Amazing Race: Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia

This post is for me. Somewhere, somehow I appear to have morphed from a teacher who could easily recall the names of 900 students (two of whom were identical twins. Identical I tell you) who could keep track of where each class was and who needed extra help with certain tasks or extension work in other areas to an exact personification of the absent-minded professor. I only have 300 odd students and yet I am constantly calling students the wrong names, I need lists to remember who is up to what task and must write down where individual classes are or I completely loose the plot. Worst of all I am forever misplacing my lists. It probably doesn't help that I am about to move my classroom for the third time this year and that bits of my materials are tucked around the school in various locations. Anyway there has been heaps of preparation in what I have done with my year (grade) 6 and 7 students over the past term or so and for future reference I really want to have it handy so that I can remember what I did and how it went. So if this is of no interest to you feel free to scroll down or up as the case may be.

For those who are interested you should probably get comfy. You should also get snacks. This will be a long one.

So. The Amazing Race. After two terms of grammar, and language building exercises I wanted to do something fun and different with the older kids to get them excited about learning Spanish and to help them gain a better appreciation of other cultures and communities particularly in regards to their histories and customs. The students were divided into teams of two (each class with approximately 15 teams) and during each lesson they were told that they would be racing through various Spanish speaking countries, participating in different tasks and challenges and that teams would check in at the end of each lesson. The first team to check in would be awarded 15 points the second 14 and so forth. There would be no eliminations (except for students who were not on task) but there would also be a bonus sheet at the end of each lesson where each correctly answered question would award that team an additional point so that the winning team would not necessarily be the fastest, but the team that had gained the greatest understanding through completing the tasks. The prize was sadly not a million dollars, but rather an all expenses paid lunch at a Mexican restaurant which would also include the afternoon off school. To say that the kids were pretty excited would be a serious understatement.

Our first destination was... In order to find out where they were students had to decode a cryptogram that detailed facts about Mexico. Once they had correctly decoded the facts and used them to identify the country they were handed their first clue. From there they read about the origins of the Jarabe Tapatio (The Mexican Hat Dance) and watched a performance of the dance, when they were able to perform it without any mistakes they were handed their next clue. The last challenge for that day was to read about the ancient Aztec game of tlachtli and to attempt to get a ball through a hoop (which I had tied to the top of a basketball ring) Aztec style, using only your hip, elbow or knee. Once the students understood the difficulty of this task (after a certain number of attempts) they were able to try to get the ball through the hoop using either hands or feet and were then allowed to check in and take a bonus sheet.

Mexico: day 2

The first task was to color in a Mexican flag and, after reading a brief passage, to answer some questions about the symbolism and history of the flag. They were then handed a sheet that retold the legend of Popo and Izta (a remarkable warrior and an Aztec princess who, in an ancient version of Romeo and Juliet, were transformed - legend has it - into the two volcanoes that lie on the outskirts of Mexico city) as well as many facts about Mexican volcanoes and were given a challenge to create their own mini volcano. Once each team managed to make their volcano erupt they were handed their next clue. Their final challenge for the day centered around understanding how children in many third world countries must work to help their families survive. One such way is by collecting water. For their next clue they were given some basic facts about water, such as how nearly 1 billion people lack access to safe water, and how much water is needed for a small family each day (approximately 20 litres) as well as how and from what sources that water may be collected. Each team was told to take a bucket, filled with (5 litres) of water and walk the length of the oval to where their partner was waiting. Their partner then had to do the same. Team members had to continue to do this until they had sufficiently "collected" (carried) the required 20 litres of water. I broke it down into five litres, to make it more physically suitable for the kids (who wants to get sued?) and also to help prevent spillage. We also used the same buckets for the next class in an effort to conserve water and the students - a few of whom were not happy about doing this (I have a couple of classic kids who find it strenuous and annoying if they so much as have to bend over to get something off the floor -you can imagine how fun they found this challenge) all definitely gained a deeper appreciation for what some kids have to do every day - multiple trips to get water that may not always be very clean, just so that they and their families can survive. This was a really good lesson. Even some of the ones who complained thanked me later. This challenge was followed by the check in and bonus sheet.

