Cours élémentaire 1 - Second Grade
Les conversations
Infants don't study vocabulary and grammar before they start to speak!
Just as a child learns to speak her first language by listening to conversations around her, one of the best ways to learn a foreign language is to listen to and imitate conversations in the target language. Second grade students do just that.
The class learns the vocabulary and sentence structures by listening to recordings, then we reinforce the material through games and short written exercises. Finally, students create their own variation of the dialogue, illustrate the scenario, and practice speaking with a partner. When they demonstrated their proficiency, they may choose a puppet and perform their dialogue for the class. This year, I'm going to try to capture some of these wonderful scenes on video and post them here.
Just as a child learns to speak her first language by listening to conversations around her, one of the best ways to learn a foreign language is to listen to and imitate conversations in the target language. Second grade students do just that.
The class learns the vocabulary and sentence structures by listening to recordings, then we reinforce the material through games and short written exercises. Finally, students create their own variation of the dialogue, illustrate the scenario, and practice speaking with a partner. When they demonstrated their proficiency, they may choose a puppet and perform their dialogue for the class. This year, I'm going to try to capture some of these wonderful scenes on video and post them here.
La musique
Songs are a wonderful way to enhance foreign language acquisition.
A child's brain is "bathed" in the language, much the way it is with their maternal language, and something about it - the catchy tune or the simple, relaxed joy of music - helps cement the words in memory. Before you know it, the whole family will be singing along!
Quizlet
Quizlet activities are like flashcards for the 21st century.
While there are several activities to choose from, start with the flashcards. Each word or phrase is written in French on one side and in English on the other side; just click on the lower right corner of the card to flip it over. Other options are listed on the right hand side of the screen (English first, French first, both languages together). The real bonus is that I can add pictures and sounds. This way, students can see and hear the French words. Just click on a phrase to hear it pronounced. While the intonation is sometimes very mechanical, it is a much better tool for learning a foreign language than traditional paper flashcards!
There are also some games and activities. Most of these require much more typing skill and focus than a second grader has, but the matching game is appropriate. Click and drag each word to the matching word in the other language. See how fast you can make the pictures disappear!
Our Units of Study for 2nd Grade
While there are several activities to choose from, start with the flashcards. Each word or phrase is written in French on one side and in English on the other side; just click on the lower right corner of the card to flip it over. Other options are listed on the right hand side of the screen (English first, French first, both languages together). The real bonus is that I can add pictures and sounds. This way, students can see and hear the French words. Just click on a phrase to hear it pronounced. While the intonation is sometimes very mechanical, it is a much better tool for learning a foreign language than traditional paper flashcards!
There are also some games and activities. Most of these require much more typing skill and focus than a second grader has, but the matching game is appropriate. Click and drag each word to the matching word in the other language. See how fast you can make the pictures disappear!
Our Units of Study for 2nd Grade