UPDATE: Resources for Episodes 2 and 3 have been added HERE.

Friends, if you haven’t seen the series Tierra Incógnita from Disney+, you need to binge watch this weekend. I’ve watched the entire first season – TWICE! When my good friend, Bill Langley recommended it, I knew it was going to be a hit. And boy, was he right!

If you are struggling to get engagement, you need this show in your Spanish class. I show 1/2 an episode each week. There are 8 episodes in season 1, so we have 16 lessons. That’s 16 weeks of engagement! And by engagement, I mean students are LOCKED IN. They run to class on Fridays, ready to watch. They ask on Monday if we are going to watch again on Friday. And, they remind me on Wednesday that we are going to watch again on Friday.

The best part of this show?

It’s from Disney+, so you KNOW there won’t be surprise nudity, language, or violence. And no scenes that you HAVE to skip. (There are a few scenes throughout that I would call “jumpy” – for that reason, I do recommend that you preview episodes, especially if you are showing to a younger audience. Read more about the importance of previewing series here).

How To Teach Using a Series (#AuthRes)

First, I introduced the series using these introduction resources from Mis Clases Locas. This took a few days because I wanted to make sure students knew the characters and basic premise of the show.

Next, show the trailers.

Finally, I broke each episode into two parts with detailed readings. We watch 1/2 of the episode and then read about it. Students follow along, choose the correct word, or fill in the blank as I read aloud. They have to participate, or I won’t show the episode the following week.

A Quick Note About Participation:

By participate, I mean that I hear all voices at all times. If I don’t hear students responding aloud, I back up, slow down, and say the line again. I am totally obnoxious about this. After all, if I am going to take my precious time to create resources they love, they will take the time to participate. Period. I’ll repeat a line over and over until I hear all voices. I explain that the only way I know they understand is by hearing them. If I don’t hear their voices, I have to assume that I’m going too fast. So, the best way for them to keep class flowing smoothly is for me to HEAR THEIR VOICES.

Introducing Grammar and Vocabulary

Using a series is a great way to clear up wide-spread grammar and vocabulary issues. For example, I noticed recently that a good portion of my students didn’t know “llegó – s/he arrived” on sight. I incorporated it into the next reading and then as a follow up assignment (on a day when I had a sub) I had them use specific vocabulary, including “llegó”, from the show to write their own unique story. The next time we came across “llegó”, they all knew it.

This series is perfect for teaching the pluperfect (past perfect). I’ve baked it into almost every episode. Now, whenever they see había + past participle they intuitively understand it. I also switch around a bit between the present and past tense. Some lecturas focus on the present and others on the past. This is intentional. I want students to have a mental representation of the base forms of the words. They understand the tense from the context clues.

Benefits of Using a Series in Class

• Reading fluidity is improving at an astronomical rate.
• Comprehension is improving.
• Willingness to take a risk and speak aloud is improving.
• WRITING HAS IMPROVED OVERALL!

The best reason to use a series in class? Students want to come to my class. They are still tardy, but they are all there. Fewer absences and better attitudes abound. And I feel like I can survive until the end of May. ‘Cause it’s been rough, y’all. This year has been much more difficult than last year – and I thought last year was tough! (You can read about the brain science behind why it’s tough to teach right now here).

And finally, what you’ve been waiting for…

Click here for the FREE resources for Episode One.

Enjoy, friends! We CAN make it to the end of this year!