Unit Plan Day One Lesson Plan (and probably day 2)
Objectives:
-review conjugation of “ser” and “tener”
-learn format for questions and answers
-learn hair and eyes vocabulary
-Ss realize the prevalence of Spanish speakers in the U.S.
Standards:
National:
-communication: Ss engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express
feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
-comparisons: Ss demonstrate understanding of the nature of the language through
comparisons of the language studied and their own.
-communities: Ss use the language both within and beyond the school setting.
-communities: Ss show evidence of becoming life-long learners by using the language for
personal enjoyment and enrichment.
State:
2) Ss use a variety of strategies to communicate in a non-English language.
4) Ss use a non-English language as a means of expression and inquiry.
8) Ss define and characterize the global community.
Grammatical Concepts:
-conjugation of irregular verbs “ser” and “tener”
-question and answer format
-adjective agreement
Vocabulary:
Moreno/a (brown hair, dark skin), rubio/a (blonde), los ojos (eyes), el pelo (hair),
pelirrojo/a (redheaded), canoso/a (grey haired), largo/a (long), corto/a (short), rizado/a
(curly), lacio/a (straight), tiene canas (S/he has grey hair), castaño/a (brown (hair)), de tez
blanca (light-skinned), gris (grey), café (brown (eyes))
Cultural Topics:
The opening conversation is rich in cultural value because its whole focus is to emphasize
the impact of Hispanic culture on the U.S. The second portion of the lesson, introducing
and practicing new vocabulary will involve culture because the PowerPoint to teach the
vocabulary includes pictures of famous Hispanic people. Students will also be using
Hispanic magazines throughout the lesson, so they will have a hands on look at an
authentic cultural product.
Realia/ Resources:
I will use authentic magazines as well as PowerPoint with authentic pictures for this
lesson. The ¡Ven conmigo! Textbook will be an additional resource.
Rationale:
This is the first day of the unit, so I really want to get the students thinking about the
theme of the unit. I think connecting our discussion about Spanish speaking celebrities to
learning hair and eye color in order to describe celebrities will flow in a logical manner
so students feel like both parts of the class are worthwhile. Also, this material allows us
to connect the irregular verb conjugations of “ser” and “tener” that they have been
working on, so it doesn’t feel entirely disjointed to be starting this new unit.
Procedure:
1. Pass out famous Hispanics worksheet as students are coming in. Ss will have 5
minutes to complete it to the best of their ability—they probably will not know
very many answers.
2. Go over the list, asking how many they knew and who they were. Explain that our
new unit will be dealing a lot with celebrities, and by the end of the unit they will
be able to finish filling the worksheet out. 3-5 minutes
3. Brainstorm a list of famous Spanish speakers. 2-4 minutes Once Ss are out of
ideas, distribute Spanish magazines and ask them to leaf through for any we have
missed. 5-7 minutes
4. Quickly review the conjugation of “ser” and “tener” by asking students to cut two
sheets of paper into six boxes each (12 total). In large writing they should write
the six forms of each verb. 5 minutes I will monitor to see how many they know
on their own, and then they can ask their peers if they need additional help. I will
say a pronoun, and Ss hold up the correct square. 5 minutes
5. Physical Characteristics PowerPoint to introduce new vocabulary (using celebrity
pictures). This starts with eye color, moves to hair color, and then hair style
(curly, straight, etc.). As we go through the PowerPoint, Ss record new
vocabulary in their notebook. The PowerPoint also shows sentence structures in
3rd person, so we will talk about that slightly. I will also point out adjective
agreement. The 2nd to last slide is a picture of me, and has a description of me in
1st person, and the last slide asks the students, “and you?” 15 minutes
6. Ss turn to their partner and describe themselves, using my description as a model.
5 minutes
7. I will call on Ss to describe their partner (they will have to practice changing the
verb form again.) 5 minutes (this will probably be the end of day 1)
8. I pass out the magazines again, and each student chooses three pictures of
celebrities. 2-3 minutes One at a time, Ss will post their pictures to the board and
choose one to describe to the class. Classmates will guess which one is being
described. 15 minutes
9. Questions and Answers: Page 158 of the textbook. I will explain the “así se dice”
box about describing people, using questions and responding with an answer to
the question. I will ask questions about Ss (ie: ¿De qué color son los ojos de ___?/
What color are ____’s eyes?) 5-7 minutes
10. We will look at the pictures on page 158. I will ask questions about the people’s
hair and eye color, and students will answer. 2-3 minutes
11. I will choose random celebrities from the magazines and ask questions about them
in a similar fashion, with students answering. 5 minutes This will model the
activity for students to continue in pairs, using celebrities from the magazines. 5-7
minutes Students will then form two circles around the room, one inside of the
other. They will practice using the magazines with different partners, every
minute or so the inner circle will move to the left. 10 minutes
Major Activities:
-Ss brainstorm a list of famous Hispanics, then use magazines for inspiration.
