Lesson Planning

Steps for planning an English

component in an interdisciplinary
project

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 Workshop Goal
English teachers will examine a lesson
planning model in preparation for planning a
lesson for an interdisciplinary project that is
based on an objective from the prioritized
curriculum.
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Rules for the hour

1. Teachers must be in a group with three other teachers. Each group will have
four members.
2. Each small group will communicate through Zoom, WhatsApp, or any other
platform.
3. Each teacher will have a role in the group during all discussion activities:
a. Discussion Leader - make sure that each teacher participates.
b. Reflection Leader - make sure that each teacher shares in the reflection.
c. Timekeeper - make sure that teachers stay on schedule during any discussion or reflection.
d. Salvavida - if there is a problem, the communicator contacts Susan on WhatsApp.
4. Each teacher must have a copy of the sample bridging lesson plan (in the
English folder on the USB)
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In this workshop about lesson planning,
teachers will:
1. Describe their favorite endemic animal of the Galapagos with other
teachers (5 minutes)
2. View a short video to experience a segment of a lesson (8 minutes)
3. Analyze and discuss the stages of a lesson with the completed sample
plan. (15 minutes)
4. Continue to apply the bridge in lesson planning with other teachers (25
minutes)
5. Share a reflection on this experience (7-10 minutes)

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1. Warm up: Guess the endemic animal (5 min.)

Read the instructions before playing the yes/no guessing game.

1. Decide which animal endemic to the Galapagos is your favorite.

2. Each person in your group can ask a yes/no question about the animal. For
example, “Is this animal a fish?” The answer is either yes or no.
3. Members of the group continue to ask yes/no questions until one person
asks, “Is this animal a _________?” If the answer is “yes,” the next person
starts with a new animal.

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2. Watch the Video (8 minutes)
The video demonstrates an enhanced reading
activity. This activity follows “Guess the
animal” and the two vocabulary activities from
this lesson that you watched in the “Bridging”
session.
As you watch the video, think about:
1. How do bridging activities help
students with academic reading?
2. Why is it helpful to use audio and
visual support for this reading?
3. How is the lesson structured to
promote learner autonomy? Ready? You may watch the video now!
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3. Analyze and discuss the lesson plan (15 min).
Refer to sample bridging lesson plan in the English folder on the
thumb drive and to pages 8 through 25 of this guide.

1. In what ways is this lesson structure similar to how you

already plan? What is different about it?
2. What is the difference between giving students a bilingual
word list and asking them to apply their knowledge of
Spanish to English? Can guided discovery with cognates be
used at all English levels?
3. How would you adapt this lesson for your students?

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Step 1: Study the lesson objective from the
prioritized curriculum. In this example
from Project 3, the objective is broad. can say = speaking
can identify could be:
● speaking
Thread: Communication & ● listening
● writing
Cultural Awareness ● reading
Objective:
Learners can say ways to take care The teacher wonders:
of the environment and the planet. ● What language skills
will students use to
Learners can identify and exhibit exhibit this behavior
socially responsible behaviors at (speaking or writing?)
home, at school, and towards the ● Which specific social
contexts should the
environment. (Ref. I.EFL.3.2.1, p. 88 lessons include?
of the prioritized curriculum) ● How is this related to
sustainability?
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 Important to Remember
1. Each English lesson for the project must have an
objective from the prioritized curriculum.
2. English objectives should be related to and support the
interdisciplinary project objectives.
3. The project materials often focus on reading, grammar,
and writing. English teachers should guide students in
practicing oral skills, too.

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Step 2: Define the English language focus for the
interdisciplinary project to develop throughout the
project.
The sample interdisciplinary project is to mount a
campaign on responsible tourism.

1. Social Context -- Preparing a video in English

for tourists to the Galapagos to show in
airports or information centers as part of a
responsible tourism campaign
2. Vocabulary -- words related to responsible,
sustainable tourism
3. Grammar -- Commands, using please and
thank you
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Step 3: Prepare revised, focused objectives for
lessons that include a performance indicator.
After listening to and reading a short The teacher wonders:
report about marine iguanas, learners can How can students use
express what visitors can do to protect parts of the English
resources from Proyecto
them, in writing or orally, to include in the 3? How will these relate
video project. to the final project?
performance criteria

Higher order questions for the project: How do people affect

the natural environment? Why must humans be careful when
they enter protected areas? English component: How can we
communicate with tourists to protect endemic animals?
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Step 4: Prepare the lesson.
1. English structural focus
a. Language Function: Students prepare to make requests of visitors to
the Galapagos Islands to protect endemic animals with respectful
behavior.
b. Vocabulary: Vocabulary comes from the Spanish vocabulary of the
integrated project.
c. Grammar: Grammar can be explicitly taught OR can be grammar that
students have previously studied and can apply to a new context.
2. Activities--Guide students in presentation, practice, and produce.

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Building background/motivation through a Teachers can:
shared concrete experience: Guess the 1. make a short video with a hidden
Animal picture, or
2. provide clues with sentences and
pictures. The lesson plan has
more examples of adaptations.
1. Guess the animal.
a. I am thinking of an endemic animal that lives in the Galapagos.
b. This animal is black in color.
c. This animal can swim in the ocean, but it is not a fish.
d. This animal lays eggs, but it is not a bird. (Continue until the
head of the animal is visible).
e. This animal is a marine iguana.
2. Ask students if they have seen marine iguanas, and where they have
seen them.
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Marine Iguana

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State the objectives so students understand
them. Use simple English.
When students know the
objectives, they understand
why they are learning.
Knowing the objectives
helps students to focus.
1. I will use new English vocabulary, similar
to Spanish vocabulary.
2. I will say ways for humans to protect
animals of the Galapagos Islands.
3. I will collaborate on our project.
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Shared Experience 2: Reading about marine
iguanas (vocabulary and reading practice)
Now the students know the topic, marine iguanas. Next, they will read about problems that
marine iguanas face when tourists do not respect them.

First, the teacher presents vocabulary through guided discovery. From social studies,
students will know the Spanish vocabulary. The English words have been introduced in
earlier lessons in the project, but it is helpful to review them.

Next, students practice their understanding of the new vocabulary through reading and
answering questions. The reading also prepares students for the video project.

Finally, in the produce activity, students are asked to make a list of ways to protect endemic
animals. They will use this list when they prepare their part of the class video.

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Present new material: Language
transfer & metalinguistic
awareness through discovery
Activity 1. Words that look similar. Many
English words are similar to Spanish
words. Which Spanish words look like the
English words? Write the word in Spanish
on the line.
visit _visitar_____________
marine iguana ___________________
human ___________________
animal ___________________
problem ___________________
Activity 2. New Vocabulary
Often, Spanish and English words are similar.
For example, océano and ocean have the
same meaning. We call these words
cognates. Can you match them? Draw a line
to connect the Spanish and English cognates.
Spanish English
áreas protegidas ocean
océano endemic

naturaleza protected areas

The teacher wonders: Will
students need a word bank for the acciones public areas
first activity? How could listening to
an audio of the vocabulary help áreas públicas nature
students after completing both
activities? endémico actions
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Picture Support for Text

The teacher can use visuals and

printed text, OR record audio with
visuals.

Audio support will help students

understand the text.

