Teaching Social Justice with Novels in the Spanish Classroom

Course Description

For communication in L2 to exist, students need something to talk about, and students of this generation are keen to discuss real topics which can lead to improved critical thinking skills. Reading short novels written expressly for students acquiring L2, provides the perfect springboard to engage in heady topics, such as those surrounding social justice. In this course, students will be presented with social justice issues through reading three novels of different levels in Spanish: Debido a la tormenta, María María: un cuento de un huracán and Como vuela la pelota, and how they can be addressed in the context of the Spanish classroom. Within each module, participants will examine the online content, read the books, engage in discussion, prepare and share activities for use in the classroom. The course is a forum to collaborate, share ideas and best practices for involving level-appropriate novels in the world language classroom.  Conducted in Spanish by Jennifer Degenhardt.

What participants are saying about this course

"Jen Degenhardt has been an excellent instructor. She provided great resources for us to use and allowed opportunities for us to learn from one another as well."

"Great class! Learned so much and it was fascinating! Thank you! Prof. Degenhardt was engaging and also engaged in the student experience. Very cool to be in a class where the professor is also the author of the texts."

"Jennifer Degenhardt's class was meaningful and I am so glad you recommended it! My mind is racing with ways to incorporate what I learned, into this next school year"

Required Texts (must be purchased prior to course start date)

Debido a la tormenta by Jennifer Degenhardt (2018)

Maria Maria: un cuento de un huracán by Jennifer Degenhardt (2018)

Como vuela la pelota by Jennifer Degenhardt (2020)

Course Delivery 

Online weekly learning modules, collaborative discussion boards and instructor feedback. This course is not self-paced. 

Students who matriculate into an Instructor-Facilitated course should adhere to the dates listed on the website. Final coursework should be submitted within one week after the course end date. Course extensions beyond one week are subject to a $50 fee.

About the Instructor

Jennifer Degenhardt, Instructor. Read more about Jenifer here.

Click here to request a syllabus.