Miss Ferrara's Unit
Lesson #3
*Meets the Needs of Diverse Learners*

Title: 
Hispanic Heritage – Language spoken in Mexico
    This lesson plan is differentiated to meet the needs of a variety of diverse learners.  Instruction for this lesson was enriched for those students that did not understand how to see the difference between Spanish and English words.  There was independent learning given to those students who felt they did not need extra help and understood the assignment.  Those students worked independently and found their own resources to complete the assignment.  I grouped other students together who could help each other.  I put some students that I knew understood the lesson with some students that I knew had special needs and might find this language lesson confusing.  I believe that children sometimes learn better through each other and I think it is important to get the special needs children involved and active with other kids in the classroom.  I also used open-ended questions, one-on-one instruction, and went to each student to check on their progress and provide guidance.  I made all the appropriate accommodations needed to meet the needs of my diverse learners and I provided them with ways to participate in the assignment by doing tasks that met their thinking skills. 

Students:
The students are 8 year old third graders who are being schooled in a rural setting.  The students are from varied backgrounds with different prior knowledge and experiences on this topic.  For students that need enrichment or remediation I will meet their needs by asking them individually if they understand the assignment, I will give them more detailed directions if needed, write the directions step-by-step for them, and I will provide any other assistance they might need to help them succeed with the activity during the lesson.  I will also present the material being taught in a variety of ways hoping to reach every student at some point within the lesson.

Setting:
This unit will be implemented every Monday during a 45-minute time block during Hispanic Heritage Month.  It will be taught in a rural setting with kids from varying backgrounds and ethnicities.  The lesson is to be carried out in the student’s normal room.  The setting and materials are familiar to the students.  They will be brought to the rug, be given directions and then asked to return to their desks to complete the activity.

Objectives:
By the end of the lesson, the students will:
    1) Learn how to say a number and words/s in Spanish out loud.
    2) Be able to match Spanish words to the translated English words.
    3) Know how to recognize and point out words that are similar in the Spanish and English language.
    4) Be able to develop a sentence or two using Spanish words that we have learned.

Key Words/Concepts:
Language
Spanish speaking
Numbers in Spanish up to 20
Elephant in Spanish
Vocabulary words from book in Spanish
Differences/Similarities

PA Content Standards:
I. Culture:
Give examples and describe the importance of cultural and diversity within and across groups. Describe ways in which language, stories, folktales, music and artistic creation serve as expressions of culture and influence behavior of people living in particular culture.

Assessment: 
Demonstrate using Spanish in the song taught about Elephants (Application Level)
Complete matching Spanish words to English words using worksheet (Application Level)
Recognize and point out words that are similar in Spanish to words in English (Analysis Level)
Write a sentence or two inserting at least 5 learned Spanish words in place of the English word.            

                                    RUBRIC for Assessing Lesson #3

Anticipatory Set:
A parent with a Hispanic Heritage background came in and read a short story to the students in Spanish.

Relevance/Rational:
The rational that the students were given was that it is important to learn about, understand, respect, and appreciate other cultures.  With such a diverse group of students, this helps understand our individual backgrounds.  It is very important not only for children but for adults to develop a multicultural education so that we are more accepting of our society as a whole.

Transfer of Learning:
The new learning relates to previous learning from lesson one on the different culture and the many similarities and differences there are between them.  I told the students that since so many students speak Spanish in our school and classroom it would be good to learn some words or phrases to be able to communicate better. I also told them to imagine if they moved to Mexico and everyone spoke Spanish and they were the only one that spoke English.  I asked them how that would make them feel.  By learning that be being open and learning some words from another language you are being helpful to other classmates.  I explained to them how good they would feel if they were in that situation and someone from Mexico took the time to learn some English words just to communicate with you.

Teaching:
Teach the students Spanish words used in the story and in the song

Teach the students the Elephant song and demonstrate how to say the words.

Also write the numbers on the chalkboard so when the song gets to them they know how to sound out their number.  (The song is sung in Spanish and then the elephants are counted in Spanish as well.  Each student will have a chance to demonstrate saying a number in Spanish.)

Discuss with them how some Spanish words are similar to English words.  Discuss the similarities and differences between these languages and the words used within them.

Have them match up the Spanish words with their English translations

Also have them look in the dictionary and find words that are the same in the Spanish language as in the English language.

Have them then write a sentence or two inserting a few Spanish words into the sentence in place of the English word.  For example: “There was uno perro outside in my backyard.”  Write the English translations beneath it.  “There was one dog outside in my backyard.”

Essential Questions:
Are there any words you are familiar with or know in Spanish?
Why are there different languages in different regions of the country?
How are some Spanish words similar or the same as some English words?
What is a Spanish word you learned today?

Materials:
Book written in Spanish
List of Spanish words and how to pronounce them
Copies of the words to the elephant song and the spelling of the numbers for each student
Tape of the elephant song to play
Dictionaries

Closure:
Have the students write in their journals a summary of what we did in class and what we learned.  Have the students write about how we were able to learn words and phrases in Spanish and how they were able to see similarities and differences between the Spanish language and the English language. 

Independent Practice:
For independent practice, I had them write in their “Life books” and brainstorm all the Spanish words they learned and the English translations.  They can use this list and refer back to it whenever they would like.  I also requested that they share that list with their parents/guardians and practice saying them at home.  I encouraged them to learn additional Spanish words and share them with the class.

Reflection of lesson:
I feel that this was a good lesson on language.  The students loved that a parent came in and read to them in Spanish. They responded with excitement, enthusiasm and a willingness to open up and learn all they could.  I think this is a perfect lesson to do because there are many different backgrounds and cultures within the classroom.  This gets the kids more involved and interacting with each other.  It also exposes them to another language and creates an environment where they can test it out and use it comfortably.  All students met the objectives given within the time frame.  The only thing I would change for next time would be to also have tapes of stories or words being said in Spanish in addition to the parent guest.  I think hearing more Spanish throughout the lesson would have been better and sparked more creative ideas and thought. 

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