French

Skidamarink in French: Pre-K Valentine Song

I decided to translate the ever-popular “Skidamarink” into French for Valentine’s Day.  I just taught it to my four year-old today.  We do a little dance to “Skidamarink” and big TPR hand gestures to go with the verses.  Click here for a FREE printable song sheet. Listen & enjoy . . . c’est amusant!

Powered by [...]

Teach Colors in French, Spanish, ESL: Fishing for Hearts

This Valentine’s Day, teach kids colors in French, Spanish, and English by fishing for hearts.  This is a favorite pre-k activity, but it can be adapted for older kids, too.  First, you’ll need some colored paper hearts.  Click hearts for a free pdf. Make a few copies, cut, and laminate.  Place a paper clip on [...]

Food Drive and Other Service Projects in French and Spanish

With the arrival of Thanksgiving, the holidays will officially be in full-swing!  I’ve already been admiring the Christmas lights and contemplating the Black Friday sales.  But it’s also a time to think of others.  Consider some service projects in your French and Spanish classes over the holidays.  Your students can help others while improving language [...]

Free Nativity Mini-Book in French and Spanish for Homeschoolers

//

Homeschoolers, we’ve got a FREE GIFT just for you! Last year at Foreign Language House, we created adorable Christmas mini-books in both French and Spanish.  The Nativity story is told in simple, present tense language, understandable to novice level learners of all ages. Each brief sentence tells a part of the Nativity story and has an [...]

Talking About Thanksgiving Foods and Preferences in French and Spanish

 //

November is the ideal time to teach French and Spanish learners about food.  Tukey, stuffing, and pumpking pie . . . mmmmm!  Get your K-6 language learners using the target language for authentic communication this Thanksgiving holiday. Find out what foods they like and what foods they don’t like through highly structured pair work/interviews.
Younger children need [...]

Handprint Turkey Printables and Finger Play in French

 //

 
I wrote a simple little turkey finger play in French for Thanksgiving last year.  Check it out here on video:

Voici la dinde, dinde, dinde =  Here is the turkey (hold up hand)
Elle a une tête, tête, tête =  She has a head (wiggle thumb)
Et quatre plumes, plumes, plumes  =  And 4 feathers (wiggle 4 [...]

Halloween Counting Books: French and Spanish Writing Project

//

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

//

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 [...]

French and Spanish Halloween PowerPoint: Sabrina the Black Cat Story

//

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

//

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 [...]