Avery Coonley School, Downers Grove IL
Travel to sister school Collège Privé Joseph Niel in Muret, France, to collaborate with partner teachers and conduct cultural research across France, to strengthen Kindergarten French cultural instruction within the school’s K–8 language program.
Touring Calanques National Park, our guide described how the white limestone formed beneath a tropical sea millions of years ago and was carved into the underwater cave we swam into, along with the history of the first humans of the Cosquer Cave.
The Winged Victory of Samothrace was one of many masterpieces I saw at the Louvre, alongside a famously tiny Mona Lisa. I also explored the lower level, where you can see the archaeological remains of the original medieval fortress.
I stood face to face with the Minotaur at La Halle de la Machine in Toulouse, an extraordinary exhibit where mechanics become art. These machines are built to make music, breathe fire, and even shoot fireworks in a live shooting range.
I treated myself to a flower shaped gelato from Amorino in Toulouse. Traveling through France, I noticed food and language shift by region, Spanish and Italian influences in the south, and in Toulouse, a pain au chocolat is called a chocolatine.
When our train to Paris was cancelled with no replacement for 12 hours, I made the most of an unplanned day at the Musée d'Histoire de Marseille, and it became my favorite stop of the trip. This ancient ship sits at the heart of the collection.
The golden gates of the Palace of Versailles open onto a breathtaking display of French royal history and architecture. The crowds were overwhelming, packed shoulder to shoulder in the courtyard, but the grandeur made it easy to understand why.
Before my fellowship, French culture in my Kindergarten classroom existed largely as an occasional theme rather than a lived, everyday presence. My students, whether immigrants themselves, children of immigrants, or from families rooted in the U.S. for generations, shared a natural curiosity about how other children live and learn, but I lacked the firsthand experience to make that curiosity feel grounded in real places and people. My goal was to build authentic cultural knowledge I could translate into classroom life, but secondhand sources could not give me the accuracy or nuance I needed. The most significant change from my fellowship was learning that culture lives in places as much as in people. Visiting the Cosquer Cave, Musée d'Histoire de Marseille, Calanques National Park, Musée d'Orsay, and observing school groups throughout my travels revealed how history, geography, transportation, and architecture shape the experiences of French children. Through more than 500 original photographs, museum guides, maps, transit materials, and other authentic resources, I filled a gap between abstract cultural references and real, lived experience, giving my students access to the kind of firsthand knowledge no textbook could offer.
My fellowship transformed how I think about teaching culture. Rather than treating France as something students encounter only during scheduled French lessons, I will weave authentic experiences throughout the school day, using the photographs, maps, and materials I gathered to help students notice how children in France live, learn, and play. Students will paint hand stencils inspired by the Cosquer Cave, exploring counting in base 10 using both hands, and imagining the people who once made these marks on cave walls, while other projects throughout the year will draw on markets, transit systems, playgrounds, and museums I visited. I will build in regular opportunities for students to compare their own routines, celebrations, and neighborhoods to what I observed in France, noticing both similarities and differences among children their age. Rather than presenting information for students to memorize, I will guide them toward asking their own questions and drawing their own conclusions from real evidence. Over time, I expect students to grow more comfortable sitting with unfamiliar ideas, more curious about people whose lives differ from their own, and more confident expressing their thinking through discussion, drawing, and storytelling.
Some of my most valuable learning came from experiences I never anticipated. As an educator conducting cultural research, I made a point of observing school groups at nearly every museum and historic site I visited, studying how cultural institutions function as extensions of the classroom. Watching children engage thoughtfully with history, archaeology, and art at places like the Cosquer Cave and Musée d'Orsay reinforced how much learning happens outside classroom walls. I was also struck by the independence of young children, who confidently navigated public transportation and participated attentively in educational outings, prompting me to reflect on how different societies shape childhood and daily routines. Unexpected disruptions, including strikes and a last-minute train cancellation from Marseille to Paris, became lessons in flexibility and problem-solving. Rather than simply visiting France, I experienced the everyday realities of daily life there, from crowded markets and busy transit systems to quiet neighborhood parks and playgrounds, reinforcing that culture is best understood through ordinary, unplanned moments.
Students will learn through authentic investigation rather than passive instruction, using routines like "What do you notice?" and "What do you wonder?" to explore real photographs, maps, brochures, and artifacts gathered throughout my fellowship. Designing stained-glass window art inspired by Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle will let students study geometry and symmetry while picturing the communities these windows were built for, one of several hands-on projects planned throughout the year. Beyond individual projects, students will build a habit of comparison, regularly asking how a routine, space, or tradition in France resembles or differs from their own experience, whether looking at a photograph of a French classroom, a market stall, or a neighborhood park. This habit of noticing and questioning will strengthen observation, discussion, and critical thinking skills that extend well beyond any single lesson. Students will also practice explaining their thinking to peers, building confidence as communicators. Over the course of the year, I expect students to develop genuine curiosity, empathy, and a stronger sense of connection to people living lives that are sometimes different, and sometimes surprisingly similar, to their own.
Throughout the school year, students will regularly interact with authentic materials collected during my fellowship rather than learning about France through textbooks alone. They will examine photographs, museum guides, maps, transit materials, brochures, tickets, and other artifacts as part of classroom discussions and inquiry activities. Students will compare transportation systems, neighborhoods, playgrounds, public spaces, architecture, recycling and composting practices, and other aspects of daily life in France with their own experiences. As new mathematical concepts are introduced, I will incorporate authentic examples from France whenever appropriate. Students will use maps to discuss location and distance, identify geometric shapes in architecture, interpret simple transportation routes, and compare patterns they observe in photographs. These experiences will help students see mathematics as a tool for understanding the real world while deepening their appreciation for another culture. Throughout the year, our classroom displays will evolve as we add new photographs, artifacts, and student observations, allowing students to revisit France from different perspectives as their understanding grows.
This fellowship extends beyond my classroom through cross-curricular projects developed informally with colleagues across grade levels and subject areas, connecting art, math, science, and social studies to a common body of authentic experience. A science teacher might use my photographs and notes from La Halle des Machines in Toulouse to introduce simple machines and engineering, while a history teacher might draw on my materials from the Musée d'Histoire de Marseille for a lesson on ancient trade and daily life, giving colleagues resources beyond what I use with my own kindergartners. Parent letters accompanying each of my classroom projects invite families to discuss French culture, food, architecture, and daily life together at home, extending the learning into conversations well beyond the school day. I am glad to share my photographs, transit materials, museum guides, and lesson resources with any colleagues who want to build their own units, giving them a starting point without needing to conduct their own research first. Over time, I hope these informal exchanges help other teachers introduce their own students to another culture with the same depth and specificity my fellowship gave me, strengthening our school's broader commitment to curiosity, empathy, and global awareness among young learners.