Shauna Anderson

EDUC 450/486
February 24, 2016
Setting and Context: TWS
Fort Collins, Colorado - Community: Located approximately 55 miles north of Denver, Fort
Collins is a mid-size city boasting a vibrant host of businesses and industries including Hewlett
Packard, Banner Health, Anheuser Busch, Woodward and Colorado State University among
others. Frequently lauded as one of the "Best Places to Live" by both Forbes and Money
magazine, Fort Collins offers a multitude of outdoor activities including hiking, running, biking,
white-water rafting and fishing.
Spanning a land area of 54.28 square miles, the population (2014) was estimated at 156,480 of
which 83.1% were White, 1.2 % were Black or African American, 2.9% Asian, 0.6% Native
American, 10.1% Hispanic or Latino and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander are 0.1%.
The ratio of male to female is equal - with 50.1% being female.
It is impressive to note that in 2013 approximately 51.9% of the population had a Bachelor's
degree or higher for persons over the age of 25. 95.4% of the population had a High school
certificate or higher. Indeed, Fort Collins is a very "educated" community. Fort Collins continues
to grow at a rapid rate with a projection of 2 new high schools to be built by 2020 which will be
added to the already established 12 public high schools.
(http://www.fcgov.com/planning/trends.php)
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/08/0827425.html
https://fortcollinschamber.com/jobs/major-employers/
Fort Collins High School - Community: The oldest public high school located in Poudre
School District in Fort Collins, Colorado with 1,622 students of which 48% are female and 52%

are male, is Fort Collins High School. Otherwise known as "Home of the Lambkins" (the only
such mascot in the Nation!), FCHS is over 120 years old , is represented by the colors Purple and
Gold, and includes a fiercely loyal alumni association with many current teachers and
administration.
The student body demographic includes 0.6% American Indian, 3.2% Asian, 1.3% Black, 23%
Hispanic, 68% White, 0.2% Pacific Islander or Hawaiian. 34% of FCHS students are on
Free/Reduced lunch services, 8% of the students require Integrated Services, 16% have an ALP
(Advanced Learning Plan) for Gifted and Talented and 4% are on an active 504. 15% are English
Language Learners (ELL). FCHS offers an astoundingly wide range of extra-curricular activities
for its student body including: athletics, music, theatre, student government, gourmet, art, and
numerous student-driven clubs. The school has incorporated popular streets from Fort Collins
proper into its own hallways, for example: Prospect, LaPorte, Mulberry are just 3 of the main
arteries that feed into the long hallway known as the "spine" of the building.
FCHS is very technology-oriented and each classroom has a Smartboard and students are loaned
a laptop for the duration of their time at the school. PSD provides bussing for students who are
eligible, otherwise there is a city bus stop nearby, lots of bike racks and ample parking for
students and staff. The campus is sprawling with a very large track for meets and nearby are the
tennis courts. There is no football stadium; students and athletes usually convene at French Field
(Rocky High School) for Varsity games. There is no swimming pool on site - high school
swimmers must rotate early morning swimming at EPIC pool or Mulberry pool. Students are
offered AP classes for college credit and each year graduates from FCHS attend prestigious
colleges and universities all over the nation. It is reported that Lambkin graduates receive over
$6 million dollars in scholarships each year.

https://www.psdschools.org/school/fort-collins-high-school
http://high-schools.com/directory/co/cities/fort-collins/fort-collins-high-school/80399000528/
https://www.psdschools.org/department/transportation
French 1 & 2 Classroom Community: The Colorado Department of Education has listed as its
goal for students of World Language the following: "In the 21st century the ability to
communicate in more than one language is an essential skill for all Colorado learners. Learning
multiple world languages, developing multiple perspectives and understanding other cultures are
vital skills needed to both collaborate and compete in our global community. Learners acquire
knowledge, skills, and attitudes that equip them for living and working in a world of diverse
peoples, languages and cultures" (cde.state.co.us). At Fort Collins High School the World
Language department offers levels 1, 2, and 3 of French and adheres to the same standards and
goals of CDE and that is that students will be proficient in the 4 main areas: listening, speaking,
reading and writing of the French language.
The main goal of Laine Preston, the current French teacher at FCHS is to engage her students
culturally and globally so that they reflect on how their daily French lessons relate to the big
picture and to their own lives both linguistically and culturally. I have now attended 8 days of
classes with Mme Preston and I have enjoyed every minute of my time in her classroom. She has
it decorated very "French" with key words and posters on the walls, students' work, books in
French, and a daily agenda clearly marked on a white board for her 3 French classes. I am
currently assisting French 1 and French 2 classes with her but since I spend most of my time with
her French 2 class (I see them twice a week) I will focus on the community within this particular
classroom. With only 19 students in this class, 14 are female and 5 are male. The class has 3
Lebanese-American students, 1 Dutch-American student, and a Swiss student. None of these

students has a 504 or an IEP however, one student who is chronically absent has personal health
problems (physical).
Mme Preston has the desks clustered in groups for easy partner work and collaboration. All the
desks can see the Smartboard. The students enter and greet their teacher who is warm and gentle
and it is obvious that her teaching style is very approachable and encouraging and the students
truly learn from this type of friendly atmosphere and from her knowledge. Mme Preston is
extremely tech-savvy and most of her delivery is through the medium of technology and the
students are actively engaged in interactive learning (Vista, online projects, Google Classroom,
Kahoot, etc.) and I am impressed with her know-how and confidence in this, my weakest area.

Classroom Layout for French classes at FCHS.

https://www.cde.state.co.us/coworldlanguages
https://fch.psdschools.org/world-languages
Topic and Rationale: The subject I will be teaching is the brand new vocabulary and
expressions from Unite 1B: A table! The students know how to recognize some of the cognates
(le broccoli = broccoli) but this is a new unit which would be great for recycling older
vocabulary pertaining to food. However, I will be using the COLA method (using gestures and
muscle memory) to teach the new vocabulary. The lesson will take 90 minutes. COLA is highly
interactive language acquisition strategy that I was trained on with the World Language
department at the district level in PSD. I chose this strategy for learning because I have used it in
my French classes before and it really works for input/output. Here is the process:
Hand out vocab papers. Pencils down.
1) gestures (muscle memory)
2) close eyes and gesture/say word
3) pick certain words out of order
4) write in the meanings
5) act out the script x1 teacher
6) act out script x3 students
Hand out script/boxes
7) draw pictures for each scene (told out of order! repeat as many times as possible.)
The next class period is a review but then the kids get to speak the lines and change partners and
point to their drawings (without words). It's truly incredible how much they maintain!
Then they get to write their OWN story!