Beginning French 

Danielle's class at Davis Arts Center

October 2016

We have been having a lot of fun in our class these past couple of weeks! So far we have learned how to say body parts, colors, numbers, fruits, basic food items and family members in French. The classroom environment is especially fun and exciting with the beginning French students because they all love helping each other and all of the students actively participate. Please take a look at the photos I have taken of some of our class activities! 

Les parties du corps:

                             

This week we focused on learning les parties du corps (body parts). During this particular activity, students picked pieces of paper out of a basket that had a body part vocabulary word written on it. Students had to say the word they grabbed out loud for the rest of the class to hear, then they got to draw the body part on our monster which we then named Bob. The students got very silly with this activity and there was lots of laughter as the students made Bob look as silly as possible.

Another day during this week, I stuck drawings of body parts around the classroom and I called out different vocabulary words that the students then had to run around the room to find and bring back to the white board. This activity did not include any writing or grammar as I challenged my students to listen well in order to process the French word without any written clues. 

On a side note, I would like to add that the students have the responsibility of writing the date on the board everyday. In the photos you can see that we have written out the phrase "Aujourd'hui on est _______ le __  _______ 2016." Every morning I ask a different student which color of marker they would like to use, they then have to speak with the class as a team to figure out the day in French. I have them spell out the word as I say the letters in French, then we all say the entire phrase together. I love this daily activity because the students practice saying colors, the days of the week, months, numbers and the French alphabet. 

La nourriture:

       

La Nourriture:

-les fruits

-les légumes

-le pain

-la baguette

-le croissant

-le jus de pomme

-le lait

-le lait au chocolat

-le fromage

-la confiture

-l'œuf

-les pâtes

-le riz

-la salade

-la soupe

-le sandwich

-le croque-monsieur

-la pizza

-la fourchette

-la cuiller    

-l'assiette

-la serviette

-la tasse                          

        In a previous week, the students learned how to say various fruits which included 

a multitude of activities that included play-doh, drawing and a game of hide and

seek with plastic fruits. As requested by a student who will be travelling to France

in the Winter, we have been going over food vocabulary in French. This week we 

began incorporating fruits into the different meals of the day as well as going through

basic food items in French. In this specific activity displayed in the photo above, 

students had to draw table a setting with a plate, cup, fork, etc. Then they got to fill

their plate with food items they enjoy eating for breakfast. By the end of class, we

had some pretty cute drawings of le petit déjeuner! Students then came to the front 

of class and presented their petit déjeuner in French to the other students. They were a

 bit nervous to speak in front of everyone but they are very respectful to each other

and I believe activities like this improve their confidence with the French language!

Thank you for reading! À bientôt!

-Danielle Preston