A few years ago, I retired from my position as head of Modern Languages, a bit fearful of the "R" word. But to date, it has been nothing but fun! Canadian law requires school-aged actors to study with a qualified teacher when they’re off-camera. Many of our young actors are in immersion French so I've found a happy little niche, teaching a few days a week as an on-set tutor and moving in inspiring and creative circles! Furthermore, I get to share resources here! Vive la retraite!
A few years ago, I retired from my position as head of Modern Languages, a bit fearful of the "R" word. But to date, it has been nothing but fun! Canadian law requires school-aged actors to study with a qualified teacher when they’re off-camera. Many of our young actors are in immersion French so I've found a happy little niche, teaching a few days a week as an on-set tutor and moving in inspiring and creative circles! Furthermore, I get to share resources here! Vive la retraite!
10 BEARS (ALMOST) GO ON A PICNIC is a story for anyone, young or old, who has ever cherished a teddy bear or stuffie. It’s about love, loyalty, teddy bears, and counting to ten.
The link to the story and the downloadable TRIANGLE PUZZLE that accompanies it are included in this resource.
If you and your students like 10 BEARS (ALMOST) GO ON A PICNIC, we would truly appreciate your feedback.
As your students complete these WORDOKU6: EARTH DAY game grids, they “write out” and review their Earth Day vocabulary without even realizing it!
The file comprises two 6x6 word sudoku puzzles, a simple version and a slightly more challenging one.
If you’re not sure if this game is right for your students, please do a test run by trying the free MOTDOKU6 CHRISTMAS puzzle: /teaching-resource/resource-11448792
The LEVEL 1 game uses the following vocabulary:
1 sun
2 water
3 trees
4 recyclable
5 wind
6 Earth
In LEVEL 2, the focus is on the following vocabulary:
1 geothermal energy
2 wind power
3 composting
4 solar power
5 renewable
6 reusable bag
This "C’est Touchant!” puzzle for Le Nouvel An Chinois is a Boggle™ with a twist.
Embedded in the game grid are 11 French words on the theme of Chinese New Year and 100 more general vocabulary words.
4 mini-grids are included for teachers who are trying to cut back on photocopying costs
The file includes
• a “how to play” guide
• a full colour puzzle
• 4 mini-grids for teachers trying to cut back on photocopying
• a thematic vocabulary
• the answer key
• la fiche, Comment jouer, qui explique les règles du jeu en français.
• and links to 3 other very worthwhile resources on the same theme
VALENTINE’S DAY (A TRIANGLE PUZZLE) focuses on friendship and fun rather than romance. It asks students to match the sentence fragments and Q and As printed along the edges of the triangles. In so doing, they will reconstitute 25 statements about friendship and Valentine’s Day and “build” a heart.
Here are five of the reconstituted solutions:
• You’re like a calculator; I can always count on you.
• Yo, magnet! That paperclip thinks you’re really attractive.
• I am so lucky to be your friend!
• There’s nothing better than a friend unless it’s a friend with
chocolate.
• Friend, you mean the world to me.
To be sure that this kind of activity is right for your students, downloadi the free “Christmas Singalong TRIANGLE puzzle” here:
/teaching-resource/resource-12764890
In the unlikely event that you have any cheeky children in your class, double-cutting your triangles will outmanoeuvre any player who might prefer matching paper edges to matching ideas!
DIRE OU INTERDIRE? is a bit like “Taboo” and can be played 2 ways.
If your students are confident in French, have them play according to traditional Taboo® rules.
If your students are uncomfortable giving clues, turn the rules upside down. Have your students use the words beneath the red and green banner in their descriptions! This topsy-turvy approach encourages and empowers everyone to participate. You won’t believe what a positive game-changer it is. The green stars indicate challenging cards.
It’s usually a good idea for you as the teacher to announce that you will accept synonyms like 'un palet” or 'un disque” for 'une rondelle”.
The cards are designed to be run on business card sheets or card stock.
As it is suitable for French as a First Language, Immersion, Extended and advanced Core French students, it can be played at many grade levels.
Warning: JOYEUX NOËL includes several juvenile jokes about reindeer poop . . . the chocolate Christmas snack not the actual reindeer droppings. If you are already peeling your students off the ceiling, do not play this game. And definitely don’t make and share any reindeer poop using the super simple, 3-ingredient recipe included.
ZIPLINE PHRASES are sentence-building games full of humour and serious learning. Students work in teams to build sentences by connecting any two dialogue balls directly linked by a straight line. Each ball may only be used once per sentence. All sentences must be (relatively) logical!
JOYEUX NOĂ‹L will encourage your students to think in context and to speak and / or write in full sentences.
Audio-lingua’s short recording of seven-year-old Ethan joyfully listing his cadeaux de Noël inspired these 2 disparate games.
In ZIPLINE PHRASES, students work in teams to build sentences by connecting any two dialogue balls directly linked by a straight line. Each ball may be used only once per sentence. All sentences must be (relatively) logical! MDR!
The game encourages students to think in context and speak and write complete sentences. It also offers a built-in homework opportunity
BLOCS DE CONSTRUCTION is another sentence-building game. The “blocs” can be cut out and used as manipulatives or your students can work directly from the printable.
An annotated transcript of the clip is included in both files.
https://audio-lingua.ac-versailles.fr/spip.php?article8484
Joyeuses fĂŞtes, tout le monde!
Zipline Phrases is a sentence-building game full of sly humour and serious learning. Students work in teams to build sentences by connecting any two dialogue balls directly linked by a straight line. Each ball may only be used once per sentence. All sentences must be (relatively) logical! MDR!
The game encourages students to think in context and speak and / or write full sentences.
It also offers a built-in homework opportunity.
I recommend playing this Zipline Phrases game after you watch the Peppa episode, “À la recherche de Monsieur Dinosaure”.
My sister and her writing partner have given me permission to share their happy new Christmas song with other teachers. So, to spark a seasonal singalong, I’ve made a karaoke version of BABY, BABY, IT FEELS LIKE CHRISTMA for your students.
P.S. I’ve also included a triangle puzzle based on the lyrics and, of course, the lyric sheets. (Triangle puzzles make wonderful cooperative activities.)
May your well-deserved Christmas holidays be joyful, relaxing, and . . . restorative.
Merry Christmas!
Dutch primary schools are using Montessori pegboards to introduce children to coding work. The colours and numbers of the code reveal a pattern.
Pupils must work the code, line by line, to build the surprise picture.
Since not every classroom has pegboards, I’ve reworked the principle as a “paper-and-coloured-pencil” activity for individuals or pairs.
P.S. I protested to my resident IT guru that it seemed a stretch to call this “coding” as it looked more like a knitting or weaving pattern to me. “Well,” he answered, "The punch cards of the Jacquard loom were direct ancestors of those in early computers”.
I stand corrected!
This resource is for teachers of English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin, or any modern language, who desperately need a meaningful, instant lesson. Assign it as quiet seat work to the whole class or to individuals. Or, if you’d like a bit of fun and noise, turn it into group work with each team racing to complete the most accurate answer sheet!
There are answer keys provided for English, French, and Dutch.
The theme of this INSTANT LANGUAGE LESSON is “Summer Holidays”. If you would like me to make an INSTANT LANGUAGE LESSON on an other theme, please let me know.
