Lesson One: Intro to MDG’s
Objectives: Students will be able to identify the 8 MDG’s
and be able to identify why they were created.
Standards:
 Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations,
provide and obtain information, express feelings and
emotions, and exchange opinions
 Standard 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of
listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
Materials: Computers for students to do research on MDG’s, paper, markers.
Procedure:
1. Put students into groups of 3 or 4 and give them a large piece of paper and marker.
Instruct them that they are now all leaders in the United Nations and have been asked to
take part in a World Summit that is focused on creating goals for the overall betterment
of the world. With their group members, they are to generate 8 (or as many as time
allows) goals or overall themes that need to be improved in the world to present to the
class. Give students around 10 minutes to collaborate with their groups while circling the
class to help guide discussions.
2. After 10 minutes, bring the class together and discuss the goals they created. After
sharing their goals and keeping a running list on the board, I will assign one of the 8
MDG goals to each group to research, and they will need to create a small
poster/presentation about the goal to give to their peers.
3. The following day, they will finish research and posters and present information to class
while their classmates fill out a worksheet based on information presented. MDG
Presentation Worksheet
4. As a review, I will show the following video clip to reinforce the reasoning behind the
creation of the MDG’s. #MDGMomentum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfjdUcJla6s
Assessment: Exit Card: Before students can leave that day at the end of the class, hand students
an index card and have them answer one of the two questions to check for understanding:
1. En tu opinión, ¿por qué es importante tener esta cooperación entre países?
2. Ahora que sabes las metas del UN, ¿Cuál fue una de las diferencias entres las metas del
UN versus las metas de tu grupo?
Homework: In their journals I will have the students respond to the following prompt:
Describe tu medioambiente. ¿Cómo es? ¿Qué incluye? ¿Cuál es tu parte favorito?
Lesson Two: Sustainability
Objectives: Students will learn the meaning of sustainability and be
able to distinguish between sustainable actions versus non sustainable
actions through a picture walk of my experience in Life Monteverde,
a sustainable farm in Monteverde, Costa Rica.
Standards:
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Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express
feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions
Standard 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety
of topics
Standard 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of
listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
Standard 2.2: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the
products and perspectives of the culture studied
Standard 3.1: Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through
the foreign language
Standard 3.2: Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that
are only available through the foreign language and its cultures
Materials: Pictures of Life Monteverde
Procedure:
1. Show students 6 different pictures of my trip to Life Monteverde and have them
hypothesize what I am doing (or what others are doing depending on the picture) and
why?
2. Take all of their answers during a brainstorming session and write all their ideas on the
board.
3. After we finish with the “lluvia de ideas,” put them in groups of 2 and have them write a
mission statement for the organization based on their observations. Have the students
read their statements, and then show them the real mission statement of Life Monteverde
as well as provide them with a more concrete description of the farm.
4. In order for students to draw connections from work being done in Costa Rica to protect
their land, have students generate examples of practices that we take here in WI to
promote sustainability.
Assessment: Show several pictures of activities and have them decide if it’s a sustainable action
or not.
Homework: Journal Prompt: ¿Que es una cosa que hace tu familia a apoyar sostenibilidad? ¿Y
que es una cosa que no promueve sostenibilidad?
Lesson Three: “¿Donde jugaran los niños?”
Objectives: Students will practice the future tense as well as
be able to identify the past tense by using the song “¿Donde
jugaran los niños?” by the group Mana. Students will
practice giving predictions about what will happen in the
future if we do not take steps towards sustainability.
Students will participate in a “Foto Cancion” that involves a
variety of small activities to learn new vocabulary, listening and interpreting skills, and
teamwork
Standards:
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Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express
feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions
Standard 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety
of topics
Standard 3.1: Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through
the foreign language
Standard 3.2: Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that
are only available through the foreign language and its cultures
Standard 5.2: Students show evidence of becoming life-long learners by using the
language for personal enjoyment and enrichment.
Materials:
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Lyrics to the song “¿Donde jugaran los niños?” by Mana.
http://lyricstranslate.com/en/%C2%BFDonde-jugaran-los-Ninos-lyrics.html
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Pictures that represent new vocabulary
Procedure:
1. Prepare several pictures depicting new vocabulary that students will encounter in the
song and put them on small cards.
2. Hold up the cards one by one, and as a group, have the students think of all the possible
words they can illustrated from the picture. As students say their words, write all of the
incorrect words in one color, and when someone says the correct word that depicts what
the picture represents in the song, write that word in a different color. Continue this
process with all of the pictures. Have students write down words in their notebooks and
highlight the correct words.
3. Then divide the students up into small groups and give them a set of the picture
vocabulary. Hand each student 4-5 pictures and have them practice saying the words that
represent the pictures that they have.
4. Once the students feel confident with their words, play the song and have the students
work together to place their pictures in a line on their desk in the order they appear in the
song. After the song, go around to each of the groups and check what they have correct.
5. Play the song 2 more times correcting students as they go, however, mix up the cards
each time to have students become familiar with the new words. Have them practice
saying their words aloud before playing the song again. After three rounds of the song,
go through the pictures together with the groups by placing larger pictures on the board in
the correct order.
6. Next ask the students to think of the theme of the song in their own words. After hearing
all of their ideas, hand out the lyrics to the song to each student and play the song again
allowing them to follow along with their lyrics.
