Classroom Activities
Activity 1: Access Prior Knowledge – Parts of the Human Body
To access what students might already know I will present the students with questions in the target language like “How many body parts can you name?” “What part of the body do you use every day?” “What part of the body do you use in school?” Students will record their responses on paper. I anticipate some students name the head, the hands, and the stomach since the word for stomach in Spanish is a cognate. Some students will respond that they use their hands every day and others will say their eyes. Most students will state that they use their head in school as they have not yet learned the word for brain. I anticipate that the majority of my students will be able to name three to five body parts in the target language.
Students will share their responses with a shoulder partner. Then I will direct a whole class discussion related to the questions. I suggest conducting a class poll based on the answers to the questions having students create a bar graph or a pie chart of the results. This will provide students with visual data indicating the similar responses and prior knowledge of their classmates.
In order to differentiate in a Spanish class with students at varying proficiency levels the use of simple commands like “Raise your hand” “Point to your eyes” and “Touch your head” in the target language are effective for accessing prior knowledge. These commands are multimodal as they are kinesthetic, non-verbal for the student, and highly visual. The multimodal nature of these commands makes them accessible to novice low language learners. They also offer opportunities for students at higher proficiency levels to respond with greater complexity. For example, after stating the command “Point to your eyes” I follow up with the question in Spanish “Why do we use our eyes?” I anticipate that some of my students at higher proficiency levels will respond that we use our eyes to read and others might say we use them to see. I might also have the students at higher proficiency levels take turns giving the commands to their classmates. Incorporating this multimodal method to access prior knowledge creates an inclusive, low stress introduction to a new unit of study while at the same time honors what my students already know. It also offers multiple ways for all of my students to participate and succeed.
Activity 2: Study of the Human Body
For the purpose of this unit, I suggest dividing the study of the human body into two sections: Part 1 – Vocabulary; learning terms for parts of the human body in the target language; and Part 2 – Art; studying the representation of the human body in various works of art by Spanish and Latin American artists from Mesoamerica through the 20th century. These sections, in progression, provide the students with the necessary target language vocabulary to discuss the portrayal of the human body in each of the artworks to be studied along with some art history, specific information about each piece, and a brief background of each artist. I hope that my students will “journey” through the history of Spanish and Latin American art via the study of the human body and develop a greater appreciation of these cultures through the interpretation and analysis of the selected works.
Part 1: Vocabulary
Access Prior Knowledge
To get the lesson started I will provide each student with a Knowledge Rating Scale chart, prior to any instruction of the terms. The chart will have a list of twenty or so vocabulary words in the target language related to the human body. My students will rate themselves on their level of familiarity with each term by placing a check in a column under one of the following headings; “Have No Clue,” “Have Seen or Heard It,” and “I Know It Well.” I will instruct the students to provide the English meaning of the word in another column labeled “Definition” if they know a word on the list enough to provide their own definition. If a student has seen or heard a vocabulary term from the list, I will direct them to write an educated guess as to the meaning of the word in the column labeled “I Think It Means.” It is important to encourage them to be honest, as their responses will determine how much time will be devoted to the instruction of each vocabulary term.
Direct Instruction
After the students reflect on their knowledge of the target language vocabulary, I will use a vocabulary chart made up of two columns, one with the vocabulary terms and the other with their English meanings, to clearly teach the vocabulary. Using this chart makes certain that all students have the needed vocabulary to participate in class discussions and activities. Students use the definitions to complete a graphic organizer based on the vocabulary terms in the target language by writing a definition or meaning of the word in English, writing a sentence in the target language using the term in context, and sketching the vocabulary word. Initially I will instruct the students to complete each section of the graphic organizer for every term with the end goal in mind of each student determining which option; definition, sentence, or sketch is the most effective tool for him/her to learn and remember the vocabulary.
In order to provide consistency throughout the unit and introduce new vocabulary as needed, for example, introducing vocabulary of the circulatory system for the study of the painting Las Dos Fridas by Frida Kahlo, I will use the same procedures for accessing prior knowledge and direct instruction of vocabulary with the exception of the completion of a graphic organizer for vocabulary definitions. In order to differentiate instruction, instead of using the graphic organizer I will have students create digital flashcards using the website Quizlet or a similar site. On sites such as Quizlet students can create their personalized study stack of vocabulary terms allowing the students to be active participants in the learning process. Digital media works well in my curriculum because it has multimodal appeal and will engage my visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners.
Check for Understanding
This check for understanding for the vocabulary of the human body portion of the unit can be used to assess students’ comprehension of the vocabulary terms. I will provide each student with a copy of a blank figure of the human body along with a word bank of vocabulary terms in the target language. I will direct the students to use the word bank to label the parts of the human body writing out each term on the blank body. Students will share their labeled body with a shoulder partner comparing their answers and noting any questions they may have regarding their responses. This allows the students to have a visual with their own notes to remind them of what they are learning and thinking, and it provides for me a quick check for understanding of their comprehension of the work. I will then direct the class to a whole group discussion, addressing any questions they may have concerning the correct labeling of the human body, or any questions they may have regarding any of the vocabulary terms in the target language.
To engage the kinestetic learners in my classroom in the above check for understanding activity, instead of having them label the parts of the human body by writing them on the blank figure I will provide them with a word bank from which they can cut out individual vocabulary terms. The students will label the parts of the human body by gluing the correct target language terms onto the blank human figure. This multimodal check for understanding is great for linking movement and memory.
