Common Core: Crosswalk for
Languages
Lynn Johnston
IATLC Keynote
Oct. 4th, 2013
Common Core State Standards
The 5 R’s
(Reading,Riting,Rithmatic,Reasoning,Research)
Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and
technical subjects
Speaking and listening
Math
Research
Higher level thinking
Communication
• The Communication standard states: Students engage in conversations or
correspondence in the target language to provide and obtain information,
express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions. Students
understand and interpret the target language on a variety of spoken and
written topics. Students present information, concepts, and ideas in the
target language on a variety of topics to an audience of listeners or
readers.
• Interpersonal-Two way communication via conversation or written
exchanges
• Interpretive-Understanding what one hears and reads
• Presentational-Expressing one’s ideas in speech or writing.
• You can connect the Communication Standard to the Common Core
Standards in the many ways improving interpersonal, interpretive, and
presentational skills.
Communication and Common Core
Examples
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Routines- in target language
Greeting-weather C&F, target countries
Survey-analyze-present
Likes/dislikes-stand hand pair share, bar graph
El Mercado-currency, math
Family presentations-tech/writing process
Weather reports-science, geography
Direction skits-sequencing expository writing
Continuums, 4-corners- opinions and why
Fashion show
Fairy Tale plays
The Greeting….. Weather F/C
What time is it in…..?
Survey-Analyze-Present
• What are some good survey questions?
• Current issues?
• Form an opinion from data!
Creating Graphs with students
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Sports and Hobbies
Birthdays
Favorite colors
Professions
How you spend your day
Polleverywhere.com
Culture
• The Culture standard states: Students
demonstrate an understanding of the
relationship between the practices and
perspectives of the cultures of the target
language. Students demonstrate an
understanding of the relationship between
the products and perspectives of the cultures
of the target language.
Culture and Common Core Examples
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Famous artwork
Food, cooking days
Celebrations holidays
Sports hobbies
Flags, monuments
Greeting skits
Food
• There is a great video on YouTube “What the
World Eats” from the book by Peter Menzel
and Faith Daluisio to get students thinking
about meal customs around the world.
How much does your family spend?
“Novice Ethnographers”
Professor Sue Barry of Auburn University states
in the April 2012 issue of The Language Educator
“rather than telling students what to think about
culture give them tools like authentic texts and
videos that they can use to compare and
contrast and come up with their own insights
into the target culture”. I start the discussion by
asking students “What is the typical American
meal time?” and “How many people eat at the
table with their family every night?”
Connections
• The Connections standard states: Students
reinforce and further their knowledge of other
disciplines through the target language. Students
acquire information and recognize the distinctive
viewpoints that are only available through the
target language and cultures.
• This standard is a direct link to common core.
Here’s how I incorporate this standard and
common core in my classes.
Connections and the Common Core
Examples
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Reading-children’s literature, children’s songs, Informational Text, Myths & legends
Writing- The writing process
Math- arroz y frijoles, graphing, math fact relays, measurements , conversions form metric, telling
time, currency, story problems
Science-weather in c/f Students compare climate in their own area and in the target countries.
Plant and animal life cycle, recycling, environment
Social studies-I made a table toppers with a country, capital and flag from countries in the target
language to identify groups in the classroom for TPR and other activities. I also use the capital rock
songs available on Youtube. Students create and label maps of the world in the target language.
We have country maps to form partners. See brycehedstrom.com/.
Students gather information from authentic materials such as books, newspapers, magazines, or
the internet, to create short repots on topics of interest such as the Tour de France. Students learn
names and locations of major countries. I recommend the capital rap fpr Spanish on YouTube.com.
Art-Hatians landscapes, masks from the ivory coast, portraits by Guaguin,,and scenes by Watteau.
Fruit Bowl paintings
Music-song of the day, senorwooly.com
Informational Text
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Textbooks, workbooks, samples
Teacherspayteachers.com
Reading A-Z
Scholastic.com and Scholastic.ca
Martinabex.com and zachary-jones.com
Internet Realia movie & train schedules
Shopping ads, restaurant menus, etc.
Myths and Stories from other Cultures
The state mandates certain critical types of
content including:
1. Classic myths and stories from around the
world
2. Foundational U.S. documents
3. Seminal works of American Literature
4. The writings of Shakespeare
Pre-reading activities
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The 5 P’s
Preview
Prior Knowledge
Predict
Purpose
Pre-teach Critical Vocabulary… Context
Definition
Word Parts
Use Imagery
During Reading
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Holding your thinking
Think aloud partner practice
Reciprocal Teaching
Informational text structure
Fictional Story line chart
Post Reading
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Reflect (revise anticipation guide, predictions)
Semantic feature analysis
QAR
Bloom’s Higher level thinking skills
Journals-D.O.D, Dialectical,Reading Logs
Summarize, compare and contrast
Draw, storyboard
Act out , retell
Exit Tickets, Luck of the Draw, 2 words
Writing
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Expository and Persuasive
Maps, giving directions, sequencing
Compare and Contrast-holidays, houses, etc.
