La Tomatina Activities and Lesson Plans for Spanish Class

La Tomatina is just one of those events that is SO fun to teach. I mean, when you first introduce it to the students they’re in disbelief! A giant food fight? People sell tickets to it? Huh?? Once you get into it, it’s suddenly on the top of every students’ bucket list. Awesome!

If you’re looking for a way to introduce your students to the history and culture behind the holiday, here are a collection of Tomatina resources I’ve used in my classroom! You’ll find learning activities, books, printables, readings, graphic organizers, and more!

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Reading Activities

La Tomatina Books & Readers

If you’re looking for something cute and simple for your novices, Food Fight Fiesta: A Tale About La Tomatina is super cute – AND it’s written by another Spanish teacher!

I also enjoy the story Daniel el Detective: El caso de la entrada perdida. It’s been on my FVR Library List for awhile and it does a great job including information about the culture while Daniel tries to solve the mystery!

La Tomatina Infographics

I think this could be a great fit for starting the year with Spanish 2. It has a pretty low word count and lots of familiar language, plus, it’d be easy to tie in the celebration during August when you’re welcoming your students back!

Infographics are also a great option for reading. You can do all sorts of different activities with them, depending on the levels of your students! Here’s a few I found:

La Tomatina Cultural Reading

This reading activity includes a lot of options for your students so you can mix and match it across levels! Both the infographic and the graphic organizer pages come in Spanish and English so you can combine them however suits your students’ needs.

Speaking Activities That Spark Joy and Laughter

La Tomatina is one of those rare topics that makes students sit up and say wait what. A tomato fight. In the middle of the street. On purpose. This is your golden moment to get them talking.

Try this activity. Put students in pairs and give them a fun prompt like pretend you just got back from Spain and survived La Tomatina. One student is the reporter, the other is the participant. Let them role play a short interview. Throw in some questions like how did it feel to be hit in the face with a tomato or what was the best part of the day. The sillier the better.

Want to keep it light and interactive. Set up a classroom poll. Ask students would you participate in La Tomatina. They have to answer in Spanish and give one reason why. You can tally the answers and see what side wins.

Listening Activities

Here are a few options for listening activities to teach about this holiday!

Watch this video by Tío Spanish. You could even turn it into an Edpuzzle.

This video is a good “warm up” or pre-reading option for your students as she gradually introduces vocabulary.

And, this page from Spanish Unicorn has a listening file as well as several pre-made comprehension activities!

Digital Activities for La Tomatina

Next, you know I love Virtual Field Trips, especially to reinforce geography while we explore culture! Students navigate the map, read descriptions, look at pictures, and watch embedded videos. As they do so, they fill out the graphic organizer, or answer comprehension questions! Click here to check it out!

Boom Cards are a great option for a digital lesson on La Tomatina! (New to Boom Cards? Check out my post here to learn more about Boom Cards!)

This set starts with a reading and listening activity to introduce students to the festival. Then students complete some comprehension questions, order a timeline of events and unscramble sentences in Spanish to reinforce their understanding! Click here to check out the set in a short preview.

If you’d like, I have bundled these resources together! You can grab them both here and save off the individual listing.

Add a Splash of Creativity with Simple Projects

Sometimes the best activities are the ones that feel like a break but are secretly full of learning. Have students create a mini poster or flyer advertising the event. They can include the location, date, what to bring, what to wear, and of course, one ridiculous warning like beware of flying fruit.

Or turn your classroom into a tomato-free version of the festival. Crumple up red paper balls and write vocab words or questions inside. Toss them around the room and when a student catches one they open it and respond in Spanish. It turns review into a game and the room fills with energy.

You can also play a short video clip with the sound off and ask students to narrate it in Spanish as if they are news reporters on the scene. Think chaos meets language practice in the most delightful way.

La Tomatina Activities and Lesson Plans for Spanish Class

I hope those give you some helpful ideas! How do you educate students about La Tomatina in your classroom? Do you do anything special for the day, or is it a normal day of class? Let me know!