Part 2: Art
Close Looking
As the students prepare to view each artwork, I will explain to them that they will be using a strategy called Close Looking, working both independently and collaboratively to closely analyze the work of art. I will further explain that they will be viewing the piece a couple of times, each time focusing on a different aspect of it. I suggest that the artwork to be studied be divided into three separate viewings. In the first viewing I will project the work. I will ask the students to look at the artwork in silence for a minute or two and think about what they see. What is happening in the piece? After a minute or two I will ask the entire class, in the target language, "What do you see in the work?" Depending upon the artwork displayed, I anticipate the students to respond with the obvious — viewing Las Meninas "There is a girl. The people are really dressed up. The painting looks old. There are a lot of people." When a student provides an answer, I will ask her/him to supply more information. "You said it looks like the painting is old. What makes you say that?" The students will justify their answers by providing evidence from the painting. They may say, "The people are dressed in fancy old clothing like from a different century.” Next, I will encourage the students to share differing opinions and provide justification for their opinions, this will deepen the conversation and allow for a wider variety in the student interpretations of the various elements of the piece. One student may say, "The girl in the white dress must be important because everyone else in the painting is looking at her." I would then ask if everyone agrees with the statement. Another student might say that s/he doesn’t agree because the man standing on the left side of the painting is looking out towards the viewer and is not focused on the girl in the white dress. The discussion continues until students have shared all they can about the painting. I will summarize what the students said. After the discussion, the students will use a graphic organizer, a one-page paper divided in half with the first half labeled Learning and the other half labeled Reflection, to write a Learning/About statement and a brief summary.
The second viewing is viewing with purpose. I will provide each student with a copy of the artwork. Students study the work independently highlighting details in the work that support their learning statements. Using the above graphic organizer, students reflect upon what they just viewed. I will explain to the students that the reflection can include questions they still have about the work, observations, or a personal connection that they have to a particular part of the work. With a shoulder partner, each student will discuss the details they selected from the piece and how they support their Learning/About statement. Reflections are also shared. I will then conduct a whole class discussion regarding the details of the visual text in order to check for understanding. In addition, I will address student questions about the artwork.
The next step in the close process is a series of text-dependent questions. I will model for the students the process of answering these questions by working through the first question with them. The process requires the students to begin by reviewing the piece. Next, they will review the completed graphic organizer. Then they will seek the answer to the text-dependent question and discuss the question with a partner checking for accuracy and clarification. The final step is where the students write their best possible answer using all of the information that they have gathered to adequately answer the question.
I am providing here text-dependent questions that focus on the artists’ representations of the human body which I will use for artworks included in this unit. When observing the sculpture Las Señoras Bonitas the text-dependent questions I will pose to my students in the target language are “What parts of the body are emphasized or exaggerated?” “What details of the body are symmetrical?” “How is the identity of the woman represented through the body?” Using these questions, allows us to discuss the cultural view of the body. I will ask my students the following text-dependent questions about Las Meninas, “How are the bodies represented in this painting?” “What do they show about social status?” “What parts of the body are in movement?” “How do you know they are in movement?” “How are the body proportions in this painting compared to those of Las Señoras Bonitas?” Viewing Capricho No. 49: Duendecitos, I will question, “How do the body shapes in this work change in comparison to those of Las Meninas?” “Which parts of the body are exaggerated?” “Why do you think the artist does that?” “What emotions do you observe?” “How does the artist use the body to express those emotions?” These are the text-dependent questions I will employ during the close looking of the painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, “What parts of the body are easily recognizable?” “What parts of the body are difficult to recognize?” “How are the faces represented?” “How does it change the emotion of the work?” “How has the representation of the human body in this work changed compared to the previously studied works of Goya and Veláquez?” For the painting Las Dos Fridas I will ask my students “What parts of the body are visible that we don’t normally see?” “What differences do you observe between the bodies of the two Fridas?” “How does the artist represent emotion through the body and through the heart?” My students will answer the following questions about the painting La Familia Presidencial. “How are the bodies proportioned in the painting?” “What do all of the bodies have in common?” “What message does that convey?” “How does this representation of the body contrast with Las Meninas or Las Dos Fridas?” For the final work of art, God’s of the Modern World, I will pose these questions, “How are the bodies represented?” “Are they alive, dead, or symbols?” “What body parts stand out the most?” “Why?” “What message does the artist express about the body and society?”
To end the close looking process for each piece, I will lead a whole class discussion of the text-dependent questions and the work in order to check for accuracy and address any inaccurate responses.
Check for Understanding
This check for understanding for the art portion of the unit can be used to assess students’ comprehension of the portrayal of the human body in each work of art and throughout time. I will provide each student with a copy of each work of art. I will direct the students to access their completed graphic organizers from the close looking activities. They will refer to the responses they wrote on their graphic organizers when completing this check for learning. I will instruct my students to answer questions in the target language about the representation of the human body over all seven works. I will ask in the target language “How does the representation of the human body change from the Mesoamerican sculptures to modern artwork?” “In what works of art is the body idealized?” “In what works is the body distorted?” “What representation of the body is the most powerful or most significant for you?” “Why?” Students will share their answers with the class. This allows the students to have visuals with their own notes to remind them of what they are learning and thinking, and it provides for me a quick check for understanding of their comprehension of the art.
Activity 3: Reinterpretation of the Human Body in Art
To conclude the unit, each student will reimagine or reinterpret one of the artworks studied in this unit by creating their own version of it and describe it in writing in the target language using practiced vocabulary and simple sentences. This culminating activity will require each student to apply vocabulary related to the human body, demonstrate cultural understanding by creatively responding to an authentic piece of realia, and effectively communicate their thoughts and artistic choices using sentence starters and support. I will provide students with a packet containing the following information about this project; a letter addressed to both the student and their parent(s), a detailed explanation of the project requirements along with helpful vocabulary, sentence starters, and phrases in the target language, explanations and examples of artistic formats available for the students to use, and the rubric that will be used to assess their work. Students will share their reimagined/reinterpreted work with their classmates in a gallery walk.
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