This is the culminating activity for my Solar System unit (Somos 1 Unit 26). This was the most fun activity that I've ever done in my Spanish classes! We used it during the last week of school because it kept the kids engaged so well.
The activity was inspired by this infograph shared by @alenord. I introduced it by asking my students which of them wanted to go to space and/or wanted to be an astronaut. Then, I asked if they knew what it takes to be an astronaut, traditionally. Finally, I explained that in 2012, there was a competition in Russia to find new astronauts. It was open to the public, and you didn't need to go to space school to enter.
We examined the infographic and established meaning for the various requirements that it outlined. After students had a good understanding of the requirements, I asked who thought that they would do well in this competition. And then came the grand announcement that we would be holding our own Astronaut Competition over the next few days!! The competition involves:
- A test of students' memory
- A test of students' morals
- A test of students' creative potential
- A test of students' physicality
- A test of students' knowledge of space
Students receive points for how close they come to the requirements outlined in the infograph. They keep track of their points on their Astronaut Application, and whoever has the highest number of points at the end of the competition is the winner! THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN!! My students loved all of individual tests (the morals, memory, and creativity assessments), and they loved that they had an opportunity to be active as part of Spanish class (I worked with the PE teachers to use the track and field for the test of physicality). I collaborated with the science teachers at my school to develop the space knowledge exam, and it was easy but fun for the kids too.
It took me four and a half class days to complete (we have 50 minute class periods at my school). When you purchase the activity, you will receive a link to a folder that contains the following files:
- The Astronaut Application cover sheet
- The Astronaut Exam
- The memory test PDF
- The exam answer key
- Detailed instructions for running the competition
