Lesson plan about ancient Rome

LESSON PLAN: Seville and Rome united by Culture (Roman age)

 

Introduction:

This lesson plan is thought to be carried out by groups of students in both cities: the Spanish students will develop the part regarding Seville and the Italian students that related to Rome. There are some common activities to be carried out in the mobilities laid down in the project, for example the contest about the cultural contents or the presentation by the students of the artistic heritage of both cities in the place where the real works of art remain. The rest will be shared in an eTwinning space or a Facebook page as a preparation of the final projects.

 

Learning outcomes:

The specific objectives and aims of this lesson are not closed or decided previously. The first task of the students with the teacher’s advice will be to define them. The teacher can establish or suggest the main objectives, for example, those referring to the four basic skills and the grammar content, allowing more freedom for the cultural ones. Some of this lesson aims can be:

-        To research and know the art of the Roman age.

-        To research and know the historical age of this artistic style.

-        To research and know the history of both cities: Rome and Seville.

-        To study and compare common elements of the Roman age: Julius Caesar, Roman Emperors Trajan and Hadrian; Italica and Ostia Antica; Triana and Trastevere; Testaccio

-        To study and know some of the most representative works of art of this age.

-        To know Seneca and Cicero: Two representatives of the Roman culture

-        To study the influence of Roman culture in literature.

-        To understand written texts about literature, art and history.

-        To understand audio-guides and videos about art and history.

-        To learn, understand and use the past tenses in English: Simple past, past continuous, present perfect and past perfect.

-        To write texts about the artists, their age and their works, giving data and their opinion about them.

-        To use ICT tools to search for and transmit information about these topics.

-        To learn group work techniques.

 

Curriculum alignment:

This lesson plan is suitable for students of B1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages but it could be easily adapted to higher or lower levels. Inside the school this level usually aligns with Spanish 1^st Bachillerato. The grammar contents are part of the curriculum of this level and the cultural contents are used to increase the European awareness of the students by creating a sense of belonging to the same community through the knowledge of the common cultural and historical heritage of both countries.

 

Contents:

Language contents:

-        Past tenses: Simple past, past continuous, present perfect and past perfect.

-        Time adverbs and time complements

-        Time complex sentences and linkers.

-        Pronunciation and intonation.

Cultural contents:

-        History of Seville and Rome.

-        Roman art and handicraft.

-        Roman architecture and town planning

-        Roman literature and use of Romans in literature, theatre and cinema.

-        Similarities and differences between Rome and Seville.

 

Time required:

This lesson plan will require one hour per week during two months, that is about 8 hours, for the students to research and share the information, plus one month more (4 lessons) to prepare the contest questions and final presentations. It will start in November 2017.

 

Organization:

The classroom will be organized in groups even though students will sometimes work individually. They will also work in the ICT classroom. Each group will work in a cultural topic and also in a linguistic point. The cultural ones could be the following:

-        The Roman age: Julius Caesar and Hadrian and other Roman emperors

-        The Roman cities: Ostia Antica and Italica, and other Roman cities

-        Suburbs: Trastevere and Triana

-        Painting, sculpture and Roman mosaics

-        Seneca and Cicero and other Roman writers

-        Rome and Seville: Testaccio and other things in common.

-  Romans in Shakespeare’s plays: Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus

The students in Rome will research the Italian places, works and characters and the students in Seville the Spanish ones.

 

Competences involved

- Linguistic competence: They will develop their practical knowledge of English as all the documents will be written in this language.

- Digital competence: The students will have to use different digital tools which will help them learn new ways of working and learning.

- Cultural conciousness and expressions: The students will have to study works of art, monuments and literary works and interprete them.

- Social Competence: They will work in groups and will meet students from another country.

- Sense of initiative: Consultation of sources and data interpretation 

 

 

Materials, resources and ICT tools

The materials and resources depend on the possibilities of each school, but they would be basically the following:

-        Teachers and students: not only those working on the project but also the rest of the school.

-        Computers and electronic devices with Internet connection.

-        Digital board.

-        Microphone and camera.

