Developing a Learning Strategies Lesson
Keith Scott
Direct Instruction Lesson Plan
Planning Tasks
Content or Skill to be Taught
Origin of Modern Mexico. Standards include:
Culture (Anthropology
Time, Continuity and Chang
People, Places and Environment
Objective
Given the manner in which Spaniards, Aztecs, and others met in the Valley of Mexico, the student will be able to explain what the concept of mestizaje is with a view on how it shapes modern Mexico.
Conducting the Lesson  
Lesson Objectives and Set
Day
Time Lesson Objectives and Set
1
10 mins. Powerpoint presentation of Journey to Aztlan
1
15 mins.
Review and discuss Chapter 10, Section 2, of A Place of Three Cultures, from text
Review and discuss the supplementary text, La Llorona
15 mins.
1
Assign characters for the mock trial. Each student will draw a character from the hat. See character list.
10 mins.
1
10 mins.
2
Continue review of La Llorona
20 mins.
2
Independent character research in the library with books or internet
Begin writing independent character sketch which is to be handed in on Day 3
15 mins.
2
Arrange the classroom into a court
3
3 mins.
The Trial of la Malinche begins. Judges call the room to order. All characters will be called upon to testify by defending and prosecuting attorneys. Judges will deliver a verdict of guilty or not guilty of treason
27 mins.
3
Turn in character sketches
3 1 min.
Decompress.  Time to analyze. Time to share whether verdict is agreeable or not
9 mins.
3
Pitfalls To Avoid: Each student must research his or her character well enough to ad lib that part in the trial.
Vocabulary Characters
Chinampa
Aztec man or woman on the street (at least one, could be more)
Codex
Cuahotemoc
Criollo
Dona Maria
Flower Wars
Hernan Cortes
Mestizo
Judges (at least three, must be an odd number)
Paganism
Peninsulares
Jurors (these will also have roles as people on the street, soldiers, sailors, etc.)
Polytheism
Pulque
Moctezuma
Tenochtitlan
Padre Mendoza
Queen Isabella
Spanish soldiers and sailors
On  Day 1 the focus will be on self-regulated learning. One thing that was clear when I made my presentation was that what I had developed was more of a unit than a lesson plan. This lesson plan reflects only a part of that unit, the end part.  While this still covers a three-day period, it is connected to those exercises not shown here, such as the research and development of a two-page paper on the daily life of the Aztecs before the Spanish came, and daily reading of la Llorona in class. It also builds upon previous group work, which included writing a play and presenting it.
Day 2 will make use of several tools. Students will need to outline their character sketches. Character sketches will provide them with the background they will need to role-play their character and to develop a written character sketch. Mapping will be a useful tool as well. They can map their character in terms of where they were before the Spanish came, where they were when the Spanish came, and where they ended up after the Spanish took control. Building knowledge networks may be useful as well. For example, many students will know what the Mexican flag looks like. Most will not know how the Great Seal in the middle of the flag represents part of the Aztec saga. This exercise will fill in the blanks. Day 2 should also provide a forum for reciprocal teaching, not just between teacher and students, but between students and students as well.
On Day 3 we?ll see complex rehearsal in action. This is the trial day for la Malinche, and this is the day they put everything together and present it. The onus for this day will be on the teacher, because great care will need to be taken in terms of assessing and analyzing student participation, and links between that participation and the character sketch will need to be made. The student should be able to determine that when the Spaniards came to Mesoamerica, their interaction with the people already there created a new group or race, the Mexicans.
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1