ZT2 — IZT TASK 1: COGNITIVISM AND CONSTRUCTIVISM

Revision 1

Ciara Ayala Pujols

Western Governors University

LESSON PLAN (ZT2 — IZT TASK 2: COGNITIVISM AND
CONSTRUCTIVISM)

GENERAL INFORMATION

Lesson Title & Subject(s): Introduction to the Spanish alphabet - Beginner Spanish

Topic or Unit of Study: El Alfabeto (The Alphabet)

Grade/Level: 8th grade

Instructional Setting:

This lesson will take place in a standard classroom setting. The audience are 8 th grade students who do
not have previous knowledge of Spanish. Currently there are 10 students in the roster. Students are
seated in individual desks. Due to Covid-19 restrictions students are seated six feet apart, with face
coverings all the time. There will be no sharing or passing of classroom materials. All class material will
be distributed electronically to the students. Each student has a school issued Chromebook. Seats are
arranged in 4 rows of 5 desks (total of 20 desks in the classroom). Students are seated leaving one desk
between them. To present class material there is a TV/projector in the front of the classroom and a
whiteboard on the side wall of the classroom.

STANDARDS AND OBJECTIVES

Common Core Standard:

Common Core of Learning – World languages
Content Standard 2.7-8 Interpretive Communication
Lesson Objective(s):
By the end of this lesson students should be able to identify the sound of a character, recognize letters or
characters, be able to spell their name and simple words in the target language.

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

Instructional Materials:
1. Spanish and English alphabet posters and/or digital copies of both alphabets
2. Alphabet pronunciation handout
3. Nearpod lesson code QBCGU.
4. Google Slides Presentation (El Alfabeto)

Resources:
1. Atención, Atención Oficial. (2018, June). El rap de las letras [Video]. YouTube. URL of specific
video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ1bQnifbP0

INSTRUCTIONAL PLAN

Sequence of Instructional Procedures/Activities/Events (provide description and

indicate approximate time for each):

1. Student Prerequisite Skills/Connections to Previous Learning:

Students engaging in this lesson have no prior exposure to the Spanish language. This will be
their first interaction with the target language.

2. Presentation Procedures for New Information and/or Modeling:

Presentation Procedures for New Information: (5-10 minutes)

Step 1: Teacher introduces the Spanish alphabet.

Teacher:
“Today we will learn the Spanish alphabet. We will listen to the pronunciation of the letters,
compare it with the English alphabet and identify the characters that are similar and different in
both languages. Then we will spell our names in Spanish”.
.
Step 2: Teacher presents a visual (physical or digital) of the Spanish alphabet and
encourages students to point out the differences between the Spanish and English
alphabets.

Students must point out the additional characters the Spanish alphabet has (ch, ñ, ll, rr). Teacher
will identify the characters by name and invite the students to listen to an alphabet song in
Spanish.

Modeling: (10-15 minutes)

 Step 3: Teacher will begin correct pronunciation of the Spanish alphabet

Teacher will use the Spanish alphabet poster to point at each letter, identify its name and teach
the proper pronunciation of it.
 First time: Teacher will point at the letter and teach proper pronunciation and show
pronunciation in context (Example “a” – árbol)
 Second time: Teacher will encourage students to repeat with her letter pronunciation
and an example of the letter in context.

3. Guided Practice: (10 minutes)

Each student will have a copy of the Spanish Alphabet pronunciation handout. The teacher will
write a list of simple Spanish words on the whiteboard and spell the first word, then she/he will
ask for volunteers to spell the rest of them. (students will have a physical copy of the
pronunciation chart to use it a reference)

4. Independent Student Practice: (10 minutes)

Teacher:
“Now I will write your names on the whiteboard. When I point at your name you will stand up and
spell it in Spanish. You can use the handout as reference”

5. Culminating or Closing Procedure/Activity/Event: (10 minutes)

Teacher and students will spell out the Spanish alphabet one more time.

Teacher:
“Can any of you tell me what characters the Spanish alphabet has the English alphabet doesn’t?
How do you pronounce them? Very good! Now each of you will tell me an English word you
would like to know in Spanish. I will write its translation on the board and you will have to spell it.”

Teacher will encourage the students to study for a dictation/spell quiz on the next class.

Instructional Strategy (or Strategies):

Direct instruction: The teacher wrote Spanish words on the whiteboard and spell them for the students.

Interactive instruction: The students picked a word in English and after the teacher translate the word
to Spanish the students were required to spell it.

Differentiated Instruction Accommodations:

gifted/accelerated learners: teacher will supply more complicated words for student considered
gifted/accelerated (example, students with a Spanish)

students with speaking disabilities: will have the option to phonetically spell the words. The alphabet
pronunciation handout will provide how to correctly write the Spanish pronunciation of the alphabet.

Use of Technology:
1. A smart board will be used to project and scroll through the Spanish alphabet.
2. YouTube app will be used to watch a video
3. Nearpod app will be used to share presentation. Nearpod has the option for the student to watch
the presentation live or student paced.
Student Assessment/Rubrics:
Formative (Informal) Assessment:
During guided practice I will ask students to spell random words to assess their understanding of the
lesson

Formative (Formal) Assessment:

The learning objective has been met if a student can spell his/her name and simple Spanish words
without mayor difficulties and if the student can achieve at least a 7/9 points on the attached Spanish
alphabet pronunciation rubric.

