Examining Poverty in Latin American Countries: A Poster Carousel
Mackenzie Crampton
- Disciplinary Literacy Skill: IAWL.IPL. Express self and negotiate meaning in the target language by appropriately engaging in unrehearsed conversations and/or correspondence to actively participate in social interactions (face-to-face or electronically) as a global citizen.
- Critical Literacy Skill(s): Focusing on sociopolitical issues
- Instructional Resources Needed:
- “Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Long and Bumpy Road Ahead” (O’Brien & Ñopo, 2022)
- Poster Carousel Handout
Step by Step Instructions
*Note: This strategy has been adjusted to fit the proficiency of Spanish 4 students*
- For the first part of this lesson, students will read the article, “Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Long and Bumpy Road Ahead.” This article provides information about the current poverty rates in Latin America and historical statistics of poverty. It also explains how COVID-19 has affected the poverty rates within the past couple of years.
- Then, we will have a whole class discussion about the article.
Discussion questions:
- What is the main idea of this article?
- How much did the poverty rate increase between 2019 and 2021?
- How much has labor income dropped?
- After the discussion, students will be divided into groups of 4, where they will each complete a poster carousel activity. During this activity, each group is prompted with 4 questions about the article.
- There will be one question in each of the corners of the poster (see example). The students will be sat at each corner, which will assign them each a question. Using their previous knowledge and information from the article, each student will reflect on the questions and share their opinion using the Spanish language. Every answer must be in Spanish.
- After an allotted time, the group members will rotate the poster clockwise, and each student will now have a new question.
- After 3 full rotations, the students will have answered each question. Then, I will ask the groups to discuss their answers in Spanish.
- After the groups’ verbal discussion, each group will share their answers and discussion with the whole class.
- While each group shares, the other students will reflect on their own answers and discussion and share any questions or comments they have.
- Throughout this lesson, students will examine sociopolitical issues in Latin America, specifically poverty. The students will reflect on the information in the the article and share their own perspectives on poverty in Latin America, allowing them to gain a deeper understanding of sociopolitical issues in Latin America, while also practicing their written and verbal Spanish communication.
About the author
name: Mackenzie Crampton
institution: Majors: World Languages and Cultures (Spanish) and Secondary Education
I grew up in the very small town of Lehigh in Central Iowa with my two sisters and mom and dad. I attended Southeast Valley High School, and after graduation, I attended Iowa Central Community College. Currently, I am working on obtaining my Bachelor’s Degree in World Languages and Cultures: Spanish and Secondary Education. Education was not something that I ever thought I would be interested in, but because of my love for the Spanish language, I decided to take the education route. Now, I can’t imagine myself being anything other than a Spanish educator. After graduation, my main goal is to travel and experience as many different cultures as possible. Eventually, I would like to move to the East Coast and work as a Spanish teacher.
