The following unit plan was designed
by Robbin Landis, a Spanish teacher in the Lynchburg Public School system.
This plan incorporates a number of the instructional models including Synectics,
Concept Development, Inquiry, Vocabulary Acquisition, and a
Memory Model, together with
activities, evaluations and discussions related to the topic.
Day 1---Introduction of
Unit
Lesson
Title: What is a civilization?
Objectives:
1. The student will
develop a working definition of the word “civilization.”
2. The student will
be able to generate vocabulary with the same root as “civilization.”
3. The student will
be able to generate vocabulary related to “civilization.”
Method of instruction: Vocabulary Acquisition
Rationale for method: In
order for students to begin thinking about the vast influence that the
Aztec empire has had on modern Mexican society, they must first understand
the concept of civilization. Civilization is not a random grouping of
people living isolated lives but a body of people coexisting for the
common welfare of all. One of the most common fallacies to overcome when
studying pre-Columbian people is the myth that they were all savage people
with no societal governing structure. It is the same fallacy the
Spaniards brought with them to Mesoamerica. By utilization of the
vocabulary acquisition model as the anticipatory set for the unit,
students can begin to understand what constitutes “civilization” and can
learn about the Aztecs in a new light as a highly developed nation of
people. Moreover, they can build on their prior knowledge of the target
word through guided practice which actively involves them in discussion,
brainstorming, and application of information learned.
Procedure:
Students will be asked to spell the word
“civilization.” Then, they will be asked to tell what they think is the
definition of the word. Discussion will be held to take a consensus of
the best definition from the class. A vocabulary template (such as the
one in the following diagram) will be placed on the overhead projector.
This template will show the word correctly spelled, contain the dictionary
definition of the word, and show its language of origin. Next, the
students will be asked to brainstorm words that are related to
“civilization” by having the same root. A dictionary check will be done
to ensure that the words on the list are indeed from the same root as the
target word. Once this step is completed, a list of synonyms to
“civilization” will be generated. Again, a dictionary check will be made
to validate this list. Finally, each student will be asked to write a
definition of the target word based on all that has been discussed
pertaining to it. Students will be asked to share their definitions, the
definitions volunteered will be written on the board by the students, and
the best one will be selected to write in the Sentence portion of
the template as the working definition for the class.
Evaluation:
To determine student understanding of the
lesson, all written definitions will be collected and read for evaluation
of the learning process.
Day 2
Lesson Title: What do you know?
Objectives:
1.
The student will use prior knowledge to generate a list of terms
related to the Aztec culture.
2.
The student will form strands of related data through
categorization and renaming of these individual terms.
3.
The student will begin to take isolated aspects of Aztec society
and view them in a global perspective.
Method of instruction:
Concept Development
Rationale:
Concept development is an excellent way to
gage the learners’ prior knowledge of a subject and build on that
knowledge to form a solid base of instruction. Students can begin with
what they know, which boosts confidence, and apply it to new information
in a way that actively engages their minds and fosters group discussion in
a non-threatening environment. Since all ideas or answers are validated
from the beginning of this method of instruction, all learners can make
contributions without reservation. Therefore, all students-regardless of
ability or learning level-can participate.
Procedure:
Step 1 - Students are
asked to list any terms that come to mind when the word “Aztecs” is
mentioned. Columns are named A, B, C, D, and E on the board (for
reference purposes only) and the terms are written randomly in the
columns. When the students have exhausted their list of terms, it is
time to move to the second step
Example:
A B
C D E
Food canoes clothing
huts temples
Corn fish feathers
sacrifices market
Walking palace gold
warriors aviaries
Step 2
- Have
students begin the grouping process by asking them if any terms on the
board seem to belong together. As students group terms, place a number
beside each word belonging to a specific group (i.e. place a 1 beside each
word in the first group, a 2 beside each group in the second group,
etc.). After each grouping, have the student explain his/her rationale
for putting those particular terms together. Then, ask the student to
give a name to that group and write the name on the board
Example:
Daily Life Transportation
Religion Ruler
huts walking
temples feathers
clothing canoes
sacrifices gold
food palace
Step 3 - Get the students
into small work units of two or three people, give each work unit some
blank art paper, and assign to the unit at least two of the groups named
on the board. Tell students to write the original group lists from the
board and make any adjustments at this time, such as deleting some terms
and/or adding new ones. Next, ask the students to label their assigned
board groups with new names. When the renaming is completed, have the
students tape their papers to the board and read them to the class. Ask
them to explain their rationale for the editing and renaming they have
done.
