Second Unit: Planning Assessment

Team members: 
Léon Dana 
Lopez Camila 
Molina Daniela

Second Unit: Planning Assessment 







Introduction 

In this unit, we focused on understanding how to define objectives, competencies, and content in a course unit, as well as how to develop an effective assessment plan. Our goal was to design a structured and engaging learning experience for young students at the A1 level, ensuring that all four language skills listening, speaking, reading, and writing were integrated into the curriculum.


By exploring different teaching methodologies, such as the audio-lingual and communicative approaches, we learned how to create a dynamic and interactive learning environment that meets the needs of young learners. We also examined how to balance formal and informal assessments to measure students’ progress effectively.


Goal 2.1 To describe a language teaching situation

 1st Activity: Context

Use of material:

The type of school: Private

The grade: 2nd grade

The level: Level A1

Students' characteristics:

Age: 7 years old

Number: 25

Attitude and behavior: They are curious kids, enthusiastic, imaginative and enjoy

visuals and audios. They may also struggle with distraction and shyness to

participate. These students enjoy storytelling and pictures but may struggle with long

texts or unfamiliar words, leading to frustration or distraction. Some may be eager to

read out loud, while others might be shy or hesitant. They tend to rely on repetition,

patterns, and context clues to understand new vocabulary. Keeping the experience

interactive with discussions, activities, and encouragement helps maintain their

interest and confidence.

Methodology:

The methodologies that we considered will work best are AUDIO-LINGUAL AND

COMMUNICATIVE approaches. In the book we can find activities that involve all four

language skills (listening skills, writing skills, speaking skills, and reading skills). With

the listening activities the students will practice comprehension through audio, there

are also grammar and vocabulary exercises to enhance their writing skills, with the

conversational activities they use speaking, and finally, they apply their reading skills

while solving the exercises.

While the students learn grammatical and phonological structures, the approach

used is audio-lingual. The communicative approach is shown in the activities where

one can initiate group interaction, this is done when the students share their ideas

and opinions.





Goal 2.2 To define objectives/competencies and content in a course unit and know what to assess


Competencies: Students will develop basic communicative competence by being able to understand and produce simple descriptions of clothing in everyday situations. They will be able to identify key vocabulary related to clothing and use it effectively in speaking and writing, while also demonstrating their ability to understand and respond to basic questions and descriptions related to clothing in spoken and written forms.


⭐️Students will be able to understand key words and phrases related to clothing in spoken and written texts. They will follow simple instructions and answer questions about short dialogues and readings that describe what people are wearing, including colors and types of clothing.


⭐️Students will be able to form simple sentences to describe clothing items and outfits. They will practice pronunciation, fluency, and basic writing skills through guided exercises that focus on describing clothing, such as "He is wearing a red shirt" or "She has a blue dress."


⭐️Students will be able to ask and answer questions about clothing in familiar situations. Through dialogues and role-plays, they will improve their confidence in using clothing-related vocabulary to communicate about outfits and shopping for clothes in real-life contexts.


Content:


⭐️Vocabulary: Key words related to the unit’s topic. Clothing items: shirt, pants, dress, shoes, jacket, hat, skirt, etc., colors and sizes: red, blue, green, small, medium, large, etc. and shopping phrases: How much is it?, Can I try this on?, Do you have it in another size?, etc.


⭐️Grammar: Basic sentence structures: Students will learn to use simple sentence structures to describe clothing and outfits, such as subject + verb + clothing item (e.g., "She is wearing a hat," "They have shoes"). Verb tenses: Students will focus on the present simple tense to describe habitual actions and the present continuous tense to describe what someone is wearing at the moment (e.g., "He wears a jacket every day" vs. "He is wearing a jacket right now").


⭐ ️ Listening Activities: Recognizing clothing vocabulary: Students will practice identifying basic clothing-related words, such as shirt, pants, and shoes, when listening to simple descriptions. Understanding basic descriptions: Students will develop the ability to understand short, clear sentences that describe what someone is wearing, including colors and types of clothing.



⭐️Speaking Practice: Engaging in simple conversations using target vocabulary. Students will participate in short dialogues where they will use the target vocabulary of the unit, such as describing different types of clothing, talking about shopping for clothes, and mentioning specific clothing items.


⭐️Reading: Recognizing clothing vocabulary: Students will practice identifying key words related to clothing in short, simple texts, such as identifying clothing items (shirt, pants, hat) and colors (red, blue, green). Understanding simple descriptions: Students will develop the ability to read and understand short sentences that describe what someone is wearing, focusing on structure like "He is wearing a red shirt" or "She has a blue dress."


