Lessons
Thanksgiving Lessons for French and Spanish Classes
The day before Thanksgiving break can be a challenging lesson to teach. I know my students are sooooo ready for a break. And so am I! If I give a test, I have to grade it over the holiday. Ugh. So I opt for harnessing the excitement of the holiday to get my students talking, [...]
Decorate the Christmas Tree! A Pre-K Foreign Language Lesson in French, Spanish, and More
Decorating a mini-Christmas tree is a fun and festive way to practice foreign languages before the holidays. Preschool learners of French, Spanish, German, or other languages will be engaged and immersed as they review a number of high-frequency topics. Here’s what I did with my little French learners the past two lessons: 1. Our usual [...]
Preschool French or Spanish Train Lesson
I have a 2/3 year old mom-tot group of French learners, mostly boys. Well, if there’s one thing this set is crazy about, it’s TRAINS! Today I’d like to post a few ideas for a train-themed French or Spanish lesson. It incorporates hands-on activities & play, TPR, trains vocabulary & verbs, numbers, colors, and culture. [...]
French-Speaking Puppets for the First Day of Class
Bonjour! I’d like to introduce you to my teaching buddy Guillaume. (He’s the big turtle on the left.) Guillaume’s been working with me for quite awhile now. Our first gig together was back in 1990, after I bought him at a toy store while on vacation in Seattle. I was a brand new teacher and [...]
Easter Candy Foreign Language Lesson in French and Spanish
What do you get when you put together a boy, a French teacher, and a basket full of last week’s Easter candy? A really fun and effective mini-language lesson! Immersion is a breeze with hands-on, high-interest objects like suckers and gum. I set my kitchen timer for fifteen minutes and spoke only French with my [...]
Preschool Ice Cream Cone Counting Lesson in English, French, Spanish, and More
Use a yummy ice cream theme to teach preschoolers how to count from 1-10 in a new language. Prepare a felt ice cream cone and ten variously colored (“flavored”) scoops. During the lesson, continually review and add on new numbers as the ice cream cone gets bigger and bigger and bigger. After the felt board [...]
French Tree Parts Song
My content-based kindergarten language learning continues with a little French lesson about trees. The song is to the tune of “Ten Little Indians” and it’s meant to be acted out with gestures/TPR: Chorus: Racines, tronc, branches, feuilles Racines, tronc, branches, feuilles Racines, tronc, branches, feuilles Voici un bel arbre! Roots, trunk, branches, leaves, Roots, [...]
Planting and Gardening Lesson in French, Spanish, and Other Foreign Languages
I am getting so many great content ideas for my French lessons by following my son’s kindergarten curriculum. Today, I taught a simple lesson about planting flowers. A grade level expectation is that children understand what plants need to grow: soil, water, and sunlight. I came in with all of my “stuff” . . . a [...]
Foreign Language Hand Washing Lesson for Early Elementary
When I sit down to plan my weekly French lesson in my son’s kindergarten class, I always begin by checking in with his teacher to see what themes, concepts, and skills I can reinforce. This past week the kids have been learning ways to take care of themselves: safety, brushing teeth, visiting doctors, washing hands [...]
Elementary Foreign Language Recycling Lesson: Celebrate Earth Day in French, Spanish, and More
Earth Day is April 22, and I’m already cooking up an environmentally-friendly lesson for kindergarten French this week. Here’s the plan: 1. Regular warm-up. I’ll be sure to bring my calendar so that I can show my students the date of Earth Day. 2. Introduce the globe. I have a nice inflatable one that’s great [...]
