Hispanic Heritage Month Ideas for Spanish Teachers

Hispanic Heritage Month is one of my favorite times to teach because it’s a chance to celebrate the diversity and richness of the Spanish-speaking world. I also understand how tough it can be to plan lessons that are both meaningful and engaging. With grading, lesson prep, and parent emails, it sometimes feels impossible to find time for new activities.

I often hear teachers say things like:

• “I don’t have time to create new activities on top of everything else.”

• “I want to go beyond food, music, and flags, but I’m not sure how.”

• “It feels like I am piecing things together instead of giving my students a complete experience.”

If you’ve ever felt this way, you’re definitely not alone. I’ve been there myself. The good news is, there are simple ways to make Hispanic Heritage Month meaningful without adding extra stress.

👉 If you missed my recent live workshop, you can still catch the replay video here: Watch the replay on YouTube. In that session, I shared practical strategies and ready-to-use resources that can save you hours of planning.

Here are a few of the biggest challenges teachers face during Hispanic Heritage Month, along with ideas that can help.

Finding time to plan

When you’re short on time, use resources that are already made. Webquests, virtual field trips, and choice boards help you explore culture without spending hours preparing. These activities also give your students more choice and variety.

Keeping students engaged

Students can get bored with the same projects every year. Try using interactive tools to keep things fresh. For example, your class can take a virtual tour of Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul or check out an exhibit on Google Arts and Culture. You can also add some friendly competition with a Gimkit or Kahoot game about Hispanic Heritage topics.

Connecting culture to language learning

Culture doesn’t have to be separate from grammar and vocabulary. For example, when you study Frida Kahlo, students can practice past tense verbs by talking about her life. You can also use superlatives to compare famous Hispanic artists. This way, students see language and culture as connected.

Planning for the whole month

Try making a list of activities at the start of Hispanic Heritage Month instead of planning week by week. Letting students pick from the list gives them more choice and keeps things interesting. This approach can help you feel less stressed and make the celebration more meaningful.

If you enjoyed the ideas in the free replay, you will love the workshop inside the Academy called Must-Have Hispanic Heritage Month Resources for Spanish Teachers. That training includes a complete set of resources you can use year after year.

You can access that workshop and so much more inside the World Language Teacher Tech Academy All Access Club. For only $67 a year, you get everything: every course, every workshop, and every ready-to-use resource.

👉 Join the All Access Club here

⚡ Remember, the $67 yearly rate is only available until 11:59 PM on September 30th. After that, the price will go up.

Teaching culture can be inspiring instead of overwhelming. With helpful resources, you can save time, keep students interested, and make Hispanic Heritage Month a highlight of your school year.

🎉 Save Time & Boost Language Learning with MagicSchool!

🧠✨ Ready to Teach Smarter Next Year? Watch the MagicSchool Workshop Replay Now!

The school year is finally over—and you deserve a break.
But if you're anything like most world language teachers, your brain is already starting to think ahead:

🧐 “How can I save time next year?”
🧠 “How can I differentiate without doubling my workload?”
🎯 “How can I keep students more engaged with speaking and writing?”

If those questions sound familiar, you’re going to love this.

We just hosted a free workshop called “Save Time & Boost Language Learning with MagicSchool”—and the replay is now available to watch!

👉 Click here to watch the replay on YouTube.

What You’ll Get from the Replay

Our guest presenter, Gerardo Gancz, is a Spanish teacher and AI automation expert. In this session, he showed how you can use MagicSchool to create:

✅ Custom chatbots that engage students in the target language
✅ Interactive writing and grammar activities—ready in seconds
✅ Personalized quizzes and tasks that adapt to student needs
✅ Conversations with historical figures like Frida Kahlo
✅ Meaningful speaking and writing practice with almost no prep

Even though the examples are in Spanish, the tools and strategies work for any language. Whether you teach French, German, Japanese, ASL, or another language, you’ll walk away with ideas you can adapt right away.

Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Watch

Now that the chaos of the school year is behind you, it’s the perfect time to reflect and plan for a smoother fall.

This workshop is all about working smarter, not harder—with tools that actually help:

• 🌍 Create more authentic target language practice

• 📝 Support different learning levels in one activity

• 🧠 Stop spending hours planning… and still engage your students

You’ll be inspired, empowered, and ready to start next year with tech tools that save time and boost learning.

