Early Stages French 2007-8

CPD hours

2008-05-07T19:43:00.002+01:00

I meant to say to you to record your hours on your CPD online. Thanks for all your hard work and enthusiasm. I hope to hear about how you get on with French int the classroom. Please keep in touch by email!

la fête

2008-05-07T18:49:00.005+01:00

We had a lovely "party" playing games and trying French food. Thank you for being such fun. I will miss you!

Here is the version of the farmer wants a wife from momes.net

Le fermier dans son pré (the farmer in his field)

Le fermier dans son pré
Le fermier dans son pré
Ohé ! ohé ! ohé ! le fermier dans son pré.

- Le fermier prend sa femme
- La femme prend son enfant
- L'enfant prend sa nourrice
- La nourrice prend son chien
- Le chien prend son p'tit chat
- Le chat prend la souris
- La souris prend l'fromage
- Le fromage est battu

We also did a version of ten in the bed

six au lit et le petit dit
poussez-vous, poussez vous

cinq au lit etc until
un au lit et le petit dit
bonne nuit!

Fisherman's net for days of week, numbers, months, a song -choose a secret word to drop the net
mon père avait un âne
Could have done il court il court le furet game like I sent a letter

Games
people bingo, teams holding flashcards, sit down when card is called
4 corners game with coloured cones
grand pas petit pas (giant steps, baby steps) if you like cheese, fais deux grands pas etc
quelle heure est-il M Leloup? il est cinq heures, etc /déjeuner!
Chinese whispers in teams with numbers
balloons in bin bag - un ballon vert etc
holding animal snap cards find other animals by making the French sound eg hen "cot cot"
Elaine's colour song to if you're happy and you know it eg bleu bleu bleu et vert with FCs
Could have done pass the parcel with bricks or FCs

last day

2008-05-02T15:30:00.002+01:00

On Wednesday we will revise by having a party with games, songs and activities like food tasting.
Can you each bring an activity to lead and any props you need eg a ball, toys or whatever to play it. No need to reinvent the wheel, something we have done or a variation of something you do in English.
Bon weekend

le premier mai - la fête du muguet

2008-04-30T13:33:00.005+01:00

Demain c'est le premier mai, jour férié en France!

http://www.fete-enfants.com/1er-mai-enfants/1er-mai.htm

More information on holidays and calendars

http://french.about.com/cs/culture/a/calendar.htm

Websites

2008-04-30T12:58:00.003+01:00

Apart from this site, I bookmark interesting sites on del.icio.us
In the box, type French or early or French+primary or French+early
This afternoon we will explore some!

Red fishhttp://www.poissonrouge.com/ and user guide
http://www.poissonrouge.com/bigfish/en/userguide.html

voki
http://www.voki.com

LittleRed Riding Hood storyhttp://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/languages/Little%20Red/index.htm

Recipes
http://www.teachnet.ie/clane/recipes.html

likes and dislikes

2008-04-30T12:55:00.002+01:00

tu aimes les pommes?
oui, j'aime les pommes
non, je n'aime pas les fruits
je préfère les gâteaux

Note the use of the definite article (the) after likes etc!

grammar point (for those that like to know!)

2008-04-24T14:35:00.004+01:00

I would like is
je voudrais followed by un/une or du/de la/ des eg
je voudrais une pomme I would like an apple (feminine noun)
or je voudrais de la pomme I would like some apple
je voudrais des pommes followed I would like some apples

I suppose if you were offered a choice between and apple or a banana then you could say
je voudrais la pomme I would like the apple

un gâteau a cake (masculine noun)
du gâteau some cake
le gâteau the cake
les gâteaux the cakes
des gâteaux some cakes

Since the plural of nouns sounds the same ie pomme = pommes and gâteau = gâteaux
it is really important to pronounce the preceding word carefully!

Food

2008-04-24T14:15:00.003+01:00

We talked about French eating habits, cafés, markets, bread.
We practised asking for, passing food and being polite
We watched all of episode 2 of Salut Serge about food and played the pizza game on the whiteboard. We looked at my new songs site and sang some of the tagged food songs. (on the left hand side under labels click on food)

The link to the site where you can see the current school dinner menu in a school in France is here

I am still researching the word for dips. I think it might just be sauces [sohs]

Class resumes on Wednesday 23 April

2008-04-21T13:42:00.004+01:00

It seems ages since we met! I have spent my spare time making a site dedicated to songs!
It is also a blog with labels eg body, so you can easily find songs to do with the body.
I will be adding to it.

