Understanding By Design Unit Template

Title of Unit    Present Tense Verbs, Adjectives/nouns   Grade Level 9th and 10th Graders

Curriculum Area   Spanish 1-2  Time Frame 3 weeks

Class Description (Developmental Needs of Students)

In this class, we have no students with IEP's. However, it is a large class size, which increases noise level and makes the space tighter in
the classroom.I have been very intentional in our seating arrangements and trying to find the right balance of students who have
expressed a need for more teacher support or due to assessments we have identified certain students who would benefit from being
seated in the front and closer to the teacher. Now that I know the students better, I know which students are stronger at grasping the
content quickly and can handle distractions and which students really need to focus and listen during the direct instruction in order to be
successful in class. We have played around with putting students who seem to really understand the Spanish concepts at a table with
students that may benefit from some guidance during group work.

I have one student called Owen who has a powerful presence in the classroom and on days he doesn't feel like working he can be
distracting to many people. Owen has a complicated home life and we are trying to find ways to support him in the classroom and come to
agreements together without calling in the parents. Owen is allowed to go for a 1 minute walk during class when they are doing individual
work but he must check in and ask us first. This generally helps him to be able to come back and focus more and complete the task.
Giving Owen choices has been effective. During this lesson, depending on his energy and behavior I will offer him choices within the
assignment.

Gage is at risk of failing this class and I believe it's mostly due to lack of effort and not being organized, because he doesn't remember
when homework is due or when there is a scheduled test. Gage comes to tutorial sometimes so we can review important concepts one-on-
one and he seems to understand them. He needs to practice studying on quizlet more to drill certain conjugations into his brain. I always
check in with Gage when the students are doing individual or group work to see if he needs extra clarification.

Diego is a strong student and can finish tasks quickly when his table mates need more time. I always make sure he knows he can study
quizlet or conjuguemos.com when he finishes, so he doesn't distract his friends.

Talia is also a very strong student and I try to utilize her strengths by having her help translate and explain what I've said to the class. I
want the students to know they can ask their peers for help and not always just the teacher. This should increase Talia's confidence in her
Spanish skills and leadership skills. She also knows she can grab a computer and do other Spanish related work when she finishes a task
early.
 Identify Desired Results (Stage 1)
Content Standards
Content: 1.1 Students address discrete elements of daily life, including:
a. Greetings and introductions
b. Family and friends
f. Calendar, seasons, and weather
Structures: Stage I
1.0 Students use orthography, phonology, or ASL parameters to understand words, signs (ASL), and phrases in context.
1.1 Use orthography, phonology, or ASL parameters to produce words or signs (ASL) and phrases in context.
1.2 Identify similarities and differences in the orthography, phonology, or ASL parameters 

of the languages the students know.
Communication: Stage I
1.0 Students use formulaic language (learned words, signs [ASL], and phrases).
1.1 Engage in oral, written, or signed (ASL) conversations.
Functions
1.4 List, name, identify, and enumerate.

Understandings Essential Questions

Overarching Understanding Overarching Topical
- Students will understand what verb tenses are and how they are different - What’s a verb tense ?
in English than Spanish. - What’s a present tense verb? - How do you ask questions?
- Students will understand when and why we use the present tense. - Why do we change the endings (interrogative pronouns) and
- Students will understand that verb endings get conjugated differently for each speaker? what’s the sentence order and
based on the AR, ER or IR ending of the verb. - What happens to the meaning of structure?
- Students will understand how to compose and speak simple sentences the sentence when we conjugate - How do we know who’s the actor
about everyday situations in Spanish. its verbs? in Spanish?
- Students will understand the structural differences between statements - What’s adjective/noun - How do you conjugate an AR, ER
and questions in Spanish.    agreement? or IR verb?
- How do I make a simple sentence
in the present tense and using
R1-a vocabulary?

   

Related Misconceptions (for Students)

What’s a stem-changing verb? How do you conjugate a stem-changing verb?

How are they different from regular verbs?     

Knowledge Skills
Students will know… Students will be able to…
- Students will know who the actor in the sentence is based on the verb - Students will be able to identify when to use the present tense.
ending. - Students will be able to conjugate common verbs in all persons in the
- Students will know some common verbs in the present tense. present tense.
- Students will know their subject pronouns. - Students will be able to use the correct subject pronouns when using
- Students will know vocabulary to make simple conversations, greetings and the present tense.
farewells. - Students will be able to have short conversations with their peers using
- Students will know at least 25 vocabulary words from the high-frequency appropriate vocabulary.
vocabulary list. - Students will be able to use vocabulary learned in simple conversations
- Students will know the interrogative pronouns with the movements. and written tasks.
- Students will know the verbs “to be”, SER= who or what and ESTAR= how - Students will be able to say interrogative pronouns when they see the
or where you are. movement or can do the movement when they hear the pronoun.
- Students will know what adjective/noun agreement means and how to do - Students will be able to speak, as well as fill in the blank sentences
it. using the correct form of SER or ESTAR.
- Students will be able to tell a simple story based on their own drawing. - Student will be able to talk about the weather, days of the week and
have simple conversations using SER/ESTAR and the formal and
informal “you”.
    

