Penobscot Foreign Language Collaborative
Meeting January 31, 2007

The following language educators met at Bucksport Middle School on January
31, 2007:
Lynda Millar - French - Connors-Emerson School - Bar Harbor
Carolyn Horth - French  - Hermon Middle School
Leslee Fiveland - Spanish - Bucksport Middle School
Johanna Bridges - Spanish - Bucksport High School
Jo Clark - Spanish - Bucksport High School
Anette Ruppel Rodrigues - German - University of Maine
Janice Clain - Spanish and German - Hermon High School

The following announcements were made:

The Spanish Total Immersion is set for March 16-17 at Orono High School
for students of levels 2 and higher. Contact Chris Crocker for further
information.

There is an opening at Hampden Academy for a long-term sub in French.
Contact Marisue Schuiling (mschiuling@sad22.us).

Fred Ravan and his students at Brewer High School are hosting a group of
student from Argentina for the month of February. Teachers of Spanish may
wish to contact him to see about some joint activities.

Anita Tassel, who teaches French at the Montessori School in Bangor, has
been ill this fall.  Penobscot Collaborative members send her best wishes
for a speedy recovery.

Larry Grard, who writes for the Waterville Sentinel, has written an
article which highlights the lack of language teachers to fill positions
in a number of schools. His article appeared in the Sunday Waterville
Sentinel on Sunday, February 4 and in the Maine Sunday Telegram on the
same date. He also reported on a project by Sonia Stevenson, Spanish
teacher at Erskine Academy, whose high school students offer language
instruction at Windsor Middle School.

Prompted by Jane Smith and Gisela Hoecherl-Alden, who report that the
University of Maine will not fill the position of a French professor  who
plans to retire at the end of this year, the group edited and refined the
letter of concern begun at an earlier collaborative meeting. (That letter
has been sent to the Provost at the University.

Jo Clark asked for ideas for a project for her advanced classes; she wants
to teach a subject unrelated to language in Spanish. Suggestions included
regional festivals and geography. Leslee Fiveland showed a web site at
geokids.com that allows students to play with geography shapes.

The next meeting of the Penobscot Foreign Language Collaborative will be
on Wednesday, March 28, at Bucksport Middle School That session will be a
swap shop; attendees should bring materials and strategies to share with
others. This will be a good opportunity to bring materials and ideas from
the FLAME Conference on March 8-9 in Portland.

Contact Janice Clain or Leslee Fiveland for more information about the
collaborative.

Penobscot Foreign Language Collaborative
Meeting March 28,2007


The following language teachers were present:
Anita Tassel - French - Bangor Montessori
Lynda Millar - French - Conors-Emerson School (Mount Desert)
Kate Morse - French - Dedham School
Leslee Fiveland - Spanish - Bucksport Middle School
Anette Rodrigues - German - U Maine
Janice Clain - Spanish and German - Hermon High School

Leslee Fiveland announced that Buckport High School will initiate a
program in German starting this fall.

Several university officials have received copies of the letter composed
by members of the Penobscot Collaborative, and one, Dean Leffler, dean of
the College of Liberal Arts and Humanities, has acknowledged the concerns
voiced by the group. FLAME president, Teresa Farrar, and other
representatives of the FLAME board will meet with university officials
during April school vacation.

Lynda Millar described a unit she uses to teach "Big C Culture" to her
elementary school French students. She gives students a history in English
of certain French artists and explains their style of painting. She asked
the art teacher what concepts she should incorporate. She gives students a
palette of colors and descriptive words and reviews the verb construction
for "to like" so that students may critique paintings in the target
language. As an assessment, students pick two paintings (from an
illustrated calendar) to compare. She also takes segments from a coloring
book (Masterpieces by Mary Martin, Start Exploring) and has students color
in the style of an indicated artist, to create "mini masterpieces".
Anita Tassel creates a simulation activity, "Let's go to the Louvre" for
her students. She decorates the room will with illustrated examples of art
works and has students describe and comment on them.
Leslee Fiveland also does an activity using laminated post cards from
museums and asking students to describe and compare.
Lynda also demonstrated the free web site "Languages On Line", which has
themes activities appropriate for all levels, in French, German, Italian
and Indonesian. The site has interactive lessons, both written and oral,
and downloadable activities. (There are several "Languages On Line" sites.
The one Lynda presented seems to be easier to use than others, but does
not offer Spanish.)
Lynda also recommended the Conjuguemos.com site, which she has been able
to adapt and personalize for her students. The site is free but requires
registration.
Leslee Fiveland explained that she linked an activity for her Spanish
class to the MEA requirement that students write a persuasive essay.
Leslee has her students create a speech on the topic "To visit or not to
visit"; students have to give reasons for and against a visit to a
designated Spanish speaking destination.
Leslee also uses the "Comic Life"  feature available on school lap tops. Using
files on the library, students may then add their own captions, with
instructions to use the language being studied.
Anette Ruppel Rodrigues has done considerable research on the role of the
Hessians in the American Revolution. She is available and eager to present
information to school groups. If you or one of your colleagues would like
to bring her to your school, contact her at unserm@aol.com.
The next meeting of the Penobscot Foreign Language Collaborative will be
the end of the year social gathering. The date for the dinner will be
Tuesday, May 15, and the place will be Ichiban, the Japanese restaurant on
Union Street in Bangor. We encourage any local language teachers to join
us there, even if they have not been able to attend meetings throughout
the year.

The following language educators met at Bucksport Middle School on November 7:

LesleeFiveland - Bucksport Middle School - Spanish
LyndaMillar - Conners-Emerson School, MDI - French
AnitaTassel - Bangor Montessori School - French
ChristineBourroughs - Hermon High School - Spanish
JaniceClain - Hermon High School - Spanish and German


AnitaTassel shared information about a series of summer language
academies sponsored by Middlebury College. These programs are open to
middle and high school students and will take place St. Michael's
College, Colchester, Vermont, at Menlo College, Atherton, California, and
at Hampshire College, Amherst, Massachussets. For more information check the
website http://www.middlebury.edu/

Anita also announced that the Montessori School in Bangor has openings for
students ages 2 1/2 to 6. Information is available at 207-945-3464.

Plans for a Student Day at the University of Maine in Orono continue.
Jane Smith has reserved rooms in the Memorial Union for April 2. For
the first year, attendance will be limited to schools in the region served
by the Penobscot Foreign Language Collaborative and to students in levels
three or higher. Activities will include scavenger hunts, impromptu bag
skits, a culture bowl, and singing. Schools maybe asked to help prepare
some of these activities. The student activities committee of FLAME,
working with Jane Smith, hope to expand the student day in future years.


Those in attendance examined the revised Maine Learning Results
standards and made comparisons with the original document and the
performance indicators we have been using for the last five years. In
general, there seems to be an emphasis on making comparisons to the
native language, emphasizing yet again the role that study of
world languages plays in student literacy.


Hint of the day: Leslee Fiveland says she begins every lesson with a
brief" pre-test" to determine what students already know about the topic at
hand. This may be as simple as: "name three countries in South America" or
"what vocabulary would you need, in English, to talk about the airport".

 

The next meeting of the Penobscot Foreign Language Collaborative is
set tentatively for Wednesday, January 30 (weather at that time of year can
be an issue!). The topic will be projects; how to plan them to fit into the
curriculum, how to organize / present them and how to assess them.