Flipgrid in French Class

One thing that I will take with me from emergency distance learning this past spring is Flipgrid. Some students did not feel comfortable speaking French on camera during synchronous learning sessions online. Others did not have access to a computer during lesson times. Flipgrid became a quick and easy way for students to present their work in French and receive feedback from their teacher. 

This September all students who have chosen to return to school in-person have to wear masks in the classroom. They also need to stay in their desks and not move around the class. This can make for muffled communication and difficulty presenting in front of the class.  I will continue to use Flipgrid as a way for students to practise speaking French and to present their work orally this year. Students can have the option to post a recording to Flipgrid or present in front of the class.

 I also used Flipgrid for school community building during the pandemic. I would post a topic on Fridays to discuss student wellness or topics that were important to them. This allows students to interact and express themselves while following physical distancing and not mixing their cohorts at school. What teaching methods or tools did you learn during the pandemic that you are making a part of your teaching practice this year? 

A Back to School Like No Other

While school re-opening plans are being shared and openly debated in the media, teachers are preparing for a return to school in uncharted territory. Some considerations I have been making while planning for back to school include physical distancing, limiting group work, not sharing materials among classes, and planning lessons which will help to close gaps in learning. I am also working on including themes of anti-racism and cultural diversity into my long range plans. 

As a core French teacher I will be travelling from class to class instead of having students rotate through my classroom during rotary. I am going to be using the AIM program to increase student comprehension using gestures because I will be wearing a mask and possibly a face shield during instruction. This will mean teaching raps and games the first few days of school and slowly introducing students to the vocabulary that will be used in a short play. Instead of having the students perform the play in groups they will record their parts using an app like Flipgrid and create a video to tell the story. 

In a school board in Toronto I couldn't believe that part of their school re-opening plan involved cutting out French classes altogether. This was so that class sizes could be smaller because having no French classes would free up more homeroom teachers. The plan was rejected by the government, but it left me thinking that it is important now more than ever to remind students why it is important to learn French (or any other subsequent language). 

One of the lessons I will be teaching the first week back will involve discussing ten good reasons to learn French based on an article from the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. This will help answer that student question of "Why do we have to learn this?" and help to motivate students. Here is a link to this lesson on reasons to learn French. 

This will be a school year like no other, but it is important to embrace the new challenges and turn this into an opportunity to make lessons as engaging and culturally responsive as possible. 

Motivation for Language Learning

I came across this great blog for learning languages: https://blog.thelinguist.com

The creator of the blog, Steve Kaufmann, speaks at least 16 different languages and he is the founder of a language learning tool called LingQ. There are lots of great resources for language learning on his blog and I was drawn to this one because it is so motivational. I would love to share this blog post with my students in September to get them motivated to learn French.

Back to School: Icebreaker Games

One of the best parts about Back to School is getting to know your new students. I enjoy playing these icebreaker games to get to know my students.

Name Games

Have students come up with an action word or an animal that starts with the same letter as their name. For example, Sarah started with "S" and some action words in French that start with "S" are saute, serpent and ski. Once everyone has their action word chosen have students choose a physical action to do that shows what their word is. If Sarah chose saute, she could jump up and down. If she chose serpent she could slither like a snake. It might be useful to have an alphabetical list of example words to use handy so students don't spend a long time finding their word.

Once everyone has their word and action have students form a circle. The first person says their name and does their action. The next person in the circle has to first remember the first person's name and action and then say their own. For each turn, you first have to go through everyone else's name and action before you say your own. The repetition is great for remembering names!

The last person has the toughest job of remembering all the names and actions! This game can be just for fun so students can help each other remember the names and actions.

Human Bingo

Human Bingo is a little different than traditional bingo in that students are given a grid filled with spaces that need to be signed by other students in the class. For back to school you could use my human bingo card filled with icebreaker cues such as how many siblings someone has, their favourite sports and activities and best subjects in school. To win the game you have to be the first to get all the spaces filled on your card. You need to have a different student sign each space. It is a good idea to go over what the sentences mean in French first. Encourage students to only speak in French when playing this game. It is a fun way to get students up and talking.

Back to School: Setting Up Classroom Rules and Routines

As a Core French teacher, one of my goals for the first few days of school is to begin the daunting task of learning over 200 students' names. I travel from class to class to teach a 45-60 minute lesson to five classes each day. Name tags can be a big help in the first few days of school. I would have students fold a piece of paper twice to form a triangle as a name tag. They can decorate their name tag on the front and on the back they can write 3-5 goals that they have for French class this term. Some goals might be to learn five new words each week, to write a journal entry every day, to attain a certain average grade in the class or to improve their reading level.

The first few days of school are crucial for setting up classroom routines and rules which are followed throughout the rest of the school year. I find it useful to write a poster of classroom rules with the class. They will offer suggestions for rules and I will help them write them in French on a poster board.

Check out these back to school resources! 

Keep in mind that classroom management is key to success. Here is a free video with classroom management strategies: 

Le chandail

It is hockey playoff season and many of my students really enjoy both watching and playing hockey. That's why I decided to do a mini unit based on Roch Carrier's short story Le chandail. I had my students watch this animated short film as part of the unit. To show understanding I had them complete comprehension activities. You can find my Le chandail questions for free at my TPT store. The questions include key vocabulary words, true and false questions, translations, short answer responses and a drawing activity. Enjoy!

Ratatouille

Have you watched the movie Ratatouille with your FSL or FI class? It is a great way to introduce the cultural component for the new French curriculum in Ontario. I have created Ratatouille : As-tu déjà? for you to introduce the vocabulary in the movie before watching it.You could print out one copy of it and show it up on the board and answer the questions as a whole class. This will help to preview the vocabulary in the film. You could also print a copy for everyone in the class and have them discuss their responses in partners or small groups. There is also a Ratatouille Graphic Organizer for getting to know the main characters. I think you will be able to fully engage intermediate and senior level students with these Ratatouille questions and ideas for assignments.   I also have a Ratatouille Paris themed colouring sheet to go with it if you are working with a younger crowd.  Ratatouille is such a fun movie to watch with your French class! Enjoy!