⭐️Writing: Writing simple sentences to describe clothing: Students will practice forming basic sentences that describe what someone is wearing, such as "He is wearing a blue shirt" or "She has a red dress." Using clothing vocabulary: Students will focus on correctly using key clothing-related words (shirt, pants, shoes, etc.) and colors (red, blue, green, etc.) in their sentences. Writing short descriptions of outfits: Students will write brief descriptions (1-2 sentences) about pictures or prompts that involve people wearing specific types of clothing.






Goal 2.3 To develop an assessment plan





Assessment plan

Unit 1:

Unit: Clothing

Length of the unit: 6 hours

 

Objective:

Students will learn to recognize and name differentclothing itemsThey will also practice describing whatpeople wear using simple sentences and improve theirlistening and speaking skills in conversations aboutclothing.

 

Content of the unit 

Grammar:

• Present tense of the verb wear (e.g., "I wear a jacket in winter.")
• Adjective order for colors (e.g., "a red dress").

Vocabulary:

• Clothing itemshatdresscoatskirt, pants, shoesshirtjacketsocksbow.
• Colors: red, blue, greenyellowblackwhite, etc.

Listening:

Recognizing main ideas. Listening for repetitionListening for finding objects.

Pronunciation:

Sounding “sh” and “ch”.

Speaking:

Describe clothing in myself and others.

Writing:

• Spellingcapitalization, and grammar in sentencesabout clothing.
• Writing short descriptions of outfits.

Reading:

Reading and understanding short texts about clothing.

Non-linguistic aspects: 

• TeamworkCollaborating in pair and group activities.
• ParticipationEngaging in class discussions and tasks.

 

Assessment Plan

 

Linguistic Aspects

• Grammar: Correct use of the verb wear in the presenttense and proper word order for adjectives.
• Vocabulary: Words related to clothing and colors.
• Listening: Recognizing clothing items from spokendescriptions.
• Pronunciation: Correct stress and clear pronunciationof clothing-related words.
• Speaking: Speaking clearly and correctly whendescribing outfits.
• Writing: Using correct sentence structurespelling, and punctuation.
• Reading: Understanding short texts about clothing.

Non-Linguistic Aspects:

• Participation: Active engagement in classroomactivities.
• Teamwork: Collaboration in group and pair work.

 

Informal Assessment (through observation in classactivities)

• Linguistic Aspects:
Speaking (descriptions and class discussions).
Vocabulary (correct use in oral activities).
Grammar (use in oral interactions).
Writing (class activities and exercises fromclass).
• Non-Linguistic Aspects:
Participation in class.
Teamwork in group activities.

 

Formal Assessment (through tests and structuredevaluations)

• Grammar: Use of wear and adjective order.
• VocabularyClothing names and the colors.
• WritingWriting short descriptions about clothing 
• ListeningIdentifying clothing items from fromaudios 
• ReadingUnderstanding short texts about the topic of clothing 

 

Percentages

Informal Assessment (45%)

• Speaking: 15%
• Writing: 10%
• Grammar: 5%
• Vocabulary: 5%
• Pronunciation: 5%
• Non-linguistic aspects: 5%

 

Formal Assessment (45%)

• Grammar: 5%
• Vocabulary: 5%
• Writing: 10%
• Listening: 15%
• Reading: 10%

 

Self-Assessment (10%)

 

Total: 100%





Team Reflection 


As a team, we have gained a deeper understanding of how to structure a course unit by clearly defining objectives, competencies, and content. This unit has helped us see the importance of aligning learning goals with students’ needs, ensuring that all four language skills listening, speaking, reading, and writing are integrated effectively.

One of the most valuable things we learned is how to balance linguistic and non-linguistic aspects in language teaching. The combination of audio-lingual and communicative approaches has proven to be a great way to engage young learners, as they benefit from repetition, storytelling, and interactive activities. We also realized how crucial it is to make lessons visual and interactive, as students at this age tend to struggle with long texts or unfamiliar words.

However, as a team, we found it a bit challenging to design the assessment plan, particularly in terms of assigning weight to different evaluation methods while ensuring that students are assessed fairly. Deciding how to balance informal, formal, and self-assessment required careful thought and discussion.

Going forward, we plan to apply what we learned by incorporating more hands-on activities, role-plays, and visual aids into our lessons. We also see the value of fostering teamwork and participation in class, as this encourages students to engage actively and build their confidence.

Overall, this unit has been a valuable learning experience. We felt motivated and challenged as we worked together to create a well-structured course plan, and we look forward to applying these strategies in our teaching.


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