Mexico: day 3

Teams were immediately handed their first "clue". A brief description and history of the "Ojo de Dios" or "God's eye" that is thought to have originated with the Huicol Indians of Jalisco Mexico. Teams had to follow some simple instructions to create their own God's Eye. (An extra helper who just sat and visually demonstrated how to create one would have been great.) Some teams had a bit of difficulty but everyone was able to pull through and receive their next clue. For their next clue students read a brief history about, perhaps, the most popular Mexican dish: nachos. They learned about how, in 1943, Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya created the dish and the circumstances surrounding it's invention. In order to receive their next clue teams had to recreate Anaya's original dish and then eat it including the jalapenos. (I double checked allergies beforehand and tweaked it slightly for certain individuals.) They all loved this challenge. A lot. Their final clue for the day was to look at a wall mural (on-line at riveramural.com) by Diego Rivera which depicted the history of Mexico (both good and bad) from the time of the Aztecs till the mid 20th century. This site was a great resource as it included a key with details of who certain individuals were, what they were doing and why their actions were symbolic. After reading a bit about Diego Rivera teams had to search the mural to find certain famous people in Mexican history and explain who they were and what they were famous for. When they answered their questions correctly they were allowed to check-in and were handed the bonus sheets.

Guatemala: Day 1

To begin with students were told that they had left Mexico and were travelling towards south America but to get to their first clue they would need to tell me what country they were currently in. Each team was handed a cryptogram, with lots of clues about Guatemala, and once decoded and answered correctly students were handed their next clue: some simple information about the "munecas quitapenas" (Guatemalan worry dolls), a sample doll and instructions on how to make their own. Once students had correctly made their dolls they were handed their final clue for the day. They were given a sheet with some dots and lines on it and were asked to begin to figure out what it meant. Once they understood how difficult that was they were handed a Mayan code that archaeologists had cracked, despite the fact that so many writings and resources were destroyed by the Spanish. Using the code and their new found information on the Mayan number system they worked through a set of mathematical equations and wrote their answers in Mayan. This was followed by check-in and bonus sheets.

Guatemala: Day 2

To begin with students were given a map of Guatemala (from Enchanted Learning) and had to label it and answer some general geographical questions. When teams finished their maps they were handed their next clue which consisted of some basic information about backstrap weaving, once they had read about what backstrap weaving involves, how it started and how it is done they were told to take a number (some teams would have to wait) and find a "loom" (these were makeshift looms that Bayan helped me make at the beginning of the year) once teams had woven a certain number of lines and a certain number of colors they were handed their next clue. I had set up the back of the classroom as "The Temple of Inscriptions" (though officially that is in Mexico) and handed each team some simplified information on Mayan hieroglyphs. They were told that they would need to visit the Mayan temple and would have to decipher and translate their page of Mayan hieroglyphs in order to check in. Most teams did this with surprising ease. This task was followed by bonus sheets.

I would have liked to have done something with chocolate as well, but we ran out of time and needed to keep moving on.

Colombia:

Students had to accurately draw the Colombian flag and then, like Guatemala, label a map of the country and correctly answer some general geographical questions. Once teams had accurately completed these tasks they were handed their next sheet which outlined ten facts about Colombian coffee, including such information as the average coffee tree produces only one pound of coffee each year. (I didn't realize that.) I then provided students with information on Fair Trade and why Fair Trade products are so important. But how do you tell which product is fair trade and which is not? In order to receive their next clue students were invited to approach a "coffee plantation", one team at a time, to scrutinize, smell and touch (but not taste) four different types of coffee. Teams had to accurately decide which one was fair trade and explain their answer before they could receive their next clue. I retold the "true" story about the legend of El Dorado and how it is most likely connected to Lake Guatavita and a ritual performed by a native Indian tribe. Students read this history and then had to play the role of the Indian tribe. They had to accurately draw and label three crops traditionally grown in Colombia and then trade / barter their crops for golden nuggets (in Spanish) teams then had to translate directions (which were in Spanish) that would lead them to a little wooden box hidden in the school forest which contained a "precious stone" for each team. Teams then had to respectfully, accurately and safely toss these treasures into (a makeshift) Lake Guatavita in order to check in and collect their bonus sheet.

I didn't get any pictures of the students doing their activities and challenges as I was too busy handing out clues, checking answers and supervising tasks to have time for anything else, but if I am ever insane enough to try this again (and lets face it - I probably will be) I think some pictures will be fabulous. The ones here are all taken from google.