Prolonged Absence

Hello!  You may have noticed that I have been absent from this blog for a while.  That's because my board had changed my assignment.  Insert a long and complicated story here, and the result is I am no longer teaching FSL, and now teach homeroom grade 6, sans français.

What does that mean for this blog?  Well, there won't be frequent updates, as I am not teaching this subject at all this year.  But, I also will not delete all the resources I've spent 5 years creating and posting.

So, this blog will still be here, and I will still maintain it, it just won't be as active as it once was.  I don't know if I will return to FSL next year- so this blog may once be again the hotbed of weird and creative ideas.

Until then, I am sharing my homeroom ideas at my new blog Equity EDU at
https://equity-edu.blogspot.com.  If you are interested in English lessons and activities (for coverage classes) please pop by and have a look.

Most importantly, thanks for reading my blog for these times.  I have appreciated all the support and awesome run-ins with other French teachers over the years.  It made my work less isolating knowing that there were other awesome teachers out there sharing ideas.  Merci beaucoup à tous!  À bientôt!

My students, My kids

This year was… difficult for me.  I had taken a break from reflecting and my blog because in a few cases it was too hard to think of how I wanted to talk about what this year has done to cement my feelings on what my students are to me.  Of course they are my students.  But they are much more than that in most cases.  

The first time I introduced myself to the Parent Council at my school I said, “I’m Stephanie and I teach French.  I don’t have any kids, or on the other hand, I have 300 kids depending on your point of view.” I was referring of course to my students.

Most teachers I know refer to their classes as “their kids.”  When I was a newer teacher, I didn’t really understand why that was.  I mean, we teach these students for a year, maybe two and then they move on.  The parents of the students are the people who have the most impact on these kids, and care for them throughout their lives.  They are the people that can call their children, “our kids.”  

But I was wrong.  I’m their teacher.  And they are “our kids.”

After 7 years, and 500+ students, I get it.  I get it.  

At the beginning f my career, I was transient, and never stuck around a school longer than 3 months.  Such is the life of the Long-term Substitute Teacher.  I loved my classes early in my career, but I thought that since I was there for such a short time, I was a blip in the education of the students I taught.  

I was wrong.

In 2010-2011, I taught a class of girls in Toronto.  They were all gifted, an had amazing parents and support in their lives.  I taught them as a Maternity-leave sub for one year.  Professionally, it was a great year.  I was able to try many pedagogical ideas like inquiry; no set schedule for subjects; student-driven learning projects; and social-justice infused lessons.  They kids were so eager to learn and do anything.  I felt I was my freest and most creative as a teacher that year.  Private school can be a gift like that.  I had great relationships with the parents, and they were very involved and supportive of all my ideas.  We had a fun year.  But at this school, students usually had the same teacher for 2 years, and once my year was up, they regular teacher would return, and our fun education adventure would end.  They would be enthralled with whatever their regular teacher did, and I would move on to the next chapter.  

Of course the last day, the girl cried- but eight and nine-year-old girl do, so we said goodbye, I cleared out my room and looked for work again. They weren't “my kids” anymore.

Except they are “my kids.”  In 2016, in June, I got an email: 

Hi Stephanie,

I don't really know if you remember me. I'm Kate, you taught me grade 3 at the linden school. Well anyways, me, Sara, and Lia all just graduated grade 8 and I've been really sad and thinking about grade 3 a lot. I just re-read "the past is Present" and some stories I wrote with friends that year. I found a bracelet you gave me and a painting of the letter S that you did in class. I'm leaving this school not by choice and I'm never going back so I wanted to thank you for such a memorable year and I can't believe it's over and was 5 years ago!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much,

Kate 

As soon as I saw the email address I knew exactly who it was, albeit a nine-year-old version of who she is.  I remember changing her lessons to be more challenging for her, and her struggle of learning to challenge herself.  I remember the tears of frustration and anxiety when she was overwhelmed, and how proud she was when we decided to send her project on flight to the city-wide science-fair in Toronto.  She loved painting, especially on canvas.  That year she climbed the CN tower to raise money for WWF.  And so on.  

She emailed me because she was nervous about moving on to high school.  Moving from private to public school, and not knowing anyone.  I could see how she changed, citing her parents “irrational reasons” for making her change schools. I smiled as I read the emails, because she’s talking like a teenager.  

It clicked.  My students are “my kids.”  They contact me when they need reassurance.  And I keep tabs on them.  And I care about them.  Long after I teach them.

I’m writing this reflection because I saw this story in the news this week:

http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/newsreleases/36854  A former student of mine was shot in Toronto in October [(warning graphic video)

http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/watch-suspects-seen-in-pizza-pizza-murder-video-1.3125675], and they arrested the men responsible.  I heard the story in October, and was numb at that time, as I had two former students (in the town I live in now) die tragically in the summer.  Having three (former) students die in their youth was a tragic thing to go through.  I was very upset for a long time.  Some friends and family did not understand my sadness.  “You were just their teacher” is something I heard often when I tried to explain my feelings.

