Submitted by Mary Bartolini
Objectives:
Content:
Students will...
- Create a definition of insects demonstrating an understanding of characteristics that define insects.
- Identify common insects by name.
Cultural:
Language: Content Obligatory
Students learning through L2and L1
Students will:
- Use the definite article masculine plural los, third person plural present tense of basic verbs tener, vivir and nouns related to the topic insectos, animal, cabeza, tórax, abdomen, antenas, patas to give a definition of insects like Los insectos tienen seis patas.
- Use the first person singular present tense of the verb querer (to want) and the conditional si(if) to express what they want to know about insects with the expression yo quiero saber si… (I want to know if…) and complete sentences with verbs in present tense like hay insectos en el mar, los insectos tienen pelo.
- Use the first person singular present tense of basic verbs observar, leer, mirar, escuchar (to observe, to read, to look, to listen) to express different ways to know more about insects with the expression Yo puedo aprender si leo.
- Use the third person singular of the verb ser (to be…), insect names in singular mariquita, mosca, hormiga, libélula, mariposa and the corresponding indefinite article un, una to identify common insects by name like Es una mariposa.
Students learning through L1
Students will:
- Use the definite article masculine plural los, the third person plural present tense of the verb ser (to be), the conjunction que, third person plural present tense of basic verbs tener, vivir and nouns related to the topic insectos, animal, cabeza, tórax, abdomen, antenas, patas to give a definition of insect like Los insectos son animales que tienen seis patas.
- Use the first person singular of the verb querer (to want) and question words like qué, por qué, cuándo, dónde(what, why, when, where) to express what they want to know about insects formulating questions yo quiero saber por qué los insectos tienen seis patas… (I want to know why insects have six legs?).
- Build compound sentences using the first person singular present tense of the verb poder (I can) and infinitive verbs observar, leer, mirar, escuchar (to observe, to read, to look, to listen) to express different ways to know more about insects with the expression yo puedo leer y observar (I can read).
- Use the impersonal form of the verb se llama (It’s called) and common nouns in singular mariquita, mosca, hormiga, libélula, mariposa to identify common insects by name like Se llama mariposa.
- Reach the above objectives without or with minimal grammatical mistakes and with much rich vocabulary.
Language: Content Compatible
Students learning through L2 and L1
Students will:
- Use the first person singular/plural past tense of the verb ver (to see), common nouns in plural or singular moscas, hormigas, libélulas, mariposas, etc. (flies, ants, dragonflies, butterflies) and the corresponding numeral adjectives una, dos, tres, etc. (one, two, three) to express how many insects they saw like yo vi dos moscas, nosotros vimos tres mariposas, etc.
- Use insect names in plural mariquitas, abejas, moscos, moscas, hormigas, escarabajos, mariposas, libélulas, polillas and the conjunction y to sing the song Los insectos.
- Use complete sentences (usamos voces bajas, compartimos el material, tomamos turnos, escuchamos las indicaciones, somos amables, nos ayudamos) to express rules of working in groups.
Students learning through L1
Students will:
- Use the phrases es tu turno or te toca a ti to indicate turns inside the group.
- Use the pronouns tú and yo, and the ordinal numbers primero, segundo, tercero,etc. to organize group work like tú primero, tú segundo, yo cuarto.
- Formulate questions using insects names, question words cuántas/cuántos (how many), second person singular past tense of the verb ver (to see) and personal pronoun tú (you), to ask for how many insects each student saw like ¿Cuántas mariquitas viste tú?.
Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will...
- Use/create graphic organizers
- Use selective attention
- Use background knowledge
- Cooperative learning activities
Time Frame:
50 minutes
Materials Needed:
- KWHL chart (see attachment 2)
- Bar graph: Contando insectos (see attachment 6)
- Poster song: Los insectos (see attachment 7)
- Printed song: Los insectos (see attachment 7)
- Magnify glasses
- Pencils, crayons, markers and paper.
Description of Assessment (Performance Project):
Preview Phase (Into) (Cloud et al, Kucer et al.):
Activity: KWHL chart.
- In a whole group meeting, students review in the chart the list of what they already know about insects.
- Teacher promotes the production of an initial definition of insects with the question: ¿Qué es un insecto? Teacher writes down a list of the different characteristics of insects:
- Son animales.
- Tienen seis patas.
- Tienen antenas.
- Then, teacher centers student attention on the next part of the chart and formulates the question: ¿Qué quiero saber sobre los insectos?
- Students create questions about what they want to learn or want to know about insects and teacher writes the questions on the chart.
- Finally, teacher formulates the question ¿Qué puedo hacer para saber más cosas sobre los insectos?
- Students express ways to learn more about the topic (direct observation, reading books, seeing videos, singing songs, etc.) and teacher writes the ideas down.
Focused Learning Phase (Through) (Cloud et al.,Kucer et al.):
Activity: Buscando insectos
- Teacher focuses student attention in the scientific method of direct observation and he/she models how to use the method to look for insects using magnify glasses.
- Teacher explains to students that they will form groups like they did in the last lesson and they will go to the garden to look for insects. Teacher gives students magnify glasses and ask them to review the rules for working in group.
- After they come back, teacher asks them to remain in groups and to give her/his magnify glasses back. Teacher shows flash cards of insects and asks students for the name of the insects: ¿Alguien sabe cómo se llama esto? ¿Qué es esto?
- After identifying the name of the insect, teacher asks students who saw each kind of insects: ¿Quién vio mariquitas? Students raise hands to answer.
- Once insects are identified by name, teacher explains the second part of the group activity: in groups, students will complete a bar graph counting the insects they found (use/create graphic) and they will present their findings to the class. They will follow the routine and the roles of the last group activity.
Expansion Phase (Beyond) (Cloud et al.,Kucer et al.):
Students sing the song Los insectos (Insects).
- Teacher shows the song poster and gives directions for the activity: each student receives a flashcard with an insect (mariquitas, abejas, moscos, moscas, hormigas, escarabajos, libélulas, polillas, mariposas) to show it when singing.
- Students form groups with the same pictures and sing together.
- After this, students receive a page with the song and illustrate the song drawing an insect next to the name.
- It is a good resource to have a folder of poems and songs where students could decorate and file the printed material throughout the year.
Assessment:
Observation of student interactions during group activities to check if Spanish is used, if students are working according to their roles, if students are focused on the activity.
Observation of oral presentation to see if students are using insect names correctly and if they are able to get information from the graph (vimos cinco libélulas, vimos más mariquitas que abejas, no vimos mariposas).
Decoration of the song by drawing the appropriate insect below the insect’s name to check if students can identify common insects.
Attachments:
NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)Attachment 2: KWHL chart
Attachment 6: Bar graph - Contando insectos
Attachment 7: Poster/printed song - Los insectos