Unit Plan Overview
Unit:
Stage 1- Desired Results
Connections to Context:
This unit includes an introduction to the
past tense verb conjugations for middle
school learners of Spanish. This unit is
geared toward an 8th grade Spanish course
where students have had Spanish in both
6th and 7th grade. This unit is the last unit of
the course planning sequence. The students
will be able to test into Spanish 2 (testing
out of beginner Spanish) at the High School
level. By the end of this unit, students will
be able to recall key vocabulary, analyze
patterns found in past tense, and create
their own descriptions of their experiences
using the past tense.
(How does this fit with students’ experiences,
the school goals, and the larger societal issues?)
Established Goals
Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations,
provide and obtain information, express feelings
and emotions, and exchange opinions (ACTFL)
Standard 1.2: Students understand and interpret
written and spoken language on a variety of topics
(ACTFL)
Standard 1.3: Students present information,
concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or
readers on a variety of topics (ACTFL)
Standard 2.1: Students demonstrate an
understanding of the relationship between the
practices and perspectives of the culture studied
(ACTFL)
Standard 3.1: Students reinforce and further their
knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign
language (ACTFL)
Standard 4.1: Students demonstrate
understanding of the nature of language through
comparisons of the language studied and their
own (ACTFL)
Michigan History Standard 7-H1.4.1: Describe
Transfer
Students will be able to independently use their learning to…
 Accurately speak and write descriptions of personal experiences using past tense regular and select irregular verbs
 Accurately conjugate past tense verbs into the first, second and third person regular and select irregular verb forms
 Comprehend written and oral Spanish descriptions of Las Fallas festival and past tense verbs
 Summarize the traditions and culture of the Las Fallas festival
 Create oral and written descriptions of past experiences
(What kinds of long-term independent accomplishments are desired?)
Meaning
UNDERSTANDINGS
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Students will understand that…
Students will keep considering…
 -ar, -er, and –ir verbs have different past tense endings  How do we describe our own past experiences?
and vary by subject with regular verbs
 How does my experience of celebration in the U.S.
 “ir” and “ser” have the same irregular conjugations
compare to that of a person in Spain?
 They must use a combination of –ar,-er, -ir and
 What experiences or festivals do I value?
irregular verbs to describe their past experiences and  What verbs do I find necessary to use when describing
the past experiences of others.
past experiences?
 Las Fallas is a historical, cultural festival unique to
Valencia, Spain.
(What thought-provoking questions will foster inquiry, meaningmaking and transfer?)
(What specifically do you want students to understand?
What inferences should they make?)
Students will know…

Acquisition of Knowledge, Skill and Values/Commitments/Dispositions
Students will be skilled at…
Students will exhibit…
New past tense verb conjugations for
regular verbs and a couple irregular
verbs

How to recognize and remember
irregular verbs

Basic concepts of the culture, traditions
and vocabulary unique to Las Fallas
festival.
(What facts and basic concepts should
students know and be
able to recall?)

Inferring meaning from context of
stories

Discovering patterns between past
tense conjugations

Discerning when to use which past
tense ending according to subject
(What discrete skills and processes should
students be able to use?)

Confidence in conjugating past tense
verbs

Interest in the varied stories of Las
Fallas history, tradition and Valencian
culture

