Oral Communication Activity: Les montres

Its tricky finding ways to get early Core FSL students (Grades 4 and 5 in this case) to speak to each other in French.  That's why sometimes I get students to make props to facilitate those conversations.

One of the lessons we were working on was telling time in French.  We did a few lessons learning about the clock and how to tell time from both analog and digital faces.  Then to practice, we did this activity I call for students to have authentic conversations in French.


For the first part of the activity, I had students make a faux-lex watch (a joke they found very hilarious. Every old can be new again...) Each student got half of this page; they coloured and decorated it, and wrote a time on the face.  Then they cut it out and voilà!... a fake watch to use.

Then students walked around the room asking each other the time.  A conversation went like this: "Bonjour (nom)!  Quelle heure est-il?"  "Il est six heures"  [The student writes down the time on their tracking sheet] "Merci beaucoup! Au revoir!"  And the student found another person to talk to until their page was complete.

And that's the activity!  Students really enjoyed making their watches, and talking to each other.  They were really proud that they could have a conversation in French.


Here is what the worksheet looked like:

Want to try it in your class?

If you are interested in downloading a PDF to use in your class, you can find the worksheet here

...and the watch reproducible here.

How do you get students to practice telling time in your class?  What activities have worked for your students?

New school year, new school! New activity: Connect 4

Wow, quite a long absence from this little blog!  Désolée! I changed schools this year, and everyone knows what a task that can be.   But, I'm starting to settle into the swing of things here at my new school, and slowing changing the students' attitude about FSL education!


I thought that I would share a numbers review and introduction activity that I did with my grade 4/5 classes.  We started with numbers 1-20, and this was a little game to get them practicing their numbers and simple addition in their heads.  Math and French!

This quiz game only needs this worksheet, and 2 dice for each pair and a different color pencil crayon or highlighter for each player.

The rules are really easy, students play in pairs.  I always say the youngest person goes first.  Player one rolls the dice, and reads the numbers on the dice in French.  Then they must say the equation in French (For example: a player rolls 5 and 2.  They must say "cinq plus deux font 7").  Whatever the total is, that student can choose one circle with a 7 in it and shade it in their color.  Then player two repeats the process.  The goal is to colour 4 circles in a row to win the game.   That's it!

My students loved this game.  They ask to play it.  And they do it in French!  So it was a winner.



For the older students, I created a similar board for our Je Me Présente focus questions.  They also
enjoyed the game too.  And it got them talking.  For the older students, I added squares that say "Extra!" so that they got a free space.  I have a difficult student, who threatened his French teacher last year, who comes in now and sits with a friend and PLAYS THE GAME, in FRENCH!





So if you would like to try it, you can download the worksheet here.  You can save paper by
printing a class set, and using counters or something instead of colouring the sheet.

If you would like to use the Je Me Présente version, you can download it here.

Writing Activity: Mon Caractère

Writing activities are usually an ordeal in FSL class.  My students have specific challenges in writing in English, as well as French.  As a result, I find that I have to be very strategic in creating writing activities for my students.

This activity/ project that I came up with was meant to be a bridging activity between the focus questions from our last unit "Je me présente," to our new focus around "Les bandes-dessinées."  Before we started this activity, we learned the third-person singular of the verbs "to be" and "to have."  We learned how to apply the questions of "Je me présente" to other people.

To engage their interest in writing, I thought that it would be fun to create cartoon characters and write about them.  I found these great drawing sheets while browsing Pinterest, and thought they would be perfect to help the kids create their cartoon.

They loved the drawing part.  I encouraged them to create silly characters-- characters that they would want to write about.  Some didn't even use the books.  The example that I created was a Viking-turned-father named "Sven."

I created the example as a way of modelling the writing we were going to do.  I made sure that I followed the Gradual Release of Responsibility model here because writing in French is fairly new to my grade 4s.  We read the paragraph about "Sven," and the students thought it was funny.  We looked at the structure of the paragraph they were to write.  Built into the activity, were questions and prompts to remind the student to write in complete sentences.  I worried about being so rigid, I wanted to students to be creative with their writing, but I wanted them to feel confident that they could write a paragraph in French.

During the modelling part of the lesson, I made sure that the students knew that they would have to bump-up their paragraphs by adding 2-3 original sentences.  We added some to my paragraph together.

For the next step of the activity, we created a paragraph through a shared writing activity.  I drew a  large version of a cartoon on some chart paper, and using the prompts, as a group we wrote the paragraph.  Because my students needed a little extra practice to build their confidence, in small groups we did a second shared writing activity.  Then each group shared their paragraphs.

For the last step, students drew their cartoon and wrote a paragraph about them.  Students really enjoyed this project.  They liked that the drawing books I had made for them helped them draw something they were really proud of.  Their paragraphs were creative, and well written!  And many of my students could write them independently.  I liked that they were working independently in FSL class-- this is a rare occurrence.  Until recently, my students have not had the confidence to complete something without assistance in some way.  I was able to work with small groups of students who were having trouble.

