Turning our French into Art

Today we played with Wordle at www.wordle.net. Wordle lets you take text (like new vocabulary words), and turn them into graphic art. Play around with color and font to see what interesting pictures you can create. You can create by theme (weather, clothing etc.) or grammar topic (adjectives, nouns etc.)

Here is the list of adjectives we used.

http://french.speak7.com/french_adjectives.html

French 8

An online book presented by the French education minister, to help students with their summer studies. Luckily for us, the book covers our new theme, "Le Monde Francophone".

http://hosting.fluidbook.com/1893/#16

http://www.education.gouv.fr/cid28384/cahier-de-decouverte-un-voyage-autour-de-la-mediterranee.html

So Fancy!

We are very excited that Jane O'Connor, the author of Fancy Nancy, will be visiting our school very soon. As you all know, Nancy loves French. Here are some fancy French words we will want to use to make Ms. O'Connor's visit extra special. 

Bonjour!

Bienvenue (welcome)

Merci (thank-you)

S'il vous plait(please)

French 5

http://www.quia.com/rr/81052.html rags to riches

http://www.quia.com/jg/66100.html - matching game

http://quizlet.com/68945/french-er-verbs-october-flash-cards/ - flash cards

http://www.quia.com/quiz/385689.html

8th Grade

Click here for today's online quiz. 

http://www.quia.com/jg/66041.html - passe compose with avoir

Overview of French Program

A Modern Approach

Recently, there has been a shift away from teaching only the formal grammatical nature of a language. When we learn a language in grammatical “pieces” it becomes difficult to gain sufficient knowledge to use that language in the real world. Our curriculum, therefore, is designed with functional and communicative goals in mind. Students at Visitation learn the grammar and vocabulary of French not only through grammatical exercises, but by reading and using the language with contextual support. For example, a recent fifth grade immersion lesson in mathematics taught vocabulary, ordinal numbers, and the interrogative pronoun qui. The lesson was conducted entirely in French, and students were able answer and create their own word problems and organize lists using ordinal numbers. In using a content area to teach French grammar, students can use prior knowledge and contextual clues to help them understand the language. This differs greatly from the old approach of using only grammar exercises and vocabulary memorization.


Middle School

The desired outcome of the Upper School French program is to meet the state standards set out for second language learning. In grades five through eight, students experience a wide variety of language. The state standards for foreign language teaching require that students learn to communicate in the target language, but also to develop cross cultural skills and understanding. In order to meet these goals students learn both the language and culture of the French speaking world.


Lower School - Foundational Objectives

The development of listening and speaking skills is the focus of the Lower School French curriculum. Students listen to songs, play games, and read stories in French. Some of the general themes covered in these first few years include weather, seasons, likes and dislikes, animals, and clothing.
As students move into the fourth grade, they begin to study the grammatical structure of the language.


Learning Languages through Technology

Technology can support teachers in making language learning faster, easier, less painful, more engaging, and helps create an optimal language learning environment. The use of computer resources in the foreign language classroom captivates students by providing real world purposes for language. The programs used in our
lessons present students with age and linguistically appropriate examples of the French language. The British Broadcasting Corporation’s website offers animated stories for new learners, as well as short films about ordering in a French restaurant or shopping in Paris. These give students the confidence to use the language in real environments by presenting complete and scripted examples. The more the children experience the word through all their senses, the more meaningful and therefore retainable it will be. The animated series incorporates music and lyrics that engages the younger students and helps them to remember vocabulary. We are always looking for new and innovative technological approaches that will enhance language learning at Visitation.

Lower School Grading:

Students are graded on effort, progress, and behavior in class. 

Middle School Grading:

Students in the middle school are also graded on effort, progress, and behavior in class, and this is reflected in the classroom portion of the grade. Students in the middle school will also be required to complete both written and oral assignments, and will be assessed with both quizzes and tests. The percentage of each component will be determined by the assignments from that semester with the classroom portion of the grade always making up 25 percent.

 

Best verb conjugator

This website is clear and easy to use. Just type in the verb you want to conjugate and all the tenses are displayed.

www.verb2verbe.com

Bienvenue!!!

Welcome back everyone. I am looking forward to beginning our French classes next week. If you haven't completed one of the summer bonus assignments and would like to, now is your chance. You still have all weekend to wow me with your French.

Bonjour!

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. I am headed to Canada soon to spend time with my family, and hopefully speak some French. There are French festivals in my area, so maybe I'll be able to video some of it to share in class.

I am hoping that you have been playing on the blog, and keeping up with your French. It will make it easier for you when we return in the fall. Maybe you can teach yourself something new that you can present to the class.

First semester bonus points....

If anyone wants to start off the year with a few extra points, you could complete one of the following assignments:

1. Complete a vacation scrapbook in French. Include pictures, or interesting things you have found and label them in French.

2. Keep a French journal for a week. You can include pictures if you'd like, and it should be written in the past tense.

3. 8th grade - You may choose to complete one of the previous assignments, OR you can create a children's story in French using l'imparfait and Passé composé. It should be in the form of a book, and look very pretty. :)

Can you tell me what this is a picture of, and why I included it?

See you in the fall,

Madame

Happy Summer!

French 6

http://vafrench6.blogspot.com/

French 6 - http://www.quia.com/rr/1717.html

French 6

Work for French 6

http://vafrench6.blogspot.com/

French 5

Homework for French 5

Click HERE!

Donate food while learning French!

Your homework is to donate food to a needy person while practicing your French vocabulary. Write down on a piece of paper how much rice you were able to donate in 20 minutes. have fun helping!

http://www.freerice.com/subjects.php?t=17944479476

Homework -French 6

Follow the link to find your homework.

www.vafrench6.blogspot.com

French 6

Follow the link for exercise.

www.vafrench6.blogspot.com

French 6

http://www.quia.com/cb/26284.html

http://www.quia.com/rr/227998.html

French 5

Click on the link, and complete the exercise.

Merci!

www.vafrench5.blogspot.com

An easy to read and navigate site on French History. Click and learn about l'histoire!

http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/History-When-it-all-began-French.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/french/lj/menu.shtml

French 7

http://french.typeit.org/

A place for you to find French accents. Copy and paste them to your writing.

http://www.vive-paques.com/contes/default.htm

Stories online in French

http://www.racontine.com/page_les_racontines.html

http://www.laits.utexas.edu/tex/gr/tap2.html - review
Read the page, and complete the exercise in your notebook.



http://www.quia.com/cz/9038.html - Fill in the blanks

http://www.mhcentro.com/rr/103903.html - Rags to Riches


http://www.quia.com/pop/7279.html - Avoir or Etre

http://www.quia.com/mc/10148.html

La maison

http://www.quia.com/mc/484121.html - Matching game


http://www.quia.com/mc/261824.html - Matching game

http://www.quia.com/jg/390093.html - Matching game

http://www.quia.com/jg/501959.html - Dans ma chambre

http://www.quia.com/cb/194492.html - Challenge board

http://www.quia.com/cb/194492.html - Match the rooms with activities

Springtime in Paris!

Theatre - 6th grade

Fevrier!!!

Les mots d'amour

www.french.about.com

French 6

Here are some websites that will help you answer the questions on your worksheet.

http://www.french.about.com/

clothing click ici!

There is also a section under labels (on the right) where you can play some games to help you remember your vocabulary.

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryfrench