Texts
Putumayo. French Playground. Putumayo World Music, 2005.
This CD is a great collection of French music to get kids connected to the language. It’s influences include not just France, but also French Creole, Caribbean, and African sounds. The lyrics tell stories of what life is like in French speaking countries and the beats can appeal to all types of people.
Students can learn about other cultures and connect to children all over the world when listening to this music. Lyrics are included, so copies can be made and distributed among the class to sing along and also to discuss the content. It helps students to hear the language spoken aloud by more than just the teacher, and lets them know how fun it can be.
Sempé , Jean-Jacques. Goscinny, Rene. Le Petit Nicolas. Gallimard, 1999.
Originally published in 1959 in France, but revised in 1999, this is a great collection of short stories following a young boy named Nicolas and his friends. The stories are told from the point of view of Nicolas himself, and are written from a child’s perspective. The vocabulary is simple enough for young learners to understand and engaging enough to keep the interest of kids. Since I first read it in the early 90’s, an entire series has sprung from the original and even a movie!
Students can read these short stories in class and not feel overwhelmed with an entire full length novel. They can relate to the adventures and get great practice with the language. We can watch the movie in class as well, after reading and practicing translating the books.
Beauty and the Beast (1991). Dir. Gary Trousdale. Perf. Paige O'Hara and Robby
Benson. Walt Disney Video, 2002. DVD.
This is a classic French fairy tale with a Disney twist. It is the story of a prince who is cursed by a witch to live as a beast. A young woman is forced to live with him and discovers the beauty of him inside. It is a charming story set to music.
I think it would be fantastic to make a project with this story and let the kids perform their own play in French. It may be somewhat abridged, but it is fairly well known and would be an enjoyable project for a more advanced class. The advanced class can put on a production for the lower levels and then all will benefit from it.
Strategies
Think Aloud a Passage – I’m not exactly sure if this counts as a strategy, but this is a great tool from the Beers book to help students understand how to read, and what to think about when reading. The teacher reads aloud a passage, and as he/she reads, uses strategies for understanding the text and shares them with the students. The teacher provides a model by thinking aloud the strategies, so students know what they should be doing as they read.
Though the strategy seemed to be for students learning to read in their first language, it is also an excellent tool for students to learn a second language. This would be great to use when students first start learning to read longer passages and books. The early stages of the language are learning just vocabulary words and then short sentences, so this is very helpful for students to start recognizing passages as a whole. Even students that can do this well in English may not remember to do so in French, or any other second language.
Nonstop Write – In this strategy, students write in response to a prompt for three to five minutes. Students use sentences and paragraphs, but emphasis is not placed on spelling or punctuation, but on content. The idea is to get a lot of thoughts down, like a brainstorm, while writing continuously for a specified amount of time. After time is up, students can then get in groups or pairs and discuss what they wrote.
In a language class, this would be a great way to clarify understanding of longer passages of text. After reading a passage in a book, students can perform a nonstop write prompted by what they read. When meeting up in groups, they can compare and contrast their thoughts and make sure that they are following what we are reading.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
First 5 of my Top Ten List
Texts
"BBC - Languages - French." BBC - Homepage. Web. 06 July 2010.
This website has a wealth of information about the French language. It includes video courses for French students, essential vocabulary lessions, and covers beginners to more advanced students. It also includes a word of the day and has articles on popular and curent events. For example, the Tour de France has just recently started, so there is a section covering vocab and trivia about it. Early videos involve Hakim M’Barek as he meets and greets people of all ages and genders, and encounters different situations.
Students will be able to experience different people speaking French and hear native speakers. Activities suggested on the website align well with lessons planned for class. Subject matter reinforces lessons learned in class. For example, in the first beginning video, Hakim says hello using formal and informal structures, and speaks to single and multiple people. This is one of the first things that students need to learn.
Seuss. The Cat in the Hat,. [New York]: Random House, 1957. Print.
