Rafaela Lorente

Sandra Lorente
La Escuela Secundaria en Costa Rica (level: Spanish I)
Objectives: #1 Communication; #2 Culture; #3 Connections; #4 Comparisons;
#5 Community.
1.1 ) Students will use the verb gustar and other already learned verbs in present tense
in order to describe their classes and other school activities.
1.2 ) Students will be able to name all their subjects in Spanish.
1.3 ) Students will review and practice time expressions (la hora).
1.4 ) Students will be able to use many adjectives in order to describe their classes and
their school.
2.1; 3.1; 4.1) Students will watch a video about some Costa Rican schools and will
compare aspects of their own school with those observed in the Costa Rican schools.
Some of these aspects are: schedule, subjects, buildings, extracurricular activities,
students physical aspect, etc.
2.2; 3.2; 4.2) Students will analyze and discuss some deeper aspects of the Costa Rican
culture. These aspects will be related to the education system and teenagers life style.
Materials: video tape of Costa Rican schools, a copy of a Costa Rican students class
schedule, overhead with vocabulary, VCR, overhead projector.
Procedure:
DAY I:
1. Start the unit with a brief introduction about Costa Rica. Include geographic
location, physical aspects and climate. The teacher can do this by showing the
class a map and by asking students what do they know about the country.
2. Introduce some of the vocabulary about school subjects through a transparency.
This vocabulary should only include those subjects that are cognates. The
students listen to the pronunciation and repeat.
3. Ask students about their classes using the vocabulary they just saw. Use
questions like: quin toma una clase de historia?, cuntas materias tienes este
ao?, a qu hora empieza_____?, a qu hora termina?, cul es tu clase
preferida?, qu clase es muy difcil?, qu clase es muy fcil?, qu clase
es aburrida?, qu clase es divertida? (practice with other adjectives)

4. Show a transparency with the schedule of a Costa Rican student and ask questions
(e.g. cmo se llama este estudiante?, cuntas clases toma?, a qu hora
empieza?). Start drawing attention to the subjects that are not cognates. Try
to use these words more often when asking students.
5. Pair activity: the students work in pairs and ask their classmate questions in order
to draw his/her schedule. The teacher can write some examples of questions on
the board. To evaluate, ask a few students questions about their classmates
schedule.
DAY II:
1. Warm- up/ review: ask students some questions about their classes like the day
before in order to review what they have seen.
2. Attention point: when asking students about their classes, start asking them what
do they need for certain classes. E.g. qu se necesita para la clase de
matemticas?, necesitas un lpiz?, necesitas un cuaderno de dibujo?, etc. (help
students with the vocabulary by asking yes/no and or questions)
3. Activity with school supplies
4. Grammar explanation: GUSTAR. Teacher will draw a smile face on the left side
of the board and under it will write sentences like Me gusta la clase de historia;
Me gustan los deportes A Sandra le gustan los estudiantes de la clase A
nosotros nos gusta la profesora etc. making sure to cover all the pronouns (te,
le(s)..). On the other side ob board, the teacher writes a sad face and write s few
examples with negative statements (No me gusta estudiar).
Teacher ask a few students if they like certain things (example: Cristina, te gusta
la clase de lgebra?, John, qu dos clases no te gustan?When finished, ask the
class about the students answer qu clases no le gustan a John? After making
sure, that all the pronouns have been covered, teacher asks students questions like
What are the pronoun uses for l o ella?, Where does the no go when expressing
dislikes, what are the two possible endings of gustar and how do we use them.
Teacher gives then a gramatical explanation.
5. On board, the teacher writes a list of activities and things, ask students to get in
pairs and to alternate asking each other wether they like those things. At the end
each student will write five complete sentences about their partners likes and
dislikes ( A Joe le gustan las hamburguesas)
DAY III:
1. Los deportes y otras actividades: Introduccin de vocabulario. Teacher will show
pictures with people practicing different sports (playing basketball, football, etc)
and other activities (hablar por telfono, tocar la guitarra, etc)
2. Reading : Una carta de una estudiante costarricense. Teacher will call on different
students to read the letter aloud.
3. Questions about the reading. Students will work with a partner and prepare
answers to 8 questions about the letter. This will be done orally. Then, teacher will
use ask different students for the answers. At this point, teacher can add other

questions (ex: y por qu le gusta la clase de ingls? cmo es el profesor de la

clase?).
4. Students get with partner again to discuus about their clases and acitvities
5. Teacher and students will discuss differences found between the Costa Rican
schedule and vacation. a) Students have more classes. Teacher explains that they
dont have the same classes every day as students in the USA do. b)Costa Ricans
have their longest vacation during December because its the summer there.
DAY IV:
1. Show a video about Costa Rican schools and students. Ask students what
differences they noticed in the video: (1) about the buildings and facilities; (2)
about the students. Then ask students about some of the similarities they
observed in the video. The students can watch the video again and write other
things down to help with the discussion.
2. In groups the students write a summary of the discussion. They must make a list
of the differences and the similarities between the American and the Costa Rican
schools and students.
DAY V:
1. Quiz