Page 9 - Whistlefritz Lesson Plans

Foreward

Parents and teachers know children learn language by using language to make sense of their

world. The materials in this program honor this basic understanding. Rather than relying on

drills and memorization to learn Spanish, children participate in meaningful projects, creating

puppets, following recipes, making play dough, playing bingo, making pictures of their family
and homes, and entering story worlds. In the process of all of this making and doing, children

hear and try out the new language.

Practical and well-designed lessons in the Whistlefritz series integrate all areas of the
curriculum, with each new lesson spiraling back to previous lessons giving children multiple

opportunities to develop their Spanish. In the DVDs, a delightful feature of the series, children

meet an adventurous mouse named Fritzi who entertains and invites them to practice and

extend their new language. With lots of fun, and seemingly without effort, children fall in love

with and become competent speakers of Spanish.

Sarah Hudelson and Karen Smith

Arizona State University

The author of numerous books and articles in the ields of bilingual education and language

learning, Sarah Hudelson is Professor Emerita at Arizona State University. A luent Spanish

speaker, she began her career as a migrant education and bilingual education elementary
school teacher in Texas and Michigan. She has served as an advisor to committees and

commissions working to develop effective language learning instruction, among them the

National Commission on Writing in America’s Families, Schools, and Colleges.

The author of numerous books and articles in the ields of language and literacy, Karen Smith
is a professor emerita at Arizona State University who began her career teaching grades

5-6. An award-winning teacher and scholar who speaks and consults widely on literacy

development and teaching, she served for eight years as Associate Executive Director for the

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).

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