One of the best things about teaching a world language is that we get to show our students cultures, countries, and people from around the world.
My classes recently did a project with the microfinancing website www.kiva.org. Kiva is a non-profit organization that helps fund loans for people looking to better their future by furthering their education or starting/growing a small business. Using Kiva and this project is the perfect tie-in to the global challenges unit, and is a great way for students to practically use the target language.
The project: Choose a person or small business from a Spanish speaking country, and create a persuasive presentation to convince the class to fund your loan.
Prior to the project, we discussed the environment and poverty around the world. This supplied them with the vocabulary needed to create their presentation. The students had time in class to navigate the website and find a person/cause that was important to them. Then, they created a Google Slides Presentation and prepared an persuasive oral speech. In addition to providing them with the vocabulary for micro financing, I also shared 7 strategies for persuasive speaking and gave them ideas for their presentation. While the students present, I make sure they other students are paying attention and providing positive feedback and constructive criticism. They all voted for their favorite presentation and the group with the most votes received a bonus point – even more motivation for success!
If your school is fortunate enough – here is a bonus idea! This project could be turned into a real competition – Shark Tank style. You could get a small amount of money (even $25) to be the “prize” for the best and most convincing presentation. At the end of all the presentations, the judges and students vote for the best pitch, and use real money to fund that loan. The winning students will feel a true sense of pride, and the entire class helped someone reach their dream!
Here are some samples of my students’ final projects.
You can find all materials needed for the project here, including a powerpoint presentation, project requirements, persuasive speaking activity, and rubric.
