<<¡Los días de la semana!>>
Teacher:Lexy Beckwith
Time:15 minutes
Target grade level:2/3
Standards:
Content Standards for Music (grades K-4)
* This lesson addresses Standard 1: singing a variety of music, alone and with others.
Objectives:
1. Students will repeat (with proper pronunciation) after me, the days of the week in
Spanish.
2. Students will use a handout with "los días de la semana" to recite the song first
together, then in two rounds.
3. Without using the handout, students will be able to identify the correct order of the
Spanish week by referring to the learned song.
Rationale (why is this important?):
This lesson is important to teach for a couple reasons. First, it will be helpful for students to have a basic vocabulary in Spanish (and in other languages), based on our ever-changing population. Additionally, this lesson builds on itself and requires a great amount of concentration and focus toward the end, in pronouncing the words correctly, and singing a round at the same time as another round. In teaching students this vocabulary in a song-like format, they will be able to remember it better and refer to it if they need to remember the names, or the order, of the days in Spanish.
Materials:
* a handout of the days of the week for each student (the handout should be used as a guide for the song, as well as for noticing basic sounds-spelling in Spanish later on).
Background:
"The etymology (word history) of most of the days the week are linked to Roman mythology. The Romans saw a connection between their gods and the changing face of the nighttime sky, so it became natural to use their gods' names for the planets — the ones they were able to track in the sky were Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Those five planets plus the moon and sun made seven major astronomical bodies, so when the seven-day week was imported from Mesopotamia early in the fourth century it was a natural to use those astronomical names for the days of the week."
http://spanish.about.com/od/historyofspanish/a/names_of_days.htm
Unlike English, the Spanish calendar starts on Monday, and the related words for the sun and for Saturn were not used. Lunes (Monday), refers to the moon (luna), martes (Tuesday) to Mars, miércoles (Wednesday), to Mercury, jueves (Thursday) to Jupiter, viernes (Friday), to Venus, and"…that leaves the words for Saturday and Sunday, that weren't adopted using the Roman naming pattern. Domingo, the word for Sunday, comes from a Latin word meaning "Lord's day." And sábado, the word for Saturday, comes from the Hebrew word Sabbath, meaning a day of rest (in Jewish and Christian tradition, God rested on the seventh day of creation)."
Opening:
Summarize the background and etymology of the words for the days of the week in Spanish. Ask if students can make a connection to the planets to the English days of the week.
Body:
1. Give each student a handout of the words and ask them to follow along with their finger as I demonstrate the song.
2. Have the students repeat each word separately after me, encouraging focus on correct pronunciation (point out that the way the words are spelled is not how we would pronounce them in English).
3. After all the students are comfortable saying the words, start by singing the first part of the song and having students repeat: lunes, martes…
4. Sing each part by modeling-echoing, then sing all together with students. When they can do that comfortably, have them sing it alone twice (correcting mistakes, if necessary).
miércoles, jueves… viernes, sábado… domingo…
5. Direct one half of the class to start singing, then direct the other half to start from the beginning when the first group gets to "miércoles." By conducting, have them repeat 3 rounds.
Closure:
After the students have completed the 3 rounds successfully, ask two or three focus questions, such as:
* Which day comes before miércoles?
* Tell me in Spanish which day follows "viernes."
Assessment:
1. Students will show they can pronounce the Spanish words by repeating them after me, together with their classmates.
2. Students will show they have learned the song when they are able to sing it withoutmy lead, and then successfully in two rounds.
3. Students will demonstrate their new knowledge by referring to the song to answerquestions directed by the instructor.
Adaptations/Extensions:
For students with special needs, accommodations would be made accordingly. For instance, for a student who is hard of hearing, they can focus on my conducting motions and help me conduct the whole class when we get to parts 4 and 5.
For a longer class period, students could do any of the following extension activities:
* split up into 4 or more groups to sing more rounds
* incorporate instruments – figure out which note is assigned to each word
(using xylophones, for instance)
* write the sheet music for the song
* design their own melody for the song, using the same sequence of words
Integrating other subject areas:
This lesson could be used in correspondence with any of the following larger units:
* basic calendar activities
* math – measuring and designing their own calendars
* Roman mythology
* foreign language unit
* writing about daily activities
Teacher:Lexy Beckwith
Time:15 minutes
Target grade level:2/3
Standards:
Content Standards for Music (grades K-4)
* This lesson addresses Standard 1: singing a variety of music, alone and with others.