What’s Next? Build Your Own Language Chatbots!

If you loved the first training, you’re going to love what’s coming next:

🎉 Training 2: Build Your Own Chatbots for Language & Culture
🗓️ Sunday, June 1st at 2 PM ET
💻 Exclusive to members of the World Language Teacher Tech Academy All Access Club

In this follow-up workshop, you'll learn step-by-step how to build your own:

• Language-specific chatbots

• Cultural conversation bots

• Grammar and vocabulary helpers

• Interactive assessments and more!

And yes—every training comes with a personalized PD certificate.

Want Unlimited Access?

You can rewatch Training 1, attend Training 2, and unlock all of our courses and ready-to-use resources when you join:

🎉 The World Language Teacher Tech Academy All Access Club
✨ Just $67/year for unlimited access
⏳ This is the lowest price we’ve ever offered—and it won’t last forever!

👉 Click here to join now

Watch the Replay Now

You deserve to start next year with tools that work for you.

📺 Watch the MagicSchool Workshop Replay
🧠 Join the All Access Club for More Trainings + Resources

If you’re not already part of our Facebook community, come join us inside the Tech for World Language Teachers group, we’d love to hear how you’re planning to use AI and chatbots in your classroom!

Enjoy your well-deserved break!
Rachel 💛
]

Using Canva's AI to Design Interactive Task Cards for Language Learning

As world language teachers, we know how important it is to keep our students engaged while also providing meaningful practice. One way to do this is by using task cards. They’re a great way to create quick, interactive activities that can really get your students thinking in the target language. But creating them manually can be time-consuming. That’s where Canva’s AI tool comes in! 💡

Before we dive in, want to see Canva’s AI tool in action? 🎥 I’ve created a YouTube video that shows exactly how you can use it to generate engaging task cards for your language students. Check it out here:

This blog post will also break down step-by-step how to use Canva’s AI tool to create beautiful, engaging task cards for your language students. The best part? It’s easy, fast, and will save you so much time. Let’s dive in! ⏳

Step 1: Start with the Right Template 🖌️

Canva offers a variety of templates to help you get started. Whether you’re creating task cards for vocabulary, grammar, or cultural activities, there’s a template for every need. Begin by selecting a template that fits the type of activity you want to create. This will save you a lot of time on design and layout!

Step 2: Use Canva’s Magic Write to Generate Questions 🤖

This is the part I love. With Canva’s Magic Write, you can generate questions directly related to your lesson. For example, if you’re teaching a unit on food, you can ask the AI to create questions based on that topic. Just type in a prompt like, “Generate questions for a language activity about food,” and Canva’s AI will automatically create a list of questions tailored to your lesson. 🍔🍓

This feature is a total game-changer because it’s not just about saving time—it’s about making sure your questions are relevant and engaging for your students.

Step 3: Customize Your Task Cards 🎨

Once you have your questions, you can easily customize your task cards. Canva’s drag-and-drop interface makes it simple to add images, change colors, and adjust the fonts to make the cards match your classroom theme or your personal style. Customization helps you make these task cards not only useful but also visually appealing for your students. 🌟

Step 4: Connect Data for Personalized Cards 📊

One of the coolest things about Canva’s AI tool is its ability to connect data, which means you can create task cards that are personalized for your students. If you’ve already collected student names or levels, you can use that data to create task cards that are specific to each student’s learning needs. This feature is super helpful for differentiating instruction and keeping all your students challenged. 🔍

Step 5: Print or Share Digitally 🖨️📲

Once your task cards are ready, you can either print them out for in-class use or share them digitally for online activities. Canva makes it easy to download your designs in different formats, including PDF, PNG, or even video, so you can share them in whatever way works best for your students. 💻🖼️

Why Canva’s AI Tools are a Must-Have for World Language Teachers 🌍

As busy teachers, we’re always looking for ways to streamline our prep work without sacrificing quality. Canva’s AI tools help us create resources that are both engaging and efficient. The best part? You don’t have to be a tech expert to use it. It’s intuitive and user-friendly, making it accessible for all teachers, regardless of tech experience. 🙌

By using Canva’s AI tools to create task cards, you’ll not only save time but also boost student engagement. So why not give it a try? It’s time to let AI do the heavy lifting, and give you more time to focus on what matters most—teaching your students! 🎉

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Want to learn how to use AI to save 10 hours or more per week as a world language teacher? 📅

If you’re ready to take your teaching to the next level and save valuable time, I’ve got a free workshop just for you! Sign up for Must-Have AI Tech Tools for World Language Teachers and discover how you can work smarter, not harder, with AI. 🎓✨

👉 Sign up for the free workshop here!

