Hannah Stinson

2/25/18
Assignment 1: Commenting on Teaching and Learning

I chose the lesson titled “Fruits of America.” This was a Spanish lesson for fourth graders,
focusing on fruits of Latin America.
1. Explain how your instruction engaged students in developing essential knowledge
and/or requisite skills.
A unique part about my lesson is that it was taught entirely in Spanish. From the beginning to
the end, the students were immersed completely in the language. My instruction began with a
five minute mini lesson, defining the fruits by connecting the written vocabulary, representative
pictures, and my own voice pronouncing the words. Using all these forms of media at once
engaged students differently based on their learning style, and increased familiarity with the
concept in reading, listening and speaking. They were given a chance to identify the fruits they
could remember before moving on to the hands-on portion of the lesson. The students were
exposed to fruits they were already familiar with, such as fresas (strawberries) and bananas, but
some of the fruits were new to them. Thus, they were engaged by the familiar experience of
seeing and eating strawberries and enticed by the exotic unfamiliarity of the starfruit. Even if the
students did not understand what was going on at every moment, they were engaged the whole
time. One little boy’s hand shot up before a question had been asked. The next activity catered
more toward students who preferred tactile learning. They used their sense of touch to determine
which fruits were in the mystery bags, and used writing and speaking to record and review the
answers. Tactile learners benefitted because they were able to connect the word with the feel of
the fruit on their fingers, strengthening the memory significantly. The fruit salad activity at the
end utilized all five senses and many learning styles, and the students were deeply engrossed in
the activity.
2. Describe how, if at all, the instruction draws upon students‟ prior academic
learning and personal, cultural, and community assets with new learning.
The students clearly already had background knowledge in this subject area. They knew
certain words and phrases that made the lesson go smoother, such as key greetings and
responses, basic colors, and certain questions that indicated what was being asked of them (for
example, “Qué es ______?”) As I enter the classroom, I say “Hola clase, como estan?” and the
students know to answer “bien.” As the lesson proceeds, it is clear that the students have enough
basic knowledge to make the lesson run smoothly. I use some words know I have not taught
previously. Even though they are not necessarily part of the lesson’s official vocabulary, I deal
with these words by pausing after saying them in context and asking if anyone can guess what
the word means. By a combination of context clues and my hand motions, as student was
eventually able to offer that “pelicula” meant “slideshow.” In this case, the students drew from
context clues of what was being discussed, as well as their experience with hand gestures I was
showing. This kept them caught up for the time being, and some students were sure to remember.
Prior knowledge of Spanish phrases are not the only assets these fourth graders bring to the
lesson. Another personal asset of many of the students is their adeptness at taking cues from
tone, body language, facial expressions, and visual stimulus. If I am pointing to the picture of
oranges on the screen and speaking in a questioning tone, even if the students don’t know the
words I am saying, they can deduce the meaning of my question and connect that to the words,
thus making a learning connection. Some of the fruits taught in the lesson, such as apples,
bananas, and strawberries, were already familiar to the students. Others, such as star fruit and
pomegranate (granada) were completely new to the students. They had no personal experience,
and no English language experience with these fruits. For this reason, it was important for me to
allow the students to taste and touch the fruits, as well as evaluate whether they liked them, so
they would construct this knowledge through concrete experience with the new vocabulary.
3. Explain how you elicited student responses and provided feedback to promote
critical thinking and use requisite knowledge and/or skills to comprehend or
complete a task.
Since the lesson was conducted entirely in Spanish, I had to choose my questions wisely and
make sure enough context clues were provided. Context clues included visual cues, tone, body
language, and accessible vocab. For example, after the mystery bag activity, I asked, “Cual fruta
esta en bolso numero uno?” (Which fruit is in bag number one?) The students had just completed
the activity writing down what fruits they thought were in the bag, so they could assume that we
were reviewing these answers. Volunteers answered aloud in Spanish, and I provided immediate
feedback. If the answer was incorrect, I said “No,” and repeated the question. When they said the
correct answer, I repeated the answer to correct any improper pronunciation, and added an
“excelente,” to reinforce their correct response. For example, a girl pronounced pomegranate
“grAnada,” with the accent on the first ‘a.’ My correction came with a praise, when I said “Si,
granAda, muy bien.”In the geography portion of the lesson, students had to first remember the
new vocabulary, then comprehend what was being asked, then apply previous background
knowledge to synthesize which fruits grew in which countries of the world. Most of the students
answered in English, locating growing regions on the map at the front of the classroom by saying
“Riiight here.” I did not correct them or make them speak in Spanish, because their responses
showed that they were functioning at a high level of understanding, but I provided feedback in
Spanish, either gently correcting or reinforcing their answer.
4. Explain how you supported students‟ application of content area knowledge,
vocabulary, and skills in a meaningful way.
I made sure to provide an activity that catered to every learning preference and many
different multiple intelligences. Visual and audio learners benefitted from the introductory
multimedia activity, while tactile learners connected to the mystery bags. Children with strong
spatial intelligence shone during the geography portion of the lesson. Applying the detached
concept of fruit types to their real life growing regions helped the students place these fruits into
their concept of the world. The greatest application came in when the students were able to taste
test the unfamiliar fruits, and build their own fruit salad. Every child was able to participate in
the preparation of the salad, giving meaning to each fruit in the form of an action that led to a
product. When each child took his or her turn, they said their action aloud: “Pongo las uvas en el
bol,” or “corto la banana.” They could now use the vocab in complete sentences in a very useful
applied setting.
To make the lesson as meaningful as possible, I like to allow my students to express
themselves using the language. I had already allowed them to interact with the vocab though
seeing, touching, smelling, tasting, and hearing. Because of this, they could base their evaluation
of food on true familiarity. I prompted students to say whether they liked or dislike the fruit they
had tasted. After I passed around the Pomegranate, a new experience for most of the students, I
asked, “te gusta la Granada? Decimos: me gusta, o no me gusta.” The students were able to reply
in Spanish with emotional emphasis, since they had strong reactions to the flavor of the fruit.
This demonstrated that the students had mastered the use of that part of language. One girl who
enjoyed the pomegranate said, “me gusta,” and repeated herself for emphasis, with eyebrows
raised.