When we design concept-based language inquiries, it is important to harmonize all resources and learning experiences with the over arching generalization. This will allow us to intentionally create opportunities for students to inquire into the concepts we want them to find a relationship between, and to use the examples resources we use to explain or justify their conceptual understandings.

It is crucial that we support students to move from the semantic aspects of nouns that serve as concepts (meaning) to a real conceptual level at which they can see how concepts interplay with one another. For this reason, if the design of our learning experiences and scenarios are not intentional and explicit, studenst will only be exploring the surface of concept-based language learning.

I would like to share two lessons plans for a unit. In the images below you will be able to see the goals of the unit, the generalization that guides the inquiry, and the summative assessments for which we are building conceptual understanding and skills. Hopefully, these two lesson plans will help you see the sequence from one lesson to another, how conceptual explorations and understandings connect and can be sequenced, as well as the role of language and grammar in the inquiry.