Curriculum Map for Justice-Oriented Teaching

Unit Title: Spanish Across Borders

Social Justice Goals/Rationale:

Discipline: Spanish

Grade: 11/12

Throughout my curriculum and in the context of teaching a unit of Spanish Across Borders to my
11th and 12th grade Spanish class, I plan to teach my students the importance of embracing
multiculturalism in a bilateral way thatll promote self-esteem amongst students. The purpose of
this unit is to engage students into a more culturally experienced way of learning Spanish through
real life conversation online (pen pal virtually) rather than reading conversations given in
textbooks. It is important to teach this context because it will stimulate the students to be
culturally sensitive as well as learning and embracing another cultural they may not know or know
very little about. Students will have to research a country of their choosing (Spanish-speaking) in
Latin America. Students will study the Spanish dialect used in terms of being able to identify the
accent in which Spanish is spoken in the country.
Stage 1 Desired Results
Relevant Standard(s):
ILLINOIS FOREIGN LANGUAGE STAGE FOUR ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE:
28.A.4 Comprehend details of oral and audio presentations unsupported by visual aids.
28.B.4a Engage in extended conversations in a variety of situations.
28.B.4b Express differences of meaning using proper pronunciation, intonation and
inflection.
28.C.4c Compare the target language with one or more languages in terms of vocabulary,
word use, phrase and sentence structure and complete text structures.
Understanding(s):
Students will understand that:

Learning Spanish in a non-traditional way to

explore more in depth the diverse society and its
culture is important.
By embracing different variances of Spanish we
bring a sense of respect to each other in the class
and in our everyday lives.
Learning Spanish is more than just learning the
language, but getting to know the culture and its
history to better understand the language.

Students will know:

Essential Question(s)

How do culture and Spanish

connect across borders?
Why is it important to learn
about different variances of
Spanish? Is it all the same?
How can online pen pal with
someone from another country be
beneficial and why? Why is it
important?

Students will be able to:

The importance of learning the culture of the

Spanish-speaking country.
The importance of being culturally sensitive to
refrain from saying words that have double
meanings in different countries
o

Bicho in Central America means bug, while

bicho in Puerto Rico is a vulgar sexual termto
be culturally sensitive then students will use
insecto(s)

http://youtu.be/m3xAJeU9NIU
Double meaning with words
Exit doesnt translate to xito; xito =
success
Colloquial words (Spanglish)
Parking v. estacionamiento
Aplicacin v. solicitud
Seguro v aseguranza

o
o
o

Identify cultural identity and its

importance and relevance to
Spanish.
Be able to identify similarities
amongst the culture.

Importance of family and

community; why it is important to learn
Spanish if it is the main language spoken at
home; how speaking English makes nonEnglish speakers feel disconnected if English
isnt the main language known or spoken by
parents; etc.
Be able to develop

online pen pals and

perhaps further their
interest in studying
abroad later on in
college if its something
that is interesting to
them.

Stage 2 Assessment Evidence

Formative Assessments

Group challenges.
Reports or notes on research or conversations online.

Summative Assessment (Aligned to Justice-Oriented & Content-Specific EQs)

Students will be given a handout in which they will be responsible to look at a video and
explore www.wespeke.com before coming to class.
Students wilpresent a powerpoint, Tumblr, Google +, or prezi presentation on their research
on the country they chose (the culture, the accent, etc) or about their online conversation
with a native speaker around the world through wespeke.com

Stage 3 Learning Plan

Key readings/resources:
Lesson plan adapted from:
Thompson, G. (2014). Amigos online: connecting with native speaker and beginning level
students. Retrieved from:

http://community.actfl.org/browse/resources/viewdocument/?DocumentKey=e855bd1d-cf01-43818584-55c3c1d1ddba
Online Pen Pal:
Elchik, M. (2010). We Speke. Retrieved from: http://en-us.wespeke.com/
WeSpeke (2014, November 21). What is wespeke? [Video file]. Retrieved from:
http://youtu.be/auXv2TWHnHU
Learning Activities:

Group Challenges:
o Provide a list the day before and have students, in groups of 2 or 3, sign up for a
country and their variance of Spanish.
o Students will look for accent videos online and present their findings to the class.
o After, as a class, students will discuss similarities and findings across borders
We Speke
o Students will engage in an online daily conversations with a virtual pen pal for
about 15 to 20 mins a day
o Take notes about words they arent familiar with or do not understand
o Have questions to ask the native speaker they are taking to.
Project
o Students will present a powerpoint, Tumblr, Google +, or prezi presentation on their
research.
o Research project can be on the country they chose (the culture, the accent, etc) or
about their online conversation with a native speaker around the world through
wespeke.com