Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices

Professional Development > Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices > 0. Introduction to the Library > 0.3 Video Organizer Chart

World Languages

K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12

Introduction to the Library Video Organizer Chart

All lessons are appropriate for K–12 teachers of any foreign language.

Grade Level

Lesson Title	Instructor	Language	Elementary	Middle School	High School
Comparing the Weather	Wael Fawzy	Arabic		6
How We Spend Our Free Time	Katie Quackenbush	Arabic		8
Making Plans	Belal Joundeya	Arabic			9–12
Making Sales Calls	Eric Bartolotti	Arabic			9, 11
People Who Help Us	Khamael Alaloom	Arabic	1
A Place I Call Home	Manar Mayalah	Arabic			9–10
Vegetables We Like	Rita Lahoud	Arabic	2
Communicating About Sports	Jie Gao	Chinese		6
Exploring New Directions	Haiyan Fu	Chinese			9–12
A Cajun Folktale and Zydeco	Paris Granville	French		8
Chicken Pox	Jai Scott	French	K
Comparing Communities	Ghislaine Tulou	French			9–12
Family and Home	Debra Terry	French	5
Interpreting La Belle et la Bête	Michel Pasquier	French			11
Mapping Planet Earth	Stephanie Appel	French	2
Performing With Confidence	Yvette Heno	French			10–12
Touring a French City	Robin Neuman	French		8
Holidays and Seasons	Margita Haberlen	German	3
Sports in Action	Denise Tanner	German			9–11
Sports Stats	Amy Garcia	German	5
U.S. and Italian Homes	Marylee DiGennaro	Italian			9
Daily Routines	Margaret Dyer	Japanese	5
Happy New Year!	Leslie Birkland	Japanese			9–11
Promoting Attractions of Japan	Yo Azama	Japanese			10–12
Music and Manuscripts	Lauri Dabbieri	Latin			10–12
Russian Cities, Russian Stories	Jane Shuffelton	Russian			9–12
Creating Travel Advice	Fran Pettigrew	Spanish			11
Food Facts and Stories	John Pedini	Spanish		8
Fruits of the Americas	Carina Rodriguez	Spanish	4
Hearing Authentic Voices	Davita Alston	Spanish		8
Interpreting Literature	Barbara Pope Bennett	Spanish			11
Interpreting Picasso’s Guernica	Meghan Zingle	Spanish			10
Politics of Art	Lori Langer de Ramirez	Spanish			12
Routes to Culture	Pablo Muirhead	Spanish			9–10

Performance Range

Lesson Title	Instructor	Language
Comparing the Weather	Wael Fawzy	Arabic
How We Spend Our Free Time	Katie Quackenbush	Arabic
Making Plans	Belal Joundeya	Arabic
Making Sales Calls	Eric Bartolotti	Arabic
People Who Help Us	Khamael Alaloom	Arabic
A Place I Call Home	Manar Mayalah	Arabic
Vegetables We Like	Rita Lahoud	Arabic
Communicating About Sports	Jie Gao	Chinese
Exploring New Directions	Haiyan Fu	Chinese
A Cajun Folktale and Zydeco	Paris Granville	French
Chicken Pox	Jai Scott	French
Comparing Communities	Ghislaine Tulou	French
Family and Home	Debra Terry	French
Interpreting La Belle et la Bête	Michel Pasquier	French
Mapping Planet Earth	Stephanie Appel	French
Performing With Confidence	Yvette Heno	French
Touring a French City	Robin Neuman	French
Holidays and Seasons	Margita Haberlen	German
Sports in Action	Denise Tanner	German
Sports Stats	Amy Garcia	German
U.S. and Italian Homes	Marylee DiGennaro	Italian
Daily Routines	Margaret Dyer	Japanese
Happy New Year!	Leslie Birkland	Japanese
Promoting Attractions of Japan	Yo Azama	Japanese
Music and Manuscripts	Lauri Dabbieri	Latin
Russian Cities, Russian Stories	Jane Shuffelton	Russian
Creating Travel Advice	Fran Pettigrew	Spanish
Food Facts and Stories	John Pedini	Spanish
Fruits of the Americas	Carina Rodriguez	Spanish
Hearing Authentic Voices	Davita Alston	Spanish
Interpreting Literature	Barbara Pope Bennett	Spanish
Interpreting Picasso’s Guernica	Meghan Zingle	Spanish
Politics of Art	Lori Langer de Ramirez	Spanish
Routes to Culture	Pablo Muirhead	Spanish