Here are some examples of the work my students created:

To read the paragraphs, click on the image for a larger version.

This was a great writing project for my students.  They were really interested in each others work, and we did several gallery walks after we were finished.  

To add an oral component to it, I'm thinking of having the students interview each other about their characters.  We have a great article which is an interview with a real cartoonist in our books (Acti-Vie 1: Les aventures d'A-V).  We will record the videos on our ipads.  I will let you know how those turn out!

Here are the materials I used for this activity.  I copied 20 drawing booklets for drawing the characters.  I put them in duo-tangs so that we can use them again.  

Download the drawing booklets here (PDF). 

Oral Communication Strategy: Qui Suis-Je?

Qui suis-je in action with one of my Grade 4 classes.

This week I introduced a new strategy to my students.  Right now we are working on the CEFR focuses (foci?) of "Je pose des questions,"  and "Je decris les personnes and les places."  I thought a good way to bulk up their vocab for description, and get them used to asking questions was to play Qui suis-je?, a game not unlike the game "Headbandz."  There was quite a bit of preparation for students to get the the independent practice level in this game.  We played this game for a while as a class, and the shared practice was something that the students really enjoyed.

Anchor charts for support

In order to set my students up for success, the preparation for this game was pretty involved.  I had created anchor charts that had pictures of celebrities, and asked questions about a personality.  We created the questions as a class based on the anchor chart of celebrities that I introduced first.  One lesson that came out of this game was the mini lesson I had to teach on inversion and intonation. The students grasped the concept pretty readily-- they made great connection.  One student noted that we use the question "comment t'appelles-tu" and asked if that was inversion.  It was a great mini-lesson!  

After we created the list of questions, I created a scorecard for the students to use: not only to organize their thinking, but to get them reading the questions without the support of the images I added for comprehension.  The scorecard was a table that I filled with the questions, and a box to check or "x" depending on the question and answer.  We had 2 answers for the grade 4 classes (Oui ou non), and 4 for the grade 5s (oui, non, peut etre, et parfois.)

For the "headbands," I used some dollar store sunglasses with velcro dots attached to them.  Then each of the pictures had velcro on the back so students can swap the pictures in between turns.   

Glasses  instead of headbands.  We have a critter problem at our school

 

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The shared process was fun for the class.  I modeled one turn, by having the students pick the picture for my glasses.  I modeled how to use the scorecard on a giant version that I created for modelling.  There were only 12 pictures to choose from, so all the images were hanging up for students to consult.  We played a class version of the game each class for a while.  Until the students were really used to the questions.  Some students started creating their own yes or no questions, which was fabulous!  

When we moved to the independent practice, students played the game in groups of 4 or 5.  There was quite the buzz in the class, students were really enjoying it!  While the students played the game, I circulated and assessed their progress.  

Again, it was great to see the students using gestures, and other speaking strategies that they had learned earlier in the year!

Scorecard for student book

The great thing about having created this game is that I can use it again when we meet the new characters for our next unit on mysteries.  I have some grand plans for that unit! 

I have used post-it notes to play a version of this game with some of my older classes.  I opted for this picture-based version for my younger students to ensure a level of success.

See the bottom of the post for download links to my resources!

 

If you would like to make your own, here are the files that I made for the game.  Feel free to download and print!

Celebrity cards: (I printed two sizes, 1 collage per page for the anchor charts and 2 collages per page for the playing cards.) Download here (page 1). And here (page 2).

Scorecard worksheet: I printed it for the students to consult when they played and to track their thinking. Download here (PDF).

Making music for French Class

Students reading my song lyrics to understand the format

I love using music in French class.  The kids love it, and I do too.  Its the one thing that can really get me moving.  My grade 5 classes had completed a short unit on Popular French music.  Some of the songs we discovered are some of the kids' favorites!

Lately, I have been writing my own French songs for the kids to listen to in class.  I wrote one song for our project on Movember; we had some male staff in our school participate this year.  The song was part of a webquest that some students completed.  They loved that song!  For the whole week, they walked around singing "je n'aime pas les moustaches."  They even requested it in their class party!

I thought that I would try again by creating a song for our unit "Je me presente!"  I wanted the song to be simple so that the students would understand it, and so that we could turn it into a writing activity.  Here's what I came up with:


And here is the track sans vocals:



 We started listening to it this week, and we read the lyrics. (Click here to download a PDF of the lyrics.)  The students understood the song very quickly (using their strategies!).  They thought it was funny.  Then I told them that they were going to write their own songs, and they were very anxious.  There were a lot of "I can't"s and "too hards" floating around the place.  The students were adamant that they couldn't.  It was quite frustrating, so we moved onto the next activity.  But I knew that we would revisit the song later.

