Wiki and PodcastingSharing Expertise of Designing

Standard-Based Thematic Units

Yan Wang

Dixie Elementary Magnet School, FCPSyan.wang@fayette.kyschools.us

Topics vs. Themes

1. Food

2. How so I stay Healthy

3. School

4. Who are my friends at school

5. Transportation

6. My trip to China

Move from a topic to Theme

• A theme is a richer basis for a unit, one that has greater potential for meaning and purpose.

• While a topic usually involves just a loose collection of ideas, a theme suggests a “big idea” and a focused collection of ideas.

• It provides a goal or a destination for the learning, resulting in a planned culminating activity.

are designed using content as the organizing principle. Vocabulary, structures, and cultural information are included as they relate to the themes in each unit.

(Teaching Foreign Languages (TFL ) K-12 )

Thematic Units

Please talk with someone beside you :

What unit or lesson do you teach this week?

Is it a thematic unit ? Why it is or why it is not?

Planning a Thematic Unit

Content (Connections)

Language in use

(communications)Cultures

Thematic Center

Planning a Thematic Unit

Assessment(Communication, culture, comparison, connection,

Community

Content( Connections)

Language in use(Communication &

Comparison)

Cultures(Culture & Comparison)

Thematic Center(Essential

Questions )

Steps of planning a thematic unit

Identify sources

of outcomes

Choose a

thematic center/unit focus

Develop an enduring

understanding and an

essential/focus question

Brainstorm/develop a

web of potential

outcomes, content

and activities

Stay Health

y(Food)

Food Pyramid

American Food

Sports

Chinese Food

Characteristics of thematic units

1. incorporate real life situations in instruction.

2. integrate all four language skills communicatively.

3. provide opportunities for students to use the target language in meaningful contexts and in new and complex ways

4. use corporative learning. 5. apply project-based learning.6. Easy to apply 5 C’s.

Wiki and Podcasting

Thematic Units employ authentic video, audio, and written texts related to a theme-level topic to place learners in an interactive virtual environment that not only teaches and evaluates but also reproduces situations and activities that will enhance their ability to utilize language skills related to relevant, contemporary issues.

Wiki is a place to gather all materials in a website as a storage.

Websites

http://wanglaoshi.wikispaces.com

http://staff.fcps.net/yxwang

http://ischool.fcps.net

Questions?