Content Standard Based Lesson that includes problem-solving and 21st Century Skills

Subject: World Language. Spanish 10th Grade Spanish: Heritage Spanish Speakers AP
Topic: Immigration and Culture Duration: 90 minutes (2 periods)
Lesson Overview:
The students will learn about the present waves of immigration to the United States, the reasons
behind them, and the difficulties faced by many immigrants. They will read an article named
“Migration.” In the reading, they will analyze some problems that confronted an immigrant
woman when she arrives at the United States. Students will learn to solve problem skillfully by
explicitly setting the problem, generating possible solutions and finally selecting the best
solution. Through the reading, the students will build on their background knowledge, make
connections and will gain cultural awareness. Also, they will extend the scenario to the school
environment and will propose activities to recognize, respect, and accept cultural diversity. At
the end, students will write a proposal to support cultural diversity in the school which will be
presented to students, teachers, and administrators through a Prezi presentation.
Learning Objectives:
The students will be able to:
 Develop problem-solving skills.
 Students will be able to develop their communicative skills by participating in
conversations where they share information and their understanding of what is debated.
 Students will be able to increase their knowledge and awareness of the Hispanic culture.
 The students will be able to enhance their vocabulary knowledge regarding the topic
studied.
 Students will be able to enhance their comprehensions skills by determining the main
idea and supporting details.
World Language Standards:
Cultural Standards:
1.1 Associate products, practices, and perspectives with the target culture.
2.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the roles that products, methods, and attitudes play in the
culture.
Content Standards:
1.1 Students address discreet elements of daily life
Communication Standards:
2.4 Initiate, participate in, and close a conversation; ask and answer questions.
3.1 Engage in oral and written conversations.
4.3 Present to an audience of listeners and readers.
21 st Century Skills
Critical thinking skills and problem-solving
Communication skills:
1. Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal
communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts.
2. Listen effectively to interpret meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes, and
intentions. Use communication for a range of purpose (inform, instruct, motivate and
persuade)
3. Use of multiple media and technology and to know how to assess the impact and
their effectiveness a priory.
4. Communicate effectively in diverse environments (including multilingual and
multicultural)
Integration of other Functional/ Academic Skills:
Reading: Students will be able to read authentic materials.
Writing: Students will be able to apply the Spanish writing conventions to write a
proposal to support cultural diversity in the school.
Connections with other subjects: Social Studies/Geography/Literature
Technology: Prezi presentation
YouTube video
Differentiation
English Native Speakers :
 Marginalia: the students will have access to a list of terms and their definitions in the
margin of the reading
 List of cognates associated with the vocabulary words
 Use of visuals (PowerPoint, pictures for vocabulary), access to electronic dictionaries.

Students with Special Needs:

 Use of graphic organizers.
 The students will be directed to the specific portion of the text that they have to read and
work to avoid being overwhelmed.
 Extended time
 Sentence starters to write the proposal

Low-performance students:
 Students will have extended time to complete the independent activity.
 They will have access to other readings about the same topic, but according to their
independent reading level.
High-performance students:
 The high-performance students will have access to more complex information and
additional online materials.
Materials
 Thinking map and graphic organizer for thinking skill process
 Flashcard game with vocabulary words and its definitions.
 Reading “Migración”
 Poster with the steps to identify the main idea and supporting details

Implementation of Technology:
 Prezi Presentation Main Idea and Supporting Details.
 Website Quizlet.com
 YouTube video : “Los Invisibles” Documental sobre los inmigrantes frontera México -
EE.UU" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9O_KxF0ujY

