Spanish food unit

I'm tired of students assuming that the only food eaten by native Spanish speakers are tacos & chimichangas, so when our food unit comes up in Realidades, and it features Spanish cuisine, I really focus on those dishes & recipes.  This is when my students get a true "food day".  I ask them to sign up to prepare or purchase food associated with Spain. They can search or bring in recipes, but I need to approve the dish.  If they have problems coming up with ideas, I have a few "easy" Spanish recipes I pass along.  I know the recipes are not 100% authentic (saffron & vanilla beans are cost prohibitive to most families). I also encourage students to cook together in pairs or groups of three, so that they can split the cost. I ask them to pick a recipe that they can make with very little help from their parents, and a dish that THEY will eat.  For those kids that really can't cook, I allow them to bring things like chorizo & queso manchego.  

This year I will be adding the following slide show to our unit. 

The talented Xosé Castro provided the photos on Flickr & I used BigHugeLabs to make the slide show.

I will show the slide show before the students pick their dish.   We will talk about staples in the Spanish diet & discuss the similarities & differences between the dishes in the photos & what they may eat at home.