Perhaps the most daunting task for you as a FLES teacher is the actual lesson planning -- specifically keeping track of topics covered in the various grade levels encountered in just one day of teaching. Feeling overwhelmed by the desire to cover the curriculum well and remain organized in approach throughout the day is a real challenge that I deal with on a daily basis!
In my own daily schedule, I meet "only" four levels a day but travel to two schools to teach ten classes a day. In actuality, each class is a "level"! The individual progress of each class depends greatly on the support of the individual classroom teacher (if you have no classroom like me), the personality, composition, and motivation level of each class, and also on your personal fatigue level. (I find the first and last classes of the day are always the most difficult.)
There are other factors that interfere with the flow (¡la onda!) as well, and leave what is written on your lesson planning pages in the dust. (1) Assemblies or field trips may totally cancel several classes in different grade levels. (2) The presence of a substitute teacher may make the class "less ready" for instruction. (3) Your own seizing on "teachable moments" in a particular class divert you from the actual task at hand. (A GOOD THING!) (4) Disruptions to an individual class itself fire drills, intercom messages, screening small groups of children for lice or vision in the nurse's office cause gaps. (5) You forget specific materials needed for a particular lesson back in your "office" (if you work from a cart as I do) or at the other school where you work. And (6) a delay of the start or an early dismissal for a particular class cut into precious minutes of a class.
What are some strategies that FLES teachers can incorporate into their daily routines to cope with these uncontrollable factors that make lesson planning and maintaining forward motion in covering the curriculum difficult?
First, maintaining a positive attitude is crucial to overall success as a FLES instructor is one of the most difficult of all teaching assignments. This advice may sound too "syrupy" and simplistic, but do look on the bright side of your teaching! These lucky children who sit in front of you everyday are receiving a precious luxury from you only. I'll bet that few people in the entire building/district neither speak another world language fluently nor have training to teach it to young children. So allow yourself to see the good things you are accomplishing daily by speaking a new language throughout the class in meaningful, context-rich ways whenever you meet. If you're having a bad day or week (and I've had plenty!) take a look at
(I remind myself daily that I am where I am today ironically because of unfortunate circumstances. My mother had severe postpartum depression and was unable to care for me through infancy and early childhood. My French Canadian grandmother who spoke French and English well took over and sung to me in French. I was always present when she visited with her French-speaking female friends as they played cards and shared tea and sweets together. She forbid me to speak French to others, however, as that was very frowned upon in the fifties, but I acquired an ability in French and other languages anyway! My younger sister and brother were cared for by my mother and show no affinity or ability in another language as I do. What a gift I received from my beloved grandmother, and she wasn't even trying to "teach" me!)
So, if you are making a deliberate effort to present the curriculum material in a meaningful context and make yourself use the new language throughout the class, your children will make progress! Guaranteed!
Second, a very solid, practical way to plan lessons and keep track of the curriculum requirements in each grade level is to use thematic teaching with deliberate spiralling/reviewing of topics and vocabulary as each two-month long unit progresses. In other words, begin at the lowest level with a workable, appealing theme and make it more and more sophisticated as you go up each grade. Use most of the same realia for all but add other realia, elements, skills, and expanded content knowledge to make it "different, special, and unique" for each grade. All songs, chants, poems, and authentic literature books in the unit relate directly to the theme as well. In some units, I use the same song, but add verses (some composed by me) as I go up each grade level. And in other units, each grade level may have their own musical pieces.
Don't worry if a particular class appears to fall behind while you cover the theme over the two-month period. They will catch up eventually. Remember that children learn more when the class content is slightly above their abilities (i+1 from Stephen Krashen). Keep it moving! Don't get bogged down! The freshness of approach to the same theme and different elements are what keeps you enthused as a FLES teacher in your busy schedule.
For example, for November/December I use the theme of "Christopher Columbus" with an evolving role-play that tells an increasingly detailed story. For the second grade level, I teach the major characters Columbus, sailors, Queen Isabella, and King Ferdinand, the geography Spain, Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba, the three ships names and sizes, colors and designs of the particular flags, map terms land, water, island, and the Taínos.
For the third grade, we review all of the preceding and add the compass rose, Mediterrean Sea, gold and spices, the continents, Central America (because Columbus sailed near Nicaragua and Honduras), the Pacific Ocean, and weather that the sailors encountered on board the ships including a big storm. The children act out feeling words (I'm hungry, thirsty, tired, afraid) as they pretend to live on board the tiny ships.
For the fourth grade, we again review all of the preceding and learn that he also sailed to the mouth of the Orinoco River in Venezuela. The major focus here is the concept of the "Great Exchange" (See EL DÍA DE LA RAZA in
involving goods brought from the Old World (i.e. horses, chickens, tools) and those brought to Europe from the Old World (i.e. turkeys, tomatoes, potatoes). Animal and food vocabulary are greatly expanded here. Also, I begin a chart to show the differences in his four voyages number of ships and dates to show the fluctuating attitude of the Spanish rulers towards his explorations.. The children are shocked to discover that he landed in prison after his fourth voyage and died in obscurity!
In the fifth grade, I would review all and add details about the exact time frame/line of each trip to the chart begun in fourth grade, what the sailors ate on board, the real meaning of EL DIA DE LA RAZA, and the treatment of the indigenous people by the Spaniards.
Indirect grammar teaching points appear throughout each level as well question words, verb forms, sentence order, adjective agreeement, etc., along with specific cultural ideas and practices.
Click on the icon at the end of this page to view the entire abbreviated theme map that we use in our district to get "the big picture" on the expansion of the themes -- "All about Me," "Columbus," "In School," "Animals," and "Fruit."
Third, posting a shortened version of the curriculum for a particular unit with just key words where you do your lesson planning and on your cart as well helps refresh your mind as you get tired at the end of the day.
Fourth, the optimum schedule, of course, is one in which the grade levels flow nicely into each other (all second grades meet first, then third, then fourth grade, etc.) which allows you to adjust your teaching as you move up the chain. However, I never have had that luxury! But keep negotiating with your principal and explain your needs before the beginning of each academic year. This year (after eight years in FLES) I finally have a schedule that is nearing the "ideal."
Our district has planned the curriculum with the five Cs as organizer. So, I start each paper lesson plan for the week with basic target vocabulary, communicative phrases, and grammar in mind that the first grade level will encounter (grade two for me) and make an intersecting circular diagram outlining what direction I would take in each of the five C's for this theme. I fill in with appropriate activities, songs, rhymes, stories, hands-on, TPR, picture demos, etc. Frankly, I have yet to have a week go by with everything being accomplished because of the nature of "traveling" FLES instruction. The not-gotten-to areas are put on the following week's sheet.
Keeping a positive frame of mind that your sincere attempts to cover the curriculum are worthwhile and valid, along with a very strong focus on expanding themes for each grade level in a reasonable sequential schedule allow you and the children to meet more frequently with success and satisfaction during the school year. But frankly, there is a danger, however, of making lessons too complex (i.e. trying to accomplish too much at once -- like I did at the beginning.) Keep trying to simplify and use your materials in different ways rather than make more and more. The best curriculum is one that goes into depth in fewest number of themes as possible. "Less is more!"
