The Lenape French Room
October 2013
French One Activities (part one)
When we learn new vocabulary (each lesson), I tell a story out loud, using the vocabulary, and starring the "Élève du Jour" [the "Student of the Day"]. For the new words/expressions, I include gestures to help the kids understand and remember the vocabulary. These pictures show your wonderful kids coming up with appropriate gestures to mime doing different activities for verbs such as: "danser" [to dance] and "nager" [to swim]. After we learn the gestures, I tell the story and lead the students in doing the gestures when the appropriate words/expressions come up. Then, I retell the story (with some changes) and the kids have to do the gestures without me, whenever they hear the words. Sometimes I also tell the story, but do the gestures myself, and have the kids supply the new expressions in French in response to seeing the gestures.
French Two activities (part one)
The French Two students have been learning about the town of Chartres, France. We went to a computer lab, and they explored two of the main attractions in Chartres: "la Cathédrale de Chartres," with the most beautiful stained glass in France, and "la Maison Picassiette," the home of Raymond Isidore and his wife, which Raymond completely covered in mosaics. The kids watched videos, read about the history, and took virtual tours.
French One Activities (part two)
One of the ways that we practice the different forms/conjugations of verbs involves a dice game. I project clues on the overhead (6 different subjects, and 6 different verbal expressions). The students take turns rolling the dice, and the color and number showing on each dice indicates which subject to use and which verbal expression they then have to conjugate out loud. For example, "I" plus "to be wonderful" would lead a student to say out loud: "I am wonderful." There are no negative points for wrong answers (only for dice that end up on the floor instead of being kept on the desks!), and, of course, there are prizes to be won.
French Two activities (part two)
As a review activity, the French Two students made "fortune tellers." They used the command/imperative verb form, the immediate future tense, and also reviewed numbers and colors, as well as a variety of activities expressions.
French Two activities (part three)
The French Two students also each chose a "monster" to virtually interview. They used various question forms such as "which" and also practiced making and responding to suggestions. In addition, they "found out" what their monster was going to do the following weekend.
French ONE and TWO
In case you were curious, the kids also do more traditional activities!
French ONE and TWO
...but, more often, class time is spent talking with each other. Your kids don't just learn about French, they use their French to communicate with each other. It is so exciting to see them getting increasingly comfortable and competent at expressing their own thoughts and ideas, but in another language!