Objectives:
1. Students will repeat (with proper pronunciation) after me, the days of the week in
Spanish.
2. Students will use a handout with "los días de la semana" to recite the song first
together, then in two rounds.
3. Without using the handout, students will be able to identify the correct order of the
Spanish week by referring to the learned song.
Rationale (why is this important?):
This lesson is important to teach for a couple reasons. First, it will be helpful for students to have a basic vocabulary in Spanish (and in other languages), based on our ever-changing population. Additionally, this lesson builds on itself and requires a great amount of concentration and focus toward the end, in pronouncing the words correctly, and singing a round at the same time as another round. In teaching students this vocabulary in a song-like format, they will be able to remember it better and refer to it if they need to remember the names, or the order, of the days in Spanish.
Materials:
* a handout of the days of the week for each student (the handout should be used as a guide for the song, as well as for noticing basic sounds-spelling in Spanish later on).
Background:
"The etymology (word history) of most of the days the week are linked to Roman mythology. The Romans saw a connection between their gods and the changing face of the nighttime sky, so it became natural to use their gods' names for the planets — the ones they were able to track in the sky were Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Those five planets plus the moon and sun made seven major astronomical bodies, so when the seven-day week was imported from Mesopotamia early in the fourth century it was a natural to use those astronomical names for the days of the week."
http://spanish.about.com/od/historyofspanish/a/names_of_days.htm
Unlike English, the Spanish calendar starts on Monday, and the related words for the sun and for Saturn were not used. Lunes (Monday), refers to the moon (luna), martes (Tuesday) to Mars, miércoles (Wednesday), to Mercury, jueves (Thursday) to Jupiter, viernes (Friday), to Venus, and"…that leaves the words for Saturday and Sunday, that weren't adopted using the Roman naming pattern. Domingo, the word for Sunday, comes from a Latin word meaning "Lord's day." And sábado, the word for Saturday, comes from the Hebrew word Sabbath, meaning a day of rest (in Jewish and Christian tradition, God rested on the seventh day of creation)."
Opening:
Summarize the background and etymology of the words for the days of the week in Spanish. Ask if students can make a connection to the planets to the English days of the week.
Body:
1. Give each student a handout of the words and ask them to follow along with their finger as I demonstrate the song.
2. Have the students repeat each word separately after me, encouraging focus on correct pronunciation (point out that the way the words are spelled is not how we would pronounce them in English).
3. After all the students are comfortable saying the words, start by singing the first part of the song and having students repeat: lunes, martes…
4. Sing each part by modeling-echoing, then sing all together with students. When they can do that comfortably, have them sing it alone twice (correcting mistakes, if necessary).
miércoles, jueves… viernes, sábado… domingo…
5. Direct one half of the class to start singing, then direct the other half to start from the beginning when the first group gets to "miércoles." By conducting, have them repeat 3 rounds.
Closure:
After the students have completed the 3 rounds successfully, ask two or three focus questions, such as:
* Which day comes before miércoles?
* Tell me in Spanish which day follows "viernes."
Assessment:
1. Students will show they can pronounce the Spanish words by repeating them after me, together with their classmates.
2. Students will show they have learned the song when they are able to sing it withoutmy lead, and then successfully in two rounds.
3. Students will demonstrate their new knowledge by referring to the song to answerquestions directed by the instructor.
Adaptations/Extensions:
For students with special needs, accommodations would be made accordingly. For instance, for a student who is hard of hearing, they can focus on my conducting motions and help me conduct the whole class when we get to parts 4 and 5.
For a longer class period, students could do any of the following extension activities:
* split up into 4 or more groups to sing more rounds
* incorporate instruments – figure out which note is assigned to each word
(using xylophones, for instance)
* write the sheet music for the song
* design their own melody for the song, using the same sequence of words
Integrating other subject areas:
This lesson could be used in correspondence with any of the following larger units:
* basic calendar activities
* math – measuring and designing their own calendars
* Roman mythology
* foreign language unit
* writing about daily activities
