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. 

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.

À la rentrée !

© Dreamstime Stock Photos

La rentrée  : The most wonderful time of the year! After a long, adventurous and enjoyable summer, aren't we all looking forward to that first day of school, the crisp autumn air and seeing all of our students, friends and colleagues again? The excitement that fills the air on that first day back is unbeatable, even for teachers. As a new teacher I spent a lot of time planning those first few lessons and making sure that I was setting the tone for an amazing school year ahead.

On the first day back I find it especially important to get to know your students to promote a respectful and friendly classroom environment. After going over the classroom rules and important basic vocabulary for a Core French or French Immersion classroom, I will then have several icebreaker games or name games planned to get to know my students. One of these activities is Human Bingo or Bingo Humain, where students are each given a Bingo card with squares filled with personal facts or information. For example, some of the squares might say "J'aime faire de la natation" or "J'ai lu les livres de Harry Potter par J.K. Rowling" and the students have to find one person in the class to sign each square. The first student to get all their squares signed wins the game (and often a small prize!). The game allows the students to use some basic vocabulary to ask questions and get to know the other students.

What activities do you do in the classroom to get to know your students and set the tone on the first day back?