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Spanish-Speaking Countries

Seventh graders explore the Spanish-speaking world — Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Colombia, and beyond — learning capitals and cultures and discovering that Spanish connects about 500 million people across the globe.

Grade 7Los Países40 minutes1 class periodACTFL / CommunicativeExplicit teaching4 StandardsACTFL
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Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Name Spanish-speaking countries.
  • ✓Name their capitals.
  • ✓Connect language to culture.
  • ✓Value the Spanish-speaking world.
Essential Question

Spanish isn’t just spoken in one place — it’s the language of over 20 countries and about 500 million people! Which countries speak Spanish, and what are they like?

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Lesson Phases
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Vocabulary Terms
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Standards Aligned
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Interactive Task
Explore · Interactive

The Países Explorer

Project this and tap each country. Have students explore the Spanish-speaking world and its capitals.

🌎 Explore Spanish-speaking countries — tap eachTry it

The Lesson · Communicative Flow (Warm-Up · Present · Practice · Speak · Reflect)

40 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — Un Mundo de Español

5 min

Spanish is spoken by 500 million people — in which countries?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show a world map.
  • Ask where Spanish is spoken.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Look.
  • Guess.
  • Get ready.
2

Present — Los Países

9 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to the Países Explorer.
  • Note each country.
  • Note its capital.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Tap each.
  • Note them.
  • Note capitals.
3

Practice — Practice

11 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Match countries to capitals.
  • Find them on a map.
  • Note a culture fact.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Match.
  • Find.
  • Note it.
4

Speak — Speak

10 min

Students speak.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say a country and capital.
  • Say “Soy de…” for a country.
  • Ask a partner.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Say from.
  • Ask.
5

Reflect — Reflect

5 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Name a country.
  • Name its capital.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name one.
  • Name it.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (Novice).

ACTFL
Cultures 2.1

Recognize the Spanish-speaking world.

ACTFL
Connections 3.2

Connect to geography and culture.

ACTFL
Communities 5.1

Understand the reach of Spanish.

ACTFL
Comparisons 4.2

Compare cultures across countries.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Country + capital cards.
  • Sentence frame: “La capital de ___ es ___.”
  • Use a world map.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with México and España.
  • Use a map.
  • Name one country.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Add more countries.
  • Research a country.
  • Explain cultural differences.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 🌎A world map
  • 💻The Países Explorer
  • 🚩Country flags
  • ✏️Pencils
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

el paíscountryhispanohablanteSpanish-speakingla capitalcapitalMéxicoMexicoEspañaSpainArgentinaArgentinaColombiaColombiael mundoworld
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
Name a Spanish-speaking country and its capital.
Sample: Mexico (Mexico City), Spain (Madrid), Argentina (Buenos Aires), or Colombia (Bogotá).
QUESTION 2
Which country is the largest Spanish-speaking country?
Mexico.
QUESTION 3
About how many people speak Spanish worldwide?
About 500 million.

Reflect: el mundo hispano.

Have students pick one Spanish-speaking country and find one interesting fact about it. A printable países sheet is in the World Languages library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Spanish-Speaking Countries (Los Países)Flip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
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Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Spanish-Speaking Countries (Los Países)Quiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
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Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Spanish-Speaking Countries (Los Países)Print
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: Argentina, Colombia, el mundo, el país, España, hispanohablante, la capital, México
  1. Argentina
  2. world
  3. Spanish-speaking
  4. Mexico
  5. capital
  6. country
  7. Colombia
  8. Spain

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. Name a Spanish-speaking country and its capital.
  2. Which country is the largest Spanish-speaking country?
  3. About how many people speak Spanish worldwide?
Answer key — Part A: 1) Argentina · 2) el mundo · 3) hispanohablante · 4) México · 5) la capital · 6) el país · 7) Colombia · 8) España
Part B: 1) Sample: Mexico (Mexico City), Spain (Madrid), Argentina (Buenos Aires), or Colombia (Bogotá). 2) Mexico. 3) About 500 million.