Portuguese Lesson Plans

Fourth graders read and discuss the short passage "Almond Snow: A Portuguese Legend Retold" by Ona Siporin. Next, they fill in a keyword chart with words related to culture from the passage, write a paragraph about the story, and identify three characteristics the passage has in common with the Cinderella story.

Pupils say hello in five different languages (Spanish, Swahili, French, Portuguese, and Japanese). They are introduced to the countries of these languages (Mexico, Tanzania Africa, France, Brazil, and Japan).

Students trace sailing route of Spanish and Portuguese exploration ships. They calculate and compare distances that different explorers traveled. Students calculate how long it would take to travel an explorer's route using different velocities.

Learners discuss the influence of foreign languages in their everyday speech after reading an article from The New York Times on language legislation in Brazil. Students are divided into 4 groups in order to research languages spoken in an assigned country, what percentage speaks that language and whether or not their assigned country has discussed language legislation.

Students make a list of spices. In this spice trade lesson students read articles from Calliope magazine related to the spice trade. they answer questions and have discussions about what they have read. The students use the list that they made to compare and contrast.

Young scholars consider the concept of 'human rights' in relation to the current conditions and history of East Timor and discuss the terms "human rights" and "force," applying their responses to specific historical examples.

Fifth graders research how the westward expansion affected the American Indians.

Students read excerpts from Jim Toner's memoir "Serendib" which chronicles his experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sri Lanka. They work in small groups to analyze the excerpts and discuss how the author came to terms with Sri Lankan customs.

Students investigate the link between countries' population growth rates and levels of industrialization. They observe that, over time, as a country becomes more industrialized, its population growth rate decreases.

In American society students need to know how to observe the law and defend their rights. "Once someone knows you know your legal rights, he or she is usually quick to try to work something out" (Alderman xvi). However, in order to defend their rights, students, especially ESL students, must hone their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. This unit will have a cross-curricular focus that will develop these language skills