Damos gracias

Written By sarah voss

Exploring gratitude and Thanksgiving in the language classroom

As I shared in my blog post last year, I have always enjoyed an annual holiday that calls us to pause and think about what we’re thankful for. What a wonderful segue between the beauty and activity of the fall and the busyness of the holiday season.

We should be thankful for the many heritages and stories to be found in our communities. We should be thankful for provision of basic necessities, good health or majestic nature that we so often take for granted. We should think about those we love and who feature in our daily lives, or perhaps we give thanks, too, for those in leadership or in active service far away from their homes. We should think about the blessing of nourishment, a favorite food, or be reminded of the seasonal harvest. In the Americas we can celebrate the foods that that our indigenous communities have cultivated and revered for hundreds and hundreds of years. We should give thanks for education, favorite places, memories, safe travels…the list goes on!

Being thankful is an incredibly important thing, in any language or culture. This season is and will always be a wonderful opportunity for me to invite students to communicate gratitude in Spanish, stateside and over the UK!

Exploring Thanksgiving authentically and sensitively…

The national conversation about Thanksgiving has changed for Americans in the last few years, hasn’t it?

  • We have been invited to listen, challenge, unpack and debunk some of the myths surrounding the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday, particularly related to the interactions between the Native American peoples and the new settlers;

  • We have been invited to ask: “what does this mean and how does it feel?” for all people in the United States at this time of year;

  • We’re realizing, perhaps for the first time, that this holiday in its original mythical form brings painful associations for some members of our community. And so we need to respond accordingly.

This healthy, sometimes complicated, dialogue has prompted me to reframe my assumptions, conversations and my teaching about Thanksgiving at this time of year. I am very thankful for other inspiring parents and Spanish educators across the US who are helping me navigate these conversations and reframe our learning around Thanksgiving in a healthy and socially appropriate way. Of particular note is Fun for Spanish Teachers’ Carolina’s latest blog post that includes some really thoughtful resources and an engaging story about being thankful for our Mother Earth. Gracias, Carolina.

One important thing that I continue to celebrate and explore with our aventureros, is the fact that many indigenous communities across the Americas have celebrated regular and harvest celebrations of thanks, for hundreds of years! The Thanksgiving story we have come to learn was not the first Thanksgiving on this continent! And it’s fun to explore how many of our familiar foods that we find at the table are actually indigenous foods. See my links below on the Quechua Pachamanca.

So, this year, let’s remember that holidays mean different things to different people, and that we need to be sure of our facts and sensitive to the feelings of others when we start having conversations in the classroom and around our communities. Let’s channel this season into seeking to understand, being thoughtful and curious - looking for meaning outside our own experiences. I think these objectives parlay beautifully into the exploration of any world language and its cultures. It’s a journey towards cultural literacy just as much as it is about language acquisition. We never stop learning!

Adelante

I hope you enjoy this season with those around you, in whatever shape or form it may take.

I am thankful for YOU, my amazing students & families, who give me abundant joy as we go on Spanish aventuras together! Doy gracias por ustedes.

Un abrazo,

Sarah

¿Por qué das gracias? What are you thankful for?

Song:

Accompanying books & games:

  • Download our little book of thanks (“mi libro de gracias”) to color and read at home!

  • Download our dice game to play and sing at the Thanksgiving table!

  • Read Gracias, Thanks by Pat Mora

    You can read and ask “Que hay?” (What is there?) and practice the words we’ve learnt:

    • Hay niños/niñas…there are boys/girls

    • Hay un árbol….there is a tree

    • Hay hojas….there are leaves

    • Hay mariposas…there are butterflies

    • Hay libros…there are books

    • Hay una mamá…there is a mom

    • Hay música…there is music

    • Hay animales…there are animals

    • Hay comida…there is food

    • Hay familia…there is family

Culture/Cultura: A Peruvian Harvest with Quechua roots

Did you know that harvest celebrations of thanks have occurred around the world for thousands of years? We went to Peru this week and discovered a special harvest dish from the Andes mountains, called la pachamanca.

This ancient - and sacred - dish, named so in the Quechua language, is baked with hot stones in an earth oven, a method used since Incan times! La pachamanca features some of the ingredients that may be found at our Thanksgiving table - like corn, potatoes, beans and poultry! WOW!

The Quechua tradition of giving thanks to Mother Earth for its provision is still very much alive today, and seems a very fitting cultural aventura for us to have this month as we enjoy our own harvest celebrations.

I love making these connections between our traditions and those of others around the world!

  • Watch a funny video short that illustrates la gratitud

  • Say thank you in Quechua! = sulpayki (pronounced: sool-pay-ki),

¡Gracias! Sulpayki!

sarah voss
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El Quetzal, mi ave favorita