-        DVDs, books and dictionaries

Some of the ICT tools that can be used by the students are the following:

-        Websites

-        Emails

-        Skype

-        Blogger to create a blog with the information

-        Presentations with PPS or Prezi

-        Videos with Powtoon or Present.me

-        Group work through Trello or Padlet.

 

Methodology and activities

The methodology will be communicative and learner centred. Project based learning and gameification will be also used. The teachers will promote self-learning among their students acting as a learning facilitator but they will also have the help and support they need. The use of the English language throughout the lesson plan is fundamental, together with the other foreign languages- Italian for the Spanish and Spanish for the Italians. Group work and ICT tools will be used in some phases too.

 

 

Tasks:

1.     Formation of the groups and distribution of assignments

The students will have the option to decide the members of the groups and also the topics they will work on. The teacher will only intervene in case of conflict. It could be convenient to assign roles to the members of the group and also to analyze the behavior of the groups from time to time by means of a questionnaire like the following:

                                                    How many people are there in the group?

                                                    During the previous activity how many of them

§  spoke only in the foreign language?

§  took notes or wrote things down?

§  asked questions connected to the activity?

§  answered some questions connected to the activity?

§  made suggestions connected to the activity?

§  invited someone else in the group to contribute?

2.     Searching for information

Each group should make a research to look for information about the topic assigned. They can use any source they consider appropriate. The teacher can suggest some of them if asked to, anyway they will have to decide if they need help or not. Occasionally, they will have to distribute the work to be done outside the classroom because they sometimes won’t have time or means to do it there.

The teacher can suggest different websites or advise them about how to use search engines and the library to investigate on their own. They will be given a guideline about the type of information they have to search for. The teacher can also propose them to do a previous outline to distribute the tasks. All the information should be in English and the source must be registered.

3.     Including the information in the blog and in Twinspace.

All the relevant information found and elaborated by the students will be included in a blog created for the project where everybody can see it. It will also be shared in Twinspace. All the students should upload some information as the use of ICT tools will also be assessed. The teacher will monitor the information before it is uploaded, as this will be the source of information to prepare the cultural contests.

4.     Preparation and presentation of the grammar points and test.

Each group in Seville and Rome will have to prepare a presentation of a grammar point in English that they will have chosen at the beginning of the lesson plan. As there will be a Spanish and an Italian group working in each topic, they can work together and exchange information and ideas. Each group will have to make a presentation in front of the class and we will try to broadcast it through Skype to the other country too in order they can help each other explain the content.

 Then, each group will have to create several questions to be included in a grammar test which will be taken by all the students in another lesson. The test will be corrected and marked by the students themselves, by exchanging them, with the help of the teacher.

5.     Generation of questions and organization of the contests about the topics researched.

After all the cultural information about Seville and Rome has been uploaded to the blog and Twinspace, each group will have to create a small questionnaire about the topic they have worked on, these will be the questions used for the contests that will be organized during both mobilities, the ones to Seville and to Rome.

When the Italians come to Seville, they will have to answer the questions about the information uploaded and the presentations made by the Spanish students in the places visited, in the contest that will take place the last day of the mobility. The same will happen when the Spanish go to Rome. In order to prepare for these contests, the rest of the students who are not participating in the mobilities should help their representatives by preparing a mock contest in which they will ask them possible questions.

There will be prizes for the winners of both contests.

6.     Preparation of the presentations to be made in the monuments

The students of each country will have to act as tourist guides of the students who visit their city.  To carry out this role, they will prepare presentations to be performed in the places visited which are planned to be the following:

Italy:

-        Ostia Antica

-        Colosseum, foro, Palatino.

-        Trajan market

-        Capitolino museums

Spain:

-        Cathedral and Giralda. Alcazar, el Salvador.

-        Antiquarium

-        Bolonia and Cádiz

-        Necropolis of Carmona

-        Italica

-        Archaelogical museum

All the students of the groups participating in the project will be guides, not only those participating in the mobilities, as all of them should contribute to the development of the audioguides and will be assessed for the implementation of this lesson plan.

7.     Log book of the mobility

The students who participate in the mobilities will have to complete a log book about the experience. They should include all their visits, activities and experiences and can also add drawings and photographs.  It will be compulsory to give it to the teacher on the decided deadline.

