Version:
5/4/09

materials:

the "Humboldt Project", and its earlier versions, FLL 399 (2006W) and GER 427/527 (2006F); also my PSU SINQ presentation (October 2008);
CBI activity scoring guide (see handout from previous meetings or use this link)
samples of reflections about Levine and Scheutz/ Colangelo (0706)
samples of Project 1: 0706a Marketing & Media through Bicycle Safety; 0706d Photography; 0706e Salsa Rueda; 0707b Politics in France / the US; 0706e Salsa Rueda;

FREE - Federal Resources for Educational Excellence <http://www.unterrichtsmaterial-schule.de/index.shtml> - not just lesson plans; also links to organizations, competitions, etc.
thirteen ed online - huge collection of lesson plans, projects, etc. <http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/>
National Park Service - Wupatki National Monumen resources for teachers <http://www.nps.gov/wupa/forteachers/trt.htm>
The JASON Project (National Geographic Society) - curricular resources about great events and great explorers (5th-8th grades, but flexible <http://www.jason.org/Public/AboutUS/aboutUS.aspx>
Curriki - Wiki for lesson plans <http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome>

Can people find lesson plan collections for other langs? Here's one for German: Unterrichtsmaterial & Arbeitsblätter <http://www.unterrichtsmaterial-schule.de/index.shtml>
The SpeakEasy course scoring guide

(5') Little things: A casual thought from last night: CBSI - Content-Based Self-Instruction: where do we encounter it? Related to that: the language program at Drake University

(20') From my recent email: I think we need a discussion about what we (ourselves, our learners) want language teaching and learning to accomplish, so that we can examine the pros and cons of CBI (and other teaching methods or tools). Example: Some people prize language courses for what they contribute to the development of students' intellectual rigor (logic, clear thinking, understanding of system, rules, principles); such people may also say: "…especially Latin" or "…but of course they can get the same things from a stiff geometry course". To what extent is that view / goal compatible with CBI? What if the students' goal is to… [name several different goals]?

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(20') the first CBI project - a) the scoring guide; b) examples from previous classes (see links above); c) your ideas (ballet!); d) barista-ing (recent NPR story); e) cashiers at Schuck's Auto Supply; f) Reminder about "proposal" for Project 1, announced as being due TODAY (a few sentences at most). If the group feels it necessary, we will postpone the deadline. We're somewhat ahead of time on the other two projects anyway.

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(20') Lesson plans for other subject areas (see links above and specific example in next item)

(20') the Humboldt Project as an example of a) CBI quite different from SpeakEasy; b) activities appropriate to Project #2 (thematic unit covering several weeks of CBI learning - example for plant geography, but without language component); example of project that takes a quite different approach to similar subjects: signage for local museum's exhibits of regional plant and animal life

(10') How to assess CBI activities (not the projects for this course, but rather what the learners do when we teach with CBI). The SpeakEasy course scoring guide. Hypothesis: If the CBI activity is designed properly, and you then assess the student's performance according to how well the CONTENT was learned, that will also indicate how much LANGUAGE was learned.

(10') Some of you have asked for background reading in the basics of language pedagogy: In class I'll show or at least mention several of the standard books (Omaggio, Lee/VanPatten, Shrum. And here are some article on your CD-ROM:

0068 Spinelli, Language Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century - BIG PICTURE
0120 Lafayette & Strasheim, The Standard Sequence… GOOD FOR HISTORY of methods
0153 Principles of Effective Practice - LONG AND GOOD, but read this one LAST
0156 Omaggio, Comparison of Methods - GREAT BRIEF overview of the implications of various methods
0677 Eight Approaches - START WITH THIS ONE