Los Castells de Tarragona

In sixth grade Spanish, students are learning about “Los Castells de Tarragona”. This popular event celebrated in Catalonia, Spain, involves creating human towers up to heights between six and ten tiers. A great deal of strength, coordination and teamwork goes into building these marvelous “castells”! Students are amazed to find out that children their age and even younger not only participate in the event, but also challenge themselves by climbing all the way to the top tiers. 

Language and culture go hand in hand. Learning about Spanish people and their traditions  brings us closer to them and allows us to make personal connections. This unit encourages sixth graders to ask themselves and discuss with each other the following questions: How do I help others in my family and my school? How can I make a difference in my community? What risks do I take in my day to day life? Some of the new vocabulary words introduced are: simpático (nice), tienes que (you have to), no puede (cannot do / make), lo/la ayuda (helps him/her).

In order to practice and solidify concepts, in addition to teacher-led discussions with the class, and writing activities, students also work on interactive reading comprehension assignments that combine text, audio, and visuals. The unit wraps up with a writing assessment in which students produce an informative piece that summarizes what they’ve learned about “Los Castells”.