Lesson Plan: Teaching Italian Culture through Photographs

In January 2007 a photo-lesson plan contest was launched. Italian teachers were asked to choose one of the four photos below and use it as the focal point for a culture lesson. "Street Signs" is this month's winning lesson plan.  It was created by L. Cavaglieri, who chose photo number 4 which shows the name of an Italian poet. . We hope to receive more lessons from you!

Teaching Italian Culture through Photographs: A Contest for Teachers of Italian

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LESSON PLAN FOR ITALIAN PHOTO CONTEST: STREET SIGNS

Title of Activity: Street Signs

Language: Any language (example in Italian)

Proficiency Level: Elementary, Intermediate, or Advanced (This lesson can be adapted to any level.)

Brief description of the activity: Students study a photo of a street sign in Milan, Italy, and reflect on the differences between street signs in US cities and those in Italian cities.

Objectives: To introduce students to street signs in the target culture with a focus on ACTFL Standards 2.2 and 4.2:

Standard 2.2: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied.

Standard 4.2: Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.

Materials: photo of a street sign (e.g. Via Ugo Foscolo in Milan, Italy - FOTO #4)

Procedures (step by step):

1. Divide your class into groups of four or five students.


2. Ask your students to think about street signs in US cities.
   a. What do they look like?
   b. Where are they located?
   c. What are the usual names for streets? (Ask them to brainstorm a list of common street names in the US.)


3. Bring your class back together and show them the photo. Use a computer or an overhead so that the photo can be clearly seen by all of the students.


4. Ask your students how this Italian street sign differs from a US street sign.
   Two obvious answers will be:
   a. The Italian sign has been placed on a building.
   b. The Italian sign has more information. It names the street (e.g. Via Ugo Foscolo) and gives his occupation (poeta) and his dates (1778-1827).
   Another difference: US street names rarely use names of poets or other writers. Have the students look at the lists of common names for US streets that they generated in their small groups. How many times does the name of a poet appear?


5. Generate a discussion. Here are some possible discussion questions:
   Why do you think the street signs are different in the two countries?
   Do you think it’s a good idea to use names of famous people for street signs?
   Is the extra information beyond the name useful?
   Should any US poets or authors have streets named for them? Can you think of any streets named for poets?
   Would it be possible to provide the extra information in the US?


6. If your students are not familiar with Ugo Foscolo (or the name on the street sign you have chosen), give some background information about him and share with them one or more of his poems.

Suggested websites in Italian for biographies and works of Ugo Foscolo:
http://www.la-poesia.it/italiani/fine-1800/foscolo/foscolo.htm
http://web.tiscali.it/leonardolicheri/
http://xoomer.alice.it/brdeb/Fosco/cenni.htm
http://www.italialibri.net/opere/allasera.html

Submitted by L. Cavaglieri

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Lesson Plan: Soccer Match Commentator

Language: Italian

Level: High School, year 4+

Adaptation: This activity can be easily altered for other languages by choosing a different soccer match/ team.

Lesson Objective and Overview: Students will develop writing and speaking skills with the modal verbs. They will describe and critique how soccer players act on the field: what they can, should, and must do in order to win. Students conduct individual research about a soccer player, write a short paper, and make a 5-minute presentation to the class.

Materials:

• A videotape of a soccer match involving the Italian National Team or any team from Italy, commentated in Italian
• Magazine articles, newspaper clippings, or Internet resources in Italian about soccer
• A chalkboard, whiteboard, or overhead projector

Preparation:

1. To teach this lesson, you must have a basic understanding of soccer and its rules. If you're not already familiar with the sport. You may either find this information online or talk to your school's gym teacher.
2. Complete the section in students' textbooks that covers sports, even if it doesn't include activities related to soccer. Some vocabulary may overlap, and it will help students feel more familiar with sports in Italian.
3. You may choose to prepare students for the lesson by taking them outside to practice using soccer vocabulary like kick, block, shoot and score with real soccer balls. Divide students into two teams to play a scrimmage match and require them to communicate in Italian by giving them penalty cards for speaking English on the field.
4. Collect magazine articles and newspaper clippings about players on the teams competing in your videotape. Although all materials need to be appropriate for the students' language level, try to vary their writing content and style. In addition to articles from Football Italia, for example, you may also choose some from Il Diavolo!.
5. Prepare a worksheet for students to fill out while they watch the soccer match. On the sheet, you may ask them to record the players' positions, what happens during an exciting play, or who scores the winning goal.

