This unit is a large unit that takes almost one month of school time to complete. However, the content included with this unit is very engaging and interesting to my students, and is an important foundation to lay for students prior to reading a novel that takes places in Ecuador. This unit is very enlightening to students to see how another country lives and to understand their values. I have used this unit, written by Carrie Toth and shared on her blog, SomewheretoShare.com, for the last two years. Carrie is also the author of the novel that students will read after this unit, called 48 Horas. I have adapted parts of the unit to better fit the needs of mys students, including more practice with the song, as well as added activities to boost reading comprehension. In addition to the vocabulary practice, I also added extra cultural readings on a variety of cultural topics related to Ecuador, including their native culture Kichwa, foods, and some geographical sites of interest. Each year, I have added content to fit the needs and interests of my students. The first year I taught this unit, my students were very interested in the musician who wrote the music and directed the video. We spent more time with the music and video with this group than the following year. The second year I taught this unit, my students were interested in the Kichwa culture and language, so we spent more time working with this element of Ecuadorian culture.