Spanish Alphabet Pronunciation Rubric

Poor (1) Fair (2) Good (3)

Difficult to understand.
Pronunciatio
Mispronounces letters. (>5
n clearly. No major errors in
errors)
Appears that student has not
practiced. Hesitates, uses
Fluency "uh" after letters. Long
pauses or refusal to speak.
Uses English.
Appears that little or no effort
made to learn alphabet.
Memorization
Many alphabet letters
omitted. (>3)
Pronounces majority of
Speaks clearly.
letters correctly and
Pronounces most
letters correctly.
pronunciation.
Student has practiced. Student has practiced
Little hesitation or use sufficiently. Recites
of English. Speech is alphabet in an audible,
audible. (<3 halts in distinct voice, without any
speech) hesitation.
Student has practiced
Student has practiced
but should have put in
sufficiently. Recites
more time. A few
alphabet clearly with
alphabet letters
correct pronunciation.
omitted. (3 or less)
 Cognitivism and Constructivism in an instructional setting 

Contrary to behaviorism that focuses on observations, stimulus and the consequences that

follow, cognitivism focuses on non-observable behavior such as tough of process and the nature

of the learner. Three key elements of cognitivism that impact teaching and learning are personal

characteristics, behavioral patterns, and social environment. Personal characteristics refers to

how an individual processes the information he or she receives, how the information is stored,

how it is recalled and how previous knowledge will affect how the new information is used. This

is important in an instructional setting because if a student can relate the new information with

previous knowledge that would help him or her have a better understanding of the new

information and used it in a more successful way. Behavioral patterns are another key element of

cognitivism. These patterns refer to auto control, self-regulation, self-evaluation, among others.

How an individual has controlled over him or herself is extremely important in the process of

learning. As an individual gets older it is assumed the he or she will share the responsibility of

learning or will not need as much guidance as a younger individual. Sadly, not all students are

successful acquiring and using these skills. The last key element of cognitivism is social

environment. Social environment refers to all the factors that surround an individual. Some

factors could be as simple as positive or negative persuasion or as complex as family

background. Some factors that encouraged or discourage to an individual learn can be addressed

by the educator, for example positive feedback and explanations. Other factors are completely

out of the hand of the educator. Some examples can be unknown health issues, economical

disadvantages, or family interactions. Albert Bandura calls the process of interaction among

these three elements triadic reciprocal causation (McCown, 2014, p. 295). When developing a

lesson, a teacher must consider all three elements knowing that each one of them affects the
other and that sometimes one has more weight than the others. Besides that, the balance between

the three elements is going to vary between individuals. The difficulty when using cognitive

theories to develop a lesson is that you cannot “see” what and how an individual is processing

the information, what level of understanding he or she has and what factors are affecting his

learning. Nowadays we have cognitive assessments developed by psychologists that can give us

an insight of how these elements interact and affect learning. Thanks to data collected in these

assessments the educator can develop effective lessons and take into consideration factors that

affect learning and cannot be seen or measured.

In part A of this task a lesson plan was developed for the teaching of the Spanish

alphabet. A modification to this plan could be to assess the learning of the Spanish alphabet

using a different approach. Instead of requesting a student to recite the alphabet or spell a word, a

set of flashcards with the letters printed on them can be used for recognition. Recognized letters

will be placed in a green box and unrecognized letters would be placed in a red box. The teacher

will shuffle the cards and pick one student randomly. Then the teacher would show the cards to

the student. If the student names the letter correctly you place the card in the green box if the

student does not recognize it or takes a considerable time recognizing it,  the card would be

placed in the red box. All letters in the red box will be counted and reviewed with the entire

class. This activity can be repeated two or three times with different students. The teacher can

keep a “scoresheet” of each student to track progress. What I like about this modification is that

it encourages the student to create an “archive” that relates the sound and the image of the letter.

Also reviewing the cards in the red box with the rest of the class can help students that share the

same “failures”. The negative aspect of this modification is that the educator cannot “see” if the

student is creating this “archive” in his memory.

 Another approach to on how a person learns is constructivism. Constructivism holds that

meaningful learning occurs when people actively try to make sense of the world by filtering new

ideas and experiences through existing knowledge structures (McCown, 2014, p. 263). Three key

elements of constructivism that impact teaching and learning are prior knowledge, multiple

perspectives, and self-regulation. Based on constructivist approach any idea can be challenge and

all perspectives deserve consideration. You can change a point of view without considering the

previous one incorrect. All this input from different sources create a continuous flow of changing

ideas. A constructivist approach in language learning can be a little challenging. The teacher

would be a guide instead of an instructor. This could cause serious complications if you are

following a time-based curriculum with specific deadlines for each learning goal. Also, language

learning is based on grammar and vocabulary rules that cannot be challenged or changed with

ease.  

In part A of this task a lesson plan was developed for the teaching of the Spanish

alphabet. A modification to this plan could be to replace the proposed song and use a known or

familiar rhythm to create an alphabet song. The rhythm of “BINGO” is very familiar to children

from a lot of countries. An alphabet song with the rhythm of BINGO will help the students use

prior knowledge to retain the new information. A negative aspect of this modification is that

there may be some students that are not familiar with the BINGO song. Another modification to

the previous lesson plan could be made after the students identify the additional letters of the

Spanish alphabet. The teacher can ask the students, “Why do you think the Spanish alphabet has

these additional letters?” This simple question can encourage the students to create theories and

compare hypothesis on why the Spanish and English alphabets are different. A negative aspect of
this modification is that students can be more involved in the comparison of the theories instead

of the goal of the lesson that is to learn the alphabet.

 References

McCown, J.S. R. (2014). Psychology Applied to Teaching. [Western Governors University]. 

Retrieved from https://wgu.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781305176881/