The lovely people at Tralco-Lingo Fun asked me if I would create a resource about Haïti because information for FSL teachers and students was lacking. Since my new focus/ obsession is Interculturalism in Core FSL, I jumped at the chance.
I have had a love of the country of Haiti for a while. I find its history fascinating, and its people amazing and resilient. So, naturally, this resource definitely comes from that perspective. The resource is full of activities that I have done with my grade 7 and 8 classes, and touches on the theory of interculturalism; the history of Haiti and the culture, with numerous activities to get your students thinking and speaking!
Here's the description from the Tralco website:
"A chance to learn about something new: a history and culture that most students have not been exposed to in their classes! Haiti. The author has used these activities in her classes.
Students will glimpse into Haitian culture and make connections to their own culture. Teachers are provided with the necessary background knowledge while student activities provide opportunities to explore this culturally rich former French colony. The activities touch on all four strands of French language learning (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing).
The complex history of Haiti unfolds and includes Haiti from being a slave colony of France to a free state, all in a student-friendly way. Using Google Earth, students will also explore Haiti's geography. They will then delve into into the particulars of the Haitian language, fun folklore, lively music and food with optional hands-on activities.
A reading activity to exercise critical-thinking will get students thinking: Why is Haiti a poor country? To answer this question, students will have to draw on the knowledge they gained learning about Haiti’s history. There are also lists of resources (websites and online videos) for teacher info to enhance lessons as well as providing opportunities for social justice learning."
If you want to check it out, you can visit the Tralco-Lingo website at www.tralco.com and look at some sample pages. I could add a sample here. Would that be helpful? I would love to know what you think!
Félicitations! Congrats on your publication! It's true that it is often difficult to find meaningful resources for Core FSL. Years ago, I wrote a collection of French short stories because I found it difficult to source interesting reading activities for beginning FSL students in their teens. (This was in the Internet's early years.) I have since published that collection with Tralco-Lingo as well (Deux amis: Lisez et riez avec Liam et Aisha). I wish you continued success in your teaching and in your writing career. I always enjoy your blog posts!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I purchased that voice amplifier your recommended and it has saved me on numerous occasions when I have been outside of my classroom (which is equipped with its own built-in system).
Awesome, Madame M! (I own your resource, btw... hence my knowing your name ;-) I'm always looking for high interest/low vocab stuff for my intermediates. The stuff at their level is often kind of juvenile, and the texts they would be interested in are too difficult. It certainly is a challenge. Most of the time, I find that I am making most of my own resources! Maybe we should collaborate on something? I always love working with other FSL teachers! It can be so isolating as a Core FSL teacher-- I'm usually the only one in my school.
DeleteI'm glad that my Amp recommendation was helpful. I'm glad I have it. I used it when I presented at the OMLTA conference too. I was so glad I could move around freely while I spoke. It really is such a handy little tool to have in your French teacher tool kit. Thanks so much for commenting! It makes my day!
Félicitations! I will definitely be checking that out. It's an area where resources are sorely lacking. Merci!
ReplyDeleteMerci Tammy! Thank you for always popping in with a supportive comments! I would love to know what you think. Have you had a chance to read our TLLP project, "French beyond France"? That is something you can print out and share freely too. I would love your opinion on that too!
DeleteI just had a quick run through the Haiti unit...wow! I love that there is such a huge variety of topics - something to engage every student. I also appreciate the level of French. So often the language level is too high, but I definitely think this is appropriate. I love the art critic activity - that is bound to get some interesting responses. I also appreciate that so much of it is interactive. It is great that it is available in electronic format for projecting (and instant gratification when shopping!) Bouki and TiMalice are going to be favourites I am sure. Awesome. Thanks.
DeleteThat was a fast response! You are a machine, Tammy! Stories about Bouki and Ti Malice are my favourites. There are many stories about them in Haiti, and I have found some picture books in English, that I have put into student friendly French. I'm intending to make an e-book of it. I will definitely share it here when I finish it! Mille merci for the feedback, Tammy!
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