A week in the life of (Grade 3 French)

Mondays: We set up our week each Monday by discussing the main themes that we will be studying over the next several days.  We also receive our weekly Plan de Travail homework for the week which encompasses reading, writing and grammar. Dictée words, verb conjugation and a task in our Cahier d’écriture are usually included. There are sometimes also French games from popular sites like Quia French and Français Facile.  Our 3B class also spends a bit of time on Monday morning with their  French reading buddies in Madame Efi’s Grade 1 class.

Tuesdays: We begin each Tuesday with a French story read-aloud from the library. Often from the books that Brigitte has recommended based on current themes or upcoming holidays. We then move on to a few minutes of French writing in our Cahier d’écriture. There is a different topic each week, I provide students with a word bank on the SmartBoard in order to help with their spelling. Topics vary from verbs like être and avoir to themes such as; things they enjoy about Winter or current school events.

Wednesdays: Class always begins with our weekly Journal writing task. Students are given 10 minutes to write as many words as possible in French. There isn’t any pressure to spell words correctly or compete with their peers. The purpose is to try to beat their score on the following Wednesday. The activity gets more difficult as the weeks progress because the time is gradually reduced to 5 minutes.

We then complete a reading comprehension activity, students are encouraged to participate in our reading and attempt to translate their part. There are a variety of short answer questions that are then given.

Thursdays:  This is our weekly game day where we try a variety of different activities. Here are a few of them.

Alphabet game The goal is to get from A to Z by naming a French word starting with each letter. It is much more challenging than it seems as only one student can stand up and shout out a French word. If any two students are speaking at the same time, we go right back to the letter A. Students are not allowed to repeat words which have already been used on that day.

Song mix and match: 

This is a group game that involves introducing students to a new French song. They listen to the song one time with the lyrics in front of them. The lyrics from the song are then cut up into 10 pieces, and students are tasked with placing the song lyrics in the correct order from start to finish.  The song is played two more times while the students try to carefully listen and place the lyrics in the appropriate spot.  We used some songs from classic French singers from the 70’s and 80’s, Mike Brant, Charles Aznavour and Jean-Jacques Goldman. We also listened to some more current songs from artists such as; Amir, Christoph Maé and Kendji Girac.

Scattergories:

Students are paired in groups of 3 or 4. Each round is timed at 4 minutes. The purpose of this game is to come up with as many French words as possible over the round. The category changes after 4 minutes. A point is given for each correct answer. The rounds cover different themes and units that we have learned this year including; the community, school, animals and foods.

Je Dis, Tu Dis:

The class is given a theme and the goal of the game is to be the last person standing. Each player has a turn to say a word which fits the theme, the following player must then repeat the word that was just said and add one more which fits the theme chosen. Players are eliminated when they either cannot repeat the previous word said or cannot add another word to our game.

Fridays:

Homework is submitted on Fridays, and the class begins with either a dictée or a quiz. We then have a bit of Rattrapage (catch-up time). We conclude class with a French story from the Fable Cottage French website. The stories are a variation of popular books such as; Cinderella, Snow White, Jack and the Bean Stalk, but always with a few twists thrown in which are different from the originals.

That is all a typical week in our Grade 3 OJCS class!