I had not booked a class for Wed 7 May as I was meant to be elsewhere but that has now fallen through so we can do that one instead of 21 May. Let me know if you can't do 7 May by adding a comment or tell me on Wednesday.

We will make a start on food on Wednesday.

post it chairs

2008-03-26T19:24:00.000Z

The class played this happily for half an hour!
This is the game with chairs in a circle. Each players had a chair and each chair is assigned a number (or colour) attached by a post it, not in any particular order. Each player has to rmemeber the number of the chair they are sitting on.
First player starts by saying je suis le numéro cinq. j'appelle le numéro trois.
The player who is number 3 must immediately respond by saying je suis le numéro trois. j'appelle le numéro huit. And so on. If there is hesitation, all players stand up and move a chair to the left moting their new number. The player who hesitated starts with the new number.
Make it easier for pupils by making the numbers or colours visible eg under the chair.
Pupils need to know the words quite well but there is no shame if they get it wrong - it is fun to change. And they get a new number to remember.
You could do it with any vocabulary provided the classs can see all the options eg flashcards on the board.

Day 6 parts of the body

2008-03-25T13:58:00.007Z

song Jean Petit music also on youtube jean petit danse, words and video
Jean Petit qui danse (bis)
De son doigt il danse (bis)

De son doigt, doigt, doigt,
Ainsi danse Jean Petit

Jean Petit qui danse (bis)
De sa main il danse (bis)

De sa main, main, main,
De son doigt, doigt, doigt,
Ainsi danse Jean Petit

Jean Petit qui danse (bis)
De son bras il danse (bis)

De son bras, bras, bras,
De sa main, main, main,
De son doigt, doigt, doigt,
Ainsi danse Jean Petit.

Jean Petit qui danse (bis)
De son pied il danse (bis)
De son pied, pied, pied,
Ainsi danse Jean Petit.

Jean Petit qui danse (bis)
De sa jambe il danse (bis)
De sa jambe, jambe, jambe, (bis)
De son pied, pied, pied.
Ainsi danse Jean Petit.

Jean Petit qui danse (bis)
De sa tête il danse (bis)
De sa tête, tête, tête, (bis)
De sa jambe, jambe, jambe
b
C'est Coco le petit singe, au zoo de Toronto (Cecile's song that Elaine mentioned with body parts - we'll do it next week)

C'est Coco le petit singe, au zoo de Toronto
Il m'a dit, attention, la main droite va commencer !
(start verse again)
la main gauche,
le pied droit
le pied gauche
la tête
la langue
, jambe,
De son pied, pied, pied.
Ainsi danse Jean Petit.

Day 5 animals

2008-03-19T18:21:00.014Z

Activities (underlined text is a link to another page)
cane cane oie = duck duck goose Elaine's suggestion

animal noises for whiteboard on http://www.uptoten.com

see earlier post for other activities

Songs
une chanson is a song
une comptine is a nursery rhyme
un chant (de Noël) is a carol

une poule sur un mur
une poule sur un mur a hen on a wall
qui picote du pain dur pecking hard bread
picoti, picota
lève la queue lifts her tail
et saute en bas and jumps down

Le cerf
Dans sa maison,
un grand cerf
Regardait par la fenêtre
Un lapin venir à lui
Et frapper chez lui
"Cerf, cerf, ouvre-moi
Ou le chasseur me tuera !"
"Lapin, lapin, entre et viens
Me serrer la main !"

J'aime papa, j'aime maman I love daddy I love mummy
Mon p'tit chat, mon p'tit chien, mon p'tit frère my little cat my little dog my little brother
J'aime papa, j'aime maman I love daddy I love mummy
Et mon gros éléphant And my big elephant

played like “I sent a letter to my love”
Il court, il court le furet The ferret runs
Le furet du bois, mesdames The ferret of the wood, ladies
Il court, il court le furet The ferret runs
Le furet du bois joli The ferret of the lovely wood
Il est passé par ici He came this way
Il repassera par là He will go that way

Tried to find something like old Macdonald and found this
bird rock and roll
then found le vieux Donald in uptoten

2nd April replaced by 21st May

2008-03-17T14:58:00.001Z

Sorry I can't do 2nd April. Can we do 21st May instead?