Example:
Daily Life + Transportation = “Everybody’s
Workin’ for the Weekend”
Religion + Ruler = “Who Do They Think He
Is?”
Step 4 - Get the
students to reanalyze the data by asking them if now there are any
renamed groups that can be placed together. Have them assign new
names to these new groups. Write the new names on the board. Once again,
as students go through this process, ask them how they arrived at their
decisions.
Example:
“Everybody’s Workin’ for the Weekend” +
“Who Do They Think He Is?”= “Our Town”
Step 5 - Now students are
ready to summarize all the data they have listed into a generalized
statement about the Aztec culture. Ask them to individually write a
one-sentence summary about the Aztecs using all the final group names
listed on the board. Ask for students to volunteer their sentences, list
them on the board, and take a class vote as to which one they prefer to
use as the summary of the lesson.
Example:
The Aztecs were a
highly organized group of people who built a magnificent city in the
Valley of Mexico complete with farmland, a canal system, fortifications,
temples, commercial zone, and a great palace for their ruler.
Evaluation: (Step 6) Evaluation of each step of this model of
instruction is done by moving around the room and observing student
progress. Each student will hand in his/her summary sentence on the
Aztecs so that the learner’s understanding of the learning can be
assessed.
Day 3
Lesson Title:
“That’s a fact!”
Objectives:
1. The student will
utilize various media to research data on the Aztec empire.
2. The student will
become an expert source on a given topic of Aztec culture and
teach that
topic to other students
3. The student will
learn other topics of Aztec culture from student experts in those areas.
Method of Instruction: Jigsaw
Rationale:
To ensure effective research of the Aztec
culture, it is best to divide such a large body of information into
subtopics that are assigned to the class.. In this way, the focus of the
research is narrowed to a ‘doable” task that is not overwhelming to any
individual student. Moreover, the research is reinforced when students
later convene in a group of classmates sharing the same topic. By
discussing what they all found on the same research topic and comparing
notes, they can analyze their data for relevance and accuracy. The
motivation for being thorough is built into this model of instruction, as
the students know they will eventually teach what they have learned to
others and, in turn, be taught by others. When a student becomes the
teacher, he/she must take ownership of the knowledge being imparted.
Therein lies the strength of Jigsaw.
Procedure: Students count off by threes. Each student
receives a research questionnaire to answer in the library based on what
expert group number he/she was given. The explanation is given that each
student must work independently in the library during the research phase (to
keep all students actively involved during that time). Students go to the
library for the entire class period and utilize all available media sources
for data. The teacher collects all questionnaires at the end of the period
and will redistribute them the next day at the beginning of class.
Research topics:
1.
2.
3.
Evaluation:
The teacher moves around the library
assisting students with their research and ensuring they are on task.
Research questionnaires are collected at the end of the period to assess
student progress in their research.
Day 4
Lesson Title:
“That’s a fact!”
(Research resumes in the library. Same
objectives, method of instruction, rationale, procedure, and evaluation as
Day 3.)
Day
5
Lesson Title:
“That’s a fact!”
(Research completed with same objectives,
rationale, and method of instruction as Days 3 and 4.)
Procedure:
Give back each
student’s research questionnaire (collected
the
previous two days to
assess progress). Ask students if there are any questions before moving to
phase two of the lesson. After answering questions etc., explain the next
phase of the research project. In this portion of
Jigsaw, the students
are asked to get into their expert groups (i.e. all the ones form a group,
all the twos form a group, etc.). Once in these groups, they are to compare
and analyze data found on their topic. This is the point where additions,
deletions, and corrections are made by each student to ensure that the
information to be taught is accurate. Much discussion will ensue and the
teacher becomes the facilitator for all three groups, keeping them focused
and interactive. At the end of the session, recollect all questionnaires.