Yes, I was their teacher.  For a year I saw them every weekday, and helped them struggle with new ideas and concepts while they were learning.  I celebrated with them when they accomplished something.  I comforted them when they were hurt.  I became involved in their lives by necessity— because how could they learn if there were challenges in their lives?  If we found they were hungry, as a school we found ways to feed them.  So when I say that teachers feel that these are “our kids,” we mean it in the sense of the community/ village it takes to ensure that our kids grown up healthy and happy and educated.  

So I was more than just their teacher.  I was responsible for their education, and much more.  When they hurt, I empathized with them AND help them find solutions.  When they are scared, I try to assure them that they have the skills to succeed.  And when they die, I hurt.  

My students are my kids too.  They are part of my village.  And I won’t let anyone tell me differently.

Reflection: World Congress of Modern Languages, 2015

What an event!  I think that should be the first line in any review/ reflection of this conference.  There were lots of people to meet; many organization and companies to talk with and items to look at; so many workshops it was difficult to choose where to go!  In all, I am very happy that I got to attend this conference this year.  I thought it would be good to share some of the things that I learned from the amazing workshops I attended.  

Roundtable Discussion- March 26

I went to the conference early to register, because I really wanted to hear the roundtable discussion about technology in the L2 classroom.  Since tech in FSL is kind of my bailiwick (yep, I just used that word) I knew that there would be some great information to glean from the address.  The presentations were moderated by Terry Lamb, and the speakers were Jacques Cool, Sylvia Duckworth and Jim Murphy.  

The last speaker, Jacques Cool (www.zecool.com-- wouldn't you love to be a teacher with this last name??! Mine's a fish.  Which the kids don't let me forget.  Or worse it has the word 'ass' in it.  ANYWAYS...) spoke about the responsibility of teachers to innovate in the classroom.   What I found most interesting, and something I've been working on in my teaching and learning are the redefinition or addition of  the "new competencies" that our students will need to compete and success in our technological world.   Students need to know have to explore, create, collaborate, debate, solve problem and so much more in order to use the technology effectively.  

I also like that he spoke to student motivations, and how technology helps teachers fulfill those motivations.  The 6 motivations he outlined were that students want to 1- do it themselves; 2- do it now; 3- with their friends; 4- for others; 5- for pleasure or 6- for an audience.  This was the concept that really resonated with me, as I see those motivations in the actions of my students daily.  So for me, the takeaway was how am I going to use the motivations to make my students succeed?  

Cool made many more great points in her presentation, and if you would like to read it for yourself, visit his blog at www.zecool.com (in French.)  He is also on Twitter, @zecool.

The second speaker was Sylvia Duckworth, who many French Teachers already know through her awesome teacher blog/ French teacher bible and resource E-tools for Language Teacher at www.mmeduckworth.blogspot.com.  She spoke about the importance of PLNs or Personal Learning Networks for Teachers.  Duckworth noted that technology make wider collaboration between teachers possible.  She outlined 6 main hurdles to teacher development 1-no time; 2- need access; 3- need training; 4-need tech support; 5-need confidence; 6- need conviction, to know this development is worthwhile.  I appreciated Sylvia's contribution that focused on how teachers need access to this technology too in order to improve their learning.  I think we often forget about how beneficial tech is to our own development since we are often focused on our student's learning.  She also included a bunch of sketchnotes-- which I appreciate because I love sketchnotes.  Generously, her presentation is available at www.bit.ly/sylviaroundtable  for download.  

First speaker was Jim Murphy of the Center for Distance Learning in Newfoundland.  The model for schooling in parts of NFLD are an amazing example of how technology has transformed learning for some students.  As many students live in remote parts of NFLD, the CDL provides courses and education, that would otherwise be impossible for students to access.  The CDL uses a synchronous learning model, meaning that there are teachers and students that interact in a class online.  This was the interesting aspect of the presentation for me.  I have done online courses myself, and had contact with my teachers only through messaging and feedback.  Students in the synchronous model get to know and form relationships with their teachers despite the distance.  

They were all very knowledgeable people, and I was a little stunned afterwards with all the new information to process.  It was a great talk.  A great kick off!

Workshops: March 27-28

A. Paula Capa- "Speaking Only in French: It Can be Done!"

The first workshop I attended was about working towards French as the only language of communication in the L2 classroom.  What I found most helpful was the approach that the speak outlined.  That is, that you start with what the students know for a small amount of time, and then build on that time as the year progresses.  I found it affirming that so many people have questions about using French as the sole language of class.  This presentation also affirmed for me that I was on the right track.  In my class I use the "Zone Francais" in which I have a time keeper track our time for speaking French-- and then we try to beat that time the next day.  

B.  Sylvia Duckworth- "Web 2.0 and Social Media Tools in the French Classroom"

Had to sign up for Sylvia's session on Social Media and Web 2.0 Tools in the classroom.  The problem with this session was that 45 minutes was just not enough.  Sylvia had so much information and so many great ideas that people left the room wanted to try something new that coming Monday. I know I did!  I especially liked how she shared multiple strategies for an application.  I new about Voice Thread-- but I had no idea about the potential for VT in the FSL classroom.  One other great thing about Sylvia is that she shares so many of her ideas on her blog www.mmeduckworth.blogspot.com.  So if you haven't already, check it out. She's also on Twitter @sylviaduckworth.