Assessment Evidence (Stage 2)

Performance Tasks (Include Descriptions)
- Students will demonstrate their understanding of vocabulary by using the words and making simple sentences for their classmates to act out.
- Students will also act out certain scenarios that students will make up the story in Spanish.
- Students will practice making sentences orally and written about everyday situations, using the present tense in the “writing” section of their
notebooks and sharing with their partners and then aloud with the class.
- Students write one sentence using SER and another one using ESTAR on a notecard, this will be their exit ticket.
- Students will write a simple story using a photo as inspiration or inventing a new story.
- Students will create a “quién soy yo” (who am I?) project about themselves and their family members, to make a poster to present to their table mate
and possibly to the class. This project is summative based because it requires the students to pull together and apply all their new skills. Conjugating
correctly in the present tense, describing yourself physically and your personality as well as your family members. Students must tell us where they
live, what they like to do for fun, their secret talent or hobby and anything else they want us to know.

   

Other Evidence (Include Descriptions)

 
- Students will practice their conjugating skills on conjuguemos.com through graded practice and later on games, so I can see how we are progressing
and which verbs needs to be re-taught.
- Students will complete homework assignments through our QUIA site, which shows me students individual results and I use those as a way to
measure how well the students are able to apply these new concepts individually and what needs to be retaught.
- We will also do a conjugation pop quiz before exam 1 and listening comprehension pop quiz.
- Exam 1 practice will be a combination of multiple choice, fill in the blanks and matching questions and will include: present tense verbs, vocabulary
R1-a, R1-b, R1-c, use of SER and ESTAR, greetings and farewells, emotions, interrogative pronouns, noun/verb agreement and will all be tested
together.
- Students will play “silent verb races” in teams. The teacher writes a verb or the meaning of the verb on the board and the students work together
silently to conjugate the verb to see which team completes all the conjugations correctly and the fastest. Each student in the group must have a turn
and use a different colored pen. When it’s your turn, if you see a previous error, you may correct it as your turn or choose to put the next conjugation.
After a team is declared a winner, students say aloud the correct verb ending as the teacher writes them on the board.
- Students will do a self-assessment on how conjugating present tense verbs is going for them using a thumbs up (bien), in the middle (regular) or
down (mal).   

Learning Plan (Stage 3)

Where are your students headed? Where have  This is a beginning Spanish class and students are learning basic vocabulary, greetings/
they been? How will you make sure the farewells, the informal and formal “you”, the differences and uses between SER and ESTAR
students know where they are going? (the verbs “to be” in Spanish) and are being introduced to the concept of verb tenses and how
they differ in Spanish from English. We will start out with simple present tense verbs
intentionally choosing AR/ER/IR verbs with the common endings and avoiding stem-changing
verbs.This lesson will be presented on the digital board. C1, C2, IMTS.    

How will you hook students at the beginning of I will show a video on verb conjugations to the tune of Justin Timberlake “Sexy Back”, which
the unit? explains how you drop the AR/ER/IR ending and visually shows the various ending options.
The video is created by a students and the tune is catchy and humorous to get the students
hooked before we have to memorize the different endings. I will also use videos for introducing
numbers and the alphabet. I will also use Quizlet, Kahoot and other educational technology to
reinforce these skills. C1, C2, C4, IMTS
What events will help students experience and I will show some sample conversation scripts and some without the subject pronouns and see
explore the big idea and questions in the unit? if the students can identify a pattern in the different endings. I will use visuals and try to show
How will you equip them with needed skills and the students how you identify the actor of the sentence based on the verb endings. I will show
knowledge? them a poster with past tense verb endings quickly as a reference of where will be going but
will encourage students not to focus too much on that right now. We will practice as a group
conjugating verbs with AR/ER/IR endings and then students will practice individually as I
circulate to see how they’re grasping it. Besides from understanding the difference between
SER and ESTAR, verb conjugations are essential to being successful at a second language.  
C2, C3, C4, IMTS  