Evaluation:
Assess student progress
by moving around the room and observing the activity of each group to ensure
participation by all students. Collect questionnaires to check student
progress in the editing process of the expert group phase of Jigsaw.
Day 6
Lesson Title: “It’s
in the mix!”
(Final day of research project and objectives,
method of instruction, and rationale are the same as Days 3, 4, and 5.)
Procedure:
Pass out an appointment sheet to each
student which contains a clock with the hours one, two, and three marked
on it. Have students make an appointment with each of the two other
students whose Aztec topic information they need to receive. Once
students have their appointments lined up, have them get in their mixed
groups for the final phase of Jigsaw. Each study unit of students should
contain at least one person from group 1, a person from group 2, and a
person from group 3. Starting with the group 1 expert-and going
clockwise-each student should share his/her research questionnaire with
the other students. Allow time for discussion and completion of all three
topics. While the students are still seated in their mixed groups, hand
out a questionnaire to each student that compiles the information from all
three subtopics. Have students work together in their mixed groups to
complete the questionnaire. Collect all papers when they have been
filled out.
Evaluation:
The teacher walks around the room noting
the progress of each group in the teaching phase of Jigsaw. The final
questionnaire is collected to assess the progress of each student and to
check the accuracy of the answers before the quiz is given on Day 10.
Day 7
Show video
- Secrets of the Aztec
Empire-Ancient Mysteries (A&E)
(If time permits after the video, the Peg Method
can be introduced at this point. If there is not enough time to utilize
it right after the film, it can be done the next day as a review.)
Day 8
Lesson Title:
West meets
West.
Objectives:
1. The student
will understand the key people involved in the fall of the Aztec empire.
2. The student
will understand the causes and effects that led to the fall of Aztec
empire.
Methods of instruction:
Peg
Method and Cause and Effect
Rationale:
The Peg Method is an
excellent way to help students commit a short list of terms to memory.
This mnemonic device is easy to use because of its rhyme scheme-like that
used in song lyrics. Therefore, it is very effective with students, who
demonstrate a great propensity for memorization of lyrics.
The Cause and Effect
method/model is a great way to encourage students to use critical thinking
skills, as this method asks them to dig beneath the surface of an event or
conflict and find the causes of that conflict and how they affected the
people involved. This model is particularly effective in the curriculum
areas of social studies, language arts, dramatic arts, and foreign
language.
Procedure:
As a review of the
video from Day 7, introduce the students to the Peg Method to help them
remember the key people involved in the ultimate fall of the Aztec
empire. Give them the following example, then let them practice making a
rhyme scheme of their own (which they can also use in other classes as a
mnemonic device):
Example:
1 = bun
Malinche (Cortes’ Indian interpreter) with her hair in a bun
2 = shoe the
Spanish king wearing golden shoes
3 = bee
Montezuma with a bee in his “bonnet”/headdress
4 = door Cortes
entering the open door of the Aztec palace
5 = hive the
Aztec people busy as bees in a hive
6 = sticks the
Tlaxcalan nation rising up against the Aztecs with sticks to help Cortes
7 = heaven the
Spanish priests who were Catholics and told the Aztecs about heaven
Throughout the course
of the lesson make periodic checks by asking “Who is 1 ? ”, “Who is 2 ?”,
etc. to get the students accustomed to using this memory method and to
help them remember the key people in this historic event.
Next, begin the
Cause and Effect
model to
review the conflict between two cultures presented in the video from the
previous day. Ask the students to identify the main conflict in the
video. (The conflict is the clash between western European culture and
the Aztec culture). Explain/discuss that, as Spain pushed its influence
to the western hemisphere, the conquistadors encountered many indigenous
people. The thirst for wealth and desire to lay claim to the land for the
Spanish monarchy became the catalysts which led to the hastened decline of
the Aztec nation. On the board, set up columns and have the students
begin naming causes and support for those causes. Write the causes named
by the students in the Cause column. Next, ask students to name the
effects and give support for those effects. Write the named effects on
the board in the Effects column. Be sure to elicit as many causes and
effects as possible from the students.
