Spanish

A Standards-Based Thematic Unit: Cuadros de familia
Teaching Level: elementary and middle school beginning Spanish.
Cultural Topics: community, family, food, housing, traditional games.
Content: A Collection of anecdotes about everyday life in a traditional Hispanic community in southern Texas.
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A Thematic Unit: La peineta colorada
Teaching Level: middle school beginning to intermediate Spanish.
Cultural Topics: African infulence in Latin America through slavery, family, community solidarity, friendship, social traditions, oral tradition, and women's role in society.
Content: In Puerto Rico a young girl and an older woman work together to save a runaway slave.
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A Thematic Unit in Spanish: El béisbol
Language: written entirely in Spanish.
Teaching Level: middle school beginning to intermediate Spanish.
Cultural Topics: baseball, baseball in Venezuela.
Content: A young boy in Venezuela becomes a baseball player.
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A Standards-Based Thematic Unit: El canto de las palomas
Teaching Level: high school beginning Spanish.
Cultural Topics: César Chávez, Chicanos, family, folklore, food, migrant workers, prejudice, stereotypes.
Content: Recounts the memories of a child of a migrant worker in the United States.
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A Standards-Based Thematic Unit: La mujer que brillaba aún más que el sol
Teaching Level: middle school with previous Spanish.
Cultural Topics: architecture, community, prejudice, stereotypes, traditional music and art.
Content: A tale of a woman who possesses wondrous powers but is shunned by the village.
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A Standards-Based Thematic Unit: Fiestas de Yucatán
Teaching Level: preschool and early elementary school beginning Spanish
Cultural Topics: cultural celebrations
Content: In Yucatán, México, the celebration of birthdays and the Mexican Christmas celebration Las Posadas. Unit Materials
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French

A Standards-Based Thematic Unit: Crictor
Teaching Level: middle school students at the beginning and intermediate levels of French
Cultural Topics: community, newspapers, cultural comparisons, traditional rhymes and games
Content: Adventures unfold when a teacher in a small village in France receives the unusual gift of a personable boa constrictor.
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A Standards-Based Thematic Unit: Jean de la Lune
Teaching Level: high school students beginning the study of French
Cultural Topics: myths, prejudice and stereotypes
Content: A man in the moon receives a surprising welcome on a visit to earth.
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A Standards-Based Thematic Unit: Le géant de Zéralda
Teaching Level:high school students in advanced French courses
Cultural Topics: culinary arts, oral tradition
Content: A bad-humored, child-eating ogre is transformed by a young girl who is a gifted cook.
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Bringing the Standards to the Classroom: A Teacher's Guide
The purpose of this guide is to assist teachers in aligning their present foreign language curriculum with the national standards for student learning. This document will enable teachers to identify which aspects of their current curriculum fit with the standards and how these can be extended and adapted to address the new dimensions of the standards.[Free Download]