How will you cause students to reflect and It’s important for students to work in pairs and practice their new knowledge. It can be
rethink? How will you guide them in rehearsing, overwhelming to learn 3 different verb endings but it’s essential to gain a strong understanding
revising, and refining their work? before we can expand. Students need to practice individually conjugating and gaining that
muscle memory as well as practicing speaking with their partner in the present tense and
applying that new knowledge. If students truly understand how to conjugate present tense
verbs and the general concept that endings change depending on the actor (the person who’s
speaking), this will help them later on. They will be need to pull from their prior knowledge
down the road when I introduce more complex concepts like, stem-changing verbs, present
progressive and the two types of past tenses. They will have opportunities to work as a class to
conjugate and decide if the content is correct or needs editing, which helps them learn to self-
correct. C1, C2, C3     

How will you help students to exhibit and self-  Students will demonstrate their abilities in front of the class by having partner conversations
evaluate their growing skills, knowledge, and and practice self-editing when something doesn’t “sound right”, also offering their peers
understanding throughout the unit? opportunities to correct the conversation in a respectful manner. Verb races will help students
individually and as a group because there are times when students can correct a conjugation
error as their turn, which allows for the team to still have a chance of winning. Through written
assessment it can become clear, which students need to dedicate more time to studying,
practicing their skills on quizlet or maybe they need more of a challenge and need to watch a
show in Spanish or read a book. I will teach them how to self-identify what skills one needs to
work on based on their results on various assessments.  C1, C2, C3, C4, IMTS   

How will you tailor and otherwise personalize  Some students may need to come to my tutorial for more one-on-one direct instruction on
the learning plan to optimize the engagement certain concepts. Some students may need a graphic organizer when I’m introducing a new
and effectiveness of ALL students, without concept or verb tense. Some students may need different seating arrangements to be either
compromising the goals of the unit? closer to the board, away from certain students or near certain students who help strengthen
their learning. Some students will not want to participate in conjugation races because it’s too
high pressure and not conducive to encoding the information and accommodations will be
provided. C1, C2, C3, C4, IMTS     
How will you organize and sequence the  I will intentionally use differentiated instruction by presenting information on the digital board
learning activities to optimize the engagement and will also have students take notes. Those students that need a graphic organizer will be
and achievement of ALL students? provided with one. Students will repeat the new information after me to promote correct
pronunciation and will be encouraged to come up with meaningful movements to help reinforce
the information. Students will be switching between partner activities, presenting out to the
group, games and writing activities to keep them engaged in the learning and giving them
opportunities to practice their new skills and targeting all literacy areas. C1, C2, C3, C4,
IMTS    

How will you incorporate the 21st Century Skills: Please use this key as a guide to show where throughout the unit plan the 21st century skills
Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, are being incorporated.
Creativity, and Information & Media Technology 21st Century Skills Key:
Skills? Critical Thinking= C1
Communication= C2     
Collaboration= C3
Creativity= C4
Information & Media Technology Skills=IMTS
Describe how you will differentiate instruction On days the students are writing down new vocabulary, I might offer Gage and Owen the
to meet the learning needs of the students choice of writing down all the vocabulary, or I can print the vocabulary for them to glue in their
included in the “Class Description.” journal and they decide, which part is most important for them to handwrite because that’s
what they need to reinforce/learn the most. Owen really enjoys working with his peers during
verb races and quizlet live. Gage doesn’t seem to enjoy the speed and it doesn't seem effective
for reinforcing the vocabulary or conjugations. He and I have discussed that it’s an option to
study quizlet or do conjugeumos.com in the back of the class while we play. Gage doesn't get
as much time at home to study, so this is a great opportunity for him to focus.

Diego and Talia are encouraged to only write down words and conjugations that they want to
reinforce and not every word, if they already know it. This way, I’m hoping to minimize
boredom and motivate students to focus on what’s hardest for them and work on
strengthening that skill.

Weekly Lesson Overviews

Week 2
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
Week 1: Monday (50 mins) Tuesday (90 mins) Thursday (90 mins)