-“ser” and “tener” verb conjugation activity/ game
-Ss record new vocabulary, take notes on PowerPoint presentation, and participate in
class discussion to practice vocabulary as it is introduced.
-Ss describe themselves to a partner, and then describe their partner to the class.
-Ss look up and describe pictures from magazine, classmates guess.
-Ss ask each other questions about celebrities from magazines.
Warm Up:
-famous Hispanics worksheet—this isn’t review or prior knowledge since we’re shifting
gears into a new unit. The verb activity later will relate prior knowledge to the lesson.
Input:
-Since this is an introductory lesson, Ss can have minimal input on the topic. I’m
assuming every student has been exposed to some form of media, and so will know the
names of a few Hispanic celebrities to start with. Language input they need is the verb
conjugations.
Presentation:
-Using PowerPoint supports the vocabulary so very little explanation will be necessarythere are pictures to represent the terms. There is also text on the slides to show various
ways to use the vocabulary, so I may need to explain these further, but again this would
probably be simple since the adjectives are the only new components and they will be
represented visually. There will be plenty of models for all activities, which will help
explain what Ss should do.
Check for Understanding:
-Obviously blank stares during the PowerPoint is not a good sign; I will monitor Ss body
language to make sure they are following the new material. The activities throughout the
lesson are designed to monitor progress and show Ss level of comprehension as well.
Guided Practice with Modeling:
-All activities are modeled before I ask Ss to perform them. For example, at the end of
the PowerPoint I describe myself and then ask Ss to describe themselves in the same
format. The entire PowerPoint is full of models for activities we will do afterwards.
Cooperative Learning Structures:
-I will structure student engagement throughout the lesson by keeping them involved.
When they aren’t working on an activity, like during the PowerPoint- they have tasks
such as writing the vocabulary and taking notes. Also, the PowerPoint will not simply be
a lecture- in order for them to learn these words they need to practice saying them and
using them, so I will personalize the lecture by involving the Ss. For example, in the
sentence, “She has blonde hair,” I will say, “Jessica and Sarah have blonde hair too,” and
“raise your hand if you have blonde hair too,” so Ss are involved in the presentation.
Grouping Procedures:
-Throughout the activities today, Ss will be working with their compañeros, or partners.
This is the person they sit next to, and will be assigned every time we have a new seating
chart. This way they are comfortable working with this person, and I can match Ss up as
necessary.
Feedback:
-Feedback will be informal today because the activities are mostly verbal. Therefore I
will provide verbal feedback and encouragement to the Ss.
Independent Practice:
-Since this is mostly over new material, most of the activities will be as a class or in pairs.
The review game/activity of verb conjugation will be independent because they already
know it and therefore should be somewhat confident with that material.
Closure:
The last activity will encompass all things covered during the lesson, so it will tie
everything together. It will start out with me asking questions and then transfer to entirely
student work so they will realize what they have accomplished by the end of the classthey can ask and answer questions about someone’s physical appearance.
Adaptations for Special Needs:
-First of all, I will pair special needs Ss accordingly, so a student who needs extra help is
not paired with someone who will easily lose patience with him/her.
-During the verb conjugation activity, I will allow the Ss to check their conjugation cards
with their partner before we start, so no one will feel stupid in front of the whole class.
-Since so much of the class is verbal, I will make sure I do what I need to do for
individual Ss- stand near them so they can hear, provide visuals so they stay focused, call
on them when I know they will feel comfortable, etc.
-I try to incorporate a variety of tasks throughout the lesson, which I have found helps Ss
with a variety of special needs as well as all general education Ss!
Extensions:
As you can see, this activity plan started out for one day and ended up being two, so the
second day is completely extension activities in a way. Also, all of the activities after the
PowerPoint are extensions activities for the new vocabulary. The next day we will be
adding more vocabulary that will complement this set, so Ss will still be practicing this
vocabulary as they learn the new, making that an extension of this lesson as well. (Really
the rest of the unit is an extension on this day!)