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Lesson Plan : Spanish Pals: Bridging Boarders

Teacher Name:
 Olivia Robertson
Grade:
 Grade 9-10
Subject:
 World Languages

Topic:
 Foreign Language/Spanish
Content:
 This lesson is intended for non-native Spanish speakers beginning their Spanish language education at the high school level. For two weeks, students will engage in an experimental pen pal system with native Spanish speakers across the globe. Students will engage in Spanish speaking exercises, short written exercises and work on listening comprehension.
Goals:
 Students will actively engage in the pen pal system to improve their Spanish speaking and listening comprehension skills. By the end of the semester, students will become aware of their ability to teach one another and will learn about different Spanish speaking cultures.
Objectives:
 Students will be able to: 1. Correctly recall, recite and write: -Names of Spanish speaking countries -Days of the week -Numbers 1-20 -Basic/conversational Spanish words/phrases 2.Identify the location of their pen pal's country of residence on a map. 3.Write a final essay about their pen pal.
Materials:
 In and out of class, students will have access to: 1.A Spanish textbook for English speaking students 2.A smartphone mobile device (Blackberry or Iphone) with access to the internet and Skype 3.Paper and pencil for notes.
Introduction:
 I will introduce the "Spanish Pals: Bridging Boarders" lesson plan to the students two weeks into the course. I think students should participate in the beginning of the semester, because it is a fun activity that will effectively engage them in the learning process. Expanding upon the common idea of pen pals, students will use mobile technology to engage in everyday contact for two weeks with a native Spanish speaker in a Spanish speaking country. This exercise is aimed to encourage students to work on their Spanish speaking, writing and listening comprehension skills.
Development:
 Depending on the pen pal assigned to them, students will engage in a 20 minute Skype conversation at a regularly scheduled time for two weeks (Monday through Friday) either in or out of the classroom. Because students will have little to no Spanish education or practice, their corresponding pen pals must have some English language experience. During the Skype conversations, students will have paper and a pencil to take notes and later use their textbooks for comparison and for practicing Spanish numbers, words, phrases and days of the week. Students will be responsible for learning geography outside of the classroom, using the maps application on their mobile device.
Practice:
 Students will be responsible for all 10 Skype sessions. In order to ensure that students whose Skype time is scheduled after the school day make their Skype appointments, all students will be responsible for handing in a page of notes in Spanish about what they learned. With two weeks of Spanish practice under their belts, the students' notes should be coherent and follow some organizational structure for me to be able to access.
Accommodations:
 If students are unfamiliar with using mobile technology and Skype, I will hold a short tutorial before the lesson begins and ensure mobile technology competence by holding a short mobile technology review session three days into the lesson plan.
Checking For Understanding:
 After the two weeks, students will be given a short oral exam, written exam and and listening comprehension test. Students who are able to correctly recite, write and orally comprehend the names of Spanish speaking countries, days of the week, numbers 1-20 and basic conversational phrases will have successfully completed the exercise. The tests will be assessed from a 1-10 scale, 1 being completely unknowing and 10 being perfect recollection. For extra credit, students will be given an unlabeled world map and will have to locate the country where their pen pal resides.
Closure:
 To wrap up the lesson plan, students will write an ungraded final essay about their respective pen pals and email them to their pen pals via their mobile devices.
Evaluation:
 
Teacher Reflections:
 

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