Instructional Plan
Activating/ Assessing students’ prior knowledge, warm up, and Motivation
1. The teacher will present a YouTube video named “Los Invisibles. Documental sobre
los immigrants Frontera México - EE.UU".
2. The teacher will conduct a discussion regarding the immigration issue in the United
States. Some questions that the teacher will ask to stimulate the debate are:
What do you think immigration means? Do you know any person that has to
immigrate to the United States? Why do you think that some people migrate to the
United States? How are their lives when they arrive?
This activity will motivate the students and allow the teacher to gather pre-assessment data
regarding the topic and vocabulary development of the students related to the topic.
Vocabulary Instruction
Tier 2 Vocabulary: Migración, emigración, inmigración, asimilación, integrarse, cultura,
tradiciones, idioma, costumbres, establecerse, identidad
Tier 3 Vocabulary: Autoctono, folclor.
The teacher will use the strategy of “semantic maps” (Picture 1) to introduce the new
vocabulary. This strategy allows the students to make connections and learn the words based on
the relationship between concepts. This facilitates the students’ processing and recalling of the
information. In this case, the keyword will be culture (culture), and the other related target
words could be “identidad” (identity), “tradición” (tradition), “autóctono,” (autochthone) and
“folclor” (folklore).
1. I will place the word “cultura” (culture) on the board and ask the students to suggest
associated terms with this word. I can read with the students the part of the reading
 where the word is used to help them to make associations and bring ideas about terms
that could be related to this word.
2. The terms the students suggest are written on a list on the board. The teacher will ask
some questions to promote the analysis regarding the possible connections between the
keyword and the terms suggested by the students. Some question examples are: what is
the relationship between the word and culture itself? Why are these two words
connected? What do these two words have in common?
3. The semantic map is constructed based on this analysis. The students complete their
semantic map as they are working with the teacher.
4. The other target words selected by the teacher to include in the semantic map (identidad
(identity), tradicion/(tradition), autoctono/(autochthonous) and folklore/(folklore) are
discussed as well and placed in the semantic map.
The students will use later their semantic map while they read. They will add other words and
categories to their semantic maps as they continue reading.
After finishing this activity, the students will work in small groups rotating by centers practicing
the new words in different contexts: (Deep processing) and (Rehearsal – Spell and Say)
 Center 1: Work K-W-L chart (what students know, want to know, and have learned
about new words. In the end, the students will say and write the meaning of the word.
The students will identify a movement to represent the word.
 Center 2: The students have to complete a fill in the blank activity. This activity will be
corrected as a whole group at the end of the center's rotation.
 Center 3: The students will practice the new words using the website Quizlet.com. In
this website, the students will have the opportunity to play some mnemonic games using
the words and take a quiz at the end. The teacher will use this information to know if it
is necessary to reteach the vocabulary words.

Presenting Problem-solving skill strategy:

The teacher will introduce the content and thinking skills process. I will share with the students
my own experience about immigrating to the United States and discuss with them the immigrant
feelings and challenges they could face when they arrive at their new country. This activity will
motivate the students and stimulate their curiosity by preparing them for the reading selection.
As I am narrating my story, I will be introducing some questions to have the students become
aware of the thinking skill process to resolve problems. I will think aloud and reflect with the
students to stimulate the students’ active thinking. Some questions could be: What was the
principal problem that I had when I arrived at the United States? Why was it a problem? What
were the possible solutions I thought? Was I thinking what it would happen as a result before
trying each possible solution? Why is this step important to effectively solve my problem? What
was the best solution that I found to my problem?
As the teacher is narrating and discussing the story through the questions, she will use the story
as an example to explain the I-FORD problem-solving problem. The teacher will incorporate a
graphic organizer named “Skillful Problem Solving” in a big poster on the board. The graphic
organizer provides students with visual support to guide them through the different steps in the
I-FORD problem-solving process using real-life situation.
The teacher will implement 10:2 strategy and think-pair-share through the lesson to allow time
for students to process and discuss all this information.
Practice Guide Activity
The teacher will introduce the article “Migration” for the students to read. The teacher will read
aloud the article and will work with the students identifying the main idea and critical
supporting details in the story. As the teacher and the students read they will be working
following the I-FORD problem-solving process using a graphic organizer. They will follow the
following sequence in the activity
Step 1: Identify the problem
The students along with the teacher will identify the problems that face the main character in the
story when she arrives at the United States.
Questions students ask: What is the problem(s)? How can I describe the problem(s) in my own
words? What specific elements are involved in the problem? What am I being asked to do?
What am I asked to show? Can I draw a picture or make a graph to understand the problem
better?
Questions Teacher asks: Can you tell me in your own words what the problem is? What are the
missing pieces of information? What information can you safely ignore? What assumptions are
you making about the issue? What are you not defining the problem that you should be?
The story presents numerous problems, so the teacher and students will select just one to work
in this phase of the lesson. The problem chosen is that the main character cannot find a job in
their new country. The teacher will direct the students to the process to find the best solution for
this problem.
Step 2: Find the facts
From the problem selected, the students and teacher begin to collect valuable information related
to it that may be useful to solve the problem.
Questions students ask: What can be causing the problem? Why is the problem happening?
What are the smaller parts of this problem? What information can I gather from the problem?
Are there other problems like this that I can use as a model? Can I make a graph or diagram with
the information I have?
Questions teacher asks: Define the possible causes of the problem. What are the smaller
problems embedded in this problem? Define patterns that you see in this problem. Show me a
graph that you created to help you to define the problem.
The students can use a cause/ effect thinking map.
Step 3: List your options
The teacher conducts brainstorming to list possible solutions or strategies to solve the problem.
Students generate as many ideas as possible avoiding evaluation of ideas until all ideas have
been shared.
Step 4: Rank your options
After several ideas have been generated, students begin to analyze or tests possible solutions.
Students create a list of the pros and cons and additional questions for each option. The students
will collect all this information using a chart named CAI (Consider All the Issues). The chart
help students to consider all options, their plus and minus and what it is interesting about each
option.
The following questions are used to rank strategy options:
Questions students ask: What resources will I need? How much time will the action take? What
will the situation look like when the problem has been solved? What might happen if I
implement this solution? The students will organize the information for this last question using
the “If-Then Mind for Decision Making.”
Questions teacher asks: Can you explain your plan to me? What have you tried so far? Why do
you think that your plan will work? How will you know that you have reached a solution? In
what ways have you checked your progress each step along the way?
Step 5: Make a Solution
In this step, the students will implement the action to solve the problem. As the students
implement the action, they should check for accuracy along the way. They must evaluate what
changed, how it changed, and to what degree they will need to make adjustments.
Questions Students asks: Did I solve the problem? If not, what do I need to do differently? Was
the action I took efficiently and effectively? What did I learn from this problem–solving
activity? Does my answer make sense? Could I have solved this problem another way?
Questions the teacher asks: How have you solved the problem? How effectively and efficiently
was your plan and solution? What have you learned from this experience? In what ways does
your answer make sense? Could you have solved the problem differently?
Independent practice
The teacher will discuss with the students the situation of the woman in the story and how the
fact that she is an immigrant could be conditioning her situation. The teacher will create a
similar scenario in the school: What problems do you think that students from other countries
could have in the school? How can we help them feel more comfortable in school?
The students will work in teams collaboratively to select a problem that an immigrant student
could have in the school and create and action plan to solve that problem.
They will follow the I-FORD problem-solving process strategy learned and practice in class.
They will present their proposal using a Prezi presentation. The students will present their action
plans to students, teachers and administrative staff. Follow up activities.
The rest of the week, the students will be working in their problem-solving activity and creating
their Prezi presentation.
Lesson Reflection

