Unit Title: Weather and seasons

Grade level: 8th Grade

Length of unit: 2 weeks or 10 days
Stage 1 Desired Results
Meaning
Enduring Understandings/Generalizations:

Essential Questions:

Comprehensible input is necessary when learning

a language
Language learning involves taking risks and
learning from ones mistakes.
A second language facilitates the acquisition of
information about the world outside our
experiences
By learning another language one can better
understand how the native language works.
Knowledge and understanding of Spanish
language and culture allows them to participate in
Spanish speaking communities at home and
around the world.

What are key verbs and vocabulary needed to

communicate in Spanish speaking communities about
every day topics?
How do we best acquire language?
How does learning a second language broaden our
knowledge base of world issues?
Which strategies for learning a world language
support learning in other content areas?
What insights about the structure of the native
language does learning a world language provide?
(Why do they say or write it that way? Why cant they
say or write it our way?)
What evidence do we see that language and meaning
do not transfer directly from one language to
another?

Knowledge & Skills Acquisition

Learning Goals: (e.g., Iowa/Common Core standards.)
-Standard 1.1 Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain info., express feelings and emotions and
exchange options.
-Standard 1.3 Students present info., concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of
topics.
-Standard 4.1 Students demonstrate understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of the

language studied and their own

-Standard 2.1 Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and
perspectives of the culture studied.
-Standard 21.6 8.ES.1 Communicate and work productively with others, considering different perspectives,
and cultural views to increase the quality of work.
Students will know

Students will be able to

Vocabulary words needed to discuss

weather and seasons
-lluvia, nieve, viento, calor, frio, neblinoso,
nubes, fresca, nublado, primavera, verano,
otoo, invierno, que tiempo hace, grados
Vocabulary related to clothing needed
for different climates
-abrigo, guantes, gorro, botas, paraguas,
chamarra, suter, pantalones, sobretodo
Verb structure of phrases in Spanish
describing weather
-Qu tiempo hace hoy?

Describe daily weather report about where they

are verbally and in writing

Comprehend conversations about weather and
seasons. They will be able to answer questions
about daily weather and ask others what the
weather is like on a daily basis.
Present and record a forecast (at least 2 min.)
as a group (to a camera) describing weather in
a specific Spanish speaking region and create
an illustration about the weather forecast.

Resources/Materials: Textbook, newscasts via internet to listen to, poster paper and
markers to create illustrations of weather, camera to record newscasts they will
create, iPads and wifi
Stage 2 Evidence (Assessment)
Types of assessment: Selected-Response (tests, quizzes); Personal Communication
(interview, oral exam, discussion); Written Response (short constructed response questions,
entrance/exit slips, essays); Performance Assessment (role-play, Simulation, labs,
dramatization)

Diagnostic Assessment:

How will you integrate diagnostic assessment or assess student prior knowledge in this unit?
-I will use a web or concept map and ask students to write as many words as they can that have to do
with weather or seasons in Spanish. I will also give them a matching worksheet with different weather and
seasonal vocabulary to see how they do. These two assessments will tell me a lot about where students
are with this unit topic. These will be distributed and completed the first day of the unit. I will repeat this
assessment at the end of the unit to so students can see their own progress as well as me.

What types of diagnostic strategies will you use (pre-test, KWLs, concept-maps, Thinking Maps, etc.)?
-Web map to write down as many words as they can think of in Spanish about weather and seasons and a
matching worksheet to see if that prompts any more vocabulary after the web map.

What will you do if a student(s) has demonstrated mastery of the knowledge or skills you plan to teach?
-I need to first assess all their skills to know if their reading, writing, and speaking skills all exceed the
levels of other students. Depending on what level they are at in each skill, I would modify the
assignments, focusing on their weaker areas. Also, their assessments would look different from other
students. I would expect more from them and let them know this prior to each assessment. I would talk to
the student about how they feel about completing work that looks a bit different from other students. We
could touch base often to make sure they are feeling challenged and what more we could offer.
I will still include them in group work so they have time to work with other students, but ultimately, I need
them to work on something that is challenging for them. Silent, sustained reading is always an option, as
long as it is a book at their level and of interest to them.o I can have them read a book at their level and
then have them answer comprehension questions about the book and ask them to answer essay
questions about the material.

Formative Assessment (Assessment for Learning):

How will you make sure that students are learning your goals/objectives/enduring understandings
throughout the unit?
-TPR is an assessment. TPR is using commands to teach and assess. It involves modeling an action and
then asking students to repeat, rehearse and then perform the tasks themselves. This involves planning
each word you say, making sure you are using tenses and vocabulary your students will be able to
understand and then rehearse it. It involves using the same vocab. as many ways possible so that
students are acquiring the language.
-Online quizzes on Kahoot
-Students will create two projects (one writing and one speaking) so that I can assess those skills.
-Ask students to work in small groups to assess 21st century skills
-I will give students worksheets for practice and also to prepare for the exam
-Ask students what they feel worked for them (strategies or methods) to learn the material

How will you use assessment to help scaffold student learning in this unit?
I will use the formative assessments to assign groups of varied abilities or levels. If students are
struggling in certain areas, I will revisit those topics and use another approach. Perhaps students need
more exposure or just another approach. If all students are struggling, then I need to ask myself what I
can do differently to help students learn. I can look at the items below:
-Students affective filters may be high and I may not be intentionally working on lowering those each
day. If I am already, I need to try something else. I need to do what I can to make students feel
comfortable and safe in my room so that they will allow language to be acquired.
-I need to self-reflect on my own lessons to see if I am missing something if there is a common theme
among students and their needs.

Summative Assessment (Assessment of Learning):

How will you summatively assess student learning in this unit (end-of-unit test, essay, interview,
performance assessment)?
I will assess students listening comprehension, speaking skills, and vocabulary about weather that we
learned.
I will first read a short paragraph with some info. about weather. Paragraph will be about 2 people talking
on the phone that live in 2 different countries. Students will have written questions on a piece of paper
they will need to answer about the story. I will read slowly and re-read it to them as time permits.
Questions will be in English. If its a written answer, they may write in English or Spanish.
Secondly, I will individually ask students to describe the weather in pictures I have. I will show each
student 3 photos and I will have over 20 of them (so no one gets same ones). I will ask each student,
Que tiempo hace en este foto? They must say use hacer in the sentence correctly. I am looking to see
if they have the correct pattern and also vocab. They will get one point for correct pattern usage and one
point for correct vocab. used in the sentence. If they give me more than that, I will mark it down as extra
points, but I am just looking for one vocab. word in each sentence.

Will you have multiple assessments (one for knowledge and one for skills)?

What knowledge or skills will you target in your summative assessment(s)?

Listening comprehension, writing and speaking skills. I will be focusing on if these skills are improving
with time and building on each other as language should. I dont want to just focus on certain vocab each
unit and not build on the language we have already learned. I will always incorporate past vocab. we have
learned and continue to build their Spanish language skills.

Stage 3 Learning Plan