As the year comes to an end, Spanish teachers often look for ways to bring meaningful culture into their classrooms. December lessons usually focus on holidays and celebrations, but they can also open the door to exploring how communities around the world say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new one.
One tradition that never fails to engage students is El Año Viejo, celebrated in countries such as Ecuador, Colombia, and other parts of Latin America. Families create a life-sized figure made from old clothes, cardboard, or paper to represent the “Old Year.” At midnight, they gather to say farewell to it — a symbolic way to let go of what no longer serves them and welcome new beginnings. It’s a moment full of creativity, humor, and reflection.
This inspiring tradition became the foundation for my story Corre, Año Viejo, corre, a classroom favorite that helps students experience culture while acquiring language in context.
About the Story
In this story, Año Viejo comes to life — and when he realizes that everyone plans to say goodbye to him at midnight, he decides to run away. Along his journey, he meets a variety of characters who celebrate, dance, and share what this tradition means to them.
Told in comprehensible, high-frequency Spanish, this story is accessible to novice learners. It allows teachers to stay in the target language while introducing students to authentic cultural values such as renewal, gratitude, and community.
How to Use It in the Classroom
Corre, Año Viejo, corre fits naturally into December or early January units about celebrations, new beginnings, or world traditions. It works beautifully in CI or content-based lessons and connects easily to art, writing, and social-emotional learning.
Here are a few ways to use it:
Share it as a cultural reading before winter break
Compare New Year’s traditions across cultures
Invite students to design their own symbolic Año Viejo figures
Reflect on what they want to “leave behind” from the year
Teachers love that it’s both engaging and flexible, making it easy to adapt for different schedules — whether you teach a few times a week or run a daily immersion class.
Why Teachers Love It
Teachers who have used Corre, Año Viejo, corre often share that it quickly becomes one of their students’ favorite stories of the year. It blends humor and heart while introducing a cultural tradition that’s new and intriguing to many learners.
The story shows that teaching culture and language can happen together — when students understand the message and connect emotionally with it, language learning becomes meaningful and memorable.
Where to Find It
You can find the story Corre, Año Viejo, corre in several formats to fit your classroom needs:
📘 The book is available on Amazon.
🎒 The complete bundle — including the book, character, and teaching tips — is available in my store.
🎭 Just the character is also available separately in my store.
📝 Teaching tips and classroom ideas can be found in my TPT store.
Each option gives you flexible ways to bring this meaningful cultural tradition to life in your Spanish classroom.
Stories like Corre, Año Viejo, corre remind us that language and culture are inseparable. When students connect emotionally with what they read and hear, they not only learn words — they experience meaning.
If you’re looking for a fresh and authentic way to end the year in your Spanish classroom, this story might be the perfect fit.