Daily Review: days of the Daily Review: Conversations, DO NOW: Study on

week, months, Buenos Dias days of the week, months, conjuguemos.com for 10
song and introduce intro to numbers, seasons, mins.
interrogatives with visuals song.
and movements. 1. Daily review:
1. Review AR/ER/IR conversations (feelings),
Learn vocabulary R1-b: conjugations and R1-b days of the week, months,
1. Write it down vocabulary as a class. numbers, seasons.
2. Practice with class and 2. Then students review with 2. Introduce vocab R1-c.
then with another person. partners as profesor/a y ——Write it down
3. Practice with pictures. alumno/a, options/directions - Practice with a partner.
4. Simon dice (Simon says) on the board. - Simon says (TPRS)
5. Story-get a couple of actors 3. Class write sentences 3. Students will play “silent
to stand up and act out some together using the vocab. verb races” in teams. After a
of the movements. Then have 4. Class stands up and does team is declared a winner,
them do in partners. movements for vocabulary students say aloud the correct
for verbs: run, jump, walk, verb ending as the teacher
Exit ticket: Write down what cry, eat, fast, slow, etc.. writes them on the board.
you learned that was new 4. Afterwards, students will
today and what was Pop quiz: listening do a self-assessment on how
confusing and needs comprehension on vocabulary conjugating in the present
clarification. we just reviewed. tense verbs is going for them
using a thumbs up (bien), in
Go over use of SER vs. the middle (regular) or down
ESTAR. Do fill in practice (mal).
sentences as a class, then with
a partner and then review as a Closing and wrap-up is
class. Who is the actor? reviewing what’s HW and
Exit Ticket: when it’s due. Will be
Write 2 sentences: one using discussing project next week.
SER and the other ESTAR
Week 2 Monday (50 mins) Tuesday (90 mins) Thursday (90 mins)
Daily Review: Daily Review: Daily Review:
Conversations, days of the Conversations, days of the Conversations, days of the
week, months, numbers, week, months, numbers, week, months, numbers,
seasons. seasons. seasons.

1.Review R1-C by 1.Video: numbers song. 1.Video: numbers song.

repeating as a class and Watch and then students Watch and then students
then “Simon Says" to sing along with video sing along with video
prepare for story writing. twice. twice.
2.Students draw in their 2. Review vocab R1-C 2. Review R1-B and R1-C
notebooks 6 boxes to write with movements as a class before playing
a story. and make Bingo cards. “Matamoscas”
3.They copy down the 3. Play Bingo 3. Do SER and ESTAR
sentence frames with the 4. Go over subject-verb activity as a class and
blanks. agreement in writing describe a photo. Answer
4.We write the story as a simple sentences. Ask questions about usage.
class using the vocab. closed questions to help 4. Check-in with 5, 3, 0
5.Students re-tell the story identify the pattern. fingers on understanding
to their partners. Practice as a class and the difference of SER and
6.Now students fill in the practice with your pair. ESTAR and adj./noun
blanks by themselves and agreement.
share with their table Exit Ticket: 5. Introduce project that’s
partner. Write two simple due next Thursday, “quien
7.As a class, answer sentences describing soy yo” (who am I) and
questions about the story. yourself. the rubric.
6. Use the rest of class to
Closing with quizlet live if start working on project.
time, if not just study on
quizlet.
Week 3 Monday (50 mins) Tuesday (90 mins) Thursday (90 mins)
Daily Review: Conversations, Daily Review: Conversations, Daily Review: Conversations,
days of the week, months, days of the week, months, days of the week, months,
numbers, seasons. numbers, seasons. numbers, seasons.

Pop Quiz: Conjugations in the 1. Video: numbers song. Watch 1.Give students 5 minutes to
present tense. and then students sing along finish up last minute parts of
with video twice. their project.
1. Check-in about project and 2. Review Vocab as a class 2. Go over the rubric, and discuss
review what materials are 3. Play Quizlet live what does a good presentation
needed for next class to 4. Work on projects. Have 2 peer look like? What does a respectful
assemble the poster. Review edits then assemble your listener look like? Ask two
Rubric again. poster. questions. Try to stay speaking in
2. Review vocab as a class to 5. If finish early, you may read a Spanish and be kind.
practice using those muscles. book in Spanish or study on 3. Share your poster with your
3. Pair work-profesor/a y quizlet. table mate and ask questions.
alumno/a to review vocab and When done, can get up and share
choose from options posted on Closing by reminding students with 3 other people.
the board. that projects are due next class 4. See if anyone volunteers to
4. Play Kahoot about SER and and we will be presenting them present to class (offer jolly
ESTAR to our peers. rancher).
5. Have students fill out self-
Closing by asking again what assessment on project.
needs to be brought next class, so 6. If time offer a choice of
they can work on their project. matamoscas or Quizlet live.

Closing: go over what homework

assignment is due next class.
Week 3
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

Week 4
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
Week 5
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY

Pre-Teaching Reflections
Describe how you anticipate measuring the effectiveness of this lesson in helping students meet the learning goals.
     

Describe what challenges you anticipate?

     

Post-Teaching Reflections (if applicable)

Describe what changes you made and your rationale for these changes.
     

Describe the challenges you faced.

     
Describe what worked well.