Then, ask the
students for prior causes to the conflict. Write the responses under the
Prior Causes column on the board. Ask them to support their responses.
Under the last column, Subsequent Effects, have students name other
effects brought about by the clash between the two cultures. Once again,
get students to support the responses they make. Periodically direct
students’ attention to all the columns and ask them questions that
direct their thinking as to how the columns relate to each
other/interconnect. By doing so, students will be able to take seemingly
isolated occurrences and put them into a global perspective of the
historical event. Again, this model promotes critical thinking skills and
active learning.
Example:
Prior Causes Causes
Effects
Subsequent Effects
Many Spaniards
were not rich
greed stole from the Aztecs Aztecs were killed
Now ask the students
to make inferences about the behavior of the people involved in this
event. Place a Conclusions column on the board and list the students’
responses. After each response, ask for support for that statement.
Example:
Conclusion: Since
many Spaniards were not men of great means, they sought to seek their
fortunes in the New World and, when confronted with the vast wealth of the
Aztecs, became consumed with greed.
Finally, ask
the students to make generalizations/inferences about how people often
behave in situations similar to that of the Spaniards and the Aztecs.
These can be listed on the board under the heading Generalizations.
Example:
Generalization: When
people become consumed by greed, they often do excessive things to gain
wealth regardless of the effect on other people in their lives-such as
gambling away the money in their savings account, etc.
Evaluation: It is important to
get feedback from the students. Therefore, elicit as many responses from
as many students as possible in order to gage their progress. To evaluate
whether or not the students remember the key people discussed in the
lesson, use the Peg Method as a quiz at the end. Give them the numbers
(i.e. 1=, 2=, etc.) and have them fill in the rest with the correct name
beside the appropriate/corresponding number.
Example:
1 = Malinche
(Cortes’ Indian interpreter) with her hair in a
bun
Day 9
Lesson Title:
What’s a guy to do?
Objectives:
1. The student
will gain a deeper understanding of the events that led to Montezuma’s
welcoming the Spaniards into his capital city.
2. The student
will use critical thinking skills to try and solve one of the great
mysteries
in history.
Method of
instruction: The Suchman Inquiry
Model
Rationale: The Inquiry model provides the “hook” to get students interested in the
lesson. That hook is the mystery to be solved. Students love presenting
theories as to how things happened the way they did-especially when events
are surrounded in controversy or have no definitive explanation.
Utilizing the learner’s innate curiosity and penchant for working in
groups, the teacher can guide the lesson in a format that is much like a
game. This format is especially interesting to students, as it taps into
their enjoyment of competition and “winning”. In this model of
instruction, everyone wins, which is of the utmost importance.
Procedure:
Step 1 -
Select a discrepant event for the students to ponder.
Example:
Mystery: “Why, after so many months of fiercely
fighting the Spaniards, did Montezuma suddenly decide to openly welcome
them into the capital city?”
Step 2 - Introduce the process to the
class and assign the students to caucus groups. Give each group a
problem/mystery statement sheet that asks why Montezuma suddenly welcomed
the Spaniards into his home. Be sure to have the theory you wish the
students to explore set in your mind, but keep it a secret! Let the
students “discover” it through the inquiry process. Next, explain the
rules of the “game” and post them in an easily visible place in the
classroom.
Step 3
- Students can now begin gathering data
relevant to the problem by asking questions that can only be answered by
“yes’ or “no” from the teacher. Students cannot talk among themselves
unless they call for a caucus session to discuss their ideas. Students
also know that, every time a classmate receives a “yes’ answer to a
question, that classmate may proceed asking until he/she gets a “no”
response from the teacher. Then, another student may take his/her turn
asking questions. List all “yes” data on the board so that students have
a visual reference of what is valid to the solution of the mystery.
Example:
“Did Montezuma’s
decision have anything to do with Aztec religion?”
Answer from teacher:
“Yes. You may continue asking questions until you get a negative answer.”
