Overview

This 40-minute lesson introduces 7th-grade Spanish 1 students to common prepositions of place in Spanish (e.g., encima de, debajo de, al lado de, entre, frente a). Students will engage in hands-on, interactive activities to internalize spatial vocabulary, focusing on real-world application. The lesson aligns with the National Foreign Language Standards and addresses relevant Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Language Arts by emphasizing vocabulary acquisition, comprehension, and speaking skills.

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Common Core Standards Alignment

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.7.4
  Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 7 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.7.1
  Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

• National Standards for Foreign Language Learning

  • Communication: Standard 1.1 - Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
  • Cultures: Standard 2.1 - Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Identify and use at least five Spanish prepositions of place correctly in oral and written forms.
2. Describe locations of objects and people using appropriate prepositions in Spanish.
3. Collaborate with peers to practice spatial descriptions through interactive activities.
4. Demonstrate comprehension of spoken Spanish directions involving prepositions of place.

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Materials Needed

• Small classroom objects (books, pencils, erasers, chairs, etc.)
• Printed picture cards showing various objects in different spatial relationships
• Whiteboard and markers
• Exit ticket index cards
• Colored sticky notes labeled with Spanish prepositions of place
• Projector (optional for displaying instructions/flashcards)

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Lesson Procedures

1. Warm-Up & Introduction (7 minutes)

• Activity:
  1. Greet students and briefly review common classroom vocabulary (objects they will find around the room).
  2. Write five prepositions of place on the board: encima de (on/above), debajo de (under), al lado de (next to), entre (between), frente a (in front of).
  3. Use a real object (e.g., a book) and place it in different locations relative to another object (e.g., a chair). Ask students to guess the correct preposition by describing the location in Spanish.
• Purpose: Activate prior knowledge and set context for spatial vocabulary. Scaffold meaning with visual and tactile clues.

2. Model & Guided Practice (10 minutes)

• Activity:

  1. Display picture cards illustrating objects and their spatial relations. Model sentences describing each scene using the target prepositions ("El libro está encima de la mesa," etc.).
  2. Distribute sticky notes with prepositions to volunteer students, who will then position themselves or objects in the classroom to match the preposition they have (e.g., stand al lado de a desk).
  3. Practice pronunciation as a class, emphasizing the prepositions.

• Teacher Tips: Use gestures and body movement to reinforce meaning.

3. Hands-On Group Activity (15 minutes)

• Activity:

  1. Divide students into groups of 4. Each group receives a set of small objects.
  2. One student arranges the objects based on a secret Spanish preposition (from the cards), and the others guess which preposition is being acted out by describing the arrangement in Spanish.
  3. Rotate roles until all students have practiced. Encourage the use of full sentences describing location (e.g., "El lápiz está debajo de la caja").
  4. Teacher circulates and provides on-the-spot feedback and assistance.

• Benefits: Encourages peer interaction, speaking practice, kinesthetic learning, and contextual use of language.

4. Independent Practice & Formative Assessment (5 minutes)

• Activity:
  1. Give each student an exit ticket with a short prompt. For example, show a picture or describe a scene, and ask students to write one sentence in Spanish using a correct preposition of place.
  2. Collect exit tickets to quickly assess individual understanding.

5. Closing & Recap (3 minutes)

• Summarize the lesson’s key points.
• Ask 2-3 students to volunteer to share their exit ticket sentence aloud. Correct gently and praise effort.
• Assign informal “look for prepositions” homework: students note three prepositions of place in a Spanish video or text and bring their examples to class.

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Differentiation Strategies

• Support: Pair struggling learners with stronger peers during group activities. Provide a preposition word bank and sentence frames.
• Extension: Challenge advanced students to describe more complex spatial relations or create short stories using multiple prepositions.

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Reflection & Assessment

• Informal: Teacher observation during hands-on and group activities for correct preposition use, pronunciation, and fluency.
• Formal: Exit ticket responses evaluated for accuracy in vocabulary use and sentence structure.
• Consider student engagement and participation for future lesson adjustments.

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End of Plan