Doy gracias por mis amigos por que me gusta jugar.

Doy gracias por la musica por que me gusta cantar

Doy gracias por mi maestra por que me gustar aprender

Doy gracias por la comida por que me encanta comer

Doy gracias por mi familia y tambien por la amistad

El dia de accion de gracias nos trae felizidad

I’m thankful for all of my friends because you know we love to play

I’m thankful for the food that I eat each and every day

I’m thankful for music because you know I love to sing

I’m thankful for my teachers because they teach so many things

I’m thankful for my family and the love they’re always bringing!

and I’m happy I get to see them on this day of Thanksgiving! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Introduce children of all ages to world languages this Thanksgiving with a fun secret message printable.  This international activity is perfect for Thanksgiving. Decipher how to say “Thank you” in French, Spanish, English, Hebrew, Hawaiian, Italian, Japanese and Swahili. Grades 2-6. Answer key included.  Click the link to purchase.

Thanksgiving International Secret Code Worksheet:  Give Thanks in Many Languages

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here’s my pre-Thanksgiving French lesson 2011:

1.  Parlez-vous “turkey”?  I talked about how animals make different sounds in different languages.  French cows say “Meuh,” French pigs say “Gron, gron,” and French roosters say “Cocorico!”  American turkeys may say “Gobble, gobble,” but French turkeys say “Glou, glou, glou!”  I showed the following video clip and my students loved it as a fun way to set the Thanksgiving theme.

I found something similar in Spanish, too:

2.  Next, I introduced a Thanksgiving vocabulary PowerPoint that we made at ForeignLanguageHouse.com.  It’s available in French or Spanish.  It was effective to have the students guess the feminine forms of pilgrim and Native American before I revealed the word.  When it came to foods vocabulary, I asked students their preferences.  I usually draw various smily/frowny faces on the board to indicate J’adore – J’aime (bien, beaucoup) – Je n’aime pas (du tout) – Je déteste.  Students ask a partner about a preference, and then I ask several students.  Follow-up questions are extremely important to keep the conversations flowing.  My students like to use “sauf” (except) and “mais” (but) to go beyond a simple statement.

If your students are younger, or if the concept of expressing preferences is brand new, consider our “Expressing Preferences with Thanksgiving Foods” downloads in French or Spanish

We also have a Tic Tac Toe board of Thanksgiving foods that can be used in any language.  Students can make a statement about the food (preference, pass me please, etc.) before placing an X or an O on the space.  You can make copies for students to play in partners, or you can project it onto a screen for team play.

3.  The main thing my students like to talk about is themselves.  (Who doesn’t, right?)  So we spent a lot of time discussing our plans for Thanksgiving break.  Luckily, we had recently learned the immediate future tense, so it was fabulous practice.  Some verbs and expressions were new, but within the context of the conversation it was easy to introduce them for use in the lesson.  We have French and Spanish printables in which students ask each other if they are going to cook, watch football, travel, shop, eat turkey, etc.  They write, they interview partners, and they circulate around the room collecting signatures for affirmative responses.  Be sure to participate in this activity as well!

Here’s a fun follow-up to the circulating activity:  Human Bingo!  Read off the names of the students you found while walking around the room asking, “Are you going to . . . ?”  For example:  Chantal va voyager.  Jean va faire la cuisine.  Juliette va regarder un match de football américain.  Students give themselves one point for every name/activity that matches the teacher’s answer.  Candy is always appreciated for the winner!

I am always thankful for lessons such as this that get my students speaking!

p.s.  Looking for a quick, easy lesson for the day AFTER Thanksgiving break?  If your students know the past tense, the downloads from #3 above also include past tense versions of the printables.

Join Foreign Language House for our first annual Facebook Turkey Trot Down countdown to Thanksgiving Break.  Click this link to join our FB community. Beginning Monday, November 8, we’ll be “talkin’ turkey” with our foreign language teacher friends.  Each morning around 9:00 a.m. EST, we’ll post a discussion question.  When you leave a comment, you’ll be entered in a drawing for that day’s giveaway.  Winners will be determined by random.org and announced the following morning.  Join in the fun to win great prizes every weekday until Thanksgiving.  Free e-books, e-courses, downloads, and more!    Gobble Gobble!