C. Bev Kukhta-Jackson- "Engaging your Core French Students"

One of my collegues in HWDSB, and a career-long champion of Core FSL, gave a fun presentation on how to engage core French students.  There were some really fun ideas like Movie Monday, and using music and other authentic media in French.  The crux of her message though-- and one that you could see she followed and felt herself-- was that the teacher needed to enjoy and love what they teach.  That is the most engaging thing you can do.  She showed a video that she made to futher her own PD, which just further exuded the love she has for her job.  She was also elected to the Board on the OMLTA- so a doubly successful day for her!

D. Bill and Hanna- "Go Digital! Supporting FSL with Digial Resources

Bill and Hanna lead the audience through the digital learning platform that is now available to all teachers in public funded schools.  The online education platform is an asynchronous learning platform, i think created by Desire2Learn.  Students are able to create and curate an online, multi-media portfolio for every subject.  Which is a pretty cool concept.  This presentation fell short of provide strategies to integrate some of these new technologies into the class.  More, Bill and Hanna were the bearer of the bad news-- National Film Board videos won't be available after the summer for school to use.  The liscencing was not renewed.  

E. Susanna Beatrice-Gojsic and Carole Knezevic- "Let Them Speak! Strategies that Maximize Student Talk Time in the FSL Classroom

Two more of my colleagues in the HWDSB presented this awesome, and helpful presentation, that was packed with strategies on making sure students get the most talk time in FSL class.  As always, Susanna and Carole provided fun, engaging and non threatening ways for students to participate in FSL class, and succeed.  The strategies they discussed allowed for maximum practice for students of their skills.  More, they explained how to implement some of their ideas.  Most generously, they provided a link to a wiki  https://letstalkinfsl.wikispaces.com Susanna is on Twitter @sgojsic

F. Katy Arnett- Designing Differentiation for FSL Students

Having read Arnett's book, Languages For All, I was looking forward to seeing what new understanding I would leave with.  Luckily, Arnett brought tons of ideas and examples of how to integrate almost any student into the FSL classroom.  Arnett brought a number of speaking and reading/ writing activities to share, and discussed how, and why they were differentiated.  I appreciated the discussions, for me it led to an even deeper understanding of how I could apply some of these techniques and activities I use in class.  I felt more confident in my differentiation abilities after listening to this presentation.  Dr. Arnett's Twitter: @KatyArnett.

G. Trevor Gulliver- "A Dozen Ways to Use Songs"

I use music in my class almost every day.  So learning about ways to use those songs more effectively was  something I really looked forward to.  Trevor provided literally 12 ways to used songs in class.  Some of them were too close to a word cloze activity for my taste, but there were some gems that stood out for me.  My favorite ideas were the word snatch activity: students lay out small card of word between them, and as the song plays students grab the word as they hear it.  It was fun!  The second idea I loved was the rearranging lyrics activity.  You cut up the lines of a song, and mix them up.  Student have to arrange the lyrics correctly as they hear the song.  I immediately thought of other ways to use those same cards-- use them as a prediction activity when student try to arrange them in order before they hear the song.  Or as a writing activity where student get to choose a line as a writing prompt for their own lyric.  The best ideas for me, launch my brain into new strategies, and this presentation did just that.

  

H. Stephanie Bass- "iPads and Cell Phones in the FSL Classroom"

Ha!  I had to attend my own session.  So instead of making a note of how great the info provided was (at least I think it was) I think I will reflect on my delivery, and things I learned about myself from presenting.

1. I am too short to stand behind most podiums.  The microphone was set up on a podium, and the top of the podium came to my neck. From the front of it, I probably looked like a talking head on top of the podium.  So I scrapped the podium, and consequently the mic and stood beside it.
2. I make a lot of jokes when I'm nervous.  I am pretty sarcastic generally, and when I'm nervous that is amplified.  And I was really nervous.  And from the laughter of the group, really funny.
3. I make strange analogies when I'm nervous.  I actually said, "The internet is the Wild West, and you as teachers are the Sheriffs."  Yep.
4. I have a loud teacher voice.  Apparently I can't turn it off.
5. I have some really supportive colleagues.  They came to listen, and were available if I needed help.  They're super.
6. People hate completing surveys.  They hate 'em. No matter how short.  Mine is like 2 questions.  Help me out, folks!
7. People appreciated that my presentation was available for download to follow at http://bit.ly/OMLTApres.  The seating was not great, so I thought to give out the presentation at the beginning for the unfortunate short people in the back.  I know their plight.  So I will make sure to do that in the future too.
8. It is fun to present.  It was fun to share what I knew with others.  
9. My Twitter: @MadameBassHWDSB

I. Jennifer Lisi- "Using QR Code to Motivate Students"

Jennifer had a small group-- which was great for me, because I was able to ask as many questions, and make comments.  I was looking forward to learning more about QR codes; I use them sometimes in class, but after this presentation I was sure I was going to use them more often.  Jennifer offered many ideas and resources to use QR codes to support student learning.  She also offered great information that I had never thought of, like, using QR codes can make internet searching for students a little safer, as you have control of which sites students use through the code.  The one idea that I am excited to try is the QR code scavenger hunt.  I'm in the middle of creating an En route vers la Francophonie hunt for my 7s and 8s.  She is also on Twitter @Lisi_JE.

