Textbook Fail & FinesseA lesson in planning

EDRD 6530

Kati Tremayne

Learning TargetEl 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

ContextWhen: Initial post-Christmas Break school days

Who: Spanish I

9th 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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1jAEdSkzQY

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.