Saturday, November 1, 2014 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma
Location: Tahoma Room, Commencement Hall, University of Puget Sound
http://www.pugetsound.edu/about/campus-the-northwest/visiting-puget-sound/directions/ (See to the East Side of the Campus: Commencement Hall)
Thematic Planning:
Meeting the Needs of the World Language Learner
Dr. Helena Curtain
World language educators increasingly need to organize their curricula to meet the needs and interests of students with diverse learning needs, and to maintain student interest and motivation. THEMATIC PLANNING can free language teachers from the limitations of traditional materials, and can lead to lessons that are cognitively challenging and emotionally engaging for students. Thematic planning also can make second language instruction more comprehensible, as themes can create meaningful context, and change the instructional focus from the language itself to the use of language to achieve meaningful goals. In this workshop, Helena Curtain will demonstrate examples of thematic units that provide rich context (and content) for instruction. In addition, teacher participants in the workshop will participate in the process of designing a thematic unit.
This workshop is open to all K-16 World Language Educators!
Dr. Helena Curtain has varied experience as a foreign language educator, having taught at elementary through university levels. She is Associate Professor Emerita at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, directing the Foreign Language and ESOL teacher preparation programs. Helena also served as Foreign Language Curriculum Specialist for Milwaukee Public Schools. She is the author (with Carol Ann Dahlberg) of the seminal text Languages and Children: Making the Match as well as many articles on foreign language learning.
Washington State Clock Hours will be available with Advance Registration
This CLTA-WA workshop is offered with the generous support of the Confucius Institute of the State of Washington (CIWA), the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), and the University of Puget Sound.