The 5 Cs

Lesson Title	Instructor	Language
Comparing the Weather	Wael Fawzy	Arabic
How We Spend Our Free Time	Katie Quackenbush	Arabic
Making Plans	Belal Joundeya	Arabic
Making Sales Calls	Eric Bartolotti	Arabic
People Who Help Us	Khamael Alaloom	Arabic
A Place I Call Home	Manar Mayalah	Arabic
Vegetables We Like	Rita Lahoud	Arabic
Communicating About Sports	Jie Gao	Chinese
Exploring New Directions	Haiyan Fu	Chinese
A Cajun Folktale and Zydeco	Paris Granville	French
Chicken Pox	Jai Scott	French
Comparing Communities	Ghislaine Tulou	French
Family and Home	Debra Terry	French
Interpreting La Belle et la Bête	Michel Pasquier	French
Mapping Planet Earth	Stephanie Appel	French
Performing With Confidence	Yvette Heno	French
Touring a French City	Robin Neuman	French
Holidays and Seasons	Margita Haberlen	German
Sports in Action	Denise Tanner	German
Sports Stats	Amy Garcia	German
U.S. and Italian Homes	Marylee DiGennaro	Italian
Daily Routines	Margaret Dyer	Japanese
Happy New Year!	Leslie Birkland	Japanese
Promoting Attractions of Japan	Yo Azama	Japanese
Music and Manuscripts	Lauri Dabbieri	Latin
Russian Cities, Russian Stories	Jane Shuffelton	Russian
Creating Travel Advice	Fran Pettigrew	Spanish
Food Facts and Stories	John Pedini	Spanish
Fruits of the Americas	Carina Rodriguez	Spanish
Hearing Authentic Voices	Davita Alston	Spanish
Interpreting Literature	Barbara Pope Bennett	Spanish
Interpreting Picasso’s Guernica	Meghan Zingle	Spanish
Politics of Art	Lori Langer de Ramirez	Spanish
Routes to Culture	Pablo Muirhead	Spanish

Key Teaching Strategies

Lesson Title	Instructor	Language	Key Teaching Strategies
Comparing the Weather	Wael Fawzy	Arabic	Content-Based Instruction Incorporation of Technology Theme-Based Curriculum Visual Support for Learning
How We Spend Our Free Time	Katie Quackenbush	Arabic	Appealing to Multiple Intelligences Contextualizing Grammar Providing Corrective Feedback Visualizing Vocabulary
Making Plans	Belal Joundeya	Arabic	Incorporation of Technology Individual/Group Writing Multilevel Group Work Scaffolding
Making Sales Calls	Eric Bartolotti	Arabic	Challenging Native Speakers Establishing Routines Role-Playing Theme-Based Curriculum
People Who Help Us	Khamael Alaloom	Arabic	Content-Based Instruction Providing Comprehensible Input Recalling Vocabulary by Categories Visualizing Vocabulary
A Place I Call Home	Manar Mayalah	Arabic	Creating Cultural Experiences Scaffolding Theme-Based Curriculum Visual Support for Learning
Vegetables We Like	Rita Lahoud	Arabic	Appealing to Multiple Intelligences Content-Based Instruction Establishing Routines Visualizing Vocabulary
Communicating About Sports	Jie Gao	Chinese	Challenging Native Speakers Preparing for Communication Role-Playing
Exploring New Directions	Haiyan Fu	Chinese	Differentiated Instruction Establishing Routines
A Cajun Folktale and Zydeco	Paris Granville	French	Creating Cultural Experiences Facilitating Listening to Authentic Texts Storytelling Student Grouping
Chicken Pox	Jai Scott	French	Developing Literacy Establishing Routines Storytelling
Comparing Communities	Ghislaine Tulou	French	Contextualizing Grammar Facilitating Reading Authentic Texts
Family and Home	Debra Terry	French	Manipulating Language Structures Scaffolding Visualizing Vocabulary
Interpreting La Belle et la Bête	Michel Pasquier	French	Comparing Genres Across Media Critical and Abstract Thinking Interpreting Film
Mapping Planet Earth	Stephanie Appel	French	Content-Based Instruction Providing Comprehensible Input
Performing With Confidence	Yvette Heno	French	Acquiring Knowledge of Current Events Expanding Oral Discourse Role-Playing
Touring a French City	Robin Neuman	French	Expanding Oral Discourse Role-Playing
Holidays and Seasons	Margita Haberlen	German	Information Gap Activities Manipulating Language Structures Scaffolding
Sports in Action	Denise Tanner	German	Individual/Group Writing Providing Comprehensible Input
Sports Stats	Amy Garcia	German	Facilitating Reading of Content-Related Materials Preparing for Communication Providing Corrective Feedback Using Graphic Organizers
U.S. and Italian Homes	Marylee DiGennaro	Italian	Appealing to Multiple Intelligences Providing Interactions With Native Speakers Visualizing Vocabulary
Daily Routines	Margaret Dyer	Japanese	Formative Assessment Providing Comprehensible Input
Happy New Year!	Leslie Birkland	Japanese	Creating Cultural Experiences Jigsaw
Promoting Attractions of Japan	Yo Azama	Japanese	Process Approach to Writing Providing Comprehensible Input Scaffolding
Music and Manuscripts	Lauri Dabbieri	Latin	Color Coding Comparing Genres Across Media Providing Corrective Feedback Translating Literary Texts
Russian Cities, Russian Stories	Jane Shuffelton	Russian	Differentiated Instruction Multilevel Group Work Reading to Write
Creating Travel Advice	Fran Pettigrew	Spanish	Getting Information From Authentic Materials Integrating the Communicative Modes Student Grouping Top-Down Reading
Food Facts and Stories	John Pedini	Spanish	Acquiring Vocabulary Through Authentic Materials Content-Based Instruction Providing Comprehensible Input
Fruits of the Americas	Carina Rodriguez	Spanish	Creating Cultural Experiences Preparing for Communication
Hearing Authentic Voices	Davita Alston	Spanish	Providing Interactions With Native Speakers Scaffolding Student Grouping
Interpreting Literature	Barbara Pope Bennett	Spanish	Integrating the Communicative Modes Interpreting Literature Student Grouping
Interpreting Picasso’s Guernica	Meghan Zingle	Spanish	Scaffolding Using Graphic Organizers
Politics of Art	Lori Langer de Ramirez	Spanish	Acquiring Knowledge of Current Events Content-Based Instruction Cultural Role-Playing Providing Interactions With Native Speakers
Routes to Culture	Pablo Muirhead	Spanish	Creating Cultural Experiences Discovering Cultural Understanding From Texts Reading to Write Student Grouping