Practice:
Day 1: Soccer Rules

1. Divide students into small groups to brainstorm soccer terms in Italian together. If their vocabulary is limited, have them group them into two categories: "words we know" and "words we need to learn." Combine the groups' results and provide any supplemental expressions they will need to complete the lesson.
2. Briefly, review the modal verbs with students. Ask them to name the verbs, describe each of their functions, and tell when they are used. As a class, use soccer vocabulary to make several example sentences of the verbs. Compare and discuss their differences in meaning.
3. Assign one modal verb to each small group. Students will use it to create a list of rules or suggestions for playing soccer, e.g.:
   Group 1: A player can touch the ball with his feet, legs and chest. The center can shoot to score a goal.
   Group 2: The goalie should stop the ball before it enters the net. The fullback should stay on his team's side of the field.
   Group 3: A player must not touch the ball with her hands. She must play fairly.
   Group 4: The coach might ask players to run 5 miles every day. The players might pass the ball sideways to each other
4. If class time allows, groups can trade papers and check each other's work to make sure the modal verbs are used correctly.

Day 2: Watch the Match

1. Before playing the videotape, ask students what they expect to hear while they watch the soccer match. What words will they probably hear often? How do sports commentators usually talk? What types of things do they generally say? As you hand out the worksheet, stress that listening carefully to the commentators will help students to hear the information that they will need to fill it out.
2. Inform students that after viewing the match they will write a short paper and make a presentation about a player of their choice. Encourage them to decide on a player and take notes to prepare for their future assignment as they watch.
3. Play the videotape, stopping it once or twice at key moments in order to give students time to fill out the worksheet and take notes. You may choose to play only an exciting five or ten minutes of an overtime, rather than a full half.
4. Lend out magazines and articles to students so they can research a player for homework. Have them prepare the first draft of a one or two-page paper about the athlete. In particular, ask them to focus on the modal verbs: What can the professional athlete do well? What should he do to improve? What must he do to satisfy his coach? Where might he go if he changes teams?

Day 3: Commentate the Match

1. Once students have written the first draft of their short papers about a player, they are ready to begin preparing their commentaries on the match. Ask students to share phrases or expressions they remember hearing when they viewed the match the day before.
2. Write sentences typical of sports commentaries in Italian on the board, focusing on those that employ modal verbs. Use them to lead a class discussion about the tone sports journalists use to commentate a soccer match. In the discussion, encourage students to note that sports commentators often critique a match and the players' skills using the modal verbs.
3. Allow students to brainstorm their own sentences with a similar tone and share them with the class as well. Then have students use these sentences, their short papers, and extra notes from the videotape or readings to develop their own commentaries for the match that focus on the player of their choice. Make sure that they realize this will be an oral exercise, so they should prepare notes and outlines to help them speak-not another paper to read aloud.
4. You may want students to spend additional time watching the match, instead of relying heavily on their notes from the first viewing to develop their commentaries. In this case, you could play the videotape on mute for the entire class while students work on them and revise their papers. Alternatively, you could send small groups to watch the videotape in another room with sound while the others work in class.
5. Provide class time for students to present their commentaries. Collect the worksheets and the final draft of their short papers.

Evaluation:

1. Students will be evaluated by their participation in groups, their worksheets, the final draft of their papers, and their commentaries presented to the class.
2. Students may also vote by anonymous ballot for the best soccer commentator in the class. The best commentator could receive a mini-soccer ball key chain or some other small award for special achievement in Italian.

Expansion:

1. Ask students to compare two articles about the same player, concentrating on the similarities and differences they find in the sports journalists' styles. Have them describe which one they prefer and why. Include modal verbs in the activity: Do they see any difference in the way the writers use modal verbs? Does one write "should" or "must" more often than the other? How does that difference change the writer's style?
2. Ask students to pretend they are a soccer coach. Have them choose players for their own personal World Cup team, then use modal verbs to develop the instructions they would give for training programs and game plans leading up to the championship.

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