"Le Journal des Enfants". Alsapresse. 20 July 2010
This website is an online newspaper designed for students ages 8-14. I was actually hoping that it would be a print newspaper, and I think it may originally have been since it’s been around since 1984, but it seems to be all online now. The newspaper is written in a booklet that can be accessed through the computer and a new edition is put out every Thursday.
This is a great resource for students to practice reading comprehension. Since it is geared for children, the news will be understandable and not too complex for kids. One exercise we could do in the classroom would be to simply read an article and then write a summary of it in English or French, and then discuss it.
"Echange Classe à classe FRANCE / USA". FranceWorld. 20 July 2010
This is another website; however, it is a place to go to meet teachers from other classes who are interested in doing a student exchange between French and English speakers. This particular page has the structure of classified ads, and the site verifies the ads before placing them online to make sure that they are legitimate.
While students themselves would not use this particular site, I would like my students to be able to exchange letters, whether through the mail or through email, or even instant messaging or Skype if they are so inclined, with French speaking students in another part of the world. The students will not just practice the language skills, but also learn more about the culture of these other kids, and what their lives are like.
Strategies
Readers Theater – Students read an assigned text, then, in groups, use their own words to make a script which summarizes the text. Then, they act out the script for the class, or even larger audiences.
This activity is a great way to evaluate students understanding of the texts that they read. I know that it can seem boring and tedious to always be translating things word for word, when in some cases, understanding the meaning of the section is enough. By summarizing what they read, either in French or English, they are showing that they can comprehend and look for meaning in passages.
Publishing – Students present their work to other students in their own class or elsewhere, adults, special interest groups, etc. Students will take more care in their work when they know that what they are working on will be seen by more than just the teacher.
The students can create a monthly newsletter, a blog, or any kind of work written in French. They can share it with their classmates, or it would be great to have more advanced classes write newsletters to the more beginner classes. They could also put together a newsletter for the classroom that is our penpal class, and let them know what is going on.
K-W-L (Know – Want – Learn)
The teacher first presents to the students a term or topic and asks the students to jot down things they know about this, whether just words or phrases or more. Then the teacher will make a list of everyone’s thoughts. After that, the students will work in groups to questions about what they want to know about this topic. Then, they reconvene again and make another master list of questions on what they want to know. The teacher can then make sure that the lessons will answer those questions.
This strategy would be very useful when working with students and presenting new topics. It may be as simple a topic as food – what French foods do you know? They could be French words, they could be food that you know French people eat, they could be Canadian or another culture’s food. Or it could be more complex – “what do you know about Napoleon? Les Miserables? I think I could use this effectively in many ways. If the students start thinking about the vocabulary that I’m trying to teach them in more ways than just lists, it will be really helpful.
