Introduction
Our high school is a somewhat atypical urban high school. We have recently celebrated 100 years as a high school and the 40th anniversary of voluntary integration. We are part magnet school and part neighborhood school. That means any student living within the traditional borders of the school itself is allowed to attend the school unless they have a history of extreme behavioral issues. These students do, indeed, take a placement exam, but it is only for the purpose of finding the correct course fit and not used for admittance. The other students come from across the rest of the school district and face a rigorous application process. For us, that means that we are probably the most racially, ethnically, religiously, and socio-economically diverse high school in the district. We are also one of only two high schools in the state with an International Baccalaureate Program. Fifty-four percent of our students are on the free or reduced lunch program and many are in remedial math and reading programs.
We are also a Middle Years Program (MYP) school. The Middle Years Program is part of the International Baccalaureate Program (IB). The IB program fosters cultural awareness and its focus is to develop students who are critical and reflective thinkers. The program also strives to help students make real-world connections to what it is they are learning. Assessments are used to discover the depth of knowledge and the methods are very holistic. Most of the school's general education students do not complete the IB program; however, our curricula are geared towards making sure all students are educated in this manner throughout the school. All 9th and 10th grade classes are supposed to be taught with the MYP standards in mind, so that students entering the 3rd and 4th levels of any foreign language can go on to complete Advanced Placement or IB requirements and pass those programs’ rigorous exams.
Teaching the first two levels of German in our school is accomplished mainly by using Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS) methods. TPRS is a method of teaching foreign languages using a mixture of storytelling and reading to encourage students to use the target language instead of just learning about it. It begins with introducing new vocabulary using gestures, which the students repeat, and either a few short sentences or a short story. That new vocabulary is then used repetitively in a longer, more comprehensive story where the teacher supplies the outline of the story and asks the students provide the details. The teacher continuously checks for comprehension by asking who, what, when, why, where, and how questions. This ensures that the vocabulary is constantly recycled. Students then read a slightly different story, which is prepared by the teacher, using the same vocabulary found in the original, oral version of the story. Comprehension is demonstrated by having the students translate this story into writing.
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