Phew! A long summary of the World Congress of Modern Languages.  I also stayed for the closing remarks which featured a great Brazillian band.  An upbeat, fun end to a great conference. 

If you are interested in more information that people have collected throughout the conference, there is a Twitter Hashtag for the conference #WCML2015, where people were Tweeting soundbites and ideas they learned.  I tweeted the ideas I heard in several workshops, and so did many others.  People are still using this hashtag to provide follow up information and reflections. So check it out! 

What reflections or highlights do you have from the WCML?  Feel free to leave them in the comments!

Summer Learning- HWDSB Summer Institute Series

Our board has some great opportunities for Summer learning.  One of the PD sessions that I attended was a mini-course on using technology in the classroom.

This was a jam-packed, 2-day PD session where teachers from my board was able to explore topics relating to using technology and transforming technology in the classroom.  Of the number of sessions that were available I decided to attend the crash courses on using the ePortfolio app, Explain Everything app, using Inquiry-based learning in the classroom, using the Binder app and what to do with tech when the iPad goes down.  All the groups were very small, and allowed for a lot of one-on-one attention, which was great when you are frustrated and having a tech problem.  The second day sessions that I attended were mainly about my own development as a teacher; Collaboration, and the iPad as a teacher tool.  In these sessions we were given more time to practice using the tools, and trouble shooting, which I found helpful.

I could talk about all the sessions, but I have attached my notes for anyone interested, so I'm just going to focus on the sessions that made me think even further about my own teaching: the "when the wifi goes down" crash course and the second day sessions about collaboration and a singular iPad classroom.  

"When the Wifi goes Down"

The techie-teacher's nightmare.  This has happened to me a few time this year.  On my cart, I usually keep a back-up activity for when this happens.  What was great was that the instructor Jared Bennett (http://jarbenne.commons.hwdsb.on.ca)  provided us with lists of apps and resources, and little tricks to prepare for the common occurance of wifi-lessness.  (See my notes for that list.)

The challenge for me, however, is that my classroom is not one that has enough resources for students to have their own devices to use.  I can plug in my iPad using an adaptor to project the image, and that doesn't need wifi.  I would have liked to learn a little more about those physical things that I could use; are there any more?  

Overall, I wish that the session was longer!  But, Jared's really good about answering my questions via email (no matter how silly or inane) so I'm not worried about when I inevitably have more ideas and questions.

"Using the iPad to Collaborate"

Even though this session was about how to teach the students how to collaborate, I found this session useful because I can adapt it to use for planning with my colleagues.  Everyone is busy, and it is difficult to organize time to plan together, with the programs we used and learned about, that is something that could no longer be a challenge.  Most helpfully, we were given over an hour to apply what we were learning on a question.  I learn best through application, so I was greatful for the opportunity to work through the process with support.  

"The One iPad Classroom"

The afternoon session was a great introduction in using the iPad as a teacher tool.  To start the session, Jared noted that for schools with limited access, the teacher's should be the one's that are equiped with the tablets first.  I found that I agreed with this idea; Jared introduced a number of ways that the teacher could use the iPad to provacate and engage the students, instead of passing a few devices around.  

I appreciated that Jared took the time to display how a teacher can use the iPad as an organizational tool.  I felt that there was enough new information for me who is comfortable with using tech in the classroom, that I still took so much away from the ideas that he introduced.  I'm looking forward to trying some of the things he outlined throughout the summer.

What PD are you hoping to complete this summer?

If you would like to have a copy of my notes, click this link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12JUVp9cfIbJmP7URgS853wuO3Z0kF8MtnZS1hDS8oOE/edit?usp=sharing

Hope you find them helpful!

On Managing Assessment

My assessment management tool in action

When I talk to other French teacher, the thing we seem to struggle most with is organizing our assessment.  I think most FSL teachers have a handle on what they want to assess, but organizing that for sometimes hundreds of students is daunting.  It was for me, anyways.

Still, one thing that I am always struggling with is capturing an accurate view of my students' progress.  More than that, as a newer teacher, I couldn't keep all the expectations in my head.  In French class, a lot of my planning of activities include the expectations-- but often, I am assessing spontaneous conversations, so it is important for me to have quick access to the expectations, and their relation to the Achievement chart (A-Chart). 

Many veteran teachers shared with me that they use a class list to record and track their students' progress.  I thought that was a great idea, but I did not have the confidence that I would remember exactly what I was assessing for, being new to the FSL curriculum.  I decided to try and create a tool that works for me for Assessment purposes.  I knew that I would have to create a cheat sheet to help me track the curriculum expectations that I would need to teach.  So, I came up with this:

  

Click the picture for a larger view

My assessment tool is 2-sided, I couldn't get away with one page.  On the one side is a table that includes my class list, a section to record what activity I am marking, a breakdown of the grades I use and a section for the assessment "codes." 