7. Assessment: Pair students up a partner and in their groups have them create a list of 7-10
questions about “what ifs” for the future. These questions could replace the line of the
chorus that says, “¿Dónde diablos jugarán los pobres niños?”
Assessment: Have students write their questions on a piece of paper that they will hand in for
correct verb conjugations and logical thoughts.
Homework: Have students go through the song and highlight the words in the past tense and
write both the past tense, the infinitive, and the future tense of the verb in whatever subject is
presented in the song on a separate piece of paper.
Lesson Four: ¿Tienes sed?
Objectives: Students will learn about Costa Rica’s efforts to conserve
water through an article from the magazine “Landings” and be able to
answer comprehension questions from the article.
Standards:
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Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and
obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions
Standard 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety
of topics
Standard 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of
listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
Standard 5.1: Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting
Materials: Dirty water, cups to dispense water, peanut butter, crackers, paper, markers and/or
crayons.
Procedure:
1. As students enter the room, ask them if they are hungry and would like a snack. Give the
students some crackers with peanut butter on them and when they ask for something to
drink, pour them little cups of dirty water. When they complain about not being able to
drink the water, have them go to the water fountain which will be conveniently “out of
order.”
2. While students are finishing their snacks, ask them the following questions and have
them answer with either “Si” or “No.”
a. ¿Tuviste agua esta mañana para cepillarte los dientes?
b. ¿Usaste agua durante ducharte anoche o esta mañana?
c. ¿Vas a la fuente durante el día para beber agua?
d. ¿Cuándo estas en casa y tiene sed, tienes que caminar millas para obtener agua
limpia?
3. Discuss with the students the successes that Costa Rica has had with meeting this MDG
compared to other South American countries.
4. Pair students up and give them an article from the magazine “Landings” that tells the
story of two artists that attempt to bring awareness to the conservation of water and ocean
life through their music and artwork.
5. After students read the article, they are to fill out a comprehension worksheet about the
information covered.
Homework: Have students keep a log in their journal for how long each of their showers are
that week and every time they get a glass of water or go to the fountain.
Assessment: Tell the students: “Imaginense que son los artistos y tienen que motivar la gente
sobre la importancia de algun parte del medioambiente. ¿Qué dibujarían para reflejar sus ideas y
producir un impacto positivo en su audiencia?” Give them 5-7 minutes to create a picture and
share with the class.
Lesson Five: Biodiversidad… ¿Bio Qué?
Objectives: Students will be able to give examples of
biodiversity in their environments as well as Costa
Rica’s.
Standards:
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Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide
and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions
Standard 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety
of topics
Standard 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of
listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
Standard 3.1: Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through
the foreign language
Standard 3.2: Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that
are only available through the foreign language and its cultures
Standard 4.2: Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through
comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.
Materials: Technology to show the following video clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYH1yeWrCCo
Procedure:
1. Have students go outside and have them sit in a circle. Ask someone to explain in their
own words the meaning of biodiversity.
2. Then put them in groups of three and have them go around the school grounds and collect
a variety of examples of biodiversity in their own environment.
3. Have them bring them back into the classroom and have them give a Show and Tell of
what they found.
4. Then show them the following video clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYH1yeWrCCo
and have them make comparisons between the biodiversity of Costa Rica and what they
found outside.
5. Then show them some examples of Tico Bombas and discuss their relevance.
Homework: Have students create a Bomba on WI biodiversity or that of Costa Rica to read to
the class the following day.
Assessment: Have students write a journal with the following prompt: ¿Cuales son tres
diferencias entre la biodiversidad de Costa Rica y la que WI?
Lesson Six: ¿Qué puedes hacer?
Objectives: Students will start to connect big concepts learned in class to
how they conduct their daily lives and begin to think about the
consequences of their actions on the greater community.
Standards:
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Standard 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to
an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.
Standard 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the
relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied
Standard 3.1: Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through
the foreign language
Standard 5.1: Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting
Standard 5.2: Students show evidence of becoming life-long learners by using the
language for personal enjoyment and enrichment.
Materials:
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Short video clip of a little octopus getting caught in a piece of trash in the water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL-2C-iaMdo
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Short video clip on the importance of conserving water while showering.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aLIOZRsRmc
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Video clip of the need to properly deposit waste.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdm_rqvNBvk
Procedure:
1. Divide students into 4 small groups and have them do stations around the room to watch
little videos that promote awareness of sustainable actions. At each of the stations have
short little questions for them to fill out to check for comprehension of the video and to
practice chapter vocabulary and grammar structures.
2. After students have circulated through the stations and answered the questions at each,
bring them together, and ask them to think of an underlying theme of all of the four
movies. Have a discussion of simple actions that we can take to help reach Goal #7.
3. After the discussion, tell students that we are going to have a school wide campaign
contest to educate their peers and teachers on simple actions they can take throughout the
day to contribute to the well being of the environment. Each of them will be choosing a
sustainable action that is important to them and create a poster that presents the
importance of it and what others can do to help. Tell the students that there will be a
panel of teachers that will judge their posters and choose the best poster, and that person
will win a “Semi Valuable Prize!”
Assessment: Students will create the poster for the school wide awareness campaign and hang
them up around the school.