Parent+Teacher+Conference+Booklets

//Post ideas, information, and materials that could be included in a booklet or mini-magazine that parents could peruse while waiting for their turn to see you during parent teacher conferences here.//

As you post materials to this page, consider the question: What do parents need to know about foreign language study and how to help their children? What do parents misunderstand about language learning? Use the materials you post to address these issues!

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[|Can you read this?] - Excellent, accessible, but somewhat lengthy article that makes a case for the need for U.S. citizens to learn languages other than English user:chericem1

[|Navy offers cash, perks for foreign language] - Outlines benefits offered to members of the U.S. Navy who have developed proficiency in other languages user:chericem1

[|Tongue-tied American: Then and now] - Brief article advocating for the need for America to produce global citizens user:chericem1

**Benefits of Studying a World Language**
[|General Foreign Language Advocacy] - A lengthy list of helpful links user:chericem1

[|How Language Skills Can Help a Job Hunt] - Could be expanded and strengthened with statistics, but a good place to start (Another fun idea is to cut out newspaper or online ads for jobs that mention your foreign language and make a collage of them) user:chericem1

[|What the Research Shows] - Links to research-based resources that support the importance of FL study in elementary school user:chericem1

[|Why Study a Foreign Language?] - Short, simple article by Bernadette Morris that outlines key cognitive, cultural, economic, political, and social benefits of language study user:chericem1

[|Why Study Spanish Abroad?] - Contains useful statistics re: demographics and economics re: Spanish user:chericem1

[|Why Learn Spanish?] - Contains 10 very practical reasons for learning Spanish user:chericem1

[|Why Study Spanish?] - Contains 8 simple bullet points for Spanish, with links to similar info. for French, Italian, & Portuguese user:chericem1


 * Cartoons**

[|Parent Teacher Conferences Cartoons] - Available to purchase for download from CartoonStock user:chericem1

[|Cartoons About Parent Teacher Conferences] - You can obtain a license to use these cartoons from //The New Yorker// (for a fee) user:chericem1

**Poems**
[|Judging (rose poem)]

[|Parent Teacher Conference] - A humorous poem about genetic predispositions and student behavior user:chericem1

[|Partners] (a poem about parent-teacher collaboration)

**Quotes**
[|Language Quotes & Sayings] - Some thought-provoking quotes user:chericem1

[|Language Learning Quotes] - From Helena Curtain's collection user:chericem1

[|A Month of Language Quotes] - Some are more relevant than others, but teachers could use this idea to create a fun calendar to distribute to parents for advocacy purposes user:chericem1

[|Foreign Quotes & Quotations] - From //ThinkExist// (most focus on the idea of "foreign" though, which may not be the primary thing a language teacher wants to emphasize in advocacy efforts) //user:chericem1//

[|Mi primer libro de dichos] - Online version of the book--some of the sayings might make nice call-outs in a booklet, brochure, or handout.

**Study Tips**
[|Learning a Foreign Language: Tips & Hints] - A comprehensive list of ideas (mostly intended for college students, but could easily be adapted for middle or high school students user:chericem1

[|Online Study Resources for Spanish]

[|Tips on Studying a Foreign Language] - Pretty basic, but very good suggestions user:chericem1

**Volunteer Opportunities**
Include a list of things parents can volunteer to do to help you (color, cut out, and/or laminate materials, put up bulletin boards serve as a guest speaker in Spanish, supervise field trips, tutor students, etc.)

Include a list of supplies parents can donate (carpet squares, children's books in Spanish, clothing that can be used for costumes, crayons, Kleenex, whiteboard markers, old socks in good condition that can be used as erasers for whiteboards, etc.)