The back of my sheet is a "Cliff notes" version of the FSL curriculum for the grade I am teaching.  This is an example of the grade 5 FSL curriculum that came out recently.  Each of the expectations are bundled and organized according to where I felt they fit in the Achievement Chart (Page xx-xx).  I like the way the new curriculum is organized, it makes fitting each expectation into the chart easier as the expectations are already clustered thematically.  For example, I know that all "3.1" expectations have to do with French culture and contributions to the world.

The "code" I use on the front, are based on the heading of the A-Chart, with a number for the order on my chart.  The expectations and their strands that fall under that section in the A-Chart are below my "codes" bundled.  I know that if I am assessing an oral activity, that something "coded" "C1" or Communication 1 covers the expectation B 1.2 or B 1.3, because I note which strand the expectations belong to beside the expectation number.

Throughout the term, I can look at the tool, and note which expectations I am missing, and therefore what I have to teach.  The bottom of my second page helps me plan my activities.  I made sure to copy some of the teaching strategies and suggestions from the curriculum on my tool, to help me plan meaningful and expectations-based activities. 

I find that having the expectations handy while I teach is useful.  At-a-glance, I can see which expectations my students excel at and struggle with, and this informs my planning.  All in one place!  What do you use to manage your assessment data?

If you are interested in downloading a copy of my Assessment tool to try and create one of your own, click here.  If you are interested in me sharing an editable version of my tool, please let me know in the comments, and I will upload it once I get to my school computer!

Challenges in Student Engagement in FSL

For me, one of the most difficult things about teaching French in the inner city, is the lack of interest or "buy in" from almost everyone.  I'm sure it differs from school to school, but where I am, French education is just not a priority for everyone involved.  From my collegues, I hear that our students have "other problems" then French.  From the parents, I hear that their kids "can't do French," or that "they will never use French."  From the students I hear, "French is too hard," or "French is boring."  Much of their opinion is based on what they are hearing from the other shareholders.

If you are reading this blog, I don't have to tell you the benefits of learning a second language.  Becasue there are many.

If you are reading this blog, you have probably heard something similar in your area of expertise.  So, the million dollar question is how do you engage students in a subject that may not be valued as much as it shoud?  There are other questions that go along with this, like how do I raise the profile of my subject in my school?  Which is a great question, for another blog post.

We are looking at engagment.  There are many great articles on student engagement.  I spoke a little about engagement  when I wrote about using the Inquiry Model in the FSL classroom, but I wanted to reflect on what I do to ensure student engagment is happening in my class. 

Here's an example, of me getting my students attention.  If you were wondering about the name, I have a moon on my back: clown+lune= clune.  We were thinking about adjectives and nouns, and how to combine them to make titles/ names for our "superheros."  So I dressed up as a caped clown.  You know, a typical Wednesday.

There's a moon on my back if you are wondering about the name.  Clown+Lune= "Clune"

I tend to use a lot of humor in my teaching.  Sometimes throw in a joke to see if the students are listening closely.  At the end of the class, students have a chance to tell me the joke for a stamp on their incentive cards.  Sometimes, I just make sure the lesson is silly itself.  Luckily, I don't need to feel very dignified in my job.  According to author Ruby Kane (from the book Understanding Poverty: A Framework for Teachers), inner-city kids who live in poverty value humor, and the ability to tell an entertaining story.  I see how this works to my advantage, and so I use it.  For example, I was teaching my students how to say/ read our school pledge in French.  I used the echo strategy, but to make it interesting, I really emoted the recitation.  And the studnet had to copy me, so they had to emote as well.  At the end of the reading, one of the student's said, "that was fun.  Can we do it again?" Even the most boring task, can be made interesting in its delievery.  

While I was in teacher's college, I read the book, Teaching Content Outrageously by Stanley Pogrow and I think it completely impacted the way I teach.  I am forutante to be a person with a lot of energy, and a wicked sense of humor (if I do say so myself,) so it made sense that I wanted to be "outrageous" as an instructor.  I know that this method is not for everyone.  Some days, I am too tired to do the whole French class as a happy-fun-time thing.  So I use another strat to get their attention.

I like to problematize my content.  I introduce the class to a problem that I need solving.  Usually one that is grounded in an authentic, real-life situation that the students will encounter. As the culminating task for our "Je me presente" unit, my grade 4 and 5 students had to solve the real life challenge of welcoming a French speaking student from Central Africa into our school.  We had a list of questions to start with:  What would we say?  How will we introduce ourselves? How will we pass along information?  What challenges would we have if we just memorize a bunch of stuff?  What is a better way to prepare so the new student feels welcome?  We also did a little research about the country the student came from.  The students were really engaged because it was a problem, and it was going to be something they would use.  Not may use, but definitely use.  

Lastly, I think that students have a responsibility to be involved in creating their education.  So many of the themes that we cover in my class are student-selected.  For example, my students knew that we were going to look at French literacy/ reading this month, so we had a survey about what type of texts they wanted to read.  They chose comics/ graphic novels and so we started looking at those.  Now our study has started to include superheros, so we looked at costumes and what superheros wear-- which is a cluster of transferable vocubulary.  Even though they chose the topic, I control the lessons, so the students are engaged, but learning what they need to- even if it is a different, albeit fantastic context.  

