Bonjour!
Today was our group's last day teaching at the elementary school. We started off with the girls asking us any specific questions they had. We got requests for certain words like "project" and even some common expressions like "It's raining cats and dogs." I think they were all eager to impress their other teachers with french phrases they learned. Then I went over body parts again in order to play Twister. However, this time I tried to go more in depth and go over vocabulary other than just hands and feet. I also did a quick review of colors and left/right just to make sure they remembered. I was very happy to see how quickly it all came back to them! Most of the color and other Twister vocabulary they had not seen since our very first class in February. Once we did this short review we actually played the game and they all did a great job and picked up on the french directions very quickly. I think they had a lot of fun!
After the game, we sang L'Alouette together. They seemed a little shy at first but once they heard us college students trying to sing it too, and once everyone began memorizing the words, we were all able to join in together. I think every one's favorite part was of course, the "French feast" we had brought. This was definitely my favorite part! We brought in all sorts of French food, like French cheeses, bread, nutella, madelaines, truffles, cake, and a special African dish made with plantains and chicken. Everything was excellent! I was happy that the girls tried everything and enjoyed what we brought.
Also as a surprise, at the very end, we handed out special graduation certificates with each student's name and a CD of the French songs for them to take home. I think they were very pleased with these.
I was sorry that this was our last class but I was very happy with the program and very proud of the girls. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
16, March 2010: Teaching class #5
I thought this past week was one of our best classes yet! We started off with a review. Last week we had asked them to bring in something that reminded them of French culture. I was very impressed that most of the girls had remembered to bring in something. It showed that they had put some effort into the assignment which I was very happy about.
This week we wanted to focus mostly on food since our food/game "party" is next week so this class we focused on the different French meals such as le petit déjeuner, déjeuner, le dîner etc. We also reviewed time, asking the girls at what hour of the day they ate certain meals. Then we began teaching some new food vocab.
I went over les fruits and tried to make it more interesting by getting everyone to talk about what their favoirite fruits were. I got a lot of great responses! We did the same with les légumes. I then went over some typically north american foods that I thought they would be most familar with. However we didn't even get to finish going over this particular group because the girls were so focused on copying down every single vocab word we presented to them. I was very impressed by this! I think the girls are defenitely in the notetaking phase where they want to copy down everything new we are teaching them. I did not expect this at all and was pleasantly surprised that they were taking the class so seriously.
For next week we are of course having our food celebration and were planning to review anything else we thought was necessary. We asked the girls to write down anything they had questions about or specific thing they wanted to know so that next week we would be able to answer them on our last day. I also heard a request to play Twister again so I think a quick review of body parts would be helpful so we can play that again on our last day. I'm very excited for the food though and hope they will like the different items we bring for them. I can't wait!
This week we wanted to focus mostly on food since our food/game "party" is next week so this class we focused on the different French meals such as le petit déjeuner, déjeuner, le dîner etc. We also reviewed time, asking the girls at what hour of the day they ate certain meals. Then we began teaching some new food vocab.
I went over les fruits and tried to make it more interesting by getting everyone to talk about what their favoirite fruits were. I got a lot of great responses! We did the same with les légumes. I then went over some typically north american foods that I thought they would be most familar with. However we didn't even get to finish going over this particular group because the girls were so focused on copying down every single vocab word we presented to them. I was very impressed by this! I think the girls are defenitely in the notetaking phase where they want to copy down everything new we are teaching them. I did not expect this at all and was pleasantly surprised that they were taking the class so seriously.
For next week we are of course having our food celebration and were planning to review anything else we thought was necessary. We asked the girls to write down anything they had questions about or specific thing they wanted to know so that next week we would be able to answer them on our last day. I also heard a request to play Twister again so I think a quick review of body parts would be helpful so we can play that again on our last day. I'm very excited for the food though and hope they will like the different items we bring for them. I can't wait!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
9, March 2010: Teaching class #4
Today, our group split up the teaching time between the topics of french history/culture and clothing/jewelry items. We started with a review activity of the seasons that I had prepared for last week. I cut up little pictures that had certain holiday scenes, or outdoor activities that corresponded with a particular season. The children's job was to group together the pictures that they thought matched each season, glue them in their books and label the season in french.
Then we went over the different francophone countries and showed them on a map where french was spoken in the world. I think the girls were surprised to learn that French was not only spoken in France but all over the world, even in Laos! We briefly explained about french colonization and how it was the cause of french being spoken in Africa as well. We also explained the difference between talking about masculine and feminine countries and the use of the different articles (le, la, les) to speak of a certain country.
We also went over clothing and jewelry items. We had a handout with different vocab on it, and I also handed out an activity that allowed them to fill in the right vocab word according to what a person was wearing. I also added new vocab words to the board that weren't included on the handout. At the very end we held a small fashion show. I and another group member brought in hats, scarves, gloves, jewelry, etc that the girls could choose from. They even got to keep some of the jewelry which I think they were very happy about!
