Lesson 1: Me stesso
Duration of Days: 10
Lesson Objective
Students will use the verb "essere" (to be) as well as a list of adjectives to begin describing themselves in the target language. This will include both personality traits and physical appearances.
Come sei?
Come e...?
Connections / Culture / Comparison
Interpersonal Communication
Students will gain familiarity with the verb "to be" in Italian, and this will be their first verb, so they will need to learn the concept of verb conjugations.
DOK 1: Conjugation "Ping-Pong" (Working Memory): The teacher says a subject pronoun (e.g., Noi), and the student must provide the correct form of essere (siamo).
DOK 2: students are given a list of positive statements (e.g., Lui è stanco). They must transform them into negatives (Lui non è stanco).
DOK 3: One student chooses a famous person. Others must ask "Essere" questions (È americano? È alto? È un attore?) to guess the identity.
DOK 4: Students investigate how essere is used in famous Italian quotes or proverbs (e.g., "Essere o non essere"). They must write a reflection or create a visual essay on what defines "identity" in Italian culture vs. American culture.
Academic level students will begin this unit only utilizing the "io" and "tu" forms of the verb, and gain control of those before moving on to the rest of the verb forms.
Summative assessment on subject pronouns, formal v. familiar, and verb formations
Formative assessments subject pronouns, formal v. familiar, and verb formations