Spanish Lesson ¿Cómo son los ríos?
Lesson Plan
45 minutesGrades2English Language Arts
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, discuss what they learned, and start to create their own book.
Inquire: Students share what they know about rivers.
Investigate: Students listen to the first chapter of a read aloud about the Passaic River and discuss their reactions.
Inspire: Students create the first pages of their own book about rivers.
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.
- This lesson can be taught in conjunction with a science or social studies unit.
- Teacher can arrange a field trip to the Passaic River or visit locations mentioned in the lesson such as the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge, Paterson Great Falls, the Bay of Newark.
- Teacher can bring in personal photos of the Passaic River or ask students to bring in their own photos of the Passaic River or any river they have visited as a family.
- For more information about the importance of the Passaic River to the Lenape community, teachers can visit Reconnecting Lenape Tribes to their homelands | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Prerequisites
- This is lesson 1 of 3 in our 2nd grade Spanish Unit: Biomas de los ríos.
- Teachers should review the e-book and the speaker’s notes in the e-book before teaching this lesson.
- Students should be familiar with basic geographical features and terms.
Differentiation
- Teacher can use the sentence strips found 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
Se les da a los estudiantes la oportunidad de proponer ideas sobre las mejores formas de prevenir la degradación del sistema fluvial, al mismo tiempo que aprenden la importancia de un sistema fluvial saludable tanto para los humanos como para el medio ambiente. La lección cumplió con nuestros criterios de credibilidad para la ciencia cuando la evaluamos.
Students are given the opportunity to come up with ideas for the best ways to prevent the degradation of the river system while also learning the significance of a healthy river system for both humans and the environment. The lesson passed our credibility criteria for science when we evaluated it.
Students are given the opportunity to come up with ideas for the best ways to prevent the degradation of the river system while also learning the significance of a healthy river system for both humans and the environment. The lesson passed our credibility criteria for science when we evaluated it.
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.