Day 4

2008-03-12T18:56:00.005Z

New today was classroom language, birthdays and fêtes, and some traditional singing games. We also discussed Easter in France. Main difference is that it is not the Easter bunny that brings children the Easter eggs. Church bells fall silent from Maundy Thursday. Children are told that the bells have flown to Rome to see the Pope. On their way back on Easter Sunday morning they drop eggs and other sweets in the gardens. So in shops you see chocolate bells as well as bunnies, hens, and ducks.

Here are some bunny poems

Le lièvre a de la fièvre

Le lièvre a de la fièvre - the hare has a fever
L'escargot a mal au dos - the snail has a sore back
Le pivert a mal aux nerfs - the woodpecker has nerves
Oh là là ! que de maux ! - oh dear me what a lot of troubles

Mon petit lapin

J'ai un petit lapin - I have a little rabbit
Qui mange du pain - who eats bread
J'ai un petit lapin - I have a little rabbit
Qui mange du thym - who eats thyme

Mais un lapin ça fait des crottes, - but a rabbit does poo
Un jour, il a fait dans mes bottes. - one day he did it in my boots

Maman dit que c'est un vilain, - mum says he is naughty
Moi je dis que c'est mon copain. - but I say he’s my pal

Voki fun

2008-03-10T18:13:00.001Z

Get a Voki now!

Day 3

2008-03-06T20:26:00.004Z

Here's what I can remember doing
greetings: walk about with animal puppets
bonsoir good evening
bonne nuit good night (bed time)
à demain see you tomorrow
à plus A+ see you later
days of week
fortune teller game: download from My teaching files
weather with gestures
il pleut, il mouille
http://descomptines.free.fr/comptines/il_pleut_il_mouille.html
escargot de Bourgogne
http://descomptines.free.fr/comptines/escargot_de_bourgogne.html
colours with Elaine’s circles – guessing game
Elaine’s colours song
Salut Serge episode 8 couleurs

Next week bring props from your class for colours numbers and cuddly animals!

Audio files

2008-02-21T12:08:00.001Z

I will burn you CDs of the course material audio files. If you can't wait to practise your pronunciation, download them from LTScotland

Bienvenue à Dalrymple!

2008-02-20T21:46:00.002Z

Le bonjour à la classe qui a commencé aujourd'hui à Dalrymple.

It was lovely to see so many of you. Hope you enjoyed our first steps!

We looked at video footage of Flowerbank Nursery's children who switched effortlessly from Gaelic to Spanish to French in one session.

We saw a bit of Salut Serge DVD (French is fun - see previous Resources post) and looked at some other resources.

We practised greetings, names and numbers to ten and discussed approaches to teaching language and culture in the early years.

We concentrated on French accent, intonation and pronunciation.

For next time bring some props for practising numbers and colours - things you have to hand in your classroom.

Au revoir! A mercredi!

Nursery rhymes on You Tube

2008-02-14T09:04:00.002Z

I found lovely videos of nursery rhymes on youtube

Including j'aime la galette the song for la fête des rois and a cat singing la souris verte

Animal games

2008-01-31T14:49:00.001Z

Here are some of the games we played with the cuddly toys, several cats, dogs, a snake, a monster un monstre, a tortoise une tortue, a badger un blaireau a bear un ours /l'ours or teddy un nounours :

pass the parcel with the animals - when music stops you say le chat and anyone holding a cat should hold it up. You should have one to show as well
show me /point to Montrez-moi le chat
find in the pile 1 child comes out Trouve le chat
repeat if it’s true eg hold the cat and say lapin - try to trick them
teacher has to guess. Child hides animal, teacher guesses, clues of animal noises. kids say oui or non
magic bag - le sac magique put cuddly toys in a bag and put your hand on one. Kids have to guess. ie say an animal they know. You can show a little bit of the animal tantalisingly. Kids could take turn with the sac magique

There are lots of songs with animals and they feature on the salut Serge DVD

Resources

2008-01-31T14:19:00.000Z

DVD French is Fun (Salut Serge) Pack £12.48 from Amazon Great value!
video of France
songs CD
karaoke songs, games on DVD
bilingual cartoons

Early Start http://www.earlystart.co.uk/
Early Start DVD Pack with video clips £82
http://www.earlystart.co.uk/bb/index.htm
Bilingual Big Books for use on whiteboard eg Puppy Finds a Friend £23

Fun with French CD (Early Learning Centre) £5 songs in French and English

EAC Nursery Pack (blue folder in all schools) French, Spanish and more recently Gaelic language and culture.