8.     Creation of audioguides.

At the end of the lesson plan, the groups participating in the project will put together all the information gathered and elaborated in order to create an audioguide in each country about the following topics:

-        Spanish students: The Romans in “la Bética”: Seville (Hispalis), Italica, Carmona, Bolonia (Baelo Claudia), Cádiz (Gades).

-        Italian students: The Roman ruins in Rome and surroundings: Colosseum, Foro, Palatino, Circo Massimo, Traian markets, Pantheon, Ara Pacis, Ostia Antica, etc.

These audioguides will be recorded in English and Spanish in Seville and in English and Italian in Rome. They can be used in future visits and school trips to these monuments.

 

Assessment

Types of evaluation:

1.     Initial assessment: At the beginning of the lesson plan, the students will be given a questionnaire about the topic to know their previous ideas. After they attempt to answer it on their own, there would be a pooling of the knowledge so that they all will start from the same point.

2.     Continuous and formative assessment: Throughout all the unit development, the evaluation of all the activities will be carried out by means of different instruments like observation, rubrics and learning diaries.

3.     Self-assessment: At the end of the lesson plan, the students will evaluate their own performance.

4.     Co-evaluation: The students will have to evaluate their peers in some of the activities like grammar presentations, presentations during the cultural visits and their behaviour inside the group.

 

Evaluation criteria

What is going to be assessed is related not only to the four language skills but also to the attitude and the achievement regarding learner autonomy and collaborative work. The criteria will be mainly the following:

-        Student’s attitude during the process: interest, participation, initiative, creativity.

-        Personal work: completion of tasks, timeliness.

-        Knowledge: acquisition of correct and clear grammar and cultural concepts.

-        Group work: collaboration, helpfulness, participation.

-        Adequacy in the oral and written expressions

-        Comprehension of written and oral texts.

-        Development of the four skills: Reading writing, speaking and listening

 

Assessing instruments

-        Learning diary and log book

-        Rubrics

-        Questionnaires

-        Cultural contests

-        Grammar presentation and test

-        Co-evaluation of the Presentations of the monuments visited

 

Qualification

The qualification will be carried out by means of a rubric which will include all the aspects to be taken into account and their relation to the key competences. This rubric will be given to the students for them to know how they will be evaluated. It includes all the assessment criteria and the aspects evaluated during the implementation of the lesson plan.

At the end of the lesson plan the students will answer an evaluation sheet where they will assess their own performance, their groupmates’ behaviour and the teacher’s role.

Following there are examples of these two documents.

 

 

 

WRITING ESSAY RUBRIC

Traits/points	1	2	3	4
Focus and details	The topic and main ideas are not clear	There is one topic, main ideas are somewhat clear	There is one clear well focused topic. Main ideas are clear but are not well supported by detailed information.	There is one clear, well focused topic. Main ideas are clear and are well supported by detailed and accurate information
Organization	There is no clear introduction, structure, or conclusion.	The introduction states the main topic. A conclusion is included.	The introduction states the main topic and provides an overview of the paper. A conclusion is included.	The introduction is inviting, states the main topic, and provides an overview of the paper. Information is relevant and presented in a logical order. The conclusion is strong.
Voice	The author’s purpose of writing is unclear.	The author’s purpose of writing is somewhat clear, and there is evidence of attention to audience. The author’s knowledge and experience with the topic are limited.	The author’s purpose of writing is somewhat clear, and there is some evidence of attention to audience. The author’s knowledge and experience with the topic are evident	The author’s purpose of writing is very clear, and there is strong evidence of attention to audience. The author’s extensive knowledge and experience with the topic are evident.
Word choice	The writer uses a limited vocabulary. Jargon or clichés may be present and detract from the meaning.	The author uses words that communicate clearly, but the writing lacks variety	The author uses vivid words and phrases. The choice and placement of words is inaccurate at times and/or seems overdone.	The author uses vivid words and phrases. The choice and placement of words seems accurate, natural, and not forced.
Sentence structure Grammar Spelling	Sentences sound inconvenient, are distractingly repetitive, or are difficult to understand. The author makes numerous errors in grammar and/or spelling that interfere with understanding.	Most sentences are well constructed, but they have a similar structure and/or length. The author makes several errors in grammar and/or spelling that interfere with understanding.	Most sentences are well constructed and have varied structure and length. The author makes a few errors in grammar and/or spelling, but they do not interfere with understanding	All sentences are well constructed and have varied structure and length. The author makes no errors in grammar and/or spelling.