And even though I use all these strategies, sometimes my lessons fall flat.  So I am always trying something new, and talking to other teachers for ideas.  I like trying new things, it keeps it interesting for me.  Especially because I have to teach the same thing sometimes 3 times a day.  So, if you have some great ideas that you have used in class, please share!  I would be so grateful!

What are some ways that engage your students?  

Using the Inquiry Model in a Core French Class

This week during our staff meeting our team was introduced to the Student Inquiry Model.  I was very interested in this topic, as I have seen it used (and used it myself with my gifted class.)  I was wondering how this framework could be used in a Core FSL class, especially since my students have a very limited use of French. 

Click here for the full document.

The student inquiry model is heavily focused around talking; teachers are expected to give students opportunities to share their learning in very step of the project.  Students are asked to revisit steps when new information surfaces, and they are expected to demonstrate their learnings in new ways.  If you are interested in some more information about this model, the MOE has a great monograph (October 2011, ISSN: 1913 8490 or French version click here) as an introduction for the model.  

I had some reservations about trying this in my FSL classroom.  My concerns were similar to a lot of Core French teachers: do my students know enough of the language to make this activity useful? Will they be engaged in another language?  Will they be successful?  Can they stay focused while researching in French?  Will they understand the materials they find?  I thought the best way to solve these issues would be to work through it.  So I tried an inquiry activity with my Grade 5 Core French class. 

Step 1: Setting the Focus

In order to set up an Inquiry activity for my students, I went to the MOE monograph and looked at the parts that could specifically be applied to Core FSL.  In the first step a topic of inquiry has to be chosen.  In order to peak my students curiosity, I created some interest in my classes prior to the inquiry.  I picked the students up from their lines and brought them into the school while wearing a very fancy mask.  When they got into the classroom, I had some music playing ("Beau's Mardi Gras" from the album Mardi Gras in New Orleans by Rounder Records).  They students wanted to know what was going on.  I refused to answer any questions until our entry routines were finished.  

Even thought I chose the focus, the students were interested in what was going on.  I told them it was a special day-- it was Mardi Gras.  Living in Canada, students had little prior knowledge about the event, so I had to provide some.  An important sidebar:  Teaching in the inner city, my students have very different experiences, and sometimes do no process the prior knowledge for some of our lessons.  In these cases, its important to make the experiences for them, and to provide them with some prior knowledge.  I brought my own mask and some beads from the last time I was at Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  Additionally, I showed the students some pictures, and we answered some basic prompted in French:  Qu'est-ce que tu vois?; Qu'est-ce qu'il passe? The students were able to point out the items they recognized in French, and answer the questions simply.  One of my students saw a disco ball, and commented that there was "un ballon de disco a l'image." 

After the picture activity, the students were interested in why such a big party occurred. Using a simple information log, we wrote down what we knew/saw and what questions we had.  Students had some great questions that they could state simply.  They asked, "Pourquoi la fete s'appelle 'Mardi Gras'?"; and "Ou est Mardi Gras?"  I added one question, "Pourquoi est-ce que nous étudions cette fête à la classe de français?"  

Step 2: "Explore"

Next was the "explore" step.  This was the step that I was most anxious about.  In order to prepare students for "recherche" we had a crash course on French website terminology, and we discussed which of our comprehension strategies would be best for this activity.  I also only allowed students to use the websites that I listed for research.  I wanted to make sure that they were not only looking at French websites, but I wanted them to be successful, so I had made sure that there was information on the sites I chose.  

In order for the students to be successful, I searched for some helpful French  sites to guide the students in their research  I posted the websites on the Smart board, and had them in a Nearpod lesson for my students who needed more support.  The main sites that the students used were:

• www.takatrouver.net
• www.lespagesjuniors.com
• www.1jour1actu.com
• www.kidadoweb.com
• www.webjunior.net
• www.fr.wikipedia.org
• http://fr.vikidia.org/ (This site is great!  Its a french Wikipedia for kids ages 8-13)

Students were tasked with answering the questions we came up with.  After they did that, they were able to add any additional information that they thought was interesting.  They added this information to their graphic organizer.  To differentiate this part, some groups were tasked with finding "mots amis" or cognates in their searches-- they were still able to find information about Mardi Gras, but they were only focused on using one of the strategies.  This was less overwhelming for some of my students with more challenges.  The differentiate in the other direction, students were allowed to search Wikipedia.fr for additional information or connections.  

Step 3: Analysis

The analysis step was built into our first two steps:  What I wanted them to find out was what does Mardi Gras have to do with French class?  Many students found the Cajun influence in the festival.  Which is a great frist step.  I found that I had to lead them with questions like, "Who were the Cajuns?" And, "Why are they in the United States?" Making these connections was difficult for some of the students.  And we will have to revisit our answers again in another class.

Step 4: Share Learning

To share our learning, we held a "knowledge congress."  We sat in our groups, and each group was expected to share their findings. During the first congress, there was not much to share.  Students had only found answers to the first questions about the name Mardi Gras and the reason for the party. As a class, we decided that we needed to do more research, and so we went back to the "Explore" step.  Which was were we were at March Break.  We are not finished, and I think this is a project that will be ongoing.  I think that students enjoyed this-- they would come up to me and share what they found.