Glasgow City Council International Education Pack given to all nurseries

Usborne material is always good
http://www.usborneonline.org/catalogue/browse.asp?org=MEE09055&css=1
First Fun with French DVD £9.99
First 100 words in French hardback or paperback
Everyday Words in French paperback £4.99
Everyday Words in French flashcards £4.99

b small books http://www.bsmall.co.uk/
I can read bilingual books eg I’m too big or I want my banana and
bilingual first books £2.99
eg colours, animals

information, IDEAS, RESOURCES
http://www.nacell.org.uk/
national advisory centre on early lnguage learning (England, but useful)

http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/mfle/index.asp
the MFLE Scottish national site for language teachers

http://www.childs-play.com/
Child’s Play used to do big books with holes in French but don’t see them on website

http://www.orchardtoys.com/ Orchard Toys have a French range
eg Trouvons l’image bingo

Indigo Worldwide
http://www.indigoworldwide.co.uk/
Magnetic First French words £3.99

CPD hours

2008-01-31T13:55:00.002Z

I meant to say that teachers should manually add your hours to the online CPD. 90 minutes per session. Not sure how early years workers go about this but imagine a similar system.

I am burning CDs of the course and will get them to you somehow. If you don't need one, have one already inschool or have downloaded it successfully from te MFLE please let me know by email or by comment below. Just type your name and give an email address (it can be bogus)

I am also working on updating the resources list which I will post here soon.

I am willing and indeed would love to visit your nursery when you are doing French or to talk to your HT about implementation.

It was a pleasure working with you and look forward already to our recall session in the summer term. (Date not decided yet - watch this space)

no class on Wednesday 23 January

2008-01-10T18:59:00.000Z

There will be no class on Wednesday 23rd as I have been called to a meeting! Class as usual next week 16th.

la galette des rois

2008-01-10T18:44:00.000Z

A tradition in France is to celebrate the arrival of the kings (les rois) at Bethlehem on 6 January.
A special cake called une galette made with puff pastry and almond paste. We cheated and used a sponge. Inside the galette there is a figurine called une fève.
The youngest child sits under the table while mum cuts the cake. He says who each portion is for. The person who gets the fève is king or queen for the day and wears a crown and chooses a queen or king. They invite the others to eat the cake. Elaine was king and chose Ann to be queen.
We sang lots of songs some of which are on this page below.
Next week we will start on food.

promenons-nous dans le bois

2008-01-09T14:33:00.001Z

Song on Fun with French CD from ELC or
Hear it on comptines.net under "P"
Children walk around singing as the wolf gets his clothes on! When he is dressed he chases them!
Tous: everyone
Prom'nons-nous dans le bois let's go for a walk in the wood
Pendant que le loup n'y est pas while the wolf isn't there
Si le loup y était if the wolf was there
Il nous mangerait, he would eat us
Mais puisqu' il n'y est pas but since he isn't there
Il nous mang'ra pas. he won't eat us

Loup y es-tu ? Are you there wolf?
Entends-tu ? can you hear?
Que fais-tu ? what are you doing?

Le loup: the wolf
Je mets ma culotte I'm putting on my trousers

Tous:
Prom'nons-nous dans les bois
Pendant que le loup n'y est pas
Si le loup y 'était
Il nous mangerait.....

Le loup:
Je mets ma chemise ! (shirt)

Je mets mes chaussettes ! (socks)

Je mets ma cravate! (tie)

J'arrive. (I'm coming)

Tous:
Sauvons-nous ! (run!)

