Recently I had an opportunity to teach a six week elementary French enrichment course after school to 3rd-5th graders at an elementary school in the district where I teach. One day a week for six weeks, I am teaching an hour long lesson on various introductory topics. This is my first time doing anything like this, although I got my first taste of teaching as a high school student helping teachers do this very thing at the elementary school I attended. Some of these students have had or will have instruction from my French Club students, who teach mini lessons to 2nd and 3rd graders at this same school in the spring (read more about that endeavor here). One of the challenges in preparing lessons for this group of students was ensuring that my material didn’t replicate what my French Club students are teaching. I did teach some of the same topics, but the learning activities were different. In this post and in several subsequent posts, I will outline what I did in a single lesson. This post is all about the first lesson.
Introductions
First, we learn how to say our name in French and ask for someone’s name, then the students make nametags. This is essentially what I do on the first day of school in my 7th grade class as well.
Story Time
Next, we read the book “Bienvenue : Un livre sur l’inclusion,” the French version of the book “All Are Welcome Here.” This is also an activity I do with my 7th graders. Below is a video of the book being read aloud.
Cognates
Next, students learned about cognates. My colleague, AJ Kane, who has more experience than I do with the younger levels, suggested cognates as a possible topic for the first lesson. Students first learned what they are, then we went back in the story and found some examples. Afterwards, I showed them some more cognates and the students had to guess what they meant in English. We culminated with a LOTO (Bingo) activity. I used My Free Bingo Cards to make the activity (click here to access it), and then I printed them out and put them in transparent dry erase folios that AJ lent to me for students to mark with dry erase markers. If I were doing this in my 7th grade classroom, I would have the students access the game on their devices. Below is an example of a LOTO board. I call out the cognate in French, and the students mark it off if they have it.
Likes and Dislikes
The students were pretty fast learners, so we got through the material from the first lesson more quickly than I had anticipated, so we started on the following weeks topic: likes and dislikes. In this part of the lesson, I shared a little about myself (see the embedded slideshow below). Then I showed various items to students, and they had to state in French whether they liked or disliked them. Then we said “Au revoir” for the week!
Below is the slideshow I used with my students. Email subscribers, click here to access the slideshow.
FLES teachers, what are some of your favorite introductory activities? Please share in the comments!
Liked this post? Sign up below to receive future posts by email!
Whisper down the lane – with a word or a short sentence.
Is that like “telephone”? That sounds fun!
In my first French class with all students – no matter their age/grade level – I provide them with a background of the French language (more sophisticated version for older students). I use maps as visuals to show the different countries where French is spoken,. I then teach the alphabet – reinforcing with a YouTube video singing the alphabet. My second lesson is all about teaching basic “salutations” so that they can converse with family and friends and show off their French speaking skills (builds confidence).
Thanks for sharing! I will be using maps in my 4th and 6th lessons to incorporate geography and where French is spoken.