Curriculum (Learning) Area of Lesson: Spanish

Specific Topic of Lesson: Expressing what we do in our free time

Year Level/s: 8

Learning Objectives
As a result of engaging with the lesson, students will:

- Understand that there is an ‘interconnected relationship between language and culture’

[Key concepts: interdependence, perspectives, cultural practices; Key processes: analysing,
making connections, explaining] (ACLSPU018). Particularly, understand that the way we use
time can change according to culture and language, and this is reflected by a number of factors
including the environment, family values and social relationships.

- Understand that there are differences between how we conjugate regular and irregular verbs in
the present tense.

Know (e.g. facts, vocabulary, dates, Be able to (do) (Skills, processes)

information)
 Express ideas about how their free time is spent
 Vocabulary (nouns and verbs) and describe leisure activities in a written manner
surrounding free time and leisure (Adapted from ACLSPC001).
activities.
 Reflect upon similarities and differences within
 ‘The present tense conjugations for their own cultures and those of the others
commonly used irregular verbs, for surrounding how time is spent.
example, ser, estar, tener, ir, hacer, querer,
salir, jugar’ (ACLSPU013).
 Develop collaboration and interaction skills
through conversations with peers where they
exchange information about themselves.
Essential Questions (1-3 only; these should help students engage with the “big ideas” or understandings)
How do we express ideas about leisure time in the target language?

Preassessment of Individual Student Readiness

The preassessment (see appendix one) took place in the last fifteen minutes of the previous lesson and
had three parts.

Part one:
In part one, students had the task of translating verbs and vocabulary surrounding leisure activities.
Students had the option of using one of the words in a sentence.

Part two:
In part two, students were asked the question ‘what are the three types of regular verbs?’ and were
given three sentences in Spanish with an infinitive verb which they needed to conjugate according to
the pronoun.

Part three:
Part three of the preassessment asked students to provide a definition of what they believe an irregular
verb might be.

Groups were formed from the preassessment task according to student readiness as outlined below:

Group 1: Highest Readiness – The Amigos (friends) group

Students completed part one with little error. In part two students were able to provide a detailed
definition to what a regular verb is by identifying the three types and explaining the differences
between these. Students also were able to create a detailed sentence using one of these verbs and
vocabulary surrounding free time such as Yo bailo los miércoles por la noche con mis amigos (I dance
on Wednesday nights with my friends). Students also successfully conjugated 2 or 3 of the verbs in the
sentences correctly according to the pronoun.
In part three, with sound knowledge of what a regular verb and with knowledge of the irregular verbs
already learned (ser and estar) these students were able to provide a detailed definition of an irregular
verb.

Group 2: Middle Readiness – The Aventura (Adventure) group

Students were able to translate the majority of the vocabulary in part one and were able to create a
basic sentence using the verbs and vocabulary given such as yo toco piano (I play piano). In part two,
students provided a sound definition of a regular verb and identified the three types. This group of
students conjugated the regular verbs in the sentences with success for the yo (I) pronoun but struggled
with conjugating verbs for the ella (she) and nosotros (we) pronouns. Students had some idea of what
an irregular verb might be, and answers commonly involved statements such as ‘irregular verbs could
be verbs which do not follow the pattern of regular verbs when conjugated.’

Group 3: Earliest Readiness – The Guay (cool) group

Students were most successful in translating cognates such as musica, fútbol, drama, teléfono móvil but
lacked knowledge when translating the rest of the vocabulary and verbs surrounding free time. Students
chose not to create a sentence using the verbs and vocabulary provided. In part two, students were able
to provide a limited definition of what a regular verb was. Students struggled with conjugating the
regular verbs in the sentences and generally did not answer part three of the preassessment.

Lesson Plan
Lesson Sequence 1 hour, 25 minutes Explanatory notes

Introduction: 10 minutes Introduction Resources:

Students sit at their tables and teacher takes the roll and  White board
greets each student with a short conversation in Spanish  Markers
as she calls their name as per the class routine.
Teacher: ‘Hola Sara, como estas’
Student: ‘Bien gracias, y tu?’

The class will be asked what makes up a regular verb

and what the three types of regular verbs are (IR, AR,
ER).
The strategy of think/pair/share will be used here and
pairs will report back to the class. We will make three
sentences as a class using each of these regular verbs.
It is important to firstly revise how we
conjugate regular verbs in the present tense
before moving onto irregular verbs so
students have a clear understanding of the
difference between these.