1,2 3 nous irons au bois counting song

2008-01-09T14:00:00.000Z

Un deux trois 1 2 3
Nous irons au bois wewill go to the woods
Quatre cinq six 4 5 6
Cueillir des cerises To pick cherries
Sept huit neuf 7 8 9
Dans mon panier neuf In my new basket
Dix onze douze 10 11 12
Elles seront toutes rouges They will all be red.

on Fun with French CD from ELC

il pleut il mouille

2008-01-09T13:03:00.000Z

il pleut, il mouille it’s raining, it is wet
c’est la fête à la grenouille it’s fun for frogs
quand il ne pleuvra plus when the rain stops
c'est la fête à la tortue it's fun for tortoises

This is on the CD from the Early Learning Centre "Fun With French"

Sur le pont d’Avignon

2008-01-09T12:38:00.000Z

(Hold hands and turn in a circle while singing)
Sur le pont d’Avignon On the bridge at Avignon
On y danse, on y danse We are dancing
Sur le pont d’Avignon
On y danse, tous en rond. In a circle
(stop)
1 Les belles dames font comme ça The beautiful ladies do this (curtsy)
Et puis encore comme ça. and this (curtsy)

2 Les beaux messieurs The handsome men etc (bow)

On Fun with French CD from ELC

clap dance

2008-01-09T12:34:00.001Z

pupils face each other
clap their own hands together for tiens voilà
clap each other's right hand for main droite
clap each other's left hand for main gauche
Clap each other's 2 hands for les deux

Tiens voilà, main droite
Tiens voilà, main gauche
Tiens voilà, main droite, main gauche
Tiens voilà, les deux.

Mon merle a perdu une plume Blackbird

2008-01-09T12:27:00.000Z

Mon merle a perdu une plume My blackbird has lost a feather
Mon merle a perdu une plume, plume plume
Il ne chantera plus, mon merle He will sing no more
Il ne chantera plus.

Mon merle a perdu deux plumes
Mon merle a perdu deux plumes, une plume, plume plume
Il ne chantera plus mon merle
Il ne chantera plus.

Mon merle a perdu trois plumes
Mon merle a perdu trois plumes, deux plumes, une plume, plume plume
Il ne chantera plus mon merle
Il ne chantera plus.
etc

baa baa mouton noir

2008-01-09T12:26:00.000Z

Baa baa mouton noir baa baa black sheep
As-tu de la laine?
Oui monsieur, oui monsieur,
Trois poches pleines 3 pocketfuls
Une pour mon maître,
et une pour madame
Une pour les enfants one for the children
Qui jouent au ratatam. who play the drums

This is not a traditional French song but a French Canadian version of our song!

Alouette (lark)

2008-01-09T12:23:00.000Z

Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette, je te plumerai.
Je te plumerai la tête I will pluck your head
Je te plumerai la tête
Et la tête, et la tête,
Alouette, Alouette
Ooooh . . .

2. Alouette, gentille Alouette,
Alouette, je te plumerai.
Je te plumerai le bec, I will pluck your beak
Et la tête, et la tête,
Et le bec, et le bec,
Alouette, Alouette
Ooooh . . .
3. le cou neck
4. le dos back
5. les ailes wings
6. la queue tail
7. les jambes legs
8. les pieds feet

6 au lit ( ten in the bed)

2008-01-09T12:19:00.000Z

6 au lit (as 10 in the bed)

6 au lit et le petit dit
– Poussez-vous, poussez-vous!

5 au lit et le petit dit
– Poussez-vous, poussez-vous!

4 au lit et le petit dit
– Poussez-vous, poussez-vous!

3 au lit et le petit dit
– Poussez-vous, poussez-vous!

2 au lit et le petit dit
– Poussez-vous, poussez-vous!

1 au lit et le petit dit
– Bonne nuit, bonne nuit!

Up to Ten site

2007-12-18T10:47:00.000Z

I have just found uptoten.com which has a French interface too. Songs and games you can play in English and in French. Brilliant!

Salut Serge pack

2007-12-11T19:41:00.000Z

Quelle horreur! You can get French is fun from Amazon at half price! £12.49 I paid full price!