Today, we listened to the song again, and focused on the structure of the lyrics.  The students noticed that there were many repetitions in the song.  We broke down the song into sections: the chorus, and the verses.  The students were asked to write one verse about themselves.  To help them in their writing, they used their notebooks with all their work from the unit "Je me presente."  Each student had written a lot about themselves already.  They just needed to put it in the right format!

Some student lyrics

 Once they got over their initial fear, they started to write some great lyrics!  They were allowed to used my chorus, and format.  That way it would work when they sang it to the instrumental version of my song.  To get them started, I suggested that they write out the chorus, because its less intimidating than a blank page-- that's what I do.  Many of the students said this helped. And they were writing!  They were talking to each other about song ideas, and trying to find rhyming words for their verses!
It was really exciting for me to see them trying to create their songs.  They were very intimidated about the idea, but as they started, they were adding more ideas.  What we will do is finish our verses, and record our song about our class. 

If you were interested in making your own songs, I will tell you how I made mine.  I use the ipad app Garage Band to make and record songs for class.  Its easy to use, and I can hook up my guitar to it, or use the sounds in the program.  The best way to start is to play around with the app, and find a sound you like.  If you have a friend or child that plays music, they can help too!  I make my husband sing on some of the songs if I need a deep voice.  The resulting song is not bad in quality, or sound.  Its great for class, and you can export the song to other platforms if needed.  For my mustache song, I exported it to Moviemaker, to create a video.

More student's lyrics

If you are not the type to write a song, there are other cool ways to incorporate music and writing into your classroom.  This teacher had his students write the lyrics of the popular song "What does the fox say?" in French.  I had a friend who was in a French children's music group, and they had a contest:  Schools submitted their translations of songs, and then the group recorded it and a video starting the students!  I like to use French Pop music in the activity "Milling to the music" or as we call in in French class, "Marchez a la musique."  Universal France has a great You Tube channel for discovering upbeat modern French music.    
Want to take the plunge and try GarageBand?  This is a great tutorial site if you are interested in trying out the app.  If you make up a song, let me know!  I love finding new french music.  And, as always, you are welcome to use my song in class.  It will fulfill my dream of being a pop star ;-) 

Updated Printables Page

I got a few emails asking me for the files for my speaking strategy cards that are in the photo from this post.  No problem!  I added the link to download your own on my "Printables" page here or follow this link to download them.  I also added a link to some cards I made for listening strategies.  They are also on the "Printables" page, or download them right this way at this link.

And, a BIG thank you to all the nice emails I got about my blog.  I was not sure if this would be of interest to anyone, but I got such encouragement!  Thank you again!

"Je suis un voleur"- Fun Oral Strategy

Even though today was really cold, and we didn't have that many students, we had some really good discussions going on!  Today we tried a new strategy to get the students talking in French.  I wanted them to push the limits of what they knew, and get them use the strategies they learned.  We set up the class as a challenge:  Each student was given 3 popsicle sticks.  The goal was to collect as many stick as you can by the end of the class.  Using the questions and words they knew in French, they had to have a conversation with a classmate.  if they spoke any English, they had to give their partner a stick.  If they made an error in answering a question (that their partner noticed) they had to relinquish a stick. 


It was really great to see the students push themselves to communicate in another way than English.  They were using gestures, facial expressions, and other strategies for speaking!  It was wonderful to see one of my fourth graders (who struggles with French class) have his "A-Ha!" moment when he started to read the resources around the classroom.  It was so rewarding to see that he knew where to find the answers to some of the questions asked.

While the students were having their conversations, I was able to work with my strugglers.  It was great to have the time to work with the small group to help reinforce and encourage them.  All the students were on task and trying hard to keep their sticks. 

After the activity, we had a quick discussion (in English) about what challenges they faced; the strategies they used; how they could be more successful in the activity; and what would they change about playing next time.  The class had some really insightful comments about their learning.  One student noted how some of the strategies came "naturally" when they were trying to communicate.  Another student made a great connection to a social issue: she noted that even though she knew some French the activity was challenging.  She connected her experience to that of a New Canadian trying to communicate after immigrating.  So much learning!

If you want to try this activity, here are the instructions: This activity works best when anchored to a specific set of vocab.  We were using some questions from our "Je me presente" unit as a starting point for discussion.  Each student is given a number of sticks (or counters, something that they can trade for the activity.)  In pairs, they start to have a conversation.  I found that the students were really good about "policing" themselves to speak in French.  I often heard, "ah ah ah, en francais!" while the game was going on. 

The goal is to collect all the sticks from your partner.  I gave the students 3 sticks, so when someone collected 6 the game was over.  With my older students, I have them switch partners and play another round. 

I am already thinking of some adaptations to try this again.  Do you have any ideas?  Suggestions?