Spanish Lesson: Podemos ayudar a los ríos
Lesson Plan
45 minutesGrades2Social Studies, English Language Arts, Health
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Written by Liz Ransom, Maria Rojas, Sustainable Jersey for Schools
About this lesson
In this bilingual Spanish lesson, students listen to a book about the Passaic River, learn about ways people help rivers, and finish creating their book.
Inquire: Students brainstorm the kinds of problems that could be solved individually, and the kinds of problems that need a team or groups of people to solve.
Investigate: Students listen to the last chapter of a read aloud about the Passaic River and discuss their reactions.
Inspire: Students create the last two pages in their take-home book about rivers, then share their books with each other.
Preview the lesson plan
Better on a bigger screen? Open it in its own tab.View Lesson Plan
Everything you need to teach it
How to edit these materials (video)Teaching tips
Suggestions
- This lesson is designed to be taught in a Spanish bilingual or dual language class and can be used to reinforce sentence structure, parts of speech, and singular and plural nouns or to reinforce nonfiction reading comprehension.
- To help students understand what to do in a flood, teachers can extend the lesson with this book from the American Red Cross ¡Prepárate con Pedro! Inundación.
Prerequisites
- This is lesson 3 of 3 in our 2nd grade Spanish Language Unit: Biomas de los ríos.
- Students should have a basic understanding of geographical terms and the effects of weather.
- Before starting this lesson, students should have read or listened to the first two chapters of Descubriendo al río Passaic.
- Teachers should review the e-book and the speaker notes in the e-book before teaching this lesson.
Differentiation
- Teacher can use the sentence strips in the Teacher Document to guide student responses.
- In the Inspire section, students can represent their understanding of the text through their drawings only, complete the sentence stems, or write sentences or full paragraphs depending on their level or needs.
- Independent readers can be given the e-book to read on their own or in groups. The e-book can be saved as a PDF or printed out.
- Teacher can upload the e-book to a platform such as VoiceThread and record an oral version of the e-book for students to listen to independently or in groups.
From the scientist review
Esta lección permite a los estudiantes aprender sobre los ríos y sus ecosistemas, y cómo las comunidades pueden actuar para mantener los ríos saludables. Después de revisar la lección, encontramos que pasó nuestro procedimiento de revisión científica.
This lesson allows students to learn about rivers and their ecosystems, and how communities can take action to keep rivers healthy. After reviewing the lesson, we found that it passed our scientific review procedure.
This lesson allows students to learn about rivers and their ecosystems, and how communities can take action to keep rivers healthy. After reviewing the lesson, we found that it passed our scientific review procedure.
Want this to fit your class?
Add your location for local examples, questions, and action ideas.
About the teacher writers
Liz Ransom
High School Teacher
As a High School Spanish teacher and student newspaper advisor, Liz has taught for over 20 years and has served as World Languages Department Chair and K-6 summer camp activities leader. She has worked in Ohio, Maine, New Jersey, Maryland, and Chile.
Maria Rojas
Maria Rojas has 14 years of experience teaching bilingual and dual language education, specializing in Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, Mathematics, World Languages, and Spanish for grades K–3 and English as a Second Language for grades K–12. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Linguistics and Spanish from Montclair State University, a Master of Education in Curriculum and Learning from William Paterson University, and a Master's degree in Spanish-American Literature and its Application to Teaching from Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca and Fidescu. Maria also holds certifications in Spanish-English Translation, English as a Second Language, and Bilingual Education (Spanish), and has been teaching in the public sector since 2013.
Sustainable Jersey for Schools
Sustainable Jersey is a network and movement of municipalities, schools and school districts working collectively to bring about a sustainable New Jersey. Acting with state agencies, non-profit organizations, foundations, academia and industry, Sustainable Jersey researches best practices for what communities could and should do to contribute to a sustainable future.
