Spanish 1.

Four to six week unit plan on introductory Spanish.

Objectives/Unit goals:
Students will memorize the Spanish alphabet as well as have developed a
basic knowledge of correct pronunciation.
Students will be able to carry on a basic conversation with another Spanish
speaker (this includes other students, native speakers, or the teacher)
according to the ACTFL standards. This includes:

Salutation
Introduction
Where they are from
Personal description
Family description

Students will be able to write basic sentences in Spanish according to the

ACTFL standards.
Students will demonstrate the ability to use adjectives to describe their
physical features as well as characteristics of their personality, with a correct
distinction between masculine and feminine. Ex: Yo soy simptico, yo soy
alta, yo soy morena.
Students will write at least one letter to a pen-pal, as well as translate their
own letter from a pen-pal.
Students will comprehend the importance of learning a foreign language as
well as be able to reiterate this importance to the instructor and class.
Students will transfer their knowledge of a foreign language to another area
of their life. This can be through finding a pen-pal, labelling objects of their
house in a foreign language, or by translating their favorite song or part of a
book into a foreign language, etc.
Students will identify different Hispanic countries and their capitals.
Add numbers along to the alphabet.
Standards aligned to ACTFL (World language standards)

Use the target language with culturally appropriate gestures in

everyday social situations such as greeting, leave taking or
introductions 1.1.N.SL.a

Ask and answer basic questions about the weather, health/physical

conditions, self, family and friends 1.1.N.SL.b

Recognize and use appropriate register/honorifics in a limited number

of simple social situations such as greetings, leave-takings and
introductions 1.1.N.SL.c

Request, offer, invite, and reply appropriately using memorized

phrases 1.1.N.SL.d

Use the target language with culturally appropriate gestures to greet

one another and engage in conversations about everyday topics such
as school and community events and activities 1.1.M.SL.a

Essential questions:
What is the value of learning a foreign language?
Why would someone begin learning a foreign language with greetings and
everyday phrases?
How can I keep the conversation going?
How does my experience learning this language compare with learning my
primary language?
Is every language taught in the same way?
Learning experiences:
Develop a dialogue between two people of different groups greeting each
other (employer/employee, parent/child, student/teacher, etc.).
Students will write at least one letter to a pen-pal, as well as translate their
own letter from a pen-pal. This will help students connect the relevance of
learning a foreign language to their daily lives.
Assessment:
Student will demonstrate their proficiency in an oral dialogue with the
teacher (based on ACTFL standards).
Students will each create a brief childs book or a set of flash cards and
submit it to other Spanish students in the elementary level. This will be done
through collaboration with other students through brainstorming and proofreading activities, although each student must submit their own book or set
of flash cards. (assuming this is a middle school or high school class).

Students will write a one-page paper describing the benefits of learning a

foreign language.
Ideas for lesson plans:
Have students create a family tree labelling in Spanish.
Have students create a self-portrait, labelling their features in Spanish, then
write a small bio description in Spanish as well.