Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Exploring New Directions
In this course, students in Chinese II-IV work on the theme "directions." Chinese II and Chinese III students work together in groups: the Chinese III students in each group describe local restaurants to prepare for a restaurant review project, while the Chinese II students use a map to practice giving directions to the restaurants. Meanwhile, Chinese IV students prepare and present a dramatic interpretation of two poems to the class. Finally, the whole class reads and interprets a portion of a poem that contains "directions" vocabulary, and then watches a filmed, musical performance of the poem.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Comparing Communities
In this course, students discuss community life at home and abroad and practice new grammatical structures. First, students share what they like about their community, then read an article about a French-speaking Canadian community and discuss what activities they would do if they visited there. Next, students learn the conditional verb forms using worksheets, and follow up with discussions about communities. Finally, Ms. Tulou introduces a children's book that uses the conditional tense, and students practice writing sentences similar to those in the book.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Interpreting 'La Belle et la Bete'
In this course, students discuss the classic 1946 film La Belle et la Bête, written and directed by Jean Cocteau. The film is an adaptation of the traditional children's story Beauty and the Beast. Having seen most of the film, students compare it to the original story. Then, after watching the film's conclusion, they discuss the movie's symbolism and deeper meaning.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Performing With Confidence
In this course, students participate in activities that improve their oral proficiency and prepare them for the AP French Language Exam. After a series of warm-up activities, students draw on prior research to discuss the French presidential election. Then they rely on research again to perform as celebrities and journalists in a class TV talk show.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Sports in Action
In this course, students learn new vocabulary about sports. After several warm-up activities, students focus on terms related to Olympic sporting events and make cultural comparisons between Germany and the United States. Next, students listen to and interpret a story presented through Total Physical Response Storytelling (TPRS), then recreate that story by acting it out and narrating it themselves. They conclude the activity by rewriting the same story in their own words and contributing to a composite class version.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: U.S. and Italian Homes
In this course, students practice vocabulary relating to homes, furnishings, and directions. First, they compare typical U.S. and Italian homes, using their own drawings and a PowerPoint presentation by Ms. DiGennaro. Next, they practice vocabulary words as they match labels to pictures of furniture, play a card game, and even dance! Students then use the vocabulary in two final activities: they follow classmates' directions to place pictures of furniture on a floor plan on the board, and then work in pairs to draw a picture of a home described by their partner.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Happy New Year!
In this course, students learn about the products and practices of the Japanese New Year's celebration. First, half of the class participates in authentic Japanese New Year's games and activities. The other half of the class breaks into four groups to discuss cultural aspects of the New Year's celebration, then jigsaws into four new groups to share their knowledge with each other. Then the two halves of the class switch, so that all students have an opportunity to participate in each activity and discussion. The lesson concludes with a discussion in English in which students compare the customs of their own cultural backgrounds with Japanese New Year's customs.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Promoting Attractions of Japan
In this course, students learn about the regions and tourist destinations of Japan. Working first as a whole class and then in pairs, students use familiar and new vocabulary to discuss Japanese regions and landmarks. Next, they write questions and answers for a Jeopardy-style game about Japan, then play the game. As a culminating project, students create a travel brochure and begin planning a promotional video to attract visitors to Japan.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Music and Manuscripts
In this course, students learn to distinguish between translation and interpretation in a classical language class. While the Latin IV students translate a passage from Vergil's Aeneid, Latin II-III students discuss how Mozart's opera Il sogno di Scipione reflects themes from Cicero's Somnium Scipionis. The class then comes together to create their own versions of Latin manuscripts and make historical connections to Roman culture.
Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices: Russian Cities, Russian Stories
In this course, Russian I and Russian IV students meet to discuss Russian geography and the origins of Russian city names. Working in mixed-level groups, they read and interpret a story derived from their geography lesson. They conclude by creating and then presenting their own stories to the class. In a separate activity, Russian IV students debate the role of the leader in Russian history after reading an article about Vladimir Putin.