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Boosting Language Proficiency With Choice Boards

🎓 As a World Language Teacher, vocabulary acquisition is a critical aspect of your students' language learning. One way to make vocabulary practice more engaging and effective is by using vocabulary choice boards. Here are five tips to help you make the most out of using vocabulary choice boards in your class:

1️⃣ Be intentional with the vocabulary choices on the choice board. Choose words that are relevant to your students' proficiency level and that they will find useful in their daily lives.

2️⃣ Encourage students to select words that they find challenging or particularly interesting. This will help them to take ownership of their learning and stay engaged in the activity.

3️⃣ Use a variety of activities on the choice board to appeal to different learning styles. For example, include activities that involve writing, speaking, listening, and drawing.

Check out this no-prep Digital Vocabulary Choice Board.

4️⃣ Allow students to work at their own pace and choose their own level of difficulty. This will help to build their confidence and promote a growth mindset.

5️⃣ Provide feedback and support to students as they work through the activities. This will help them to develop their language skills and feel supported in their learning journey.

By following these tips, you can make vocabulary choice boards a valuable tool in your World Language classroom. Good luck! 🍀

Want to learn more about how to use Digital Vocabulary Choice Boards?

Watch the video below.

FREE WORKSHOP

Discover How AI Tech Tools Can Help You Save 10 Hours + Weekly As a World Language Teacher.

Engage Your Language Students With Authentic Music

Have you heard of the Locura de marzo? If you are a Spanish teacher this is an AMAZING way to get your students excited and engaged. 

So what exactly is the Locura de marzo?

It is a SUPER FUN music tournament that takes place each year in March (March Madness). It is organized and hosted by Ben Ashby of senorashby.com

The tournament works like this, each day two songs face off against each other. Students from all over the world listen and vote for their favorite song. The winning song moves on to the next round and the losing song gets eliminated. I have my students participate in the Locura de marzo each year and they LOVE it! 😍

Last year Sr. Ashby came Live on The Tech for World Language Teachers Community to explain all the details about this AWESOME music competition.

You can watch and get all the details below.

Want to connect with other Spanish teachers who are participating in the Locura de marzo? Be sure to check out Señor Ashby's Locura De Marzo Facebook group. There are tons of ideas and resources you can use with your Spanish language students. 

Not a Spanish teacher? No worries, you can still get ideas about how to get your students engaged and excited with authentic music. If you are a French teacher there is also a Facebook group called Musique Mercredi and a website where you can get all the details about the French music tournament, you find out more here.

Are you a member of the Tech for World Language Teachers Facebook group? We have over 15,000 language teachers just like you. We share tips, ideas, and resources.

Authentic Resources for Language Class

As I talk each day with teachers inside of the Tech for World Language Teachers Facebook group, I often hear about their struggle to find authentic materials and resources to use in the World Language classrooms. When I mention Miscosistas.com I am often surprised how few have heard of this website. 

MisCositas.com has lots of Thematic cultural units, lessons and activities for your World Language classroom. Languages supported are English, Spanish, French, and Chinese.

Below is a video walkthrough I made to show you some of the resources available on the site and how easy it is to use.

What's your favorite resource from MisCositas.com?

Join the conversation inside of our Facebook community.

Verb Conjugation website for your world Language classroom

Do your students need some help conjugating verbs?

Check out this cool verb conjugation website available for multiple languages. http://www.verbix.com/

You can have your students practice as a bellringer, use for early finishers, or as an enrichment activity.

Below is a video walkthrough to show you how easy it is to use.

Did you find this useful? Head on over to our Free Facebook group and join the conversation. Group: Tech for World Language Teachers

Be sure to grab our free resources here>>

Save Time Grading with the Easy Grade Calculator

The Easy Grade Calculator has helped me to Save so much Time grading. I made a quick tutorial to show you how easy it is to use.

Want more tips and support? Join our Free Facebook group Tech for World Language Teachers.