Lesson Planning
InTASC Standard 7: The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.
The lesson planning process is one that involves many steps before it is applied in front of the students. When planning each of my lessons, I have already planned my unit, along with the unit final assessment. Because of this, I know what my students will need to demonstrate by the end of the unit. I look at my unit plan and unit assessment and decide what the main goals and objectives are that I need to reach. After that I create an Exit Ticket that the students will complete at the end of class. This way, I know what I need to achieve by the end of class, and I will include activities that do not deviate from this trajectory. In this lesson, I introduce target language that involves the different household rooms and objects, so my Exit Ticket assesses my students on this topic. I then need to decide how I will scaffold the material and include activities that work the students' speaking, listening, reading and writing skills.
Table of Contents
Lesson Plan
Lesson Goals and Standards
I align my lessons to the ACTFL World Language Standards (shown in more depth under Unit Plan). After planning my unit and beginning my lesson plan, my next actions are to look at the goals that I want my students to achieve and the ACTFL Standards that they need to meet. In this unit, my Spanish 1 students are learning numerous types of verbs, places in the city and in the home, talking about how much things cost, and asking for specific information. In this lesson, the students begin to learn vocabulary pertaining to the home. They will practice their speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills with relation to the lesson material, as well as build upon previous topics.
ACTFL Can-Do Statements on Communication, Listening, Writing, and Reading
According to the ACTFL Standards, my students should be moving past a Novice-Low level to a Novice-Mid level, as this unit takes place months into the school year. They are still in the beginning stage of acquiring a language, by speaking, reading, writing, and understanding familiar words and phrases. My goal is to continue to improve upon that and have students surpass a Novice-Mid level by the end of the year. In order to do this, I need to make sure the material is relevant and engaging to the students. I also need to give students plenty of opportunities to practice their speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to communicate and write on home vocabulary/phrases that they will have practiced and memorized. They will also be able to recognize home vocabulary words/phrases when spoken or read.
Lesson Exit Ticket
Now that I have taken a look at the standards and goals that I want my students to reach, I decide what is the most important material to take away from the lesson. I compile an Exit Ticket that assesses this material. I use this type of formative assessment as a way to drive my instruction. As Jay Mctighe (2012) mentions, "Effective assessment is a valuable learning process for both teachers and students. Assessment provides information that helps teachers design instructional activities to fit students' learning needs, and to adjust instruction as those needs change" (Laureate Education, 2012). In knowing where I want my students to be at the end of the lesson, I will create lessons that stay more on topic, and my timing and transitions will be more efficient. It also allows me to scaffold my lesson in teaching the home vocabulary in a way that achieves my goals by the end of class.
Exit Ticket
At the end of class, the students complete an Exit Ticket that is graded. This incentives them to pay attention in class, so that they can score well on the Exit Ticket. The Exit Ticket is always aligned to the lesson material. It varies from being multiple-choice to open-ended. It translates: 1. Name. 2. Where is the closet? 3. Where is the toilet? 4. Where is the car? 5. Where is the nightstand? 6. Where is the dishwasher? 7. Where is the coffee maker? 8. Where is the bathroom faucet? 9. Where is the sofa chair? 10. Where is the bed? 11. Where is the oven?
In the Exit Ticket above, the students answer ten questions related to the newly-learned home vocabulary. The Exit Ticket is graded to ensure that the students put effort into it and produce accurate results. Exit Tickets have become part of the classroom routine, so they provide structure and a clear transition to the end of class
Lesson PowerPoint
Once my Exit Ticket is created, I can begin to build the skeleton of my lesson and add activities. The first thing I do at this point is create a PowerPoint. The PowerPoint guides my instruction during class and helps with transitions and timing. It also aids in my instructions for activities, as I have them posted on the slides in case students do not understand/hear me when I explain the activities.
Lesson PowerPoint
I use PowerPoints for all of my classes. They serve as lesson plans and a framework, so that I am always prepared for each activity. (First slide translation: Chapter 4: Where do you live?)
The lesson starts with the Do Now (photo). It is usually an activity that warms students up to the language and takes a few minutes. This particular lesson is a quick translation activity. It is enough to create a routine for students when they enter the classroom. This helps create a sense of urgency for the students that persists throughout the duration of class.
The Do Now at the beginning of class
Lesson Flashcards
Flashcards
The students practice the flashcards at the beginning of every class after the Do Now. This helps students remember the different words on top of practicing them for their homework. They then apply these words in our activities in class.
For my students to learn vocabulary, I use a few different methods. First, I create flashcards from the home vocabulary (seen in the photo below) that the students practice at the beginning of class after the Do Now. The students practice their writing (copying the words down), speaking and reading (reading the cards and saying the words out loud), and listening (listening to their partner speak).
PowerPoint Slide for Flashcards
The students copy down the vocabulary and quiz each other for 15 minutes.
Lesson Vocabulary used to make flashcards
The students study these words at the beginning of each class until we take the vocabulary quiz.
Next, I give weekly assignments through a platform called Gimkit. This website ensures that the students practice the vocabulary at home, so that we can apply in activities during class. The students learn and review the vocabulary at home. I found this very beneficial, as previously the students were unable to truly apply the words in class because they did not know them. Now we spend less time reviewing words and are able to apply the content in more-meaningful and higher-level activities.
The students complete a Gimkit assignment every week.
I create classes on Gimkit to keep track of student progress.
I tie the flashcards and the Gimkit homework to the vocabulary quiz that students take after a few classes to ensure that students study.