In the pack you get DVD of 15 minute programmes. Each has a dialgue with Pascale and Serge. Pascale speaks French and English, Serge the monkey only French. There is a cartoon about a jungle animal football team . It is entirely in French but easy to follow. And there is video footage of kids in France with them speaking some key phrases. On the DVD there is also the osngs some have a karaoke version. You also get a CD of the songs, thte texts of the songs and some colourful mini flashcards and a workbook. I thought it was a bargain even at full price!

chants de Noël

2007-12-05T18:39:00.000Z

Vive le vent (jingle bells) words:
Vive le vent, vive le vent,
Vive le vent d'hiver,
Qui s'en va sifflant, soufflant
Dans les grands sapins verts, oh !

Vive le temps, vive le temps,
Vive le temps d'hiver,
Boule de neige et jour de l'an
Et bonne année grand-mère.

Mon beau sapin (Christmas tree):

mon beau sapin, roi des forêts
que j’aime ta verdure
quand par l’hiver, bois et guérets
sont dépouillés de leurs attraits
mon beau sapin, roi des forêts
tu gardes ta parure

more words to carols = chants de Noël here

Henri Dès is the singer of la belle histoire which can be downloaded from itunes store, He also sings petit Papa Noël.

Early Learning Centre CD

2007-12-05T09:43:00.000Z

The song Comptons jusqu'à dix along with Frère Jacques and other songs sung both in English and in French is on a CD called Fun with French £5, buy online or in store.

The Salut Serge pack is confusingly called French is Fun. Pack has arrived now. I will bring it along today.

Commands to more than one child

2007-12-04T14:22:00.000Z

levez-vous stand up
asseyez-vous sit down
circulez move about
stop!
trouvez un partenaire find a partner
trouvez une place find a seat/place
changez de partenaire change partners
changez de place change places/seats
venez ici come here
montrez-moi show me

28 November

2007-11-28T19:56:00.001Z

..............................................
More fun with puppets, numbers, greetings. Played with fortune cookie. I will upload the appleworks file for this to "My teaching files" on the panel on the right. You will need a password for this which I told you on day 1. Email me if you have forgotten.
We learnt to say the alphabet.
We acted out some commands.
We played how many teeth has the wolf got! (You could change the animal to le chien if wolf is too scary!)
Ran tan, ran , tan plan,
Combien le loup a-t-il de dents?
We went to the computer suite to listen to Christmas carols online. It's a fabulous French Canadian site. Petit Papa Noel n0 12 is lovely.
For white board use decorate a tree - choice of 4
It seems to be working ok although couldn't get in when we tried.

Salut Serge

2007-11-27T10:24:00.000Z

I have ordered the pack. Click here. I hope it arrives in time for tomorrow!
Here is the theme song>
Salut Serge! Salut Serge!

Dans la jungle
Moi, j’ai vu
Un petit singe
Que vois-tu?

Salut Serge! Salut Serge!

Dans la jungle
Que vois-tu?
Reste un peu
Dis

Salut Serge! Salut Serge!

Dans la jungle
Serge s’en va
A bientôt
Au revoir

Salut Serge! Salut Serge!
Salut!

WORDS
salut hallo, bye
dans la jungle in the jungle
un petit singe a little monkey
que vois-tu? what do you see
reste un peu stay a while
Serge s’en va Serge goes away
à bientôt see you soon

21 November

2007-11-22T19:01:00.001Z

We practised what we learnt before with a few additional phrases.

Et toi? what about you?
Moi, … I for emphasis eg
Moi, je m'appelle Kay, et toi?

We practised colours and numbers and sang Chantez les couleurs- Sing the colours from Salut Serge.
Quelle est ta couleur préférée? What's your favourite colour?
C'est le rouge.

We finished off with a look at video footage of Flowerbank Nursery showing off their knowledge of Gaelic, Spanish and French.

Next week we'll start looking at Christmas!

outcomes

2007-11-16T14:26:00.000Z

These are from the draft outcomes for Modern Languages

Overarching experiences for learning new languages

Learning a new language encourages children and young people to broaden their horizons as they explore the language and its associated culture.

Through my learning of a new language:

I gain a deeper understanding of my first language and appreciate the richness and interconnected nature of languages

I enhance my understanding and enjoyment of other cultures and of my own and gain insights into other ways of thinking and other views of the world

I develop skills that I can use and enjoy in work and leisure throughout my life.

Overarching experiences for all language learning

The study of new languages plays an important role in all language learning and the development of literacy skills.

