EATS+Lesson+Plan


 * __Instructional Framework__**

The lesson that is the thrust of this discussion is instrumental in the overall unit. In Spanish 2, the imperfect verb tense is a critical cog to describe activities of childhood and years past. In addition, key vocabulary includes elementary school activities, characteristics of people in their childhood, and elements in the environment and surroundings. The vocabulary is extensive in this chapter and the grammar can be sans careful analysis and study, problematic for students. In addition, the use of technology greatly aided the instructor in staying in the target language during the course of the lesson (and unit). The student work offers examples of how students were engaged by technology. It is definitely the future of things and for sure, the foreign language classroom.

In years past before the advent of CFF, the majority of classroom activities with this unit involved pencil and paper and cut and paste activities. The infusion of technology with this unit created many different pathways and teaching strategies for success which tremendously engaged students. A brief summary of activities includes the following: -podcasting as a tool to evaluate speaking and pronunciation. -drillwork that included a website geared toward grammar support. -teaching media that included much realia -culturally appropriate multimedia for the the unit.

Let's take a snapshot of how technology greatly enhanced a key lesson in this unit.

Unit Essential Question: How do we talk about our past? Lesson Essential Question: How do we describe what there used to be? How do we describe what there didn't used to be? Activating Strategy: Looping Images Via Projector of Images from the 1700s, 1800s, early 1900s Vocabulary Support: Visually Appealing Vocab Word Cloud utilzing Wordle.net

Graphic Organizer: Verb Chart and Text-Based Examples with the Use of Powerpoint Teaching Strategies: Question and Answers Based on Images -Input on New Grammatical Structures (using projector/media)

Drill Practice: Part of the drill practice involved the use of www.studyspanish.com to engage the students in drill as well as a traditional drill on the markerboard. The website also gives the students immediate feedback on the correctness of grammatical structures. Lesson Exit Strategies: Students completed post-it notes based on what they viewed on an image of a year in the past (i.e. 1950's diner).

www.wordle.net www.studyspanish.net

Technology was not just used with the goal of "just using technology". It was interwoven systematically as part of the lesson. Students culminated the unit by creating podcasts (see Student Work) page in which they gave a description of a certain year (i.e. 1850) and describing what there used to be. This was authentic and engaging in that it gave them a chance to do independent work and create with the target language. Students could also use a picture as the "album cover" for their podcast. The podcasting also created the opportunities for differentiated instruction and students had the chance to self-evaluate their speaking skills before submitting their final drafts.