Reflections:

I worried about doing this because I was sure that the students wouldn't focus, or understand.  In reality, they did have difficulties but the challenge was manageable.  I had to keep reminding them to use their strategies, and to look for keywords, like they would if they were searching in English.  It was a great activity in getting the students to make connections to the literacy strategies they use in English, and how helpful they were in French class.  At one point a students was complaining to me and I asked her, "what did I say yesterday?"  She replied, "Stop whining, use my strategies?"  That's right.  And she did.  So that's progress.

I also was not sure what our focus should be, as I spend most of my classes trying to engage students in using our vocabulary, and teaching them how to use/ speak French.  In a meeting, it was suggested to use the lessons on French culture as a springboard into inquiry.  So I thought Mardi Gras was a great entry point as it has the possibility of opening up a great discussion of the Cajuns, and ultimately the Acadian disapora.  

The connection of the Cajuns to the Acadians is a great example of higher-order thinking/ connecting and in line with the curriculum in FSL.  I was especially worried that there wouldn't be that use of higher-order/ critical thinking in this activity as the students have limited French skills.  But, students were finding information and inferring the meaning of things based on the vocab they knew.  They were applying their comprehension strategies, and trying to answer a fairly difficult question in their L2.  Additionally, students had to decide which of the resources they were using were useful and which one's were not.  There were many examples of critical thinking in this activity.

What I was most happy to see were many of my students were working together, and sharing information they found.  It was great to see students helping each other, and wanting to find the answers instead of just finish their work.  As I worked with my more challenged students, we looked at the cognates we collected, and they were able to draw a conclusion from the word they found.  They were able to contribute in the congress, which is exciting.  

To be honest, I wasn't sure if an inquiry activity was going to work in my French class.  But it turned out to be a great learning experience for me and my students.  It is an especially usful strategy for exploring French culture.  I am thinking of some other ways to try and use it in the FSL classroom.  An inquiry  for skills-acquisition? Would that work?  What are some ways that you have infused inquiry into your L2 classroom?  What else can I try?

Morning Mystery Messages

This week, I posted a resolution to address the challenges that I was having with my transitions from class to class.  I decided to implement a morning message for the days that I travel around the school.  I asked the homeroom teacher I work with to post the message (I emailed it to them in a notebook file) on their Smartboards a few minutes before I arrives in the class.  The instructions were simple, "Qui est-ce?"  The students knew that they were to read the message, and try and figure out who sent the note with their elbow partner.

This strategy was successful in that it focused the students and prepared them for French class.  They were actively using their comprehension strategies to guess the author.  Some students made great comments about the evidence they found in the note.  One student noted that "P.P" must be a girl because friend was spelled "amie."  But another student said P.P. could be a girl because the sentence started with "mon."  In the end, they did figure out that the author was "Tony Stark" aka "Ironman."  It was a great, short warm-up activity.

The Mystery Message also served as a type of diagnostic assessment for me on the students' ability to read in French.  This past term, we had been focusing mainly on oral communication skills, we had done very little in terms of explicit literacy lessons.  I asked the a few students to read parts of the note out loud, and made a few notes on my clipboard about where they had difficulty to help me plan a few lessons on accents and diphthongs.

One challenge I did have with this message, was that some students were so keen to just solve the question of who the author was that they didn't even read it before they started telling people their guesses.  Instead of relying on the message as mainly an oral and reading activity in the future,  I think I am going to print out specific slips of paper for the students to write down their guesses and clues on.  That way the experience is not taken over by a few more extroverted students.

Overall, I think that this was a great exercise for my students!  I am looking forward to trying to create more messages from more mysterious persons.

If you want to try this activity with your students, and you would like to use my message, click on the picture of the message for a larger version and save it for later.  To save, right click on the large picture, and select "Save As" to save to your computer.  To make my message, I used Photoshop and a torn paper vector I found here, and the logo vector here.       

Les stratégies- Explicitly Teaching Strategies in Class

Click on pic for larger image

I am always looking for ways to improve my students' confidence when it comes to understanding and using French.  Convincing my students to speak in French has been one of my biggest challenges this year!  I explicitly teach/taught/am still teaching some strategies for comprehension, speaking and reading to help my students navigate the many parts of speaking French, and to build their confidence in understanding it. I did not makeup these strategies; I learned them from my mentor.  I thought they were great, and set off using them right away!

Currently in my class, we have been focussing mainly on the "stratégies de comprehension."   I started at the beginning of the year, teaching the first five on the list (Je regarde les image/ I look at the pictures; Je cherche les mots-amis/ I look for cognates; Je cherche les mots-connu/ I look for words I know; Je lis la salle de classe/ I read the classroom; and J'infere/ I infer.)  I added at the beginning of the year  "J'utilise le dictionnaire/ I use the dictionary" because I thought that was an important skill to learn right off the bat.

I think they are great tools.  I have the same pictures and words hanging in my classroom, and in the students' homerooms as well.  I refer to them constantly.  We have used them explicitly in most of our activities.  But, the students still do not use them on their own.  They know all the strategies and what they mean.  And they can use them when I tell them to.  But they are not making the connection to use them on their own.  How do I get them to that level?  This is a new challenge for me.  When I taught these strategies in the past, the students used them frequently and without being told to do so.  My current students do not, which means I need to change something to encourage them to use these strategies.  My goal is for these students to use these tools on their own without my direction.

