One Teacher's Adventures

Teachers are always asking me how to include more speaking and listening activities into their Core French classrooms. For Core French teachers who may not be fluent in French themselves, it is often daunting to speak French with their students. Here is one activity that I like to do to start off my French class everyday:  Question du Jour (Question of the Day). Why try it?  This is my assurance that every student is speaking French at least once in the block.  How do I implement it? I create a question, usually something that fits in to the theme or unit we are studying. I usually have the question written on the board as they come into class. A question during a family unit could be “As-tu des cousins ou des cousins?” A question during a sports unit could be “Aimes-tu jouer au football?” We discuss the question and I ask the student what they think it means. I also use this time to point out grammatical elements/pronunciation of the words so they can make the connection...

  Looking for a great Back to School activity for middle school? This 3-day lesson asks your students to choose one word to act as their motto to drive them forward this year. Students will create a poster and a paragraph to explain why they chose their word and how they are going to use that word to help them reach their goals. Students begin by brainstorming a list of character traits that they admire in other people and answering questions such as "What have you always wanted to be able to do?" and "If you had the resources, what would you do for someone else to change their life for the better?" These questions help students to connect with their values and what is important to them. Next, they work through the writing process to draft and revise a paragraph and poster to share their word to with others. I have also used this as a back to school activity and as a New Year's Resolutions activity and I always get amazing results from the students.  To download...