Archive for October, 2009
Halloween Counting Books: French and Spanish Writing Project
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Developing writing skills in novice-level language learners is always a challenge. Writing tasks must be clear, simple, and highly structured. I’d like to share a simple Halloween writing project I’ve done with 5th and 6th grade students. Working in pairs or small groups, students wrote and illustrated a 10-page book. The writing is a [...]
French Halloween Rhyme and Finger Play
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Driving in my car this morning, I got a great idea for a French Halloween finger play. (All of my best ideas happen in the car!) This one is a variation on the “Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Wall” rhyme. The different versions include Halloween vocabulary, backwards counting, and ways [...]
Workshop for Foreign Language Teachers
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Another weekend of workshop presentations! This time I went back home for the Michigan World Language Association (MiWLA) conference. I had the BEST time seeing old and new friends. I shared my content-related elementary Groundhog Unit, and then I presented my favorite teaching ideas in a 3-hour workshop called “It’s a FLES for All! Active [...]
Sculptionary: Hands-On Foreign Language Vocabulary Game
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When teaching vocabulary in a foreign language, it’s extremely important to avoid translation. In fact, I only use games and activities that can played entirely in the target language, NO English allowed! In order to pull this off, you’ve got to rely on gestures, pictures, and more. Classroom Pictionary is popular and fun, but [...]
French and Spanish Halloween PowerPoint: Sabrina the Black Cat Story
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Need a fun and simple Halloween story for a beginning French or Spanish learner? Look no further than Sabrina the Black Cat, a short storytelling/reading unit by Foreign Language House. Sabrina is a happy, little black cat who just happens to live in a haunted house with some sweet but spooky friends. The story is [...]
Le Jour de la Marmotte: A French Content-Related Unit for Groundhog Day
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It’s never too early to start planning for Groundhog Day! At least that’s what I always say. I just published a new elementary French unit for le Jour de la Marmotte. You’ll receive four lesson plans to pick and choose from: seasonal groundhog activities, famous groundhogs, flashlight shadows, and weather.
I created or modified some [...]