Introduction to new content: 15 minutes

I will introduce irregular verbs to the whole class
through drawing connections to prior knowledge. I will
highlight the differences between conjugating regular
and irregular verbs in English. For example, ‘speak’ is
an irregular verb in English which doesn’t follow the
same pattern as regular verbs (becomes spoke, not
‘speaked’ like regular verbs). On the white board I will
Introduction to new content explanatory
notes:
I will be teaching this to the whole class
together as it is a new and complex structure
of Spanish grammar. As this is a
challenging new concept to grasp, students
will have an opportunity to put this into
model creating sentences using these irregular verbs,
such as ‘yo voy al cine’ (I go to the cinema). In their
table groups, students are given a conjugation chart for
the irregular verbs: tener, ir, hacer, ser, estar, jugar and
salir, and have ten minutes to create a sentence with
each verb. Students can also use paper dictionaries to
assist them with vocabulary. One group member from
each table comes up to the board to write one of their
group’s sentence, and these are read and corrected if
needed through a whole class discussion.
Main task: 35 minutes
Students will be given the task of writing a journal entry
where they will write full sentences which express ideas
and describe what they do in their free time in a typical
week, including any significant activities and previously
learned vocabulary surrounding time, months and days
of the week. This will be tiered for three readiness
groups as outlined below.
Tiers:
Highest Readiness (Los Amigos)
 Students are to write longer and higher level
sentences surrounding their free time,
answering the open question: In what ways do
you use your free time in a typical week and
why?
 Students are to use all irregular verbs
introduced in this lesson in their journal entry
including the more complex irregular verb ir.
 Students will use verbs such as gustar,
encantar, and interesar (to like, to love, to
interest) to provide opinion.
 Students will have access to bilingual
dictionaries.
Middle readiness group:
 Students will be provided with a conjugation
chart for regular verbs, and the irregular verbs
learned in this lesson.
 Students will use verbs such as gustar,
encantar, and interesar (to like, to love, to
interest) to provide opinion.
 Students will write concise sentences.
 Students will use bilingual dictionaries for
unknown vocabulary.
Earliest readiness group:
 Students will have a vocabulary list for nouns
and verbs surrounding free time with Spanish to
English translations.
 Students will be provided with a minimum
practise in non-tiered groups and as a class
before needing to use it in the main task.
Although challenging, I have made this an
achievable group activity by providing
students with a conjugation chart for these
common irregular verbs in the present tense.
Main Task Explanatory notes
Student groups for the main task will be
written on the white board so they will be
asked to move into these groups at this stage
of the lesson and be given their respective task
by me.
Resources for Main Task
 Commonly used irregular verb
conjugation charts (see appendix 2)
 Commonly used regular verb
conjugation chart (see appendix 3)
 Vocabulary list surrounding free
time (see appendix 4)
 Instructions for main task (see
appendix 5)
Tiers explanatory notes:
The Amigos group had the highest readiness
level for the Spanish vocabulary used in the
lesson, meaning they will not be provided
with a vocabulary list. Instead, this group
will be provided with bilingual dictionaries
to independently use if needed. Students
have more choice in their work as they are
able to write longer and higher level
sentences which provide opinions, using
previously learned verbs like gustar. As this
is a new grammar structure this group will
still be provided with a conjugation chart
and will be challenged to use all irregular
verbs learned in this lesson, as well as the
more complex verb ir (to go). Students will
write their journal entry in paragraphs and
have a word count of 150 to 200 words.
The Aventura group has a middle readiness
level. The main difference between this
group and the Amigos group is their
readiness with conjugating regular verbs in
 number of short sentences to write.
 Students will be provided with a conjugation
chart of regular verbs and commonly used
irregular verbs.
 Students will have examples of the sentence
structure to follow.
 Students include at least two irregular verbs in
journal entry.
the present tense. These students will be
instructed to write concise sentences and
will be provided with a conjugation chart
for regular -AR, -IR and -ER verbs in the
present tense. Students will have choice in
how many irregular verbs they want to
include and will use the conjugation chart
provided for these irregular verbs. Students
will also be challenged to use verbs like
gustar to provide opinion. There was little
difference in vocabulary knowledge
between the amigos group and the Aventura
group, therefore they will not have a
vocabulary list, rather a bilingual dictionary.
The Guay group had an earlier readiness
level and little knowledge of the vocabulary
on the topic of free time. They will be
provided with a vocabulary list with both
nouns and verbs surrounding free time.
These students struggled with regular verbs
in the preassessment, meaning they will be
provided with a conjugation chart for
regular -AR, -ER and -IR verbs and will be
mainly using these verbs for the task. I still
want to challenge these students, meaning I
have given them the translations and
conjugations for commonly used irregular
verbs and have guided them to include at
least two irregular verbs in their journal
entry. This group will write their journal
entries in short and simple sentences, and
will have a word count of 50 – 100 words.
Appendix 1: Preassessment Task