A children’s story where a young boy and girl are trapped inside on a rainy day while their mother is out. A mysterious cat stops at their house and creates a huge mess while a fish protests. When their mother is almost home, they throw the cat out, but he comes back and straightens up the house before the kids can get in trouble.
Because the vocabulary is very basic, even the most elementary students will be able to translate this story into French. Students will work together in groups and share their work with the class. This will introduce students to the concept of telling a story in French, and help them to understand the way that words and sentences work together. Students will be able to write a complete sentence in French and put these sentences together to create paragraphs. This is also great for English Language Learners because it is very basic.
Strategies
Writing Break: At a predetermined time, the teacher will stop talking and allow the students two minutes to write. The students can write key ideas, problems they are having, questions they may have, or whatever is one their mind. When they are finished the students will get into pairs to discuss their questions and present them to the class. In a French class, this would be most appropriate after covering particularly challenging units so that students can organize their thoughts and be sure that they understand. It may also be useful when talking about culture.
I think this would be a great way to be sure that my students are keeping up with the material and are understanding everything that they are taught. It is also helpful for students to be able to explain things to each other. When the students get in pairs and discuss what problems they are having, their partner may be able to give a unique view of the problem and explain things differently than I as the teacher may explain them. I might use this after teaching students their first verb conjugations. I would allow the students to think about what they learned and ask them to write down what questions they have about it.
Exit Slip: During the last one to five minutes of class, students jot down reactions to the day’s lesson on a card and turns them in to the teacher. The teacher then uses the tickets to plan the next days lesson. This would be great to use any time the students have learned new information and I want to judge how well they are understanding the new material.
By having the students write down any questions and difficulties that they are having, I know how much time I need to spend reviewing it and how to proceed with the rest of the material. In order to build a language, I don’t want to lose anyone along the way, so this is a great way to make sure everyone is keeping up. I especially think it would be important to use it on the first day of class, to make sure that students are not overwhelmed with their introduction to foreign language.
Clustering: Students write a word in the center of a page, then draws spokes around it and fills in more words or phrases that associate with it. This helps students to organize complex ideas and make connections between different concepts. I would use this when presenting families of verbs and nouns, such as –er verbs. I would put –er in the center and use different verbs that fall into that category around it. Then I would repeat using –ir verbs.
"BBC - Languages - French." BBC - Homepage. Web. 06 July 2010.
This website has a wealth of information about the French language. It includes video courses for French students, essential vocabulary lessions, and covers beginners to more advanced students. It also includes a word of the day and has articles on popular and curent events. For example, the Tour de France has just recently started, so there is a section covering vocab and trivia about it. Early videos involve Hakim M’Barek as he meets and greets people of all ages and genders, and encounters different situations.
Students will be able to experience different people speaking French and hear native speakers. Activities suggested on the website align well with lessons planned for class. Subject matter reinforces lessons learned in class. For example, in the first beginning video, Hakim says hello using formal and informal structures, and speaks to single and multiple people. This is one of the first things that students need to learn.
Seuss. The Cat in the Hat,. [New York]: Random House, 1957. Print.
A children’s story where a young boy and girl are trapped inside on a rainy day while their mother is out. A mysterious cat stops at their house and creates a huge mess while a fish protests. When their mother is almost home, they throw the cat out, but he comes back and straightens up the house before the kids can get in trouble.
Because the vocabulary is very basic, even the most elementary students will be able to translate this story into French. Students will work together in groups and share their work with the class. This will introduce students to the concept of telling a story in French, and help them to understand the way that words and sentences work together. Students will be able to write a complete sentence in French and put these sentences together to create paragraphs. This is also great for English Language Learners because it is very basic.
Strategies
Writing Break: At a predetermined time, the teacher will stop talking and allow the students two minutes to write. The students can write key ideas, problems they are having, questions they may have, or whatever is one their mind. When they are finished the students will get into pairs to discuss their questions and present them to the class. In a French class, this would be most appropriate after covering particularly challenging units so that students can organize their thoughts and be sure that they understand. It may also be useful when talking about culture.
