personality quiz with your students to find out which career best suits their personality. Are they going to make an amazing teacher, an analytical lawyer, or maybe a creative photographer? They will read their results, have a small group discussion with other students, and even complete a mini project! I made this personality quiz when I was teaching 6th grade Spanish my very first year as a Spanish teacher, and it is still one of my favorite activities to do with students!
You can learn about how I use these personality quizzes for teaching vocab in tons of other units, too (like animals, Hispanic Heritage Month, art, travel, and more!)
Research Posters
Once students figure out what career is best suited for their personality or maybe they already know what they want to be when they grow up, they can research more about this job. Students will research the career, identify the place of work, salary, skills, education, pros/cons, job responsibilities, and if they want the job. These posters can be hung around the room, used for presentations, or a sub plan! You can get a set of 40 professions research posters here!
I love using these posters because they double as classroom decor and student work! You can find more posters like these for Hispanic foods, holidays/celebrations, famous Hispanics, saints, music genres, and more! Plus, learn about other outside the box research projects for Spanish class on my blog post.
Strange Jobs
Maybe you’ve covered the classic jobs like nurse, lawyer, and police officer. But now you’re ready for some fun! What about jobs like water slide tester, golf ball collector, or color expert?! Your students will be floored to hear that some of these jobs exist (and they’ll start googling how to apply!) Read about 8 strange jobs or trabajos curiosos, complete comprehension questions, analytical questions, a project, and more!
Bilingual Jobs
We’ve all heard it… “Why do I have to learn Spanish?” Well, now you have an answer! These 8 bilingual jobs will prove to your students that learning Spanish really does matter and can help them secure a job in the future. From reporters to nurses, to translators, students will learn that many employers are looking for bilingual candidates to fill openings. This is a perfect lesson for your upper level students close to graduation (or even your freshmen/sophomores to inspire them to stick with Spanish!)
And if your students need more proof, it is in the numbers! According to a study in this research paper on Empirca, summarized nicely on this Forbes article, you can boost your salary and job prospects by 35% if you have bilingual abilities! And 56 percent of businesses report that their demand for bilingual and multilingual speakers will soar over the next five years!
Cuando sea grande
When I grow up, I want to be a… How did you answer this question as a kid? My answer was always “teacher.” Ever since I was in kindergarten (until I got to high school and decided on Arts Administrator… then I finally found my way back to teacher. You can read more here.) Learn about your students’ aspirations with this project. It is not just a question to ask elementary students. Your middle and high school students will love answering this question with this fun worksheet and activities. Watch a video clip of kids answering the question and complete a worksheet, read 10 brief descriptions of kids answering this question, and then let students answer it themselves!
Want all these awesome jobs in Spanish resources?
Your jobs in Spanish unit will be completely done for you with all of these resources! You can find all 6 resources plus the freebie mega vocabulary list of jobs in Spanish for one low price in the bundle! All the work is done for you. You don’t have to lift a finger and your whole unit is complete! Get yours now!