Series Directory

Teaching Foreign Languages K-12: A Library of Classroom Practices

Credits

Produced by WGBH Educational Foundation with the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. 2003. 2016.

ISBN: 1-57680-731-2

Sections

0.1 Standards and the Five Cs

An introduction to and illustration of the National Standards for Foreign Language Learning, this program shows how teachers can use the standards to help their students advance in foreign language proficiency.

0.2 Assessment Strategies

This program offers a detailed look at efforts to improve assessment in the foreign language classroom. Three case studies feature foreign language teachers using innovative assessment methods such as the Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) model, Performance Tasks, and Backward Design. Each of these case studies follows a teacher as she works through the process with her students, from setting guidelines and modeling to giving immediate and helpful feedback on performances.

0.3 Video Organizer Chart

Programs

Session 0 Introduction to the Library

This program provides an overview of the entire library, with suggestions for use in professional development settings

Session 1 Arabic: Teaching Arabic Overview

Provides background on the standards with commentary by teaching experts and clips from the classroom programs.

Session 2 Arabic: People Who Help Us

Arabic Grade 1: Khamael Alaloom introduces her class to people who help in the community and teaches students a new letter of the alphabet. She projects images of community helpers and reviews their names and what they do.

Session 3 Arabic: Vegetables We Like

Arabic Grade 2: Rita Lahoud’s Art and Arabic students draw pictures of vegetables they like and don’t like. Students discuss in pairs what they drew and then present their drawings to the full class.

Session 4 Arabic: Comparing the Weather

Arabic Grade 6: Wael Fawzy’s class learns about the weather in the Arab world and practices speaking and writing using dialects. Mr. Fawzy shows slides of the weather in Chicago and Egypt and asks students about the weather in each place and then has them develop questions of their own.

Session 5 Arabic: How We Spend Our Free Time

Grade 8, Arabic I: In a unit on hobbies, Katie Quackenbush’s novice-level students practice asking and answering questions about what they like to do in their free time. In a small-group activity, students picks a card and asks classmates whether they like doing the activity pictured. Students then poll one another about their free-time activities.

Session 6 Arabic: A Place I Call Home

Grades 9 and 10, Arabic II/III: In a lesson rich with music and visuals, students learn vocabulary to describe the rooms and exterior features of modern and traditional houses in Arab countries. Manar Mayalah introduces the lesson with a song about a “dear little house,” then shows videos of a traditional house in Syria and a modern house in Lebanon.

Session 7 Arabic: Making Sales Calls

Grades 9 and 11, Arabic I: Eric Bartolotti’s high school class of novice and heritage speakers use basic greetings and express likes and dislikes through a role-playing activity. Students pair off, assuming the roles of telemarketers and prospective customers.

Session 8 Arabic: Making Plans

Grades 9–12, Arabic V/VI: Students converse about what they will be doing in the future, in pairs and expanding to a group of four. Belal Joundeya presents a scenario in which two celebrities negotiate their busy schedules to agree on a dinner date, and then he role plays a similar situation with a student volunteer.

Session 9 Chinese: Communicating About Sports

Chinese I, grade 6: In pairs and in small groups, Jie Gao's students develop interpersonal communication skills as they state their sports likes and dislikes. They practice writing Chinese characters for an ongoing activity — a letter they are composing and sending to Chinese students. At the end of the lesson, the students create skits to perform for their classmates.

Session 10 Chinese: Exploring New Directions

Chinese II - IV, grades 9 - 12: In this lesson, Haiyan Fu's multilevel class explores direction - both literally and metaphorically. While Chinese IV students practice reciting Chinese cultural poems, students in Chinese II and III work on mapping the locations of nearby restaurants and providing directions to them.

Session 11 French: A Cajun Folktale and Zydeco

French I, grade 8: After preparing her students for new vocabulary, Paris Granville retells a Cajun folktale while students act out the story. Students then create a story map to delve into the different story elements. Ms. Granville introduces zydeco music and the instruments typically used to create it, such as the washboard, accordion, and spoons.

Session 12 French: Chicken Pox

French I, kindergarten: Jai Scott's French immersion class uses the topic of chicken pox, from an Arthur book and a French song, and total physical response (TPR) movements to learn new vocabulary for the parts of the body. The class practices emerging literacy skills by matching vocabulary labels to a drawing of a person.

Session 13 French: Comparing Communities

French III, grades 9 - 12: Ghislaine Tulou's students work in pairs to discuss aspects of their own community. They also discuss a Canadian community that they had read about and plan what they would do if they were to visit. Through individual and group-centered activities, students learn to express conditional statements about personal preferences.

session 14 French: Family and Home

French I, grade 5: In this two-part lesson, Debra Terry's students integrate vocabulary about the family by creating an imaginary family tree. Then they develop more complex ideas by describing the location of family members in different rooms of the home. For homework, students write about activities that take place in each room.

session 15 French: Interpreting La Belle et la Bete

French IV, grade 11: Michel Pasquier focuses his class on interpreting and adapting film, literature, and music, using the classic tale Beauty and the Beast. The students work in groups to find moral meaning in the 1945 Jean Cocteau classic film and compare the film to the original story and a French rap song.

session 16 French: Mapping Planet Earth

French I, grade 2: Stephanie Appel connects her French lessons to content and teaching materials in the general classroom curriculum. She employs TPR and map activities to practice vocabulary for the planets, continents, and oceans.

session 17 French: Performing With Confidence

French IV - V, grades 10 - 12: This lesson focuses on advanced conversation proficiency with connections to social, political, and pop culture. Yvette Heno's students play word games, discuss French politics, and stage a mock press conference with students portraying celebrities and journalists.

session 18 French: Touring a French City

French I, grade 8: Prior to this lesson, Robin Neuman's students researched French architecture and constructed a model of a French city on the classroom floor. During the lesson, students take turns role-playing tourists asking for directions and tourist bureau agents giving directions and describing the buildings and the city.

session 19 German: Holidays and Seasons

German I, grade 3: Margita Haberlen's lesson combines the topics of seasons and German holidays to reinforce basic reading skills, build cultural knowledge, and introduce more abstract thinking. Using a Venn diagram, students compare aspects of Fasching and Halloween.

session 20 German: Sports in Action

German I, grades 9 - 11: Denise Tanner guides her students through graduated activities including a TPR vocabulary review of the body, a grammar segment teaching the German structure gefallen, and a discussion of the German medals won at the 2002 Winter Olympics. As a culminating activity, students act out a TPR story in front of the class.

session 21 German: Sports Stats

German I, grade 5: In Amy Garcia's German class, students write in journals, listen as classmates share their sports preferences, take a poll on sports likes and dislikes, and record the class results on a graph. Using a chart showing the favorite sports of young Germans, Ms. Garcia makes connections to math by having students analyze the data.

session 22 Italian: U.S. and Italian Homes

Italian II, grade 9: In this lesson, Marylee DiGennaro's students compare American homes with typical dwellings in Italy. The class learns new vocabulary words, then practices them during a line dance and a card game. For homework, the students compose letters describing their homes, which they will email to students in Italy.

session 23 Japanese: Daily Routines

Japanese I, grade 5: This lesson focuses on the daily routines of individuals in Japan and the U.S. Margaret Dyer uses a variety of activities including TPR, modeling, paired practice, and student-led charades to introduce and review new vocabulary and concepts.

session 24 Japanese: Happy New Year!

