2024-2025 Events for Utah DLI German Teachers

September 16, 2024: Elementary German DLI Professional Development

@ Utah State Capitol in the Beehive Room of  the East Building. 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM; mandatory for German DLI teachers; MIDAS registration is linked here

September 23, 2024: Secondary German DLI Professional Development

@ Utah State Capitol in the Beehive Room of  the East Building. 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM; mandatory for German DLI teachers; MIDAS registration is linked here

October 2-5, 2024: 9th International Conference on Immersion and Dual Language Education @ Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City

October 15, 2024: German Bridge Fall Professional Development @ Clearfield High School Library

October 17 - December 2, 2024: AAPPL Testing Window

November 7, 2024: UVU Celebration of the 35th Anniversary of the Fall of the Wall (contact Jeff Packer for more info)

November 15, 2024: Deutscher Vorlesetag

November 22-24, 2024: ACTFL Convention @ Philadelphia Conference Center in Philadelphia

January 21, 2025: German Bridge Spring Professional Development @ Clearfield High School Library

January 22, 2025: Elementary German DLI Professional Development

@ USBE Basement West Room. 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM; mandatory for German DLI teachers; MIDAS registration is forthcoming

January 23, 2025: Secondary German DLI Professional Development

@ USBE Basement West Room. 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM; mandatory for German DLI teachers; MIDAS registration is forthcoming

January 23-25, 2025: SWCOLT Conference @ Gila River Resort & Casino at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, AZ

February 21, 2025: Utah Foreign Language Association (UFLA) Conference @ Utah Tech University in St. George

Utah Immersion Vorlesetag

And we are officially registered for the Deutscher Vorlesetag on November 15, 2024. You can search for our registration on the official website by typing in "Utah". Summit Academy Independence and West Elementary will participate. We are now in search of fluent German speakers that will read to our immersion children. Please share this registration link and the flyer below with anyone available and interested. More to come! Stay tuned!

German Immersion Teacher Summit

On September 3rd and 4th, 2024, our German immersion elementary schools were able to send a representative to the German Curriculum Summit in Atlanta, GA.  Frau Weser, 1st Grade, represented Summit Academy Independence and Frau Simons, 6th Grade, represented West Elementary. German immersion teachers enjoyed a training by DLI Consultant Marie Bouteillon on Interactive Read Alouds and Curriculum Mapping. The teachers were able to share resources, best practices, and learn new ideas. The event was supported by the Halle Foundation which hosted the event at the beautiful Halle Estate.

Utah Immersion Conference

After PD is before PD. We are excited about the upcoming Utah Immersion Conference. A group of German immersion supporters will visit Summit Academy Independence on October 2, 2024 to observe how we do immersion in Utah. Are you registered for the conference yet? It will be spectacular!

Updated Utah DLI German Website

Have you checked out our updated Utah DLI German website? There are many updated and new resources for each grade level, including curriculum maps, parent resources, update pie charts, etc. Let Michaela know if there is another resource you would like to see on the website.

German Thematic Read Alouds

We are working on compiling a repository of German children books for interactive read alouds. Currently, there are several hundreds of books on this google spreadsheet. It is a work in progress and we encourage you to submit any great read alouds that you come across and that are not listed yet. Just send Michaela an email and I will add it. You can search the repository by level or theme. The goal for this year is to identify great interactive read alouds that go with our new unit themes to complement our main resource. Send me your suggestions and ideas!

AATG Fall Newsletter

The latest edition of the AATG newsletter is now online. Click here to access it.

Do you have students with dyslexia, autism, or ADHD? Please see below for free webinars with SWCOLT Teacher of the Year &  ACTFL Teacher of the Year finalist and GERMAN instructor Sara Lee. I was able to see her at SWCOLT last fall. I am registered for the webinars. I hope you can join us - I know this will be beneficial and awesome!

CBYX Applications for 2025-2026 Are Open

CBYX annually offers 210 young Americans the opportunity to attend a German high school, live with a German host family, participate in cultural immersion programs and seminars, and serve as a youth ambassador for an academic year.

• Fully-funded scholarship sponsored by the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Jointly funded by the German Bundestag and the U.S. Congress.

• Academic merit, as well as motivation, curiosity, and flexibility are key components to a competitive application.

• CBYX students come from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds across the U.S. Students are provided a modest monthly stipend to assist with personal costs.

• Alumni can connect with a global network of other State Department program alumni upon completion from the program.

• This is also an excellent gap year program for those between high school and college!

CBYX annually offers 210 young Americans the opportunity to attend a German high school, live with a German host family, participate in cultural immersion programs and seminars, and serve as a youth ambassador for an academic year.

• Fully-funded scholarship sponsored by the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Jointly funded by the German Bundestag and the U.S. Congress.

• Academic merit, as well as motivation, curiosity, and flexibility are key components to a competitive application.

• CBYX students come from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds across the U.S. Students are provided a modest monthly stipend to assist with personal costs.

• Alumni can connect with a global network of other State Department program alumni upon completion from the program.

• This is also an excellent gap year program for those between high school and college!

Students who are U.S. Citizens born between February 1, 2007 and August 1, 2010 with a GPA of 2.5 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) are eligible to apply. While no prior German knowledge is required, your German students are wonderful candidates for the program. Their interest in Germany and their language foundation – no matter how advanced – would serve them well in this full immersion program.

Please visit their website, where you will find downloadable PDF resources to share with your students. You may also visit the Department of State website for more information.

Students will find the online application at www.usagermanyscholarship.org/ Please note our application deadline is Friday, November 1, 2024.

Finally, please tell your students that we have upcoming CBYX Informational Webinars on Thursday, 10/3 (8:00PM Eastern) and Tuesday 10/22 (8:00PM Eastern). The log in information for all can be found below. We would also be happy to Zoom with your classes to promote the program more directly.

CBYX is an excellent opportunity for all our Utah students!

Articles Worth Reading

How do we "hook" students' attention early in the morning? Here are five ways how to spark curiosity in students right when they walk into your classroom. Research shows that subsequent learning is more effective once students have been "hooked". Click here to read this Edutopia article.

We know this already - instructional strategies in immersion are "just good teaching" in general! Here is an article on the benefits of designing structured = scaffolded conversations in the early grades and the benefits of these structured conversations all the way into middle school. It is nice to see our best practices being reaffirmed in the general education classroom. Click here to read this Edutopia article.

Create excitement about assessments by using unconventional assessment tools! Here is a great article on using comic strips as assessment tools. Click here to read the article.

Student feedback - when regularly sought and considered - can improve student engagement. It is also considered a college readiness skill in our Bridge courses. Read this Edutopia article on how to incorporate student feedback regularly at high school. Click here to read the article.

Lernmaterialien vom PASCH Netzwerk

Here is a new "Sprachanlass"! Have you heard of the Earth Speakr App? Get your students talking by leaving messages for a future Earth. Click here to get to the material.

A2/B1 text on Karriere in Deutschland - with videos, texts, and worksheets. Click here to get to the Unterrichtsmaterial.

B2/C1 text for our most advanced students on the Fachkräfteeinwanderungsgesetz. Click here to get to the Lehrmaterial.

Would You and Your Students Like to Be Featured in the October Newsletter?

Send pictures and blurbs to Michaela at mclaus-nix@utahdli.org by September 30, 2024.

Please share your hard work and the accomplishments of your students so that we can celebrate you!

Contact:

Michaela Claus-Nix, Ed.S.

German DLI Coordinator

Utah State Board of Education

mclaus-nix@utahdli.org