Sarah+GLT2+Plans


 * Unit plan: Unit 17 Articles & Gender, Accent Rule 1, La Catrina Episode 1**
 * Spanish IIIa, December 1 – December 5**


 * Topics/pages to cover:** Gender of nouns; Definite and indefinite articles; La Catrina episode 1; Accent rule 1: If a word begins in a vowel, n or s, you stress the second to last syllable.


 * Homework:** Adjective phrases – students pick 24 nouns (2 from each of 12 sections), write an adjective phrase for each (ex. La profesora bonita); Practice the lectura oral for Thursday


 * Language objectives:** Students should be able to identify the gender of many irregular nouns. Also, students should understand the first accent rule and be able to correctly pronounce words that fall into the category stated in the rule.


 * MI Standards:** Communication, Cultures, Comparisons


 * Assessment:** Oral reading on Thursday; Turn in Catrina packet; Adjective phrases assignment


 * Preparation for assessment:** Practice with pronunciation; Catrina pre-reading activities (read the resumen, etc.); Grammar packet excercises with gender and articles


 * Possible activities**: Accent Rule packet with in-class pronunciation practice; Grammar packet with exercises; Warm-ups that practice gender agreement (oral drills, written warm-ups); Adj phrases activity; La Catrina video & packet

1. given a word, students write either M (masculine) or F (feminine) in a blank next to the word 2. given a word, students write either el (masculine article) or la (feminine article in a blank next to the word 3. given sentences in Spanish, students write the article and noun in a blank 4. given sentences in Spanish that describe a noun from a list, students write the corresponding noun in a blank 5. given a masculine noun, students write the feminine form (some are irregular) 6. given a noun in English, students write it in Spanish (ex. the female student, the queen, the victim, etc.) Essentially there is no culture already "built-into" the grammar packets, and there is very little contextualization.
 * Grammar packets:** The book we use is Complete Spanish Grammar. We use this book as our textbook, but it's actually more of a workbook. So it explains a grammar point and then has several exercises to demonstrate the point. For example, this unit gives examples of words that are masculine (words that end in o) and feminine (end in a) but then also has large lists of irregular nouns grouped in categories to help students remember them (ex. words that end in -aje are usually masculine, words that end in -dad are feminine, etc.). Some examples of the exercises are the following:

-Go over syllabus -Grammar packet: gender agreement and articles -Accent rule 1 packet (pronunciation rules)
 * Monday:**
 * -**Written and oral warm-ups

-Written and oral warm-ups -Grammar packet: gender agreement and articles -Accent rule 1 packet (pronunciation rules)
 * Tuesday:**

-Written and oral warm-ups -Grammar packet: gender agreement and articles -La Catrina: pre-reading -Adjective Phrases activity (finish for homework)
 * Wednesday:**

-Written and oral warm-ups -Go over character’s names for pronunciation -Watch La Catrina episode 1 -Students do La Catrina packet while I listen to oral readings
 * Thursday:**

-Written and oral warm-ups -Gender agreement game? Info gap activity?
 * Friday:**


 * Questions:** I’d like to make some other fun activities that practice gender agreement – maybe a game, or something not from the grammar packet I can do. This unit plan is pretty much exactly what my mentor did, and I’d like to spice it up a bit. Also I’m looking for a way to incorporate more culture into our classroom, and so far all I have that addresses that is La Catrina. I’d like some ideas on how to incorporate culture for this unit! ¡Muchas gracias!


 * Feedback:** In response to your questions: Since the grammar curriculum is not contextualized, I suggest that you simply choose a theme/topic that your students would find interesting and relevant. It could be anything since your grammar objective involves nouns -- and anything you talk about involves nouns! Here are a couple ideas: shopping lists (and teach about shopping in culturally authentic ways); a vacation/travel theme (to Spanish speaking destinations) -- students can make lists of items to pack, things they need to buy, etc., they could also identify items in pictures from these places. For some ideas for practicing gender agreement, do a search on the wiki using "agreement" as the search term -- quite a few relevant hits come up this way. Remember when you're teaching gender agreement that this is a completely foreign topic for your students since we really don't have the equivalent concept in English. So you'll need to somehow communicate to them that there are social consequences if you don't use correct agreement (namely, it sounds really funny). You might want to provide some examples in English where the grammar is blatantly wrong to remind them how it feels to a native speaker. Also, remember that if the students are going to become truly proficient with agreement, they won't be analyzing every word they use -- eventually, certain things need to start sounding right or wrong. This sense will only come if they receive LOTS of comprehensible input in Spanish. user:Anny1

Thanks Anny1, those are some great ideas! user:sarahew

I definitely agree with emphasizing how it "sounds weird" to not match. I do that kind of thing with my students all the time, and try to give them similar English examples. (We don't have gender matching, but wouldn't it sound weird of people said "I have five apple"? Or "Pass me a pieces of bread, please") Just do it over and over so it gives them reason to think it sounds bad.

Something that my mentor does when we do "worksheet type" activities is simply breaking up the format so it doesn't feel as much like a worksheet. You can make an answer sheet or grid and make copies for everyone. Then, number a bunch of 3x5 cards and write a question on each one. Place them all around the room, so the students have to circulate (not in order) and write down the answers for each number on the answer grid. You could also make whiteboard race games. Another option for the "rules" is allowing the students to "create" them inductively. Maybe give them an article (from People en Español or something) or a passage you've written, and ask them to highlight feminine and masculine nouns with different colors and create a chart with rules with a partner.

Le me know how La Catrina goes...I'm using it later this year!user:la_profesora

I really like your ideas for changing up worksheets - I'll try some of those! Thanks la_profesora! user:sarahew

By the way, today we decided to save La Catrina until after Christmas break. However, when my mentor taught it last trimester, the kids LOVED it. It's funny in a lame kind of way, but if you play it up like it's the best thing ever, the kids will think it is! Good luck with it!! user:sarahew