I found an article on Edutopia about helping students to become "deeper listeners."  This got me thinking about how have I been encouraging my classes to be active listeners. I had not taught active listening explicitly.   When I spoke to my colleagues about this question, they agreed that our classes have a difficult time listening, actively or otherwise.  Active listening hadn't been taught explicitly in their homeroom either; so one strategy I want to try is based around this idea. I would like to use the Think-Pair-Share (Pensez-Partenaires-Partagez ?) strategy in FSL class.  Students would speak about a text they had listened to, collect some information about what they needed to listen for, and how they had understood or misunderstood it.   I would have to prepare some vocabulary for this activity, but I think that it would be valuable to practice active-listening.  This activity would be very short: 3 minutes listening, 3 minutes in partner discussion, and 3 minutes in sharing.  I want it to be short so we can do this activity often.   What activities do you use to encourage active listening?

With this in mind, I believe that I may have to do more work with metacognition in my classes.  This creates a new set of challenges, because speaking about one's own thinking is difficult in one's own language.  How do I encourage students to reflect on their learning when their vocabulary is so limited?   One strategy that I want to use is an "exit ticket" for students to complete at the end of the class that deals specifically with student learning.  I want to give them time to think about their learning process, and the challenges that they may have.  Another strategy that I have used in the past and may fit here, is using sentence stems that help students form their thoughts on metacognition in French.  What do you think?

I don't mind sharing either!  If you would like to print out my strategy cards for your own use, please do!  I have them hanging up in the class, and I carry a set on my cart for traveling purposes.  Click on the link below for a PDF of the comprehension strategy cards.  I hope you find them helpful!

Comprehension Strategy Cards:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B11PNgL_hdjrbE81WjhjS1VxeGs/edit?usp=sharing

Les Résolutions!

Since its the new year, I thought it would be a great time to think of some resolutions for the upcoming term.  I think its a great time to reflect-- enough time has passed in the school year that I can really look at what is working and what is not working in my teaching practice.  Since I am still kind of new to teaching French, I know that there is still a lot to learn (as if that ever stops) to get the most from myself, and my students.

My first resolution is to SPEAK MORE FRENCH!  For the first part of the term, I have been speaking a combination of French and English in the classroom.  If I had to give it a number, I would say I've been speaking French about 70 % of the time.  When it comes to an explanation of an activity, or addressing the students when they become frustrated, I have returned to English so that I'm sure they understand.  This is a very bad habit.  One that I don't want my students to use.  If I remember how I really learned how to speak French, it was through immersion, and not being able to use any English.  I had to find ways to make myself understood.  I need to bring this experience to my students.  I have taught strategies, and created resources and images in place to help the students understand, now I need to give them a chance to use those resources. Does anyone else have difficulty speaking only French in their classes?

Resolution 2: I am a part-time itinerant teacher (a "travelling show" as my husband calls it.)  Transitions are very difficult for me and the students.  There is a space of 2 minutes where the students are waiting for me to arrive, and in this short time they lose focus.  I need to put in place a strategy or activity that the students can be doing, while they wait.  One idea that I had was to ask the homeroom teacher to post a message on their SMARTBoard before I arrive.  The students can work on reading it, or listening to it before I arrive, and then the class is started before I am even there! What do you do for transistioning into a new subject or a new room?

Resolution 3: I need to create a comprehensive literacy unit that works for my teaching situation.  I have some challenges in this regard:  I need to find resources that are high-interest, but low vocab;  I only have 40 mins a day with the students;   I travel, have to carry all my resources with me;  and my students have difficulty working independently in FSL.  When I am creating these lessons, I have to keep all of this in mind.  Not to mention all the different levels of readers in the classes.  I find this task the most intimidating of all things I teach in FSL.  What are some good resources for creating a balanced literacy program in FSL?

Resolution 4:  I am very lucky as a French teacher at my school, I have a team of teachers to work with.  This year, I am going to make more of an effort to meet with my colleagues for planning purposes because we are a great team.  It has been difficult to carve out some time to meet-- we do not have any preps together.  We have a planning session this month, and I am going to ask that we find additional time to meet.  My colleagues are a great resource I should be using more!  How do you find time to meet with colleagues during a busy school day?

Resolution 5: I have found many ways to integrate technology into my students' learning, but I haven't used it enough for my own learning!  This year, I am going to make sure that I use the resources for myself too.  I have started by looking at blogs and other sites that are created by and for teachers.  I am really excited to check out the work by other teachers in my board that are blogging their learning for others to read.  Are there some teacher blogs that I should definitely be reading?

Resolution 6: I need to keep up on my reflections/ journalling this year.  Up until now, my journalling has been sporadic.  I find that journalling helps me work through some challenges that I have in the classroom, and in planning.  Keeping a log has helped me track what works and doesn't work with my students.  I need to set time aside for this as often as possible.  How do you keep track of your reflections during the school year?

Phew!  A big ambition list.  That's the kind of list I like to tackle.  Do you have any resolutions for the new year?  For "la rentrée?"