Textbook Fail & Finesse A lesson in planning EDRD 6530 Kati Tremayne

Learning Target El meta  Estudiar y aprender de las tradiciones y celebraciones del Día de los Reyes Study and learn about the traditions and celebrations of Hispanic cultures for Epiphany / Day of the Magi

Context When: Initial post-Christmas Break school days Who: Spanish I 9 th grade – 6 students

Student Strengths Curiosity and creativity Fearless attitudes toward target-language reading and translation Positive, open and communicative relationships with peers and teacher Diverse backgrounds and cultural experiences

Student Needs One student diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, one student undiagnosed but exhibiting signs of being on the Autism spectrum Two students with significant spelling difficulties

Reason for Textbook’s Failure Nigh absolute lack of cultural information regarding Epiphany traditions and celebrations within any Hispanic culture. Only one photograph with a short caption beneath is provided in the textbook

Reason for Textbook’s Failure Party- and celebration-related material is too generic to address Christmas-related celebrations within the Spanish-speaking world Vocabulary and phrases that may be used in the context of a celebration are limited

Student Feedback on Textbook’s Failure Pre-activity discussion revealed that students had little to no prior knowledge of Epiphany-related activities within Hispanic culture, indicating the need for explicit and detailed exploration and study material Pre-activity written and oral discussion questions are included below. Students, when prompted to use written reference materials to answer the question, found little to no information in their textbook. –¿Cómo son similares las celebraciones durante diciembre y enero en los países hispanohablantes a las celebraciones de nuestra cultura? –¿Cómo son diferentes? –¿Cuál día feriado se celebra el 6 de enero? –¿Por qué se celebra este día feriado?

Textbook Supplementation Our first step to textbook supplementation was to translate together the holiday name: Día de los reyes, then share our ideas for its origin and involvement

Textbook Supplementation - We then read together – first in Spanish, later translating to English – a brochure about this holiday created by former Spanish IV students.

Textbook Supplementation We explored in depth the ideas presented in the brochure with a short article elaborating these details

Textbook Supplementation We welcomed a few celebrations of this holiday into our classroom by reading, translating, listening to and then singing a traditional carol of the season, Mi burrito sabanero

Textbook Supplementation Finally, we made our own shoes and place them in our Spanish room in anticipation of the visit of the kings, leaving them with a few treats for the camels. The following school day, we emptied our shoes and discussed together the gifts brought by the kings!

Evidence of Student Learning Students successfully sang Mi burrito sabanero along with the recording the next day. They also successfully reproduced missing lyrics on the following exam. Students also successfully described the holiday – taking turns sharing – to the administrative assistant. They showed their shoes and their gifts, and explained the celebrations essential history and distinguishing characteristics.

Evidence of Teacher Learning From this textbook failure I learned that I must not depend on any specific text as a resource. It is vital that I cross-reference, seek supplemental texts, and seek authentic sources to make the lesson as relevant and interesting as possible.