Spanish teacher at Inlet View Elementary School in Anchorage, AK
Keyword: Song and Games, A Peruvian Dance, Indigenous Connections
Hola a todos, yo me llamo Marisol Bundtzen. I am an elementary school Spanish teacher at Inlet View Elementary school in Anchorage, Alaska where I have taught for 5 years. My students have been eager to dig deeper into cultures of the Spanish speaking world and I have tried my best to meet their needs with my knowledge from studying abroad, travels, and personal connections to Mexico, Spain and Chile.
Read more about Marisol
By my third year at my school I realized I needed to do more to meet their needs and my research connected me to the Fulbright-Hays Group Trip Abroad Peru 2024. I was drawn to the opportunity to have in country language classes to support my growth in grammatical awareness and increased confidence in complex tenses. I was excited to collaborate with Peruvian teachers in their classrooms and of course work with elementary school children in Peru. What I didn’t realize was how much more I would take away from this opportunity.
My experience provided me with a wealth of realia for my classroom with content from Peruvian schools, local animals, public art, historical sites, intriguing foods, and exceptional people. I have designed curriculum spanning the school year with cross curricular content from my 6-week experience in both Piura in northern Peru and Cusco in central Peru. My students from Locuto, Peru taught me songs and tongue twisters as well as modeled how to talk about their weekly schedules. Artists taught me about their craft and modeled how to integrate art instruction into the Spanish classroom with simple phrases, accessible activities, and cultural connections. Students at a COAR school inspired me to think about waste material as potential tools for art creation in public settings. Indigenous artisans inspired me to learn more about the national and international organization of indigenous peoples for mutual aid and support in preserving their languages and cultures in similar and unique ways to that of the Alaskan Federation of Natives. I am proud of the work I accomplished thanks to this experience and I know I am more prepared to meet my students needs in my school this year than ever before.