A Spanish Halloween Lesson Your Students Won’t Forget: Encerrada en la escuela

A student falls asleep in the school library. When she wakes up, everyone is gone. The doors are locked. And she quickly discovers that she isn’t quite as alone as she thought.

That’s Encerrada en la escuela, a Señor Wooly music video that has always been one of our best stories for October.

On the surface, Encerrada looks like a horror story. But it’s really a mystery and a comedy wearing horror-movie clothes.

It’s creepy without being terrifying, funny without turning Halloween into a throwaway day, and it gives students a whole lot of Spanish to work with.

And now there’s a full 5-day lesson plan built around it.

Why Encerrada en la escuela works so well for Halloween

First, the playfully spooky vibe makes it an easy fit for October.

Second, Encerrada gives us a chance to show that even a lyrically advanced song can be made accessible to students at very different proficiency levels.

And honestly, I’ve always had a soft spot for this one. Teachers have told us for years that they love it but aren’t always sure what to do with it. These plans are our answer.

What is Encerrada en la escuela about?

A student named Lara falls asleep in the library and wakes up to find herself locked inside the school in the middle of the night.

As she explores, she discovers that the school has more secrets than she ever imagined.

There are plenty of twists and turns, and I don’t want to spoil them here. That’s a big part of what makes the story work.

Why spend five days on one Spanish music video?

Won’t students get bored?

They won’t.

The lesson plan isn’t about watching the video over and over. In fact, students only watch it twice.

That’s intentional. As I’ve written about in Don’t Click Play Yet, I think there’s enormous value in building the language, curiosity, and story before students ever see a new video.

The rest of the week is built around the story: getting comprehensible input, recycling language, moving around the room, talking about what’s happening, and building the language students need to discuss narratives in Spanish.

There’s a lot of movement built in

A good chunk of the week gets students physically moving while they work with the language. The point is to keep the story alive in the room, not turn it into five days of worksheets.

Yes, you can teach Encerrada in Spanish 1

Encerrada contains some fairly advanced Spanish. But that doesn’t mean beginning students can’t experience the story.

Students don’t need to understand every word independently. With visual storytelling, comprehensible input, and activities scaffolded to their proficiency level, they can follow the story and work successfully with the language.

Every resource in the lesson plan is written at four different proficiency levels, so you can use the same story with beginner Spanish 1 students through Spanish 4 and beyond.

To put it another way, we have covered all of your preps for an entire week.

What’s included in the 5-day lesson plan?

Oh goodness, where to start...

Wait, did you say there was an escape room?

Yes!

Students solve puzzles, navigate distractions, gather code pieces, and eventually unlock the password they need to escape.

Along the way they’ll run into plenty of Wooly Easter eggs, all while reinforcing the language they’ve been working with all week.

Ready for something a little creepy?

If you’re looking for something a little creepy, a little ridiculous, and substantial enough to build a full week around, Encerrada en la escuela is waiting for you.