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Teaching Standard 5.1
Teaching Standard 5.1
The teacher connects concepts, perspectives from varied disciplines, and interdisciplinary themes to real world problems and issues.
The teacher connects concepts, perspectives from varied disciplines, and interdisciplinary themes to real world problems and issues.
EVIDENCE #1: Conflict Minerals Lesson
Slide Show & Discussion: "Qu'est-ce qu'il ya dans mon portable?!" ( What is in my cell phone?!)
DESCRIPTION: This was a lesson for a French AP Class at Middlebury High School in March 2019 where I did a high school French teaching internship with Michelle Steele. It addresses the pressing global issue of conflict minerals. While these minerals come from regions far from the United States, the lesson was designed to engage the class in reflecting on how this dilemma impacts all of our day to day lives, to develop solutions on both a local and macro level, and to expand their knowledge of interdisciplinary themes such as geography, social studies, economics, civics and French. I began the class with the slide show, including a video viewing which is within it, followed by a class discussion, prompted by questions at the end of the slideshow. There was also a smaller "turn and talk," opportunity for students to practice spoken language skills more intensively.
ANALYSIS/REFLECTION: This lesson was taught all in French as it was for an AP level High School class. It focused on the crucial issue of minerals used to fund global conflicts, while linking it to their every day lives by relating it to something almost everyone of us has, a cell phone. The element chart to the right shows all the different ones that go into electronic devices including cell phones.
Creating the digital slide show was a perfect learning opportunity for me to start to navigate this technology. The slide show, with the content within it, augmented the learning goals of the lesson by allowing me to bring vibrant visuals to life at the opening of class.
A student in one of Madame Steele's earlier classes assisted me as I learned this technology during a planning block. Additionally, another foreign language teacher next door, pointed out a few tips as did Madame Steele.
Within the slide show, the video embedded is about a mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It begins by stating that these miners work in order that we can all have our cell phones. The periodic table used, links science to the lesson, showing all the elements that go into a cell phone. There are also written questions for the students to reflect upon and discuss following the slide show. The evidence presented demonstrates my mastery of connecting concepts, perspectives from varied disciplines, and interdisciplinary themes to real world problems and issues given the subject addressed and cross-curricular areas within it. The cellphone is something ubiquitous and very concrete for learners to reflect upon in context of this lesson. To further develop this teaching standard, I would like to implement a learning activity that involves students choosing an issue that interests them in a global context and research and launch a local campaign that they can raise awareness through to see their work in action.
Les Mineraux de Conflits
ConflMine_ElemofCellPhConflMin_QuestsEVIDENCE #2: Utilized the film, The African Doctor, for my 7th & 8th grade French students. See various written summaries of themes connected to real world problems and issues.
DESCRIPTION: I showed this film to my 7th and 8th grade French classes at Edmunds Middle School in Burlington. The film is based on a true story and touches on many salient issues such as acceptance, racism, prejudice and diversity. It blends two worlds that share some common historical threads but are very culturally and geographically divided.
Shown to the left is a poster with it's original title, the name of the village it takes place in, Marly-Gomont, France as well as a world map to put it into context.
ANALYSIS/REFLECTION: In order to connect concepts, perspectives from varied disciplines, and interdisciplinary themes to real world problems and issues, I used this wonderful film, The African Doctor, based on a true story. While addressing serious issues, there is also humor and finally, a reconciliation between most of the French villagers and the newly arrived African family.
Earlier in the year, the 7th grade French learners had engaged in a French speaking country project, thus this was an instructional opportunity for them with authentic French content, based on a true story, to deepen their understanding. See Teaching Standard #9.2, Evidence #2.
The story unfolds as the only African graduate from a French medical school accepts a job in a small all-white village in France. He is to be the town doctor of Marly-Gomont in France's Picard Region. He moves his family, living in Kinshasa, Zaire (now known at the Democratic Republic of Congo, the DRC), here and to their surprise, they are quite far from a life in Paris, as his wife had understood.
The film, with characters my students could relate to while exploring serious topics, made it resonate with them and appropriate for their age group. Before watching the movie, we discussed a variety of themes such as diversity, fear, multiculturalism, alienation, acceptance, and prejudice. We also explored geography and looked at both a map of the continent of Africa, where Zaire is located vis-a-vis a map of Europe and where France is. I touched on colonization but really focused on the film's themes and geographical topics. Students were aware they were to watch out for these themes during the movie. After watching the film for the first day of the lesson, I saved 5 minutes at the end of class for a "turn and talk" with a classmate. As can be seen in their assessments, there were different levels of English learners in the class.
In sum, this is a very funny and heart warming film that uses comedy and drama to explore important real world issues at home and globally. The use of this shows mastery of this teaching standard to connect learning experiences to real world problems and issues as this is a poignant film based on a true story and links to the students French language, culture and history learning.
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