Unit 4 — ¿Cómo eres y cómo es tu familia? (All about me and my family)
Description
Students learn to describe themselves, their family members, and friends using physical and personality descriptors. The unit addresses states of being and possession through the verbs tener and estar, establishing that Spanish speakers distinguish between different types of being. Students compare and contrast people's appearances across cultures, recognizing that Spanish speakers are as diverse as the countries from which they originate. The unit emphasizes that family is highly valued in Spanish-speaking cultures, extended families are common, and elder members are respected. Students also learn about naming conventions in Spanish-speaking countries, including the use of multiple surnames and saint names. Career awareness standards support exploration of family structures and cultural values.
Essential Questions
- How does one express feelings, emotions, and states of being in the target language?
- How do you describe ideas and objects in Spanish, and how is that similar to describing people?
- How is the physical appearance of Latin people similar to and different from that of Americans and others around the world?
- How is a Spanish-speaking family similar and different from that of a U.S. family?
- How are children named in Spanish-speaking countries, and what do legal names look like?
Learning Objectives
- Describe physical characteristics of people using adjectives and simple sentences
- Express personality traits and emotions using target vocabulary and memorized phrases
- Distinguish between ser, estar, and tener when describing people
- Ask and answer questions about family composition and relationships
- Compare and contrast one's own appearance and family with those of others
- Understand cultural naming conventions in Spanish-speaking countries
- Recognize diversity in physical appearance across Spanish-speaking regions
Supplemental Resources
- Mirror or printed images of faces for describing physical features
- Index cards with emotion and personality words for matching activities
- Blank booklets or poster paper for creating 'Todo Acerca de Mi' projects
- Situation cards for pair and group role-play activities
Interpersonal Mode
Interpretive Mode
Presentational Mode
Students engage in collaborative discussions about cultural practices and perspectives, write narratives describing family members and personal attributes, read and interpret authentic Spanish texts, and present information about school environments and communities using narrative and descriptive techniques.
Students investigate geography and culture of Spanish-speaking countries, compare and contrast family structures and customs across cultures, examine school systems and educational practices in different societies, and analyze how cultural and socioeconomic factors influence daily life and community development.
Students create visual presentations such as posters and floor plans, develop skits and role-plays to demonstrate cultural practices and communication scenarios, design multimedia projects, and explore art and cultural expressions from Spanish-speaking communities.
Students examine climate patterns and geographic features of Spanish-speaking regions, investigate environmental awareness and recycling practices in different communities, and explore how geography and climate influence culture and human settlement.
Formative Assessments
- Pair interviews describing how classmates look and feel
- Listening to descriptions of people and identifying key characteristics
- Drawing and labeling body parts and features
- Reading passages describing people and answering comprehension questions
- Responding to questions about family composition and relationships
- Role-play scenarios as doctor and patient discussing body parts and states of being
Summative Assessment
Write and present an essay describing oneself, a relative, or another person; compare and contrast oneself with a family member or peer; present a monster drawing to the class; develop and perform a group skit based on a situation card showing emotions and states of being
Benchmark Assessment
— not configured —
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding through oral descriptions with visual supports such as labeled pictures or character cards to identify physical traits and emotions. A teacher-led one-on-one conversation about family members or a simplified written response with word banks and sentence frames may replace full essay or presentation requirements.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
Students may benefit from visual word banks pairing Spanish descriptive vocabulary with illustrations of physical traits and emotions, reducing the language-processing load when producing descriptions. For oral and written output tasks centered on describing people and family, allow students to respond verbally, use sentence frames, or dictate their ideas rather than requiring fully independent written production. When distinguishing between ser, estar, and tener, provide a simple reference chart students can keep at their desks to support recall without penalizing them during practice or assessment. Break multi-step tasks such as the comparative essay or skit preparation into smaller, monitored stages with frequent check-ins to help students manage the work over the unit's duration.
Section 504
Ensure students have access to a printed copy of any vocabulary, sentence starters, or verb reference materials introduced during instruction so they are not dependent on copying from the board during fast-paced activities. Allow extended time for written and oral performance tasks involving descriptive language, and consider offering a low-distraction setting for assessments that require sustained focus on listening or reading passages about people and families. Preferential seating near the teacher during listening activities and pair interviews supports access to oral input in the target language.
ELL / MLL
Provide visual supports throughout the unit, including illustrated vocabulary lists for physical descriptors, personality traits, and family relationship terms, so that students can connect new Spanish vocabulary to concepts they may already know in their home language. Offer simplified oral directions for tasks such as pair interviews or role-plays, and encourage students to use their home language as a bridge when forming ideas before expressing them in Spanish. Connecting the cultural content around family structures and naming conventions to students' own family backgrounds can lower the affective filter and make new vocabulary more personally meaningful.
At Risk (RTI)
Begin by connecting unit vocabulary to students' existing knowledge of family, appearance, and emotion — concepts they can relate to from everyday life — before introducing the grammatical distinction between ser, estar, and tener. Offer sentence frames and partially completed graphic organizers to give students a clear entry point into descriptive and comparative tasks without requiring them to generate language from scratch. Reduce the complexity of output tasks where needed, such as focusing on one comparison rather than multiple, while still giving students access to the full cultural content of the unit so they remain engaged with grade-level ideas.
Gifted & Talented
Invite students to investigate how the ser/estar distinction reflects broader philosophical or cultural ideas about identity and states of being, going beyond memorized usage rules to analyze why this distinction exists in Spanish but not in English. Students can extend their exploration of naming conventions and family structures by researching regional variations across Spanish-speaking countries and presenting their findings through a format of their choosing. For the summative performance tasks, encourage students to craft more complex comparisons, incorporate nuanced personality and cultural observations, or take on a more sophisticated writing or directing role within a group skit.