Festivals of Mexico

Festivals of Mexico
Created by Ashley
Ashcartatlsu@aol.com

A lesson plan for fourth grade foreign language

Learning Objectives | Time | Resources | Activities and Procedures | Assessment | Sample Project

Lesson Overview: This can be used in a regular English-speaking classroom for students in a elementary foreign language program. Students will enjoy learning about another country while fulfilling the foreign language content standards of cultural awareness. In this lesson, students will learn about one of three Mexican holidays, then share their findings with the class.

Learning Objectives: As a result of this lesson, students should have more experience with research and presentation skills as well as a better idea about the celebrations of Mexico.

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Time: This lesson could take four or five thirty minute class periods, depending on the number of students, the size of the groups, and the school's resources. Allot at least one class period for the introduction and research, one or two for the students to prepare their presentations, and one or two for the presentations themselves.
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Resources and Materials: Computers with internet connection, presentation software (Hyperstudio, Kidspiration, Kidpix), any other materials for supplementary activities.

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Activities and Procedures:
1. Introduction--> Talk with the class about festivals that they celebrate (e.g., birthdays, Christmas, Mardi Gras). Discuss some of the differences between our culture in the Unites States and the culture of Latin American countries. (This is a good place to link the discussion to previous lessons about food, transportation, etc.) Tell the class that other countries have different celebrations than we have, too. In this lesson, the students will choose one of three Mexican holidays, research it, and do a presentation on it.
2. Divide the class into partners (groups can be differently sized to suit your classroom's setup, resources, or schedule).
3. If your classroom does not have enough computers for every group to its own, assign some activity or worksheet that complements the lesson for the students not working on computers at a given time.
4. Help the students on computers link to this site: http://www.eleaston.com/sphol.html
5. The students can pick from Cinco de Mayo, Quinceañera, or Día de Los Muertos. The site has links to information about the different holidays. Have the students find information like the date of the holiday, who celebrates it, how it is celebrated, its history and meaning, and any other pertinent or interesting information. *Note* Some of the links may have big words, as they are geared toward older readers. You may need to help your students find information they need and disregard other information.
6. Once the students have gathered their information, help them make their presentations. Depending on your classroom resources, they can choose to make a concept map using a program such as Kidspiration, a slide show using a program like Hyperstudio, or an illustration with software such as Kidpix. They need to include in their technology aid all the information they will talk about in their presentation. (This can help them gain experience using visual aids for speeches and presentations.) Let each student in the group be responsible for his or her own part of the presentation, but their partners can help with advice or suggestions. Use illustrations and be creative!
7. Next, let the groups take turns giving their presentations, which should last three to five minutes. With their visual aid displayed for the class to see, have the groups go through their presentation explaining all the parts of their visual aid. If they have a Hyperstudio presentation, they can elaborate on the information on their cards. With a concept map, they can go through each idea, explaining as they go. With a picture, they can talk about why they included each element of the picture and what it means for their holiday. If you have the time and resources to do so, you may wish to arrange to have some Mexican food after the presentations!
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Assessment:

Project and Presentation: Festivals of Mexico
Teacher name:
Student Name ___________________ Score:________

CATEGORY Excellent-4 Good-3 Satisfactory-2 Needs Improvement-1

Mechanics No misspellings or grammatical errors. Three or fewer misspellings and/or mechanical errors. Four misspellings and/or grammatical errors. More than 4 errors in spelling or grammar.

Oral Presentation Interesting, well-rehearsed with smooth delivery. Relatively interesting, rehearsed with a fairly smooth delivery. Delivery not smooth, but able to maintain interest of audience. Delivery not smooth and audience attention lost.

Originality Product shows a large amount of original thought. Visual aid is creative and inventive. Product shows some original thought. Visual aid is creative. Uses other people's ideas (giving them credit), but there is almost no evidence of orginal thinking. Visual aid not very creative. Uses other people's ideas, but does not give them credit. Visual aid not pleasing to the eye.

Workload The workload is divided and shared equally by all team members. The workload is divided and shared fairly by all team members. One person in the group is viewed as not doing his/her fair share of the work. Several people in the group are viewed as not doing their fair share of the work.

Requirements All requirements are met and exceeded. All requirements are met. One requirement was not completely met. More than one requirement was not completely met.

Content Covers topic in depth with details and examples. Subject knowledge is excellent Includes essential knowledge about the topic. Subject knowledge appears to be good. Includes essential information about the topic but there are 1-2 factual errors. Content is minimal or there are several factual errors.

Date Created: 2001-07-02

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Sample student project:

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Credits and References: Photographs from http://www.eleaston.com/sp_culture.html
Graphics from bellsnwhistles.com

CATEGORY	Excellent-4	Good-3	Satisfactory-2	Needs Improvement-1
Mechanics	No misspellings or grammatical errors.	Three or fewer misspellings and/or mechanical errors.	Four misspellings and/or grammatical errors.	More than 4 errors in spelling or grammar.
Oral Presentation	Interesting, well-rehearsed with smooth delivery.	Relatively interesting, rehearsed with a fairly smooth delivery.	Delivery not smooth, but able to maintain interest of audience.	Delivery not smooth and audience attention lost.
Originality	Product shows a large amount of original thought. Visual aid is creative and inventive.	Product shows some original thought. Visual aid is creative.	Uses other people's ideas (giving them credit), but there is almost no evidence of orginal thinking. Visual aid not very creative.	Uses other people's ideas, but does not give them credit. Visual aid not pleasing to the eye.
Workload	The workload is divided and shared equally by all team members.	The workload is divided and shared fairly by all team members.	One person in the group is viewed as not doing his/her fair share of the work.	Several people in the group are viewed as not doing their fair share of the work.
Requirements	All requirements are met and exceeded.	All requirements are met.	One requirement was not completely met.	More than one requirement was not completely met.
Content	Covers topic in depth with details and examples. Subject knowledge is excellent	Includes essential knowledge about the topic. Subject knowledge appears to be good.	Includes essential information about the topic but there are 1-2 factual errors.	Content is minimal or there are several factual errors.