Foreign Language in Elementary School (FLES) Program at Peabody
This is the eleventh year of the FLES Russian Program at Peabody Elementary! It is one of a select few elementary schools in the Shelby County School District that receive foreign language instruction. Students receive 45 minutes of Russian language instruction once a week. The program is designed to serve as a feeder school for STEAM Middle School, Bellevue Middle School, and Central High School. This allows students to continue their language study through high school, achieving higher levels of proficiency than would be possible after two years of high school foreign language study.
At the elementary school level, students learn language through thematic units that bring context to the language. The world language program focuses on using language in real-world situations. Students learn to communicate with others through oral language, print, and media. Although students need to know vocabulary, grammar, and cultural information, they learn them in order to use them purposefully for communication with others. This emphasis on communication aligns the Shelby County School's (SCS) curriculum with state and national standards and common core standards.
Our curriculum is clearly articulated so that learning builds upon itself in each unit, year and level of language study. Each level of the curriculum is guided by clear statements of what students will know and be able to do. Realistic expectations for how students will be able to use their language and cultural skills are also clearly stated. These objectives determine what teachers teach, what practice activities are provided to students, and how student progress is evaluated. Ultimately, because the goal of learning language is to be able to use it, SCS teachers will test and evaluate their students on what students can do with what they have learned.
We conduct semi-annual language testing that shows growth in students' ability to speak Russian. Your child will be tested in three different ways: 1) an interpretive, or listening test is given, consisting of between 10 and 15 questions relevant the the current unit of study; 2) an interpersonal, or speaking test is given, in which your child will sit down one-on-one with his or her teacher and discuss topics within the current unit; 3) a presentational test is given, in which students present the information that they have learned. The testing period is two weeks in order to ensure maximum attention is devoted to each student during the process.
Important Links about our Curriculum:
Shelby County Schools World Languages Program
TN Department of Education Elementary Modern Language (K-5) Curriculum Standards
National Standards - American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
How Do We Connect with the Common Core?
At the elementary school level, students learn language through thematic units that bring context to the language. The world language program focuses on using language in real-world situations. Students learn to communicate with others through oral language, print, and media. Although students need to know vocabulary, grammar, and cultural information, they learn them in order to use them purposefully for communication with others. This emphasis on communication aligns the Shelby County School's (SCS) curriculum with state and national standards and common core standards.
Our curriculum is clearly articulated so that learning builds upon itself in each unit, year and level of language study. Each level of the curriculum is guided by clear statements of what students will know and be able to do. Realistic expectations for how students will be able to use their language and cultural skills are also clearly stated. These objectives determine what teachers teach, what practice activities are provided to students, and how student progress is evaluated. Ultimately, because the goal of learning language is to be able to use it, SCS teachers will test and evaluate their students on what students can do with what they have learned.
We conduct semi-annual language testing that shows growth in students' ability to speak Russian. Your child will be tested in three different ways: 1) an interpretive, or listening test is given, consisting of between 10 and 15 questions relevant the the current unit of study; 2) an interpersonal, or speaking test is given, in which your child will sit down one-on-one with his or her teacher and discuss topics within the current unit; 3) a presentational test is given, in which students present the information that they have learned. The testing period is two weeks in order to ensure maximum attention is devoted to each student during the process.
Important Links about our Curriculum:
Shelby County Schools World Languages Program
TN Department of Education Elementary Modern Language (K-5) Curriculum Standards
National Standards - American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)
How Do We Connect with the Common Core?