We had them come forward and tell us what they wearing in french. We introduced the expression "Je porte.." I think they had a lot of fun choosing what to wear and getting all dressed up in a funky outfit.
I think we and the students all did a great job this week! The girls seem very excited about what they have learned and even seem to be teaching their siblings what they are learning in class which I think is awesome! Next week I would love to have some activities where we allow the students to come up the board and write as just another way to get them more involved and keep them from sitting down for too long a period. Maybe we could come up with some sort of pictionary game? We could put our own spin on it to make it "french pictionary."
I am very happy with what the students have accomplished so far and I'm looking forward to next week's class!
Then we went over the different francophone countries and showed them on a map where french was spoken in the world. I think the girls were surprised to learn that French was not only spoken in France but all over the world, even in Laos! We briefly explained about french colonization and how it was the cause of french being spoken in Africa as well. We also explained the difference between talking about masculine and feminine countries and the use of the different articles (le, la, les) to speak of a certain country.
We also went over clothing and jewelry items. We had a handout with different vocab on it, and I also handed out an activity that allowed them to fill in the right vocab word according to what a person was wearing. I also added new vocab words to the board that weren't included on the handout. At the very end we held a small fashion show. I and another group member brought in hats, scarves, gloves, jewelry, etc that the girls could choose from. They even got to keep some of the jewelry which I think they were very happy about!
We had them come forward and tell us what they wearing in french. We introduced the expression "Je porte.." I think they had a lot of fun choosing what to wear and getting all dressed up in a funky outfit.
I think we and the students all did a great job this week! The girls seem very excited about what they have learned and even seem to be teaching their siblings what they are learning in class which I think is awesome! Next week I would love to have some activities where we allow the students to come up the board and write as just another way to get them more involved and keep them from sitting down for too long a period. Maybe we could come up with some sort of pictionary game? We could put our own spin on it to make it "french pictionary."
I am very happy with what the students have accomplished so far and I'm looking forward to next week's class!
2, March 2010: Teaching class #3
Last week on the 2nd, our group presented numbers and seasons during class. I started off with teaching the girls numbers in french from 1-20. After I went over these I introduced some expressions that they could use once they knew how to say numbers in french, such as their age (J'ai..ans). I also briefly went over how to say time in french. I wanted to keep it as simple as I could so I did not introduce the 24 hr clock or teach the specific (et quart, moins quart, demi etc). I just wanted them to get used to saying their numbers in several different contexts which I believe they all did very well.
Each member of our group had also previously picked out a season to prepare for class. We each tried to pull in certain aspects of our own seasons like weather, activities and holidays that went with our seasons. One member had a video to show for the winter season that included different winter sports and assorted winter clothing.
I was very impressed by the girls' ability to take good notes and write down the vocab. from the video which we hadn't even asked them to do. I felt that they were truly taking the class seriously and wanted to learn more. I had the season Spring and talked about the holidays Easter and St. Patrick's day.
I think this class went well in particular because our group members worked as a team, and the structure didn't' seem as rigid as it had previously. We weren't rushed at all to get every one's topics in, and we helped each other out.
One of the things we discussed during debriefing the following Thursday was incorporating more activities that allowed the children to get up and move around a bit more so they weren't sitting down the whole time.
I think each week we are getting better and better and hopefully we can keep up the good work!
Each member of our group had also previously picked out a season to prepare for class. We each tried to pull in certain aspects of our own seasons like weather, activities and holidays that went with our seasons. One member had a video to show for the winter season that included different winter sports and assorted winter clothing.
I was very impressed by the girls' ability to take good notes and write down the vocab. from the video which we hadn't even asked them to do. I felt that they were truly taking the class seriously and wanted to learn more. I had the season Spring and talked about the holidays Easter and St. Patrick's day.
I think this class went well in particular because our group members worked as a team, and the structure didn't' seem as rigid as it had previously. We weren't rushed at all to get every one's topics in, and we helped each other out.
One of the things we discussed during debriefing the following Thursday was incorporating more activities that allowed the children to get up and move around a bit more so they weren't sitting down the whole time.
I think each week we are getting better and better and hopefully we can keep up the good work!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
23, February 2010: Teaching class #2
This week our group focused on the topics of family, activities/sports and animals. I started out with a quick review at the beginning, just going over basic introductions (Je m'appelle...etc). We started the different members of the family. Then we went over sports/activities and had a video and a cool match-up game that the kids were able to play. I thought this was a good idea because the terms on the sheet were words similar to the same words they meant in English so it was easy for them to figure out and seemed to make them feel more comfortable with what we were trying to teach them. Most didn't even need any help from us. They were able to figure it out on their own which I thought was awesome!
We taught animals during the last part of the class. We had beanie babies hidden around the room and split up the remaining four girls into two teams and had them find the certain animals that were on their list. I think they all had fun doing this and when we reviewed the different animals they had, they seemed to know right away which one was which.