Summaries (delete, keep, substitute)
Posters-Did you know that…French week
Posters-Why study a F.L.? During registration
Opinions from surveys and graph
2 facts and a lie
Writing continued…
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Quien soy? Picassohead.com or directed draw
Pattern books… student created
Valentines adjective agreement
Journal topics-Carlex
Poetry: hide and seek, Bio-Poems, Diamantes
Dictees, dictados, dictations
Math
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Bar graphs, Pie charts
Surveys
Story Problems with clothes, $, food, family
Arroz y frijoles…..pain et fromage….buzz
White board races math facts
Group number lift
Scoring papers change to percent and decimal
Math continued…
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Charting weather f/c
Metric system for food, clothes
Converting money
Telling time 24 four clock
Shapes
Estimating-valentine hearts
Science
• Weather f/c weather forecasts compare to
target language countries
• Informational text: seasons, weather, solar
system
• Animals, Habitats
• Life cycle-Hungry Catepillar
• Environment-Earth day posters, el hotel de
basura
Social Studies
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Geography Capital Rock-Directed paint, color
Maps-Places in the city, giving directions
Cultural comparisons
D’ou etes vous? Flags Nationalities (TPT.com)
TPR maps- sheets, commands, Jason Fritz,,..invisible map Joe Moore
Informational Text in Textbook samples
Gallery walk Teacher’s discovery posters Give one get one
Conduct short research projects to answer a question drawing on several
sources
• Table toppers with a country, capital and flag from countries in the target
language to identify groups in the classroom for TPR and other activities.
• Students create and label maps of the world in the target language.
• We have country maps to form partners. See brycehedstrom.com/.
Comparisons
• The comparison standard states: Students
demonstrate understanding of the nature of
language through comparisons between the
languages studied and their own.
• Students demonstrate understanding of the
concept of culture through comparisons
between the cultures studied and their own.
Comparisons and Common Core
examples
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Root Words…Borrowed words- Book Pass
Cognates/false cognates-silent reading
Idiomatic expressions, Levels of formality
Gestures-counting
Compare and contrast tangible products
Songs, children’s rhymes, literary works, sports
Behaviors like table manners, schedules, siestas
Sports and Holidays
mon partenaire
moi
nous
Toy Stories
• Students make Venn diagrams to compare and
contrast their room and possessions with
another student. I like to show the photos
taken by Italian photographer Gabriele
Galimberti. His project called Toy Stories
compiles photos of children from around the
world with their prized possessions—their
toys.
Country Experts
• In the classroom of Jean Amick, a French teacher
at Kentucky Country Day School in Louisville, KY,
everyone draws the name of a target language
country out of a hat. This country becomes their
new identity for the rest of the year. Each
student becomes the classroom expert for their
country on every topic addressed in class. This
could include: housing, weather, time zones,
school life, family life, clothing, holidays, sports,
music. The students must research how the topic
relates to their assigned country.
Ifitweremyhome.com
• “The approach of comparison, and particularly
allowing students to research and hypothesize
about the differences themselves, can get to
the critical thinking that we wish to
encourage” says Renate Schulz professor
Emerita of German at the University of
Arizona in the October 2012 issue of the
Language Educator.
Communities
Students use language in and beyond school
setting (school, community, study-abroad,
cyperspace)
Students show evidence of becoming life-long
learners by using the language for personal
enjoyment and enrichment
• Applications:
Personal-travel, friendships, enrichment
Professional-education, business, politics
Communities & Common Core
Examples
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Field Trips- Gauguin, Picasso (Reading Biographies)
Performances- Zydeco (reading informational text)
Internet research-Country posters, Gallery walk
Did you know posters…. About culture, country
Travel Brochures- Expository and persuasive
Why study a foreign language (persuasive writing)
Newsletter for peers in another school or parents
Key pals, Skype (even in district)
Students read legends, myths for pleasure
Fairy tales plays (compare and contrast)
National world language week trivia contests
Field Trips
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Target grants $700
Connect to novels-Agentes Secretes Picasso
Informational texts
Artists Bios-Gauguin-Van Gogh
Seattle Center
Artist Visits
• SAM
• Picassohead.com
• Who am I?
Informational Posters
• National French Week-Did you know posters?
• National World Language Week Trivia ???
• Sweeps Week aka..Registration Why study a
world language posters? (persuasion)
• WAFLT/ACTFL poster video contests
• AATF etc. brochures
Choice boards like the free example in English called “Creative
Presentations” from Martina Bex at www.Teacherspayteachers.com/
are great for motivating students to participate in the target language
community.
• Choices can be replaced with several possibilities such as:
interacting with native speakers, visiting restaurants,
museums, or ethnic festivals, reading books or magazines,
listening to music, watching TV or movies, participating in
sports or games, teaching the language to a younger
siblings, cooking, traveling to locations where the target
language is spoken, volunteering for service projects, or
studying abroad.
• Some teachers require a certain number of out-of-class
interactions as part of the grade, some for extra credit,
some just provide ideas for personal enrichment. Students
could keep a journal, log, portfolio, or some form of selfassessment so students, teachers, and parents can see how
they used the language outside the classroom.
Communities –The Lost C??
• A Decade of Foreign Language Standards: Impact,
Influence, and Future Directions, released in
October 2011 states that “Communities has often
been termed the Lost C”.
• June Phillips, Professor Emerita at Weber State
University, co-directed the survey which seems to
suggest world language teachers have the most
difficulty teaching this standard.
Conclusion
• Importance of effective closure on retention
• Ideas you will use?
• Other ideas?
Contact
• Lynn Johnston
Johnstonl@edmonds.wednet.edu
Alderwood Middle School
Lynnwood, WA
School # 425-431-4035