Milk Your Resources

As teachers, we often find ourselves caught up in an endless cycle of trying to reinvent the wheel with every lesson preparation. This leads us to burden ourselves with excessive work, overlooking the true importance of each task. Regrettably, I too have fallen into this trap, spending countless hours crafting complex lessons filled with activities that weren't necessarily beneficial for my students and I was starting my days exhausted, before even teaching a lesson. 

In this blog, I want to share the transformative power of utilizing a single resource for a week's worth of lessons. You'll be astonished by the amazing progress my students made as a direct result of this approach. Not only did it maximize their learning outcomes, but it also significantly reduced the amount of work for me as a teacher. This win-win situation allowed us to achieve outstanding results while minimizing the time and effort spent outside the classroom. This is the essence of effective teaching.

The Context and Resource

For this specific lesson plan, I decided to use a Chat Mat to introduce vocabulary related to describing oneself and others in terms of physical appearance and personality. This resource was filled with cognates and engaging illustrations, enabling my students to understand the meaning of each word without relying on translation. It was remarkably self-explanatory, except for one word that required translation: "simpático," which means friendly rather than sympathetic.

DAY 1

Disclaimer: Our classes are 90 minutes long, so the timing of this lesson plan can be adjusted to suit different schedules. 

I began by presenting the first slide of my presentation, which consistently includes the date, unit, lesson title, learning target, and a discussion question. This kickstarts a conversation related to the unit and allows for a quick register within the first five minutes of the lesson.

To encourage student participation, I rewarded those who wrote the lesson objectives on the board and engaged in the discussion around the essential question. This rewards system fostered a class-wide conversation that could last as long as desired, involving every student.
Next, we moved on to a basic version of calendar talk, where I asked questions such as preferences for certain days of the week or months. Each student answered a question, providing an opportunity for me to award more coins for their engagement. This slide became a permanent fixture in my novice-level classes, so no additional planning time was required for this activity.

Then, I introduced the Chat Mat and allowed the students a few minutes to familiarize themselves with the images and understand the words in relation to the visuals. 

With the Chat Mat projected on the board, I pointed to each drawing, pronounced the words in Spanish, and had the class repeat and translate them in chorus.

Once I ensured everyone understood the Chat Mat, I used a tool like Wheel Decide to pair students up and have them engage in conversations using the Chat Mat as a reference.

I encouraged them to use the "level up" section of the Chat Mat, which contained connectives to help them create more complex and longer sentences. To model this, I conducted a listening activity where I described a fictional character, and students had to listen and circle the features and level up words mentioned.

With this example in mind, I felt confident that my students were ready for an interpersonal activity. I paired them with different partners, and they engaged in an info gap activity. One student created a character using the Chat Mat, while the other asked questions to gather information about the character. They circled the information given by their partner, then swapped roles and repeated the process. This activity reinforced their understanding of the vocabulary and fostered communication skills.

Afterward, we played a Blooket game based on the adjectives from the Chat Mat. This served as a brain break while reinforcing the learning of the new adjectives to describe themselves and others.

To conclude the day, I organized a competition among the groups. They had four minutes to complete a table with as many adjectives as they could remember, working as a group. It was incredible to see how much they collectively remembered.

Finally, as the class came to an end and the students prepared to leave, I asked them to reflect on the lesson objectives and assess their own achievement. It was evident that all students were between the images A and B, and we looked forward to more students leaning toward the A level after Day 2.

Day 2

Similar to Day 1, we began with the presentation of the first slide and followed the established routines, including calendar talk.

We incorporated a "review from last day" slide, using a Total Participation Technique that the students and I both enjoyed. I called out words in English, and the students quickly showed the number that represented the translation in Spanish. This competitive activity allowed for engagement and served as a quick recap of previously learned vocabulary.

Then, the students worked collaboratively in their tables and chose 2 characters each to fill this table in. It turned out something like this:

And then, I went around the class and secretly allocated a different celebrity to each student. 

Using the Chat Mat as a reference, the students wrote a description of their assigned celebrity in the first person singular. Once they finished, we displayed their writings on the walls, creating a gallery-like setting.

During the Gallery Walk, students silently walked around the class, armed with their Chat Mats, carefully reading and labeling the writings. This activity encouraged close reading and observation skills while allowing them to see different interpretations of the same task.

After the Gallery Walk, students returned to their assigned writings. They took turns reading their descriptions aloud, and if a classmate guessed the correct celebrity, they remained in the game. However, if someone guessed incorrectly, they were "kicked out" temporarily. This interactive game added an element of excitement and competition, as students earned coins for correct guesses.

As a final opportunity for formative assessment, I positioned myself by the classroom door as the students exited. I asked them to give me a couple of adjectives to describe themselves. This served as a quick exit ticket, allowing me to gauge their understanding. 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, this lesson plan encompassed a wide range of language skills:

• including interpretive reading and listening

• interpersonal speaking

• presentational speaking and writing.

The students had the opportunity to work collaboratively in small and larger groups, as well as individually, fostering critical thinking skills and creativity throughout the activities.

By incorporating games and competitions, the lesson was gamified, making it both enjoyable and educational for the students.

One of the significant advantages of this lesson plan is its efficiency: with just 10 minutes of preparation, I was able to create two 90-minute classes that resulted in significant learning outcomes. It is a testament to the power of maximizing resources and planning effectively for the benefit of both students and teachers.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this approach. Please share your feedback in the comments below. I enjoy connecting with dedicated educators like you.