I feel that this class was a success. We didn't seem to be rushing around like last time and we had our topics well spaced out. Although I'm sad that we lost one of our students, I have been very happy with the overall behavior of our group so far. With just four girls left, they are all very respectful towards us and one another.
If there's anything I think we could improve on, it would be continuing to come up with engaging activities that keep the class interesting. I think we should also try to work on coming up with more ideas for their alphabet books. Maybe next class we could assign them a drawing activity or have them cut out and color things to glue inside. But overall I think everyone in our group did a great job and I can't wait for next week!
We taught animals during the last part of the class. We had beanie babies hidden around the room and split up the remaining four girls into two teams and had them find the certain animals that were on their list. I think they all had fun doing this and when we reviewed the different animals they had, they seemed to know right away which one was which.
I feel that this class was a success. We didn't seem to be rushing around like last time and we had our topics well spaced out. Although I'm sad that we lost one of our students, I have been very happy with the overall behavior of our group so far. With just four girls left, they are all very respectful towards us and one another.
If there's anything I think we could improve on, it would be continuing to come up with engaging activities that keep the class interesting. I think we should also try to work on coming up with more ideas for their alphabet books. Maybe next class we could assign them a drawing activity or have them cut out and color things to glue inside. But overall I think everyone in our group did a great job and I can't wait for next week!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
2, February 2010: Teaching Class #1
Bonjour!
Yesterday was our group's first class session at the elementary school. We went over the alphabet, basic introductions, colors, and started body parts. I was in charge of the body parts and passed out handouts and brought the game Twister from home.
Overall, I thought it went pretty well for our first class. It was a little awkward at first because the kids didn't really know what to expect and I think we were nervous too. (I know I was!) But, then we got going and it much became smoother as we went and got into the groove of things. I was very impressed by the kids who often repeated back to us what we were saying in french without having to be asked. They seemed genuinely interested, making comparisons between french and what they already knew from Spanish.
Some were also very shy and I would love to find a way to help bring them out of their shells and get them more engaged in the activities. But games definitely seem the way to go. They all seemed to enjoy playing twister and I think it would be a good idea to play it again next week as a review of colors, and body parts.
Something I would like to improve on for next week is better time management. I feel like we ought to have spent more time on introductions, (maybe helping them practise talking back and forth to each other) and giving them more time to decorate and color the front of their alphabet books. Looking back, I also feel like I really rushed through body parts, just teaching them hand and foot in order to play the game. Maybe I should have gone into more detail and waited until next week to play the game instead of going over it so fast.
However I can honestly say I really enjoyed myself and I hope the kids did too. I can't wait to go back next Tuesday!
Au Revoir!
Yesterday was our group's first class session at the elementary school. We went over the alphabet, basic introductions, colors, and started body parts. I was in charge of the body parts and passed out handouts and brought the game Twister from home.
Overall, I thought it went pretty well for our first class. It was a little awkward at first because the kids didn't really know what to expect and I think we were nervous too. (I know I was!) But, then we got going and it much became smoother as we went and got into the groove of things. I was very impressed by the kids who often repeated back to us what we were saying in french without having to be asked. They seemed genuinely interested, making comparisons between french and what they already knew from Spanish.
Some were also very shy and I would love to find a way to help bring them out of their shells and get them more engaged in the activities. But games definitely seem the way to go. They all seemed to enjoy playing twister and I think it would be a good idea to play it again next week as a review of colors, and body parts.
Something I would like to improve on for next week is better time management. I feel like we ought to have spent more time on introductions, (maybe helping them practise talking back and forth to each other) and giving them more time to decorate and color the front of their alphabet books. Looking back, I also feel like I really rushed through body parts, just teaching them hand and foot in order to play the game. Maybe I should have gone into more detail and waited until next week to play the game instead of going over it so fast.
However I can honestly say I really enjoyed myself and I hope the kids did too. I can't wait to go back next Tuesday!
Au Revoir!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Six Teaching Themes
1. French introductions + idea of masc./fem. + pronouns? (je, tu, il/elle etc.)
2. Aimer/Jouer...what sports do you play? + negative sentences (ne...pas)
3. Family + verb fair....Qu'est-ce que tu fais?
4. Food and setting the table + parts of the house
5. Months, days of the week, telling time
6. Expressions with avoir + city vocab.
This is just a rough list I put together of possible themes/topics we could go over for the teaching times. Any suggestions?
2. Aimer/Jouer...what sports do you play? + negative sentences (ne...pas)
3. Family + verb fair....Qu'est-ce que tu fais?
4. Food and setting the table + parts of the house
5. Months, days of the week, telling time
6. Expressions with avoir + city vocab.
This is just a rough list I put together of possible themes/topics we could go over for the teaching times. Any suggestions?
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