ISDenver French Program Presents "En Route Pour les Jeux Olympiques." IB Learning Shines Through Performance.
The ISDenver French Program presented En Route Pour les Jeux Olympiques on Tuesday, March 19. The language program festivals at the International School of Denver are signature events, showcasing the culmination of language learning in our PreK-8 International School. A closer look at the various aspects of costuming and set design at the festival reveals the dynamic student agency of an International Baccalaureate education.
First-grade teacher, Amandine Hargraves, shared this rich example from her class’ approach to their part of the performance.
I started the project by telling them that we'll do a performance about the Olympics, and that we are going to show some sports. They were pretty excited about it.
Then, we studied 2 books and wrote a story with a similar layout. First book was Pauvre Verdurette, the second one was La Grenouille à la Grande bouche. Both stories are about a frog looking for some answers, one wants to know what a charming prince is, the other one wants to know what other animals eat. Both are meeting animals/characters and have a structure very repetitive and similar. (This was right after our unit about animals so it went perfectly, and we just had started a unit in literacy about writing a story.)”
This is where things started to get fun! Students analyzed the two stories to find their story structure and repetition. The class then developed their own story called "Les 3 grenouilles sportives.” Their story is about three frogs who want to train for the Olympic Games.
The beautiful part of agency is student voice and choice! As they prepared their story for the festival, each student decided their unique role, including:
- The Olympic sport they wanted showcase
- What animal best represents them
- Their costume, including the color of their shirt and pants
Each group of students then developed their own choreography.
While at first blush the performance seemed to just be a demonstratration of the G1 French Class' language competency (and absolutely adorable), a look behind the scenes helped demonstrate IB learner characteristics at play, specifically:
- Inquirers
- Knowledgeable
- Thinkers
- Communicators
We’d love to discuss what makes the International School of Denver so special. Contact the Admissions Team today to schedule a tour or phone call!
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