Instructional Activity #1 Proxemics (forming lines)

TEACHER: Evan McDonald

TARGET LANGUAGE: Spanish
UNIT: Las vacaciones

LEVEL: Novice Low-Medium (Spanish I)

GRADE LEVEL: 9th
PERIOD: 4

I. ANTICIPATORY SET
Pre-Activity:
All high school students have just returned from a week-long cross-cultural
opportunity where they went to many parts of the United States and Foreign Countries
(I.E. France, Haiti, Guatemala). They also just returned from Spring Break and need to
review vocabulary related to vacation. Students will enter the classroom and see the preactivity on the board that will ask them to name as many things in the pictures that they
can (Note: Due to slide size, pictures have been removed from this copy of the activity)
(examples include: la playa, la aduana, el botones, la habitacin, etc.)(see pages 152 and
153 of textbook). After three to four minutes, have students compare the words they
found with what their partner found. Then, call on individuals to say words in front of the
class. While students name words, they should tell which photo the vocabulary word is in
(example: en la primera foto, hay un barco) to also practice ordinal numbers.
Duration: 7-10 minutes
AFFECTIVE HOOK:
The pre-activity should lead to the main activity on the comparison and
contrasting of proxemics between the students themselves and Latin-Americans. Move to
slide two of the PowerPoint and ask the students of any similarities/differences between
the two pictures. One picture will be from the Spring Term cross-cultural trip to
Guatemala at a cafeteria for Guatemalan students (one trip that some of the students
took). The other will be in a cafeteria space in Spain for students from the USA (another
trip that some of the students took the previous year). Because this is Spanish I, students
will speak English for words they do not know. However, they should practice
vocabulary on directions/proxemics (i.e. cerca, lejos, a la derecha, etc.)(Example: El
chico est cerca de la mesa). When students state a similarity/difference, you can restate it
in the TL (Spanish) and ask the class what it thinks (agree or disagree).
ACTFL Standards:
- Communication Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and
obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
- Communication Standard 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas
to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITY #1 Proxemics: Forming Lines

II. PURPOSE:
IMPORTANCE/RELEVANCE (GOAL) OF LESSON:
In this instructional activity, students will:
- interact and negotiate meaning in spoken, signed, or written conversations to
share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions. (Communication Standard
1.1)
- understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of
topics. (Communication Standard 1.2)
- present information, concepts, and ideas to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate
on a variety of topics using appropriate media and adapting to various audiences
of listeners, readers, or viewers. (Communication Standard 1.3)
- use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between
the practices and perspectives of the cultures studied (Cultural Standard 2.1)
- build, reinforce, and expand their knowledge of other disciplines while using the
language to develop critical thinking and to solve problems creatively
(Connections Standard 3.1)
- access and evaluate information and diverse perspectives that are available
through the language and its cultures (Connections Standard 3.2)
- use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the concept of culture
through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own (Comparison Standard
4.2)
III. INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITY
Objective: At the completion of this activity, students will be able to:
- Define the concept of proxemics
- Compare and contrast the proxemics of forming lines in the United States and in
Latin American Countries (in general)
- Relate the cultural practice of forming a line with cultural perspectives
- Reflect on cultural differences of proxemics
After students perform pre-activity and have compared and contrasted the two photos
(affective hook), you will call on five to seven students to be volunteers. To practice
interpretational communication (standard 1.2), ask students various questions for which
they have to raise their hand if the question applies to them. You can say, raise your hand
if you went on vacation outside of this state or raise your hand if you were born in
December (using TL). When students have been selected, have all of them form a line
facing to the right (or left) of the rest of the class.
Once students have formed their line, call on two more volunteers. Hand a ruler to the
first volunteer and have him/her measure the distance between each set of people (i.e. the
distance between student one and student two, the distance between student two and
student three, etc.). While the volunteer measures, have him/her communicate the
measurements to the other volunteer just called (in TL using numbers). After all
measurements have been taken, ask students to find the average distance between each
person and call on someone to give the answer in TL (connection standard 3.1).

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITY #1 Proxemics: Forming Lines