Connection between personal
experiences of U.S. festivals and
Spaniards’ experiences of Las Fallas
celebration
(What values and commitments and
attitudes should students acquire or
wrestle with?)
Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to Curriculum
and use cultural institutions to study a region
(political, economic, religion/belief,
science/technology, written language, education,
family)
(What content standards and program- or
mission-related goal(s) will the unit address?
What habits of mind and cross-disciplinary
goal(s)- for example 21st century skills, core
competencies- will this unit address?
Include source and identifying number)
Evaluative Criteria
Evaluative Criteria:
-Observation
-Conversation
-Writing a dialogue
-Performing a dialogue
-Creating their own assessment
-A summative quiz
-A summative written letter
In this unit, observations, checklists (for correct
written/verbal responses), and accurate completion of
homework assignments will be evaluation criteria. The
summative assessments throughout the unit will be
marked for errors, but graded as completion grades.
The quiz and final writing assignment will be graded
for accuracy of vocabulary and preterite tenses from
this unit (i.e. verbs and vocabulary outside of this unit
is not being evaluated). These two assessments will be
recorded for numerical grades. A rubric will be used to
score the summative written letter assignment.
(What criteria will be used in each assessment to
evaluate attainment of the desired results?)
(Regardless of the format of the assessment,
what qualities are most important?)
-Two important qualities are effort and accuracy
(whether it is written, verbal or reading
comprehension). Students must show that they are
putting forth the effort to learn about the Las Fallas
festival and put forth effort in describing past
experiences using the past tense verbs. Effort will be
difficult to measure, but will be evaluated through
informal assessments, participation in warm-up
assignments, and their completion of activities
requiring verbal/written responses.
Stage 2- Evidence
Students will show their learning by…
PERFORMANCE TASK(S):
(How will students demonstrate their understanding- meaning-making and transfer- through complex performance?)
Lesson 1: Writing English translation of vocabulary word and performing accompanying motion, recall, write and verbalize what they
learned about las Fallas in the past tense
Lesson 2: Share with a friend what they learned, Kahoot game, Las Fallas Activity 1 (reading dialogue, marking words for
comprehension, speaking dialogue activity), analyze patterns
Lesson 3: Students write differences between past and present tenses in English and Spanish and give examples, students take notes on
preterite tense, students complete Fallas Activity 2 worksheet, create an assessment tool for homework
Lesson 4: Students respond to question, “Did you celebrate Easter?” with accurate grammar, students verbalize verb conjugations with
the pass the potato game, students write dialogue and speak dialogue
Lesson 5: Students take peer assessments, students take Las Fallas quiz, students write letters to Morgan.
OTHER EVIDENCE:
(What other evidence will you collect to determine whether Stage 1 goals were achieved?)
I will use observations, check-lists, and conversations with students to assess achievement of Stage 1 goals.
Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to Curriculum
Stage 3- Learning Plan
Pre-assessment
Lesson 1: Students mark vocabulary words that they recall from last lessons
Lesson 2: Ask “what were the motions for our vocabulary words from last lesson?” (review vocabulary words and motions)
Lesson 3: Ask when looking at Las Fallas Activity 1 worksheet, “What patterns did you see in the first-person (yo) past tense?” Check for comprehension of past vs. present tense in both English
and Spanish language.
Lesson 4: Ask “What are some of the verbs that have regular conjugations that we discussed last class? And what are some irregulars?” (Review motions of selected verbs and meaning of
regular/irregular)
Lesson 5: Ask “Before we take the quiz, what are some remaining questions about the Las Fallas vocabulary and the past tense?”
(Toward which goal does each
learning event build?)
Acquisition
Meaning
Transfer
Learning Events
Student success at transfer, meaning, and acquisition depends upon their participation in
these learning events…
Participation in pre-assessment questions and class warm-ups
Participation in performing the motions of vocabulary words
Participation in closure activities and homework
Participation in Kahoot game
Participation in partner and individual classwork writing, listening and speaking activities
Participation in playing pass the potato game
Participation in partner dialogue
Participation in note-taking
Participation in self-reflection and answering prompts with thought and sincerity
Participation in peer assessments
Progress Monitoring
 (How will you monitor students’ progress
toward acquisition, meaning, and transfer
during lesson events?)
I will monitor student progress through
informal assessments such as
observation and keeping checklists. I
will also monitor through grading
classwork and homework
assignments, and including preassessments, formative assessments
and summative assessments.

(How will students monitor their
own progress toward acquisition,
meaning, and transfer?)
Students will monitor their own progress
through class activities, homework
assignments, as well as opening and closure
activities. Each of these activities includes
speaking, listening, reading comprehension
and/or writing components. Students will be
able to monitor their progress by reviewing
their errors on classwork and homework
assignments. Many of the partner and group
activities allow time for personal feedback and
peer feedback.


(Does the learning plan reflect principles of learning and best practices?)
(Is there tight alignment with Stages 1 and 2?)
 (What are potential rough spots and
student misunderstandings?)
A potential rough spot is that students may
not understand the first, second and third
person conjugations and the importance
Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to Curriculum
of adding the accent to these
conjugations. Another point of
misunderstanding may be distinguishing
between irregular and regular verb
conjugations.
 (How will students get the feedback they
need?)
Students will receive feedback through
my comments and circling of errors on
homework and classwork assignments.
Students will also receive feedback from
my supportive guidance and comments in
class especially when considering
pronunciation. Students will have the
opportunity to give and receive feedback.
Based on Wiggins and McTighe (2011) The Understanding by Design Guide to Creating High-Quality Units and Van Brummelen (2002) Steppingstones to Curriculum