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 Practice & Produce
Instructions
1. Listen and watch the short video about
marine iguanas.
2. Now, read the text. You will see many
cognates. Underline the problems that
tourists can cause for marine iguanas.
3. In the last paragraph, we see a question:
What actions will protect marine iguanas?
There is one action. Underline the action.
4. What do you think? Are there more actions
that humans can take to protect marine
iguanas and other endemic animals? Go to
the pier or the beach to think of some
solutions.
5. Write down your ideas in a few sentences to
share with your teacher and classmates.
Protect Marine Iguanas
Tourists visit the Galapagos Islands to
see the endemic animals. Marine iguanas
are part of nature in the Galapagos.
Although marine iguanas find food in the
ocean, they rest on land in the warm sun.
We can see marine iguanas in protected
areas and in public areas. Sometimes
humans can cause problems for marine
iguanas while they rest. Tourists walk too
close to the animals and take photographs.
They touch the marine iguanas. Tourists
offer the animals human food.
What actions can protect marine
iguanas? We can ask tourists to keep
distant from marine iguanas and other wild
animals in the Galapagos.Together, we can
protect nature. 20
Campaign to protect endemic animals:
Class video 1. Teacher introduces the idea for
Connection to interdisciplinary project;
How can we communicate with tourists
to respect the animals?
Invite students to prepare a class
video. Each student will communicate
with one sentence and a picture.
The teacher wonders: What
grammar structures should
we practice? Do students
need a sentence starter?
communicating with tourists--a
video to show at the airport or
information centers.
2. Students can participate by
holding a drawing of an animal and
making a statement about
protecting the animal. The student
can post a video OR a photo of
themselves holding a sign with a
drawing of the animal and a
printed statement to WhatsApp.
3. The students decide where the
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class video should be shown.
 Self-Assessment & Reflection
Instructions: Respecting and protecting nature is important. Our group project
will help us to protect endemic animals. Complete self-assessment and write a
sentence to state what you want to know more about.

I can Yes No Almost

use new English vocabulary that is similar to Spanish

(cognates)

say ways for humans to protect endemic animals

collaborate on our project

I want to know _________________________________________________________.

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Formative Assessment: What am I learning about my students’
progress and needs? How will this inform my instruction?
In this lesson, students learn about protecting endemic
animals. The lesson encourages student interest in the
interdisciplinary project--a campaign promoting responsible
tourism. The English portion will be a class video for use in
public places that tourists visit (airport or information
centers). Points of assessment in this lesson include:
1. Participation in“guess the animal”
2. Completion of exercises 1 and 2 on cognates
3. Sentences for possible solutions
4. Student self-assessment and reflection
Lessons should relate directly to the general objective from
the prioritized curriculum. The lesson should also be guided
by the focused objective with performance criteria (page 11 of
this guide).
1. The teacher can keep notes on student
participation. Observations help teachers
adapt future lessons to student interest
and needs.
2. As students complete exercises 1 and 2,
they can communicate with the teacher if
they have questions. Teachers determine
if students need immediate support.
3. Teachers must determine if students
know the grammar to write sentence for
possible solutions, or if they need
examples.
4. Teachers can read student self-
assessment and reflection, and use this
information to plan future lessons.
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4. Application activity (group)
(25 min.)

1. Consider the project for your interdisciplinary team. What ideas from this
presentation and the introduction to bridging can apply to your level?
2. What cognates can you introduce to students?
3. How can you use the suggestions in the Guide to Bridging Activities in the
English folder on the USB drive?
4. What do you think could be difficult or challenging in preparing the lesson?
How will you work on these challenges?

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5. Share a reflection on English planning
(7-10 min.)
Discuss the following questions with your group members.

1. Have you used any of these techniques in the past? If so, was it effective?
How could the structure of this lesson, using bridging, be adapted to your
teaching context? What might you change?
2. What are you curious about?
3. What challenges do you see in planning with bridging?
4. Do you have any questions or comments for Susan about bridging? Invite
her to join your discussion.

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 References

Beeman, K. & Urow, C. (2013). Teaching for biliteracy: Strengthening

bridges between languages. Caslon.

Curtain, H. & Dahlberg, C.A. Languages and learners: Making the match
(5th ed.). Pearson.

Echevarría, J. Vogt, M.E., & Short, D.J. (2013). Making content

comprehensible for English learners: The SIOP model (4th ed.).
Pearson

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