In all my language learning:

I communicate, collaborate and build relationships

I learn to reflect on and explain my thinking

I develop my understanding of how language works and what is special, vibrant and valuable about other languages and cultures and my own

I engage with a rich range of texts in different media

I explore the richness and diversity of language, how it can affect me and the wide range of ways in which I and others can be creative

I appreciate the power of language to influence and bring about change

I develop an understanding of relationships, motivations, ideas and actions

I take advantage of the opportunities offered by information and communication technology.

Early and first level

At early and at first levels, children will be developing generic skills in their first language. These include taking part in conversation, developing listening, reading and writing skills and knowledge about language. All of these are relevant to learning other languages.

An early start to language learning should be a positive, stimulating experience that motivates pupils through exciting contexts and meaningful, accessible content. Activities will include playing games, singing songs, carrying out simple instructions, and playing with simple poetry and rhyme – harnessing the natural curiosity of young children for sounds and words and their strong desire to communicate. In this way they can begin to be enthusiastic, confident language learners from the outset.

Whenever they start their learning of another language, children need to experience success by taking part in practical activities that they can enjoy. Language learning is greatly enhanced where it is linked to or embedded in the wider curriculum so that children and young people can enjoy exploring and using language in meaningful contexts. Very importantly, teachers can make great use of opportunities to link language learning with progress in English and with other languages used by people in the school community, enabling children to explore and experiment with sound patterns and make links and comparisons between languages.

Wednesday 14 November

2007-11-16T11:50:00.000Z

We talked about communicating the idea of another country to very young children.
Maps or a globe would help. We talked about the distance between France and Scotland and ways of getting there.

We worked on colours using bricks - say and show "rouge" pass the parcel with the bricks, fruit salad game. We tried the number rhymes on p22. These are in English. The idea is to associate a visual image including a colour with a rhyme. This is excellent training for remembering things generally.

We continued numbers up to 10. Songs from p19 and track 7

We did days of the week using Sparkle box flashcards.

Helen said she couldn't download the audio. I managed ok. On a mac hold down ctrl and "download link target" Sorry I don't do PC!

We also spent some time talking about the international dimension. You can apply for an East Ayrshire excellence award for international education. Flowerbank will receive theirs soon!

Dates

2007-11-01T08:39:00.000Z

Here are the dates. Note no class 7 November. Let me know if there is likely to be any other conflicts eg another course a lot of you have to attend. Timing arrive as soon as you can ideally to start for 3.45 finish 5.15. Coffee available on arrival.

31 October 2007
14, 21, 28 November 2007
5 December 2007
9, 16, 23, 30, January 2008
6 February 2008

Today's class

2007-10-31T18:59:00.000Z

Bonsoir! I enjoyed meeting you and hearing your ideas.

We talked about ways of engaging very young children.

Have some French music playing eg accordion music.
Tell the children to "Put in your French voice!"
Wear a beret! or give some other signal to indicate that you are doing French.
Puppets are a good idea. A French child puppet who sits in the class when you are doing French and goes home with children for weekends and holidays or a glove puppet who speaks French to them.
Displays of French words and culture.

I gave out course material - 1 per school. All East Ayrshire material for Early Stages (French, Spanish, Gaelic) is available to download from LTScotland
including the audio files. Particularly if you are not confident in French, you should download these and listen.

We did numbers 1 - 6, hello and goodbye and what are you ? I'm called …
We sang
un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq (3x)
ça y est!

Cultural differences - la bise the French cheek kissing that friends and family do on meeting. We used the glove puppet to demonstrate. Handshaking too is a bit different - just one rather limp shake!

We talked a lot about pronunciation. The position of your lips - the French pout, nasals, stress, silent letters.

We talked about resources and making use of what you have eg coloured bricks. I showed some display material downloaded from the web. I have put the links in the sidebar.

Actually we did quite a lot in a short time!

BTW the patient has survived.

Remember no class next Wednesday the 7th November as I am at a course in Stirling.

For next time:-
practise what we did today, listen to the audio, bring any resources you may have already to show and tell. Bring some props to teach the numbers eg lego or whatever is to hand.

You can comment or ask a question by clicking on comments!

BIENVENUE!

2007-10-31T13:58:00.000Z

Bienvenue à la classe de français!