National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center (http://www.educ.iastate.edu/nflrc/)

Alumni Connection Newsletter - June, 2003 - Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Document Source: http://www.educ.iastate.edu/nflrc/news/200306/

Thematic Teaching

Welcome to the June electronic newsletter of the National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center!

What is thematic teaching? Helena Curtain and Mari Haas write, "In thematic teaching, the curriculum is organized around a thematic center that can originate in the classroom, the school, the environment, or the target culture. Activities that teach language concepts along with the content are interrelated and are planned to fit within the framework of a lesson or thematic unit. Such an integrated and holistic approach is based on the premise that when students are engaged in meaningful activities they acquire language, including writing, as natually as they learned to walk and talk." (Integrating Foreign Language and Content Instruction in Grades K-8 [1])

What is a thematic teaching unit? A thematic teaching unit is a set of lessons that uses a common theme across the lessons for content, combining authentic target language and culture within the three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational). This month we highlight the thematic units published by the NFLRC as well as resources you will find useful as you develop your own thematic units.

Cindy Kendall, Newsletter Editor
Marcia Rosenbusch, Director, National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center

Enjoy your summer! The next Alumni Connection will be the September, 2003 edition!

Focus on Our Alumni
This month we are focusing on the products developed by NFLRC institute alumni. The NFLRC published six complete and ready-to-implement thematic units, three in French and three in Spanish, in 1998 that have been well received in the profession. To date, over 2,500 units have been purchased at cost. The NFLRC is currently finalizing three more units in Spanish. These units are examples of standards-based thematic teaching that integrate language, culture, and subject content for PreK-12 classrooms. Download a sample section of a thematic unit and find out what other thematic units are available!

Featured Website of the Month
As teachers plan a thematic unit, they often turn to the Internet to find source material. This month we bring you websites that offer a thematically-based digital library of websites that you may find valuable for your planning. Canadian educator Jim Cornish created Theme Pages for Elementary Students and Teachers [2], a site which offers many themes PreK-12 educators will find interesting and "deep" in content, with materials easily adaptable to the foreign language classroom. Our second site is eThemes [3], which operates from a database of content-rich, age-appropriate resources organized around specific themes. The over 400 annotated resources included in this database were originally designed to support Missouri educators but are now available to everyone. Use the Resource Index to browse themes alphabetically or by grade level. Use the Search feature to find resources by keyword. 42eXplore [4] is another comprehensive site, offering over 200 themes across multiple content areas. This well-maintained site was created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson.

Focus on Research
The ERIC Digests Thematic, Communicative Language Teaching in the K-8 Classroom [5] and Integrating Foreign Language and Content Instruction in Grades K-8 [6] provide an overview of thematic units and how their construction and use relates to second language acquisition research. Teaching Interdisciplinary Thematic Units in Language Arts [7], another ERIC Digest, reinforces the power of teaching across the curriculum and how research supports its positive impact on student achievement.

Focus on the State Level
Foreign language educators in Michigan [8] and Texas [9] have created and published standards-based learning scenarios and thematic units that align with state and national standards.

Focus on National Level
In 1999 ACTFL focused on thematic teaching in its Spring Newsletter. Read the PDF version of the article Designing a Standards-Based Thematic Unit Using the Learning Scenario as an Organizing Framework [10]. In this article, Alfred Smith of Utah State University offers a brief overview of the planning process and sample activities.

Staying on Top with Technology
This month we are focusing on the latest report about technology in our nation's schools. Education Week released Technology Counts 2003 [11], providing a snapshot of what and how technology is used in today's classrooms. An added focus in 2003 is the use of technology as a medium of assessment to monitor student progress and achievement on the classroom, state and national levels with computer-based testing. Do you have great tip that makes your work easier? Send it to Cindy Kendall, Editor.

Memories of Iowa
Farming is an integral part of Iowa, and visions of crops and herds are part of our Iowa memories. A fond memory of many participants is the vision of endless corn fields. By viewing the Corn Cam [12]you can have a front row seat to the corn growing process!

Links in this document

This Newsletter was pepared with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education under Title VI grant #P229A020023. The publication of products and website URLs in this newsletter is provided for informational purposes only and does not imply an endorsement by the National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center, Iowa State University, or the positions or policies of the U. S. Department of Education.

Subscription Information
You received this electronic newsletter because you are an alumni of an activity associated with the National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center. This newsletter is published monthly. If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, email us at nflrc@iastate.edu with the subject line "remove alumni connection."

Content: Do you have suggestions for content? Information to share with fellow alumni? Send your ideas to Cindy Kendall at ckendall@msu.edu.