Tech Based Lesson Plan

Language:Spanish

Level:High School, 2nd year Spanish.

Theme: Variation in foods of Spanish-speaking countries.

Content Objectives: Students will learn the main categories of a menu in the TL and also use technology to research and learn about culturally authentic foods in their assigned country.

Language Objectives: Students will be practicing their reading skills in the TL, as some of the websites they will be viewing will be in the TL.

Context: This comes in 3rd quarter of a Spanish 2 class. This lesson comes as the first day of the menu creation project, which will continue throughout the week. This project comes as a link between week 1 of the unit, in which students are learning about foods and their recipes from Spanish-speaking countries, and week 3, in which students will use their knowledge of foods and menus, and apply this to the context of a restaurant and how to order there. In the days immediately following this lesson, students will use the research from today, will be writing rough draft menus in the TL, creating the actual menu in the computer lab, and finally presenting their menu to the class using the TL.

Standards:

ACTFL

1.2 Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics.

4.2 Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.

MIWLA

MiWL 1.2.M.R.b Understand main idea and supporting detail, and summarize accessible written materials on familiar topics in the target language such as, textbook content, magazine and newspaper articles/ads, websites/internet, poetry or stories.

MiWL 4.2.N.b Identify basic target culture products and compare them to one´s own

Procedure:

Menu Project Explanation (7 minutes)

We will be starting off the hour by talking about the project for the week, the menu project. I will be handing out a sheet of guidelines to the students.

We will go over the guidelines to make sure students understand them and to give them the opportunity to ask questions. (See Menu Project Guidelines Sheet)

Formation of the groups (5 minutes)

I will be pairing students up, who will do the project together. I will then assign each group a Spanish-speaking country from the following:

Spain, Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina, Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic.

Menu Category Words (5 minutes)

Students will be provided with the terms for the main menú category headings, which they will write down to include in their binders. These will include: Apreritivos, Plato principales, Bebidas, and Postres.

I will briefly show them a couple of pictures to get some repetitions with the four words.

Computer Lab Research Time (rest of the hour)

Students will head to the computer lab for the rest of the hour to use provided internet resources, or others that they may find to, to research foods in their given Spanish-speaking country. (See Menu Project Guidelines Sheet for list of internet resources)

They will need to find at least 3 appetizers, 4 entrees, 3 desserts, and 2 drinks that are authentic and common in their country. Students should also take note of common ingredients they find in doing this research.

Use of English:Being that this is a Spanish 2 class, I would expect to run the majority of the class in the TL. I would explain the project and do the group formations in Spanish, however I have written out the guidelines for the project for students in English, just so that they are clear. This way, they are receiving the guidelines both in the TL and have a reference sheet in English to refer to.

How This Lesson Supports My Objectives: This lesson and the activities within support my content objectives because I am teaching them the main components of the menu, and then assigning them the menu project so that they can expand their skills in working with technology while learning about Spanish-speaking countries and the common culturally authentic foods eaten in each of them. This will teach students that there is great variation in the Spanish-speaking world while helping to eliminate the common misconception that all of these countries base their diets on tacos and burritos. Finally, this lesson supports my language objectives by having the students use internet resources, some of which are in the TL, to practice their reading skills, and then in subsequent lessons they will be practicing their writing skills in the TL in creating the menu.

Visuals/Learning Aids:The first visual aid I will be using is the project guidelines handout, which students will be able to look at while I am also giving verbal instructions. Also, I will show the students a few pictures when teaching them the four menu category words, so that they can look at some authentic foods, while reinforcing the four vocabulary words they are learning. I will use the classroom space by moving around the classroom when the students are working in partners in the computer lab, in order to make sure they are on task and to answer any questions.

Accommodations:One accommodation I have made is presenting the guidelines for the project both in verbal and written form. Also, I am having students work in pairs, which I am picking, which can help students who have a harder time in the class by just having someone to work with, preferably a student who does well in the class. Finally, I have provided many web resources for the students to use, for students who aren’t used to working with the internet.