I think this would be a great way to be sure that my students are keeping up with the material and are understanding everything that they are taught. It is also helpful for students to be able to explain things to each other. When the students get in pairs and discuss what problems they are having, their partner may be able to give a unique view of the problem and explain things differently than I as the teacher may explain them. I might use this after teaching students their first verb conjugations. I would allow the students to think about what they learned and ask them to write down what questions they have about it.
Exit Slip: During the last one to five minutes of class, students jot down reactions to the day’s lesson on a card and turns them in to the teacher. The teacher then uses the tickets to plan the next days lesson. This would be great to use any time the students have learned new information and I want to judge how well they are understanding the new material.
By having the students write down any questions and difficulties that they are having, I know how much time I need to spend reviewing it and how to proceed with the rest of the material. In order to build a language, I don’t want to lose anyone along the way, so this is a great way to make sure everyone is keeping up. I especially think it would be important to use it on the first day of class, to make sure that students are not overwhelmed with their introduction to foreign language.
Clustering: Students write a word in the center of a page, then draws spokes around it and fills in more words or phrases that associate with it. This helps students to organize complex ideas and make connections between different concepts. I would use this when presenting families of verbs and nouns, such as –er verbs. I would put –er in the center and use different verbs that fall into that category around it. Then I would repeat using –ir verbs.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Absorbing a language...
When I was 18, I participated in a sort of student exchange through an organization designed to promote cooperation with cities around the world. I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of 7 French speaking Chicago students sent to live with a Moroccan family in Casablanca and do volunteer work in an orphanage there. After the 3 weeks, we returned home and the students we lived with came to Chicago with us and we then worked in a women’s and children’s shelter in the inner city.
My family was a lovely probably upper-middle class family who owned a restaurant. The daughter, who was my age, spoke French and a little bit of English. The rest of the family only spoke Moroccan, which is a combination of Arabic and French. I was timid and shy and alone in a foreign country, with a family that I could barely communicate with. But, I was able to get by, and even have some meaningful conversations with the parents. We learned to communicate in different ways, through gestures, through actions, through meaningful glances. We were able to find a few words we could each understand, and of course we also used some translators, such as their daughter and also their grandchildren from their other daughter.
I think that teaching is very similar to my experience living with this foreign family. Certainly teaching language is, but I think it is applicable for any subject. As a teacher, we have to find the common ground. We have to experiment with ways to get our points across to our students. Sometimes just talking isn’t enough, we have to show our students, through gestures, through actions, through pictures and songs, and even just meaningful glances. I want my students to absorb my language.
Without this experience, I would never be able to speak French as well as I do. I don’t think that every student necessarily has to be plunged alone into a foreign country in order to learn a language. However, by speaking it, hearing it, writing it, singing it, watching it, that’s beneficial to everyone.
My family was a lovely probably upper-middle class family who owned a restaurant. The daughter, who was my age, spoke French and a little bit of English. The rest of the family only spoke Moroccan, which is a combination of Arabic and French. I was timid and shy and alone in a foreign country, with a family that I could barely communicate with. But, I was able to get by, and even have some meaningful conversations with the parents. We learned to communicate in different ways, through gestures, through actions, through meaningful glances. We were able to find a few words we could each understand, and of course we also used some translators, such as their daughter and also their grandchildren from their other daughter.
I think that teaching is very similar to my experience living with this foreign family. Certainly teaching language is, but I think it is applicable for any subject. As a teacher, we have to find the common ground. We have to experiment with ways to get our points across to our students. Sometimes just talking isn’t enough, we have to show our students, through gestures, through actions, through pictures and songs, and even just meaningful glances. I want my students to absorb my language.
Without this experience, I would never be able to speak French as well as I do. I don’t think that every student necessarily has to be plunged alone into a foreign country in order to learn a language. However, by speaking it, hearing it, writing it, singing it, watching it, that’s beneficial to everyone.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Literacy is...
Literacy is...an open door to the world. It is how we learn about the world around us and use our imagination to construct our views of faraway places.
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