CARLA
Regions of Mexico
Lesson 01:

Submitted by Nancy Schrank

Objectives:

Content:
Students will...

  • identify the primary geographic features of Mexico
  • display an understanding of Mexico's location in relation to surrounding countries and bodies of water
  • display an understanding of the location of one geographic feature in relationship to another

Cultural:

Language: Content Obligatory
Students will...

  • use "hay" and "tiene" to describe the geographic features of Mexico using: las montañas, las junglas, las playas, las valles, los desiertos, los lagos, los bosques, el mar, el golfo, y el continente.
  • use the present tense (3rd person singular and plural) to describe the location of geographic features with the verb estar and directions: Example: "Las Sierra Madres estan en el oeste de Mexico."
  • use comparison / contrast expressions to make comparisons between the geographical features of Mexico and the United States using ser, estar, hay, and tiene and conjunctions such as "pero" and "y."

Language: Content Compatible
Students will...

  • use expressions of like and dislike to communicate preferences for geographical features with prefiero, me gusta(n), no me gusta(n).
  • use comparative adjectives (más grande, más pequeño, etc.) to compare the size of Mexico's mountain ranges, deserts, and lakes to those in the United States
  • use additional vocabulary words to extend their ability to discuss Mexico including: la frontera, la peninsula, el golfo, el estado (i.e: la jungla está en el estado de Chiapas);

Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will...

  • work effectively in small groups to complete an assignment using effective communication and solid leadership and organizational skills.
  • employ a graphic organizer to sort out characteristics of U.S. and Mexican geography using logic and sorting skills.
  • make predictions about the presence of land features in Mexico based on what they know about similar patterns in geography using "Pienso que" y "Creo que."

Time Frame:

Two 50-minute sessions

Materials Needed:

 

Description of Assessment (Performance Project):

Day 1 of 2:
Into:
To activate students' knowledge of landform vocabulary, we will brainstorm (as a large group) the major landforms of the United States. As we come up with features (ex. montañas, desiertos) students will put these words into one circle of a Venn Diagram.
 
Next, I will draw upon students' experience traveling in Mexico and ask where they have gone. I will ask students to find first the country of Mexico and then their city on our class map. I will then ask what all these cities have in common: (they are on the coast, have beaches, etc.) I will stress that beaches are just one natural wonder of Mexico, and challenge students to "see" the rest of the country with us.
 
Through:
In the first part of this stage students will predict what other landforms Mexico has, oceans and beaches aside (LS 3). To get them going, I will ask them to think of the land features and climate of Texas. (hay desierto, es seco) and point out to them on a relief map that this dry region is colored yellow on a relief map. I will then point out that northern Mexico is the same color and ask what we may expect to find in this region. Students will express their ideas using: "Pienso que" or "Creo que" . . . hay desierto (LC0 4).
 
In the next stage of the lesson the class will engage in a modified "Think-Pair-Share" activity in order to integrate writing, speaking, and listening modalities.
 
1.      Think: Students will read the paragraph silently and reflect on what they are reading. They will fill in features of Mexican geography in the appropriate circle of the Venn Diagram (LS 1). 
2.      Pairwork: Students will pair up and exchange the information that they have gathered. I will put three possible structures on the board, from which students may choose. The choices will be: “México tiene _______” ; “Hay ______ en México” and  “En Mexico hay ________” (LCO 1). Each student will take a turn being the person who shares and the one who records the features. 
3.  Large group sharing: I will have pairs share a couple sentences that they have generated and I will fill in the Venn diagram on the front board. Together we will compile a list of features that the two countries share (montañas, lagos, desiertos, playas) in order to complete the 3rd circle of the Venn Diagram. Students will also make sentences about  what Mexico has that our country doesn’t (jungla/selva) and vise versa.
 
Beyond:
I will wrap up our day by reminding students what we have done so far today: "We made predictions about what the geography of Mexico is like based on what we already knew. Then we learned through our reading that Mexico's geography includes deserts, jungle, mountains, rivers, and ocean.
 
The last thing we are going to do today is to work together to compare the features of our country to those of Mexico." I will teach students two conjunctions that are used to compare and contrast two things: "pero" and "y," and then I will model a sentence of each type: “Mexico tiene jungla pero los Estados Unidos no tiene jungla.” I will ask for volunteers to use the common circle on the Venn diagram to construct more sentences of this type (LCO 3).
 
As homework, students will write 8 complete sentences of comparison /contrast using conjunctions "y" and "pero" (LCO 3). They will refer to their class notes and my model sentence in doing their work.
 
Day 2 of 2:
Into:
When students come into the room today there will be a large paper outline of Mexico taped to the front board. There would also be a slideshow on Mexico playing on the front screen. Once students have seen the various geographical features at least two times, I will ask them to  share: "Qué hay en México?" As they name each feature I will ask a volunteer to come to the front of the room and
 
 

Assessment:

The assessment for this lesson will be a cooperative learning project that integrates three modalities. Groups will do two things: First, they will fill in a blank outline of Mexico, including all geographic features and appropriate labels (Sierra Madres Occidental / Oriental, etc.) without the aid of notes or classroom maps. Second, they will work together to write a five-sentence paragraph describing Mexico employing the answers to these questions: "Cómo es Mexico? Qué tiene Mexico? Qué hay en Mexico?"

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A Lesson from the CoBaLTT Project
/cobaltt
Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition
University of Minnesota