Part 1:
Translate the following infinitive verbs:

Bailar

Cantar

Escribir

Salir

Tocar

Hablar

Translate the following words:

Tiempo Libre

música

videojuegos

natación

deportes

fútbol

Drama

Teléfono móvil

Optional: Create a sentence using one of the above verbs or words:

Part Two

What are the three types of regular verbs?

Conjugate the following verb in the sentence:

Yo (cantar) todo los días.

 Ella (come) con su familia durante los fin de semanas.

Nosotros (leer) Harry Potter.

Part Three:

What do you think an irregular verb is and how might this be different from a regular
verb?

Appendix Two: Conjugation Chart for commonly used irregular verbs in the present
tense

Amigos group (highest readiness)

Aventura group (middle readiness)
Guay group (earliest readiness)

Tener Ir Hacer Jugar Ser Estar Salir

To have To go To do To play To be To be To go
out
Yo tengo voy hago juego soy estoy salgo
Tu tienes vas haces juegas eres estás sales
El/ella/ tiene va hace juega es está sale
usted
Nosotros tenemos vamos hacemos jugamos somos estamos salimos
vosotros tenéis vais hacéis jugáis sois estáis salís
Ellas/Ellos/ tienen van hacen juegan son están salen
Ustedes

Appendix Three: Conjugation chart for regular AR, IR, ER verbs in the present tense

Aventura group (middle readiness)

Guay group (earliest readiness)

-ER VERBS -AR VERBS -IR VERBS

Yo - O - O - O
Tu - ES - AS - ES
El/ella/usted - E - A - E
Nosotros - EMOS - AMOS - IMOS
Vosotros - ÉIS - ÁIS - ÍS
Ellas/Ellos/Ustedes - EN - AN - EN

Appendix Four: Vocabulary surrounding free time list

Guay Group (earliest readiness)

VERBS

Leer To read
Escribir To write
Escuchar To listen
Chatear To chat online
Jugar (irregular verb) To play
Hacer (irregular verb) To do
Cantar To sing
Hablar To talk
Bailar To dance

NOUNS

Televisión Television
Videojuegos Video games
Gimnasia Gymnastics
Natación Swimming
Baloncesto Basketball
Fútbol Football
Equitación Horse riding
Artes Marciales Marital arts
Cine Cinema
Música Music
Amigos Friends
Fotos/fotografía Photos/photography
Internet Internet
Libros Books
Mascotas Pets
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Lunes, Martes, Miercoles, Jueves, Viernes,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday Sabado, Domingo

Appendix Five: Main Task

The Amigos Group – highest readiness level group

Journal Entry: Una semana en mi vida (A week in my life)

Word Count: 150 – 200 words

In what ways do you use your free time in a typical week and why?
- Include regular as well as the irregular verbs ser, estar, hacer, jugar, ir, tener in the
present tense in your response
- Use the verbs gustar, interesar and encantar to provide opinion using the sentence
structure me gusta/interesa/encanta + infinitive verb
The Aventura Group – middle readiness level group

Journal Entry: Una semana en mi vida (A week in my life)

Word Count: 150 – 200 words

In what ways do you use your free time in a typical week?

- Use regular ER, IR and AR verbs in the present tense
- Include minimum of three irregular verbs (ser, estar, hacer, jugar, tener)
- Use the verbs gustar, interesar and encantar to provide opinion using the sentence
structure me gusta/interesa/encanta + infinitive verb

The Guay Group – earliest readiness level group

Journal Entry: Una semana en mi vida (A week in my life)

Word Count: 50 - 100 words

In what ways do you use your free time in a typical week?

- Answer with 15 short and concise sentences

- Use regular verbs in the present tense such as those provided in the vocabulary list.
- Include a minimum of two irregular verbs (ser, estar, hacer, jugar, tener, salir)

Examples

Sentence using the irregular verb Salir:

Los sabados, yo salgo con mis amigos.
On Saturdays, I go out with my friends.

Sentence using the regular AR verb Escuchar:

Yo escucho musica todo las noches.
I listen to music every night.