Image from clipart.com

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 skills and expanding their world view at the same time.  Click the following link and watch the video for some ideas.  Happy holidays!

FREE “GIVE THANKS” DOWNLOAD

Happy Thanksgiving from Foreign Language House on Vimeo.

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 manipulatives for hands-on learning. Use realia that they can both see and touch: plastic toy foods, cans of food from your pantry, empty food cartons, etc. Use a lot of TPR (Total Physical Response) to get your students physically moving the food items: pass, roll, toss, smell, put, etc. Picture visuals are effective, too.

Make the concept of expressing preferences as concrete as the food (noun) vocabulary. Use gestures, facial expressions, and pictures to denote various opinions.   For younger children, begin with just 2 choices: 

I like . . ./I don’t like . . .

J’aime. . . /Je n’aime pas . . .

Me gusta . . . /No me gusta . . .

From there, you can expand and enrich vocabulary as the children grow and advance.  (I love, I don’t really like, etc.)  We’ve got some new conversational downloads that make partner activities clear and concrete for kids.

French Conversational Activities About Thanksgiving Foods

Spanish Conversational Activities About Thanksgiving Foods

To receive a free download of French and Spanish Thanksgiving worksheets, sign up for the Foreign Language House e-newsletter (right sidebar.) Absolutely free!

Photo Credit:  http://www.sxc.hu/photo/636352

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 fingers)
Aussi un bec, bec, bec. =  Also a beak (wiggle thumb)

La dinde a peur, peur, peur  =  The turkey’s scared (shake hand)
Elle dit glou, glou, glou  =  She says glou glou glou/gobble (wiggle thumb)
Ne me mange pas, pas, pas  =  Don’t eat me (shake hand back and forth)
Merci beaucoup, -coup, -coup  =  Thanks a lot (wave)

 Order your printables here!

To receive a free download of French and Spanish Thanksgiving worksheets, sign up for the Foreign Language House e-newsletter (right sidebar.) Absolutely free!

It’s not too late to wish someone special a Happy Thanksgiving.  Why not send a free greeting in French or Spanish?  123 Greetings is the place to go!  Check out:

Free Thanksgiving eCards in Spanish

Free Thanksgiving eCards in French (They’re actually for Canada’s Thanksgiving, but that’s okay!)

Have a wonderful holiday

p.s.  To receive a free download of French and Spanish Thanksgiving worksheets, sign up for the Foreign Language House e-newsletter (right sidebar.)  Absolutely free!

ESL Thanksgiving Activities

Another great Thanksgiving resource for ESL is the Charles Schulz classic–A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.  Talk about American culture!  As a child of the 70′s, this cartoon was as much a part of my holiday as turkey, parades, and football.  Linus’ telling of the Thanksgiving story is an enjoyable history lesson.  And who can forget the Thanksgiving dinner of popcorn and jelly beans?  Great music, too.  Enjoy!

Download the full program on demand: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

I wrote a finger play as part of my Thanksgiving for PreK-Grade 2 downloadable unit at Foreign Language House.  The kids really enjoyed it.  At our next class, we’ll be making handprint turkeys to illustrate the rhyme.  Hold up your hand as you say the finger play, and use a nice cartoony turkey voice at the end.  C’est amusant

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 fingers)
Aussi un bec, bec, bec. =  Also a beak (wiggle thumb)

La dinde a peur, peur, peur  =  The turkey’s scared (shake hand)
Elle dit glou, glou, glou  =  She says glou glou glou/gobble (wiggle thumb)
Ne me mange pas, pas, pas  =  Don’t eat me (shake hand back and forth)
Merci beaucoup, -coup, -coup  =  Thanks a lot (wave)

Of course, my child came up with an alternate ending to the finger play.  He likes to add on a nice big “CHOMP!” and a wild little laugh.  Yep, he’s a character!

NEW for Thanksgiving 2009!  French Thanksgiving Turkey Finger Play printables!

In addition to the hand turkey finger play, the FLH download includes three songs, a story, TPR, comprehension worksheets (great for grades 1-2), and coloring pages that my pre-k’s loved.  A Spanish version of the download is available, too.

Happy Dinde Day!

p.s.  To receive a free download of French and Spanish Thanksgiving worksheets, sign up for the Foreign Language House e-newsletter (right sidebar.)  Absolutely free!

Photo Credit:  by spekulator at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/854540