 

 

FINAL RUBRIC

Trails/Points	1	2	3	4
Adequacy of Spoken and written expression and comprehension (linguistic competences)	Use of an excessively simplified language, with grammar and spelling errors. He/she understands Little and badly	Use of a very simple language with some grammar and spelling errors. He/she only understands the simplest expressions.	Use of correct expression with few errors, use of a Little varied vocabulary. Comprehension is acceptable. He/she understands most language.	Use of correct and expressive language, with a rich and varied vocabulary. He/she understands almost everything.
Realization of tasks and learning results (learning to learn)	He/she hasn’t fulfilled almost any task and the tests and work results are limited.	He/she has fulfilled half the tasks and the results of the tests and assignments are little adequate.	He/she has fulfilled most of the tasks and most results of tests and assignments are good.	He/she has fulfilled all the tasks and the results of the tests and assignments are excellent.
Use of ICT Tools (digital competences)	He/she hasn’t used any ICT tool or hasn’t done it appropriately	He/she has used some ICT tools but not in an effective way.	He/she has used several ICT tools with different results.	He/she has used the necessary ICT tools in an appropriate and effective way.
Decision making and creativity (Sense of initiative)	He/she hasn’t taken decisions, only follows instructions.	He/she has taken some decisions but doesn’t show creativity.	He/she takes decisions when necessary and tries to be creative.	He/she usually takes decisions and shows much creativity.
Participation and collaboration with group. (social and civic competences)	He/she doesn’t participate in taking decisions or collaborate in the assignments and creates conflicts. Negative attitude.	He/she participates a little in the group discussions but doesn’t collaborate enough. Passive attitude.	He/she participates frequently enough in the group discussions and normally collaborates in the assignments Good attitude.	He/she participate actively in group discussions, organizes and helps in the assignments. Excellent attitude.
Knowledge about  the age. (Consciousness and  cultural expressions)	He/she isn’t interested in cultural and interdisciplinary contents.	He/she knows some details about the cultural contents but doesn’t show much interest.	He/she knows the basic cultural contents about the age but with a lack of details.	He/she knows the cultural contents in detail and shows interest in them.

 

EVALUATION OF THE LESSON PLAN ABOUT ROME & SEVILLE
	SELF-EVALUATION OF CONTENTS: 1. Were the tasks fulfilled successfully? -        Searching for information __ Si  __ No -        Upload work to the blog   __ Si  __ No -        Grammar test                     __ Si __ No -        Contest                               __ Si __ No -        Presentation                       __ Si __ No   2. Which would be your mark from 1 to 5 in each activity? -        Searching for information              ___ -        Upload work to the blog               ___ -        Grammar test                                  ___ -        Contest                                           ___ -        Presentation                                  ____	EVALUATION OF THE UNIT: What do you think about the tasks? Evaluate from 1(I don’t agree) to 5 (I agree) The tasks were interesting           ___ I have learnt new things              ___ I like working in groups                ___ It has been funny                          ___ It has been easy                                  ___ Would you like to make a comment?
EVALUATION
THE GROUP AND ME:		THE TEACHER:
Problems: Evaluate  1(not true)- 3 (true) __ Not everybody participated __ We argued for too long __ We didn’t speak English __ We didn’t note down everything __  The group didn’t help me __ The group laughed at me. __  I prefer to do the tasks on my own		Problems: Evaluate 1(not true)- 3 (true) __   didn’t help me enough __ made me nervous during oral presentations __   didn’t answer my questions __  didn’t explain my doubts __  didn’t evaluate appropriately __  didn’t explain well what we should do
Comments:		GENERAL EVALUATION OF THE UNIT: Choose one option __ EXCELLENT __ GOOD __ ACCEPTABLE __ NOT GOOD __ BAD