Mary Kempen

11/2/14
Sample unit plan outline
Unit Theme: Migratory Animals
Grade level: Spanish 3 or 4 (class may include juniors and seniors)
Objectives: The students will complete a presentational writing task in which they tell the story of an
animals migration in the form of a board game they create and instruct other students on how to play
the game.
Standards:
B. INTERPRETIVE: LISTENING AND READING
Content Standard
Students in Wisconsin will understand and interpret a language other than their own in its written and
spoken form on a variety of topics.
Developing (Imitative - Reflective):
B.2. Listening: Students will comprehend the main idea and some supporting ideas of selected authentic
materials including recordings, broadcasts, and videos
(Students will do this with the monarch butterfly video)

C: PRESENTATIONAL: SPEAKING AND WRITING
Content Standard
Students in Wisconsin will present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or
readers on a variety of topics in a language other than their own.
Developing (Imitative - Reflective):
C.3. Directions: Students will give simple directions to someone in order to complete a multi-step task
(Students will do this with the instructions of the game task.)
C.4. Recounting events: Students will tell a story incorporating some description and detail
(Students will do this with the game story line.)

CONNECTIONS
F: ACROSS DISCIPLINES
Content Standard
Students in Wisconsin will reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through a language
other than English.
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
F.1. Speaking and writing: Students will use topics and skills from other school subjects to discuss and/or
write in the language studied
(Students will use science knowledge to complete the log report.)

Assessment: see presentational writing task document assessment and rubric under standard #6 (but
se impersonal will be substituted in the rubric and lessons for the subjunctive and diminutives)

Day 1: Introduction to the unit, video listening comprehension
Students will identify main ideas and important details of monarch butterflys migration story. Students
will assess the advantages of the butterflies migration and the desirability of work as a scientist and
evaluate the ethics of the scientists behavior in a video on the monarchs migration.
Discuss the assessment project, hand out the instructions and rubric
State that the monarch butterfly is an example students can use for the project and we will use
the butterflys migration story for models and practice in this unit
Distribute brainstorm page in which students will work in groups to write all the things they
know about monarch butterflies and associate with them (in Spanish)
First viewing of the video: find main ideas (CONABIO: Historia de la migracin de la mariposa
monarca https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acfjQCDJcBw )
Second viewing of the video: complete cloze passage worksheet (hand out)
Work in small groups to answer discussion questions (hand out)
Distribute animal list from which students will select the topic of their project. Assign work
groups so they choose the same animal.
Homework: find the animals migration route through computer or book research for tomorrow
o Find distance travelled in metric units
o Find places travelled in the route
o Find dates and seasons of animals stays in each place
o Take notes in Spanish to the best of your ability and mark words and expressions you
want to learn to be able to communicate this information
Day 2: Charting the animals migration
Students will measure in metric units the migration route of their chosen animals.
Powerpoint / Smart Notebook presentation on metric units and numbers vocabulary related to
various animals how much food they must eat, how far they must go, etc.
Students present to class their animals route and the routes distance compare to other
animals chosen by classmates, use drawings or maps on chalkboards / Smartboard
Allow time for research on this homework:
o Find out why your animal migrates why it is where it is when it is
o Take notes in Spanish to the best of your ability and mark words and expressions you
want to learn to be able to communicate this information
Day 3: Logging where your animal is and when
Students will complete a scientific record of their animals movements through time.
Tracking websites for butterflies, other animal selected by students display on projector in
class
Hand out page of sample science log (in Spanish) to complete for tracking animal
Powerpoint / Smart Notebook presentation on vocabulary for dates and seasons
Allow students time to research tracking of their animal and complete the log for a given period
of time (one week, one month, one year).
At end of class, students summarize their logs and hypothesize about the reasons people find
the animal in these places at these times (hypotheses become homework if time is short)
Day 4: Exploring your hypotheses
Students will explain how climate and weather affect their animals migrations.
Powerpoint / Smart Notebook presentation on vocabulary for climate and weather
Websites to track climate and weather patterns in North, Central and South America throughout
the year
Students hypotheses from yesterday
Allow students time to work in their project groups to test their hypotheses and draft an
explanation of their animals migration identify climate and weather at animals location for
months of January, April, July, October
Homework:
o Find out how animal and people interact in Latin American site
Do they threaten each other?
Do they benefit from each other?
Is the animal important in myth or folklore?
Day 5: Your animal and people in its Latin American homeland
Students will use the se impersonal construction to describe how the animal and the people in its
Latin American homeland affect each other.
View the CONABIO video again students identify what the Mexicans in the video do, decide if
we know them
Introduce lesson on se impersonal construction used for generalities, sentences in which
unknown people or no one in particular does something
Powerpoint / Smart Notebook presentation on se impersonal construction
Students draft paragraph on what people do with, for or to their animal in Latin America using
se impersonal
Homework:
o Find out how animal and people interact in North American site
Day 6: Your animal and people in its North American homeland
Review and additional practice of se impersonal -- Students will use the se impersonal construction
to describe how the animal and the people in its North American homeland affect each other.
If not all students have internet access in the home, homework from yesterday done in class
today
Review exercises of se on Smart board or blackboard forming complete sentences out of
pre-selected components
Students draft paragraph on what people do with, for or to their animal in North America using
se impersonal
Class plays game using students sentences from today and yesterday: student reads one,
classmates must determine if it refers to the North American or Latin American homeland
Day 7: Ways people can help your animal
Students will generate ideas to help their animal survive migration and begin planning their project (the
board game).
Powerpoint / Smart Notebook presentation on using se with auxiliary verbs and infinitives (se
puede ofrecer comida, etc.)
Students propose ways to help the animals using se puede or se debe
Students organize the story line for the board game, select design for board, divvy
responsibilities (sections of the board and segments of the instructions) among members of
their groups
Day 8: Students work in groups to create their board game project.
Students will draft a set of instructions for their game and begin creating components.
Bring art supplies: paper / card stock, cardboard, markers / colored pencils, scissors, glue
Students make progress reports to each other on the responsibilities they had assigned and
accepted
Review of useful expressions for playing games in Spanish like your turn one quick round of
the Oca game or something similar as a class
Each group must produce a draft of the instructions for their game by the end of the period
(instructions must use se instead of personal pronouns)
Students begin work on components of the game board write text and prepare art
Day 9: Students work in groups to create and assemble their board game
Students will complete game squares or cards and assemble the game.
Bring art supplies: paper / card stock, cardboard, markers / colored pencils, scissors, glue
Students produce a complete game board by the end of the period. If a group does not finish, it
must meet after class to complete it.
Day 10: Prototype test
Students will play a game created by another group of students. The players will write feedback to
inform the creators of areas in the instructions or game board they do not understand, elements they
enjoy, and elements they do not enjoy.
Review of the uses of gustar and similar verbs to express likes and dislikes
Students play game(s)
Students convene with game builders and share feedback
Day 11: Revision and Final Draft
Students will revise their games upon consideration of the feedback received from classmates. Students
will begin to write the package summary.
Students must indicate on a note for their games where they make revisions
Students must complete a final draft by the end of the period
Students begin to write their individual package summaries upon completion of the game
Bring art supplies: paper / card stock, cardboard, markers / colored pencils, scissors, glue

Day 12: Presentations of final project
Students will orally present their games to the entire class in 3 minutes per group. They will then
choose to play another groups game or finish writing their package summaries.