THE ITALIAN FAIRY - NEW YORK CITY

  PART 1 Rao, K., & Meo, G. (2016). Using Universal Design for Learning to design standards-based lessons. SAGE Open, 6(4). Summary and connections to my lesson plan entitled: " Sette Mondi:Seven Worlds " This article by Rao and Meo describes how teachers can use Universal Design for Learning to create lessons based on academic standards that help all students. To learn but not through the traditional thought or practice in which all students learn in the same way! The UDL framework helps educators to think about flexible ways to design their lesson plans offering more options and opportunities to access information, engage in learning, and demonstrate knowledge in many different ways.  One of the most powerful concepts that captured me is that the framework for UDL is built on how the brain processes information. I always recognized the need for diversity in teaching strategies but this article made me reflect that I had not linked them to neuroscience. According to Rao ...

♬♬♬♬♬♬♬♬ Plan with care, create with delight, MagicSchool helps ideas take flight!  ♬♬♬♬♬♬♬♬ Exploring MagicSchool Lesson Plan: An AI Tool Designed to Support Educators I discovered MagicSchool  🔗 , an AI tool that helps educators create lesson plans quickly and efficiently. I explored the Lesson Plan Creator by designing a lesson for my 5th grade Italian class , where students learn the language through music and theatre . The lesson focused on learning the days of the week in Italian with a final performance in which students sing the Italian song entitled " SETTE MONDI: SEVEN WORLDS " 🔗accompanied by visual art projects, audio and video recordings, a short podcast, and a simple choreography . I entered the learning standards I wanted to address, added a brief description of what my students would have learned throughout the unit, and clicked Create . MagicSchool generated a complete lesson plan that gave me new ideas and a great starting point for my project!  ♬♬♬♬♬♬...

 For readers using screen readers or other assistive technologies, the following infographic summarizes the main ideas discussed in this reflection. It highlights the three motivational principles from Chapter 6 that influence curriculum design and illustrates how they connect with Gura's creative learning environment, Rivero's creative instructional practices, and the ISTE Standard for Students 1.6: Creative Communicator. Together, these ideas reinforce the importance of designing meaningful, student-centered learning experiences that foster motivation, creativity, and authentic communication. Motivation, Creativity, and ...Pinocchio! Many times when I teach, I ask myself questions, and while reading this week's chapter, I found answers to many of them. Why do some children who seem distracted suddenly become completely engaged the moment a story comes to life? Why do my students remember Italian vocabulary months later through songs, while words learned through memoriza...

  Part 1 – Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW)      Reading about Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) made me reflect on my own teaching. For almost twenty years I have been teaching Italian to children from Kindergarten through Grade 5 through Arts in Education residency programs. Instead of teaching vocabulary through memorization or worksheets, I teach through music, theatre, storytelling, movement, puppets, and imagination. My goal is not simply for children to remember Italian words for a test, but to use the language in joyful and meaningful experiences. According to Newmann, King, and Carmichael, Authentic Intellectual Work is built on three main components: construction of knowledge, disciplined inquiry, and value beyond school. Unlike traditional instruction, AIW encourages students to think, create, communicate, and apply what they learn in authentic situations rather than simply repeating information. After reading Chapter 2, the component that stood out to me...

  Reading Liz Kolb's Learning First, Technology Second reinforced a philosophy that has guided my teaching for many years: technology should support learning rather than become the focus of instruction. As The Italian Fairy, I believe children learn best through meaningful human interaction, music, storytelling, movement, and imagination. Technology becomes valuable only when it creates authentic learning opportunities that deepen understanding and would otherwise not be possible. The lesson I designed reflects all three components of Kolb's Triple E Framework: Engagement, Enhancement, and Extension. First, it promotes Engagement because students are actively involved in communicating with real children in Italy rather than simply completing a digital assignment. They use Italian in an authentic setting by introducing themselves, singing songs, asking simple questions, and sharing aspects of their own culture. The technology is not the lesson itself; instead, it serves as a br...

As a world language educator, I selected ISTE Student Standard 7: Global Collaborator, specifically Indicator 7b, which encourages students to use collaborative technologies to work with peers, experts, and community members from different perspectives. This standard closely reflects my teaching philosophy because I believe language learning should extend far beyond memorizing vocabulary and grammar. Children learn best when language is experienced through meaningful interaction, music, movement, storytelling, dramatic play, and authentic communication with others. The learning activity is designed for Kindergarten through Grade 2 students learning Italian. Throughout the lesson, students become active participants in a musical and theatrical adventure led by The Italian Fairy. Through songs, movement, role-playing, storytelling, games, and creative dramatization, students explore colors, greetings, numbers, emotions, and simple conversational phrases in Italian. Acting out stories, si...

Hello everyone! My name is Simona Rodano, although children know me as " The Italian Fairy ". I was born in Turin, Italy, and for the past twenty years I have dedicated my career to bringing Italian language, music, theater, and culture into schools throughout New York. As the founder of Incanto Productions and the Global EDU Language Foundation, I am committed to pursuing the mission of expanding bilingual Italian-English educational opportunities through live performances, artist residencies, bilingual curriculum, teacher workshops, and meaningful cultural exchange experiences that inspire students to become confident communicators and compassionate global citizens. My journey has been anything but traditional. Although I earned a master's degree in Biology, my passion for music, theater, and education led me to pursue a career where I could combine the arts with language learning. That path eventually inspired me to create The Italian Fairy®, an educational character w...