After finding the distance between each person, have volunteers sit down. Ask the
class if anyone knows what it is called when we look at the spatial relationship between
people in society and let them know that this is called proxemics (aka spatial
relationships). Next, pass out the worksheet that will guide students in taking notes and
reflecting on proxemics. Restate what proxemics is and allow students time to write down
the definition (also on PowerPoint).
Next, ask students if they think that in Latin America, the people have the same
concept of spatial relationships in lines in general (Do they keep the same space that we
do? Are they further apart or closer together or are they equal distance (using TL)).
Have students finish a sentence on their work sheet stating their opinion: Yo creo
que. Then, have students share their opinion with a partner (interpersonal
communication) and after, call on some students to state their opinion.
Once students have effectively communicated interpersonally and presentational, play
the short video (10:31) on the Cultural Proxemics experiment that was done in Mexico
and Oregon. Remind students to answer the questions that are on their handout over the
video. When the video has completed, call on students to answer the questions that are on
the worksheet to ensure student comprehension of the experiment. Then, have students
compare and contrast the distance between the volunteers in class and the people from
Oregon in the experiment (Are they further apart or closer together or are they equal
distance (using TL)).
Once all questions have been discussed, bring the volunteers back to the front (or pick
a new group to come to the front). Again, have them face to the left (or right) of the class
and have the person measuring space each person of 18 inches. When everyone has been
spaced accordingly, let them stand for 30-45 seconds. Then, ask them to reflect and
express how they feel using TL. Students can practice vocabulary for adjectives of
conditions.
Have volunteers sit down and then ask all students to reflect on a time where their
personal space was invaded. Have those that have been to another country either during
the spring term or spring break vacation reflect on those events. Because this is Spanish
I, students may reflect on this part of the lesson in English. After giving students time to
write their thoughts down, have some of the students share their experience with the class
and after sharing, have them state adjectives that they felt in that moment.
V. CLOSURE
5.1
- Teacher will ask for a self-assessment on the definition of proxemics
- Teacher will ask students for a self-assessment of the comparison of proxemics
between culture in the United States and in Latin America
- Teacher will give students the homework assignment for the next week (one week
to complete)
o *Also written on the board
The next time you are in a line (grocery store, movies, fast-food
restaurant, etc.), stand closer (18 inches) to the person you are
behind or in front of (family or friend! Not a stranger, please!) and
note the reaction. Where are you? What adjectives describe how
the person feels in front of you? How did the person react?
Quiz next class on proxemics

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITY #1 Proxemics: Forming Lines

ASSESSMENT:
- Teacher will assess student progress through the students participation in the
lesson.
- Teacher will assess written work of students through a notes check (for homework
grade)
- Teacher will assess knowledge of newly acquired content on proxemics in the
following class with a brief quiz
FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITY:
- As a follow-up, students could research a specific country and write down their findings
about proxemics in specific situations (example: a conversation between two friends,
talking to a person whom someone just met, a classroom seating arrangement, among
others). Because this lesson specifically involves vacations, students could research
proxemics at the beach, on a boat, in customs, etc. Then, students could report their
discoveries to the class on the differences between United States and Latin American
cultures regarding personal space.
MATERIALS
- Student handout for notes and reflection of material
- Video Projector
- Computer with PowerPoint
- Youtube Video Cultural Proxemics
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59GqISGoWvw
- Ruler and dry-erase markers

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITY #1 Proxemics: Forming Lines

PowerPoint Slides for Class:

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITY #1 Proxemics: Forming Lines

Nombre:______________________
Clase:________________________
Fecha:________________________
La proxmica
Student Instructions: Answer the following questions related to la proxmica. This
handout is to guide you through class as well as aid you in reflecting on your personal
experiences. You will turn this worksheet in as a homework assignment.
1. Qu es la proxmica? Cmo se dice proxmica en ingls?

2. Qu piensas? En una fila (line), la proxmica es diferente en los EE.UU que en

Latinoamerica? Write a sentence that describes if you believe the people in Latin
America stand closer, further or the same distance as those in the USA. (Oracin
en espaol!)
Yo pienso que____________________________________________________
Video: Cultural Proxemics (YouTube by Solis and Renshaw)
3. Cmo se llaman los dos lugares (places)?
a. M___________, M_____________
b. C____________, O_____________
4. Why is it important to know about differences in proxemics (personal space)?

5. What happened when the lady in Mexico left too much space in line at the super
market?

6. What question were the investigators trying to answer in their experiment?

a. How much ______________________________________?

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITY #1 Proxemics: Forming Lines

7. How many inches (pulgadas) of personal space are needed for the people in
Mexican culture according to the researcher?
a. ________ pulgadas
8. How many inches (pulgadas) of personal space are needed for the people in
United States culture according to the researcher?
a. ________ pulgadas
9. Ahora, Qu piensas? En una fila (line), la proxmica es diferente en los EE.UU
que en Latinoamerica? Write a sentence that describes what the researcher found.
Do the people in Latin America stand closer, further or the same distance as those
in the USA? (Oracin en espaol!)

10. Reflexin: Think of a time you were outside of the U.S. Did you ever have a
problema with personal space? Write about a time when your personal space
was invaded outside of the country (If you cannot think of a time, you may write
about a time here in the United States). Where were you? What happened? How
did you feel? Why did you feel that way?

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITY #1 Proxemics: Forming Lines

Self-Assessment:
1. Qu significa la proxmica en ingls? Cul es una definicin?
2. En general, en una fila, las personas en Mxico estn ms (lejos, cerca) que las
personas en EE.UU.
Tarea:
The next time you are in a line (grocery store, movies, fast-food restaurant, etc.),
stand closer (18 inches) to the person you are behind or in front of (family or
friend! Not a stranger, please!) and note the reaction. Where are you? What
adjectives describe how the person feels in front of you? How did the person
react? Finish the following:
o Estoy en
o Los adjetivos que describen la reaccin de la persona son

Quiz next class on proxemics