Japanese II, grades 10 - 12: Students learn about some common products and practices of the Japanese New Year's celebration. Leslie Birkland's class splits into two groups: One sings New Year's songs, writes cards, and plays cultural games, while the other discusses New Year's food and decorations. After switching activities, the class reconvenes to compare the Japanese New Year's celebration with those of other cultures.

session 25 Japanese: Promoting Attractions of Japan

Japanese III - IV, grades 10 - 12: As part of a larger unit on the geography and culture of Japan, students learn the major regions and cities and discuss popular tourist destinations. Using timed activities, including a fast-paced Jeopardy-style quiz game, Yo Azama, 2012 ACTFL Teacher of the Year, assesses students on recall and recognition. As a culminating project, students create a travel brochure and begin planning a promotional video to attract visitors to Japan.

session 26 Latin: Music and Manuscripts

Latin II - III, IV AP, grades 10 - 12: Lauri Dabbieri's class explores how Latin manuscripts are interpreted, translated, and created. Latin IV students work independently to translate a passage from Vergil's Aeneid, while students in Latin II and III are guided through activities in translation and interpretation. Then the whole class works in pairs to create their own versions of illuminated Latin manuscripts.

session 27 Russian: Russian Cities, Russian Stories

Russian I and IV, grades 9 - 12: In this unique mixed-level class, Jane Shuffelton's students work on geography skills, story writing, and presentations. Russian IV students are paired with small groups of Russian I students to read a story, gather information, and write their own folktales. Each group shares their tale while the remaining students use their interpretive skills to write down specific information. In a separate activity, Russian IV students debate the role of the leader in Russian history after reading an article about Vladimir Putin.

session 28 Spanish: Creating Travel Advice

Spanish III, grade 11: In this lesson, Fran Pettigrew gives her students a letter from a teacher in Chile who plans to bring students to visit the United States. Working with authentic tourist brochures in Spanish and their previous research, student groups plan itineraries for their Chilean counterparts. They prepare to send a follow-up letter to the Chilean teacher sharing their suggestions.

session 29 Spanish: Food Facts and Stories

Spanish I, grade 8: Students use math and science skills as they interpret nutritional information in a Spanish-language McDonald's menu. John Pedini's lesson integrates authentic materials, makes connections to other academic areas, and develops interpretive and interpersonal communication skills.

session 30 Spanish: Fruits of the Americas

Spanish I, grade 4: Teacher Carina Rodriguez combines visual media and multisensory activities in a vocabulary-building lesson about familiar and new fruit. Students learn what country the fruit comes from, try to identify the fruit solely through touch, and taste the fruit to categorize it as sweet or sour.

session 31 Spanish: Hearing Authentic Voices

Spanish I, grade 8: Davita Alston's class engages in mock phone conversations, brainstorms about how American teenagers occupy their time, and reviews a video of Spanish-speaking youths discussing their leisure activities. Later, two native Mexican students visit the class and answer questions about how they spend their free time in Mexico.

session 32 Spanish: Interpreting Literature

Spanish III, grade 11: This lesson centers on the story Dos Caras by the New Mexican author Sabine Ulibarri. Barbara Pope Bennett guides students as they recount the details and discuss their interpretations of the story and its moral message. Students act out segments of the story and then collaborate in groups to come up with alternate endings.

session 33 Spanish: Interpreting Picasso’s Guernica

Spanish II, grade 10: In this lesson, students use their interpretive abilities to learn about culture and history through art. The students in Meghan Zingle's class make initial observations about Picasso's painting, and then work in pairs to write and present a mock radio announcement about it. After reading about the painting's background, they discuss the history it represents.

session 34 Spanish: Politics of Art

Spanish V, grade 12: Lori Langer de Ramirez's class stages a political debate based on Spain's visa requirement for Central and South Americans who wish to enter that country. During the debate, students assume the role of Latin American artists whose work they had researched and weigh the pros and cons of boycotting an invitation to exhibit their work in Spain. After the debate, the class votes on whether or not to accept the Spanish invitation.

session 35 Spanish: Routes to Culture

Spanish II, grades 9 - 10: This culturally rich lesson falls in the middle of a thematic unit about the African presence in Latin America. Pablo Muirhead's students identify cultural aspects of stories about a fictitious African girl who is taken to Panama and enslaved. Then they work in small groups to incorporate these cultural aspects into skits to be performed by their classmates. The class also practices playing African/Latin American box drums called los cajones.