Problem Solving Strategy

Good decisions are necessary to have a productive and successful life. Consequently, it is
essential to develop the students’ thinking skills that allow them to make effective decisions. If
students develop the capacity to identify problems, even before the problem arises, they will be
better equipped to approach a solution proactively. During this lesson, I teach, model, and give
students the opportunity to develop a problem-solving process known as “I-Ford” which guides
students to identify a problem, gather facts, list and rank options and to make a decision.
Definitively, this lesson and the activities proposed will help build in students problem-solving
abilities, so they could be better prepared to make effective decisions.

Students Engagement Strategies

Proper students’ engagement strategies are crucial in the students learning the process. During
this lesson, I implemented diverse strategies to keep the students actively motivated. I presented
a video to introduce the students to the topic, to connect with the students’ experiences and
activate their background knowledge. Also, during each step of the problem-solving strategy,
the students had the opportunity to gain competence in the content before moving to the next
level, which allows the students to feel a sense of accomplishment, a powerful intrinsic
motivator. Also, the students made meaningful connections with the content when they could
work collaboratively to apply their problem-solving skills to a real-life situation in their school
setting during independent practice.

Questioning

I consider this element crucially essential to support advanced cognitive process and develop
metacognitive skills. The questioning strategies implemented in the lesson promoted critical and
creative thinking as well as guided students through the problem-solving process. In this lesson,
through questioning, the students had the opportunity to elaborate and become aware of their
thinking process. From my perspective, this strategy is also a great tool to promote autonomy
and self-regulation since it is through questioning that students can self-monitor their learning
process. Also, questioning keeps students actively involved in the lesson because the
questioning process occurred in more than one direction: teacher-students, students-teacher, and
students-students. The questions were also essential to evaluate students understanding and
provide meaningful feedback.
Use of Technology

Implementing technology is essential to motivate students to develop 21st century skills and
enhance their learning. During the lesson, I incorporated a video to motivate and connect the
students with the topic. Also, I designed an activity where the students had to present the
information to different types of audiences using a Prezi presentation. This activity will develop
in the students’ abilities to communicate with a diverse audience and make an impact on them.

Vocabulary strategies

Teaching vocabulary using the appropriate strategies is very important. Research shows that
applying the rule of three is a useful technique to teach vocabulary because the students
experience multiple exposures to the words. The strategies I selected help students to process the
meaning of the word using multiples contexts. Through TPR, the students have the opportunity
of practicing the pronunciation of the word and connect their meaning with a movement for
easier recall. Also, the students can practice word analysis through a semantic map. With this
strategy, they will be able to learn vocabulary by establishing a relationship between new terms
and those previously encountered. The activities in the center keep students actively engaged
and provide different contexts to practice the words.

Picure 1: Semantic Map

habitual, característico
tradiciones
Música antiguo
Cultura costumbres
folclor
danza

propio

Te identifica
autoctono Te representa

Identidad