Submitted by Kara Scheid

Objectives:

Content:
Students will...

• demonstrate their understanding of bee, ant, and butterfly habitats through a written description.
  

Cultural:

Language: Content Obligatory
Students will...

·         accurately use the learned vocabulary to describe the habitat

·         use the appropriate form of verbs in present tense according to the subject to describe how animals prepare their habitats with phrases such as “las mariposas viven…” “la abeja tiene…” “las hormigas hacen…”

·         demonstrate their ability to use location phrases (i.e. está arriba de, está al lado de) to describe different areas of the selected habitat.

·         use the impersonal verb “hay” (there is/there are) to describe the things that can be found in a certain habitat with phrases such as “Hay mucha tierra… hay árboles altos…”

 

Language: Content Compatible
Student will...

·         demonstrate their understanding of the language used in reference to the technology tools used in PowerPoint (Usa el lápiz para dibujar la colmena.  Seleccione la parte que quiere colorear, haga clic en el cubo de pintura y elige el color que quiere.)

·         use the modal auxiliary “puedes” and verbs in present tense to give suggestions with phrases such as “Puedes escribir de dónde ponen los huevos” “Puedes decir…” (You can write about… You can say…)

·         use accents correctly

·         Use the verbs “lleva, se escribe” (it is written with, it takes) to indicate language corrections that need to be made to a classmate’s work with phrases such as “Lleva tilde”, “se escribe con mayúscula.”

·         use simple present verbs to indicate what punctuation, accents or parts of the sentence are missing in a classmate’s text with phrases such as “Falta el/la …” “No está el/la…” (The… is missing, There is no …)

·         use simple present questions to verify that the information on the habitat is correct with questions such as “¿Es cierto que…?” “¿Esto es correcto?

 

Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will…

·         use technological tools in Power Point to replicate an insect habitat

·         demonstrate the ability to cut and paste images on a PowerPoint slide.

·         demonstrate the ability to use correct key combinations when typing to add appropriate accents and other necessary characters.

·         cooperate with a classmate to check each other’s work.

·         use images to brainstorm about the characteristics of habitats.

·         use an illustration to demonstrate their knowledge about habitats.

 

Time Frame:

In the computer lab: 2 - 45 min. lab sessions

Materials Needed:

·         Computers with Power Point software

·         Projector

·         Transparencies about the habitats 

Description of Assessment (Performance Project):

It is assumed that the students have already learned about and had experience with bee, ant and butterfly habitats.  This lesson is an application of what the students have learned.  The focus is on using technology to recreate and summarize their understanding of the specific habitat.  The focus is technological applications and correct language usage.

Pre-task: 
To review what students have already learned in science class we will look at an image of each of the three habitats on the projector. Students will be asked to explain the habitats utilizing the obligatory vocabulary.  Emphasis will also be placed on responding in complete and grammatically correct sentences describing the habitat.  (e.g. La reina vive en una cámara del hormiguero or  Las abejas hacen panales en su colmena.)

During-task:  Students will create a slide on an insect habitat.  They will need to select insert from the menu and new slide.  They will then use the pencil button  to draw the insect’s habitat.  To add colors they will need to use the mouse to select the area they wish to color and click on the paint bucket to choose the color.

To add an image of the appropriate insect they will need to open a file that was previously set up.  In this file, there is a variety of graphics of bees, ants, and butterflies.  They will need to select, copy and paste the graphic to their slide.  They may then resize the graphic if necessary. 

Finally they will add a text box using the Insert menu.  (Insert - text box – horizontal).  In the text box they write a description of the habitat using the verbs included in compatible language.  The paragraph should describe what the habitat is and what it contains in at least four sentences.  The students will need to use appropriate key strokes to add necessary accents, tildes, and/or punctuation.
Example: Las hormigas viven en un hormiguero.  El hormiguero normalmente está debajo de la tierra.  El hormiguero tiene muchos túneles.  Hay cámaras para la comida, los huevos, la larva, las obreras y la reina. 

Post-task: 
When the students have finished with their slide they will be paired up with another student to edit.  Their responsibility will be to check to make sure the information on the habitat is correct.  They will then check for appropriate language use, checking that sentences have subject/verb agreement and all of the parts of a sentence (subject, verb, predicate). 

The manner of peer-editing will first need to be modeled:  Me gusta lo que hiciste.  ¿Es cierto que ______________? 

Student partners will use a generated list of structures to suggest change:

• Puedes __________________________.
• Necesitas cambiar__________________.
•  _________ se escribe con ____________.
• ___________ lleva acento/tilde/mayúscula.
• Le falta puntuación.

They will be able to make necessary changes and then save their work.

Assessment:

Students’ work will be assessed using two separate checklists – one for technology and another for science.  They will be assessed for language using a rubric. (See attachments)

References and Resources:

Websites in Spanish on insects:
http://insected.arizona.edu/espanol/info.htm
www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/bugreview_sp/index.html
http://cariari.ucr.ac.cr/~insectos/Grupos/veci.htm

Foss Science Kit

Attachments:

NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)

• Example of Final Product
• Technology/Science Checklists and Language Rubric

Vocabulary - Lesson 2

A Lesson from the CoBaLTT Project
/cobaltt
Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition
University of Minnesota