Template for Thematic Units

Thematic Units in French and Spanish (downloadable Spanish unit is here)

Learning Strategies

Activity 1: Try this vocabulary activity

• Learning new information
• Remembering and recalling information
  
• Practicing skills
• Overcoming anxiety about learning
  

Teaching Learning Strategies in the Language Classroom

Activity 2: Think-aloud practice

• Select a theme for your Unit.
• Decide on the three content areas you will address.
• Identify initial objectives for content, language, and learning strategies (you may need to modify these as the unit develops).
• Correlate your objectives to content subject standards and to ACTFL standards.
• Make an outline using the calendar in the Guidelines.
• List the materials you will need.
• Develop one lesson from your unit to share with a group next week.

Further References:

• The World of CALLA: http://calla.ws
• You will find resources, handouts, a mailing list, message forum, and contact information on our site.
• Strategic Learning Unlimited: http://jillrobbins.com
• Jill’s site has more learning strategies resources and presentations.
• National Capital Foreign Language Resource Center: http://nclrc.org
• NCLRC’s site has teacher guides for learning strategies and foreign language teaching resources. Of particular interest is the secondary foreign language strategies instruction guide, "Sailing the Five Cs With Learning Strategies"
• Strategy Training for Second Language Learners by Andrew Cohen http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/0302cohen.html
• Bibliography of Learner Autonomy articles: http://ec.hku.hk/autonomy/bibliog.html