Step 4 - At this point, students
can begin developing their theories and describing causal relationships.
All proposed theories are written on the board under the column marked
Theory. Students will be permitted to have caucus time, with the
stipulation that only one theory can be discussed at a
time. Students need to be reminded of all the “yes” answers to the
questions that have been asked as they seek to verify a particular theory.
Example:
Theory: Montezuma
fought the Spaniards at first because he was fearful of what they would do
to his people but, as he realized the superior fighting power of Cortes’
army, he decided a friendly approach might hasten their departure from his
land-especially since Cortes was initially believed to be the Aztec god
Quetzalcoatl returning to the Valley of Mexico, and his priests may have
advised him to make this unusual move.
Step 5 - Ask
the class to state the rules again to explain the theory.
Step 6
- Once the theory has been accepted by the
class, ask the students to review the process they used to arrive at their
decision. Also ask them to analyze the types of questions they used to
encourage thought on how to formulate more effective questioning
techniques.
Evaluation:
Determine the students’ understanding of the theory by asking them key
questions and gage their responses. Next, ask them to generalize the
rules related to the theory and apply them to other situations. This
will determine if they have internalized the process.
Day 10
(Review material from days 1-9 and
give the quiz on the Aztecs.)
Day 11
Lesson Title: It’s not Halloween!
(Introduce the custom of Day of the Dead in Mexico,
give students twenty Aztec and Day of the Dead vocabulary words to define,
and have them use all of the words to create a crossword puzzle. Each
student will then exchange his/her puzzle with a classmate and solve it.)
Day 12
Lesson
Title:
Get to the root of it!
Objectives:
1. The student
will understand the Aztec origin of this modern Mexican custom.
2. The student
will understand how Day of the Dead is different from Halloween.
3. The student
will understand how the Catholic church has influenced this custom.
Method of
instruction:
Graffiti
Rationale:
The Graffiti model
provides students with the opportunity to work in teams to answer one
initial question and, then, to express their answers to the questions of
the other groups. Since all work is done within the groups, all students
have the freedom to express their ideas-no one has to stand alone.
Moreover, each group gets to view feedback from the other groups on their
originally assigned question. Students are then given time to categorize
all the data on their original question sheet and make generalizations,
which will be presented by the group to the class. This method is an
excellent way to determine the students’ understanding of the lesson and
to actively engage them in their learning.
Procedure:
Step 1 - Show the students a
video on this Mexican custom, such as Day of the Dead
(Carlex). Next, assign the students to 4, possibly 5, teams. Have large
sheets of art paper prepared, each containing a key question pertaining to
the lesson.
Example:
1. How did Day of
the Dead begin in Mexico?
2. What
activities and decorations are involved during the observance of this
custom?
3. What does
death symbolize to the Mexican people?
4. Why can’t Day
of the Dead be called the “Mexican Halloween”?
Step 2 - Distribute colored
markers to the team members, making sure each team has a different color
from the others. In this way, all the answers are color-coded and each
team will be able to identify its own answers.
Step 3 - Give each team one of
the question sheets and have students record their answers to their
particular question. Allow students 3 to 5 minutes to finish writing.
Step 4 - Collect the question
sheet from each team and post it on the board. Have the students, using
the colored markers for their own teams, begin the process of
answering the remaining questions on the other sheets. When each team has
had the opportunity to answer all four questions in the lesson call time.
Step 5 - Have each team return to
its original question sheet. Allow time for the teams to read all the
responses on the paper and tell them to categorize the information listed
there. Then, have them arrive at generalizations regarding the
categories.
Step 6 - Ask each team to elect a
spokesperson for the group. Then, have each spokesperson share with the
entire class the items on their graffiti sheet, the categories arrived at
by the team, and the generalizations made about those categories.
Evaluation: The teacher moves about
the room observing the teamwork and noting the responses to the questions
during the process. During the summative phase, the teacher notes the
categorizations and generalizations arrived at by each team. A project
for Day of the Dead can be assigned as a final evaluation, such as making
a decoration that is popular in Mexico during the observance of this
custom. (i.e., paper skulls, etc.)
