Lesson Plan Sample Spanish I Present Progressive

Audience:
Class of Level 1 language learners
University setting
22 students of mixed gender and same L1
Speaking/Listening/Reading/Writing class
Lesson to be taught in the tenth week of the semester
The lesson takes place in one 50-minute class
Lesson Date: 10/26/2015
Background:
The students are already familiar with the conjugations of the verb estar (to be), its
uses to express location, emotion, and condition. The class has just learned using
estar with conditions and emotions, such as La puerta est abierta (The door is
open) and Estoy contenta (Im happy). This particular lesson will introduce the
present progressive tense using estar + present participles (gerunds) to express the
English equivalent of to be + ing (i.e. I am walking). As homework from the
previous class, students should have read p. 126-127 of the 4 th edition of Aventuras
explaining the present progressive prior to coming to todays class. This lesson is
from Chapter 5 on the Aventuras textbook.
Course objectives:
General objectives of the course
Lesson objectives:
SWBAT use the present progressive tense (grammatical)
SWBAT use vocabulary related to vacations (vocabulary-related)
SWBAT discuss what they or someone else is doing right now (taskbased/functional)
SWBAT differentiate between using the present progressive in English and
Spanish (grammatical/non-language)
Materials:
Worksheet 5.1: Estar with conditions and emotions p.96
Aventuras 4th edition textbook (p. 126-127)
Present Progressive PowerPoint
Computer and doc-cam
Dry erase markers/eraser/whiteboard

Overview of Procedure:

Intro
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Review estar with conditions and emotions

Introduce the present progressive tense
Exercises dealing with using the present progressive and vacation vocabulary
Wrap-up

Detailed Procedure:
Warm-up (review)
10:10-10:15 Welcome students to class and ask if there were any questions
regarding homework reading from previous night. Explain to class objectives for the
period: reviewing estar with conditions and emotions and proceeding to the present
progressive tense.
10:15-10:22 Review estar with conditions and emotions. Start by asking questions
to the class about physical conditions of the classroom and how they are feeling
today (i.e. Est abierta la puerta? Est limpia la sala? Ests feliz hoy?
Estn ocupados hoy? etc.) Then complete Worksheet 5.1: Estar with conditions
and emotions p. 96. Teacher will display on doc-cam and will nominate students to
complete the activity.
New material
10:22-10:30 Explain to the class that the verb estar in Spanish has many different
uses and transition to using estar with the present progressive. Using the Present
Progressive PowerPoint, explain to the class how/when to use this tense in Spanish
vs. when it is used in English (non-language/grammar objective). Also explain
how to form the present progressive using estar + present participle of the action
verb.
10:30-10:40 Using the doc-cam, the teacher will display the Manos a la obra
Activity on p. 127 of the 4th edition Aventuras textbook and explain the directions
and objectives for this activity and also model an example using the target
language. Students will then come up to the board and write sentences using the
present progressive tense. (Grammar objective)
Model: Student A will see: Nosotros/practicar deportes
Student A will write on board: Nosotros estamos practicando deportes.
Students will need to correctly conjugate the verb estar as well as provide the
correct present participle of the action verb, in the model above this would be
practicar. Once the activity is complete, if any mistakes were made, the teacher will
ask the class to observe the sentences written by their classmates and ask if they
all agree. The goal here is that the students themselves will catch errors with verb
conjugations and will suggest remedies for correcting the sentences, thus
reinforcing the grammar points outlined in the PowerPoint. If this does not work out,
the teacher will recast corrections.
10:40-10:50 Using the doc-cam, the teacher will display Activity 3 Describir on p.
127 and explain the directions and objectives for this activity and also model an
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example using the target language. In pairs, students will describe what the people
in the picture are doing using the present progressive and vocabulary from Chapter
5. (Grammar/vocabulary objective)
Model: Student A will ask: Qu est haciendo Jos Luis?
Student B will respond: Jos Luis est nadando [en el mar].
The teacher will monitor the activity and check-in with groups progress throughout
the activity, listening for proper use of vocabulary and answering any questions.
Students will have 7 minutes to complete the activity.
Once activity is complete, the remaining 3 minutes for this segment will be used for
students to share their group responses with the teacher and the class. The
instructor may also use this time for correcting any grammar and vocabulary issues
and answer more questions about the lesson if any arise.
Wrap-up and homework
10:50-11:00 Using the doc cam, check for understanding of grammar by completing
Un amigo preguntn Activity on p.126. The teacher will ask students to imagine
that they are on summer vacation and that a nosy friend is calling them at all hours
to see what they are doing at a particular moment. The students will look at the
clocks in the activity and provide an answer using the present progressive tense.
(Task-based/functional objective)
Model: Student A will see on the clock: 3:30am
Student A will respond: Estoy durmiendo. (I am sleeping)
The teacher will listen for the correct conjugation of the verb estar, as well as the
correct usage of the present participle, in this case changing the verb dormir to its
gerund durmiendo. Ask if there are any questions about todays class. Troubleshoot
if necessary. For homework, the students should read pages 128-129 to prepare for
tomorrows lesson and complete the following practice activities on VHL: Escoger,
Completar, and Estoy...
Anticipated problems and solutions:

This is still a relatively low level of students, so they might have the tendency
to speak to each other in their L1s. Remind them of the vocabulary in the
textbook to use as references in order to maintain output in the L2.
There are some activities that require pairs; if someone is absent, rearrange
the activities so that there can be a group of three, if needed.
The students might finish the small group activities at different rates. Have
back-up activities (or activity extensions) to give to those students who finish
quicker than others. For example, groups that finish early may complete
Activity 4 Qu estn haciendo? on page 127 of the textbook.
If doc-cam and/or computer do not work, instructor will use whiteboard and
markers as back-up.

There might be students who are absent and miss the activities done in class.
Review the activities with the whole class and pay attention in the group
activities to see if some students need private explanations.

Estar with Conditions and Emotions Review

Worksheet p.96

The Present Progressive PowerPoint1

1 PowerPoint is from http://mrsfordfchsspanish.weebly.com/spanish-ii.html and

authored by Mrs. A. Ford, a high school Spanish teacher based in Indiana. I modified
it to fit parameters for SPN 1120 Beginning Spanish I. Explanations originally in
English translated to Spanish by me.
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Activity Manos a la obra p. 127

Activity 3 Describir p. 127

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Activity 2 Un amigo preguntn p. 126

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5.2 The Present Progressive p. 126-127

(This is what the PowerPoint Presentation is
covering)
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