Home Vocabulary Quiz
The students translate the vocabulary words that they learn through our flashcards and Gimkit homework assignments.
Lesson Activities
I then plan my activities out in a scaffolded manner. This includes guided practice and independent practice. After introducing the material, the students practice with mini whiteboards and answer different questions in Spanish. They respond on the boards in full, Spanish sentences and then raise their boards, so that I can give quick feedback. After everyone has responded, I go over the answer with the whole class. If there are any common errors, we go over them as a group. This activity involves listening (listening to the teacher's question), writing (writing their response), speaking (speaking out their answers), and reading (reading the correct answer in front).
The students work on the mini whiteboards to answer questions in Spanish.
The students respond to questions that include:
What room do you eat in?
What room do you watch TV in?
What do you do in the backyard?
What do you do in your room?
What objects are in the kitchen?
What objects are in the bathroom?
After the mini whiteboard activity, I have the students complete a Gallery Walk. This gives the students a chance to stand up and move around. When the students spend the entire class sitting down, they start to fall asleep or get restless. I make sure my activities are always keeping kids moving. In the Gallery Walk, the students translate ten different sentences that are posted around the room. This activity works the students' writing and reading skills. At the end when we review the material, they practice their reading (reading the answers), listening (listening to other students speak), and speaking skills (speaking out their answers). This is also beneficial for my Heritage speakers — many of whom can speak Spanish but have difficulties writing and reading in Spanish.
Gallery Walk
The students will complete a gallery walk after the introduction of the vocabulary through flashcards and the initial practice with mini whiteboards. This activity not only breaks up the class period by having the students stand up and walk around the classroom, but it also consolidates the material in a way that is student centered.
A student sample from the Gallery Walk (translation in previous photo).
Exit Ticket Results
Transitioning into the independent practice, I have a Speed Date activity. This is completely student-to-student. They go around the class, asking ten different students what they have in each of the places in their homes. The students write down the other students responses. At the end of the activity, I ask for a few responses that the students received. This activity is a great way to get students to speak, listen and write in the target language. This means that they are working their speaking, listening, and writing skills.
Speed Date Activity
Speed Date Activity - Student Sample
The students ask ten other students in the class about their homes and what objects they have inside them. They write down the other student's response in third person. This gives them practice with the different rooms and objects vocabulary while also practicing speaking, listening and writing.
Translation:
1. I have an oven in my kitchen. 2. (Blurred name) has a bed in his room. 3. (Blurred name) has a lamp in his living room. 4. (Blurred name) has a table in the dining room. 5. (Blurred name) has a mirror in the bathroom. 6. (Blurred name) has flowers in the garden. 7. (Blurred name) has curtains in the bedroom. 8. (Blurred name) has a car in the garage. 9. (Blurred name) has plants in the patio. 10. (Blurred name) has paintings in the house
Next, the students sit back down and pair up with a partner. They go around the different rooms in the home and describe what is inside each one. This activity is meant to consolidate the last few activities. This activity requires students to practice their speaking and listening skills.
The students practice their communication by asking others to describe rooms in their homes in Spanish.
Once they complete this activity, the students will have two opportunities to complete formative assessments. The first is a Kahoot, which is an online platform where the students compete against each other to answer questions correctly. I give candy prizes to the top three students. The last formative assessment is the Exit Ticket that they complete at the end of class. I use the data from the formative assessments to create my Do Now and decide what we need to revisit in the following lesson.
Exit Ticket
At the end of class, the students complete an Exit Ticket that is graded. This incentives them to pay attention in class, so that they can score well on the Exit Ticket. The Exit Ticket is always aligned to the lesson material. It varies from being multiple-choice to open-ended. It translates: 1. Name. 2. Where is the closet? 3. Where is the toilet? 4. Where is the car? 5. Where is the nightstand? 6. Where is the dishwasher? 7. Where is the coffee maker? 8. Where is the bathroom faucet? 9. Where is the sofa chair? 10. Where is the bed? 11. Where is the oven?
Kahoot Activity
At the end of class before the Exit Ticket, the students compete in a game called Kahoot. The questions are similar to the Exit Ticket and mini whiteboard activity, asking students about different rooms and objects in the home.
Lesson Reflection
The lesson and transitions were smooth, with students knowing what was expected of them during and between each activity. The students are familiar with the class routines at this point, and all the activities that I presented in class have been implemented in previous classes. As Hardiman (2012) mentions, students show greater connections to education when teachers "[Provide] consistent classroom expectations and fair, non-aggressive strategies to manage disciplinary processes and [Design] instructional activities that are rigorous, engaging, differentiated, and meaningful" (Hardiman, 2012). I work to engage and invest my students in the material and their education. By switching activities every 15-20 minutes, I keep a rigorous pace that works to keep students from becoming restless or bored.
As seen in the Exit Ticket results, most students received a 9 or 10 out of 10 points. There were quite a few that received an 8 out of 10, with a few scoring 1-7 out of 10 points. This lets me know that the students generally understand the material they learned in class and that we can continue learning more-difficult material. There were some misconceptions with different vocabulary words on a few of the questions (as seen in the Exit Ticket results). I will continue to have the students practice the vocabulary flashcards at the beginning of class and complete the vocabulary-related homework throughout the week. This should prevent these misconceptions from continuing.
References:
Hardiman, M. M. (2012). The Brain-Targeted Teaching Model for 21st-century schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Preparation for assessment
. Baltimore, MD: Author.