2023 was a year where I tried lots of new things in my classroom (AI, anyone?), but I also brought back a lot of activities I hadn’t done in years. Activities I hadn’t used since before covid have seen the light of day again, and I especially tried to bring back some lo-tech ones, because it’s important that they not spend the whole class looking at a device. Here are some of the old and new things I tried this year.
The Old
Tarsia
I first learned about the Tarsia puzzle making software from Clare Seccombe on her Changing Phase blog. Tarsia lets you make puzzles for students to put together. They can be tricky, so I have students do them in groups. On each edge of each square (except the outside pieces), there is a piece of information in French. On the edge that touches it is a corresponding piece of information. Some examples are questions and answers, numbers in word and number form, and dates and times in word and number form. When it is done, it forms a 4×4 square. I tried a new one this year that turned out to be difficult (the simpler, the better!), but I am excited to bring out some of my previously made ones, such as the one pictured.
Sentence Strips
There are many different ways to practice stringing a sentence together, but there is something about physically moving the words into place that I think is helpful for students. Although it takes more time to pass out and collect, and words inevitably get dropped on the floor or lost, students are much more engaged with the physical sentence strips than they are with any comparable computer-based activity. I also use it as a time to make my way around the room and help them. If they are missing a word, I create a space where the word should go and point to it. If they need to replace a word with something else, I pull the incorrect word out and point to the space. It’s easier to give feedback this way without using English than it is if they are using a computer. I also color code the words. Words in black are words that aren’t gendered, blue is for masculine, pink is for feminine, and purple is for non-binary. This is another activity that I do in groups.
Eggspert
Oh, Eggspert. It’s a relic of my early teaching career, before the advent of 1:1 classrooms and games like Kahoot, Gimkit and the like. For the uninitiated, Eggspert is a Jeopardy-like device that allows students to buzz in to answer a question, or it can randomly select someone to answer. It’s fun, but it can only accommodate six students, and I have the old-fashioned wired version with cords that always get tangled (the newer wireless version is a bit pricier). I first pulled out the Eggspert earlier this year to use with my elementary students, and some of my middle school students saw it and wanted to play it too. In doing so, I was reminded that Eggspert, at least the wired version, is not ideal for large classes, but can be fun in small groups. It’s fun to spice things up sometimes and not do the same things you always do, and that’s where Eggspert fits into things.
Living Sentences
My colleague Robin introduced me to this activity during my first year of teaching, and it’s another activity that fell by the wayside during covid. For this activity, the class is divided into two teams. The teacher prints out large words (one word or phrase takes up a whole piece of paper) that correspond to prompts shown on the board. Each student gets one word or phrase (some may get two). I also give one student on each team a whiteboard and marker to write prices for my food and meal-taking unit. The two teams each have the same words and phrases. When the teacher shows the prompt, the teams rush to form the sentence with their words in a designated spot in the room. If a student’s word is being used, they must stand in the spot and be part of the sentence. An example prompt is shown below, where the students must put the answer into a complete sentence and write the price as a number. The student holding up “2,75€” would have written that on a whiteboard.
Colorful Creations
I first blogged about this in one of my Beg Borrow or Steal posts. Liz’s Lessons has a great Pinterest Board featuring student work. On it, she shared a drawing that a student made by writing the words of the colors they were using repeatedly. I have my students complete this activity in groups. It happens to be a great activity to do right before a break when you might be missing a lot of students. Click here to read about more color activities I do with my middle school students and here to read about ones I’ve done with elementary students.
Cherchez l’intrus
In June, I came across this game I hadn’t played in years. Students get a sheet with words grouped into fours. For each group of four, they have to determine which word is not like the others. This is a great game to play in groups, and although it is challenging, students really get into it! This game can be adapted for just about any level. Click here to see some examples.
The New
AI
I used chatGPT to create some stories for my elementary and middle school classes, and NightCafe to create images to illustrate the stories. I blogged about my experience here. Even since I wrote that blog post, many newer AI programs have been released, and major updates have been given to existing ones, so I will certainly blog more about my use of AI in the future.
Teaching Elementary French
In January I began teaching French enrichment courses after school to 3rd-5th graders at an elementary school in the district where I teach. One day a week for four to six weeks, I taught an hour long lesson on various introductory topics. This was 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. Click here to read my posts about teaching elementary French.
Board Game
My colleague AJ shared with me a website called HobbyLark, which has lots of board game templates. I selected one and filled it in with images representing hobbies that students in my elementary French group learned. To play, they rolled the dice and counted out how many spots to go in French and stated the name of the hobby in French. The first student to the end won. Below is the board game.
Keychains
Last year, I did a project where students decorated pumpkins with flags of francophone countries and regions. Click here to read about the activity. This year, I had students decorate keychains instead. Not only were they easier to decorate, but the students loved having something they could hang off their backpacks and take with them.
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