A busy first semester in both courses but quite fruitful and fun while offering challenges to the students.
French 4 students gave book talks in December during exam period to share what they had read that semester. Some had finished one book and started another; others were still working on the first book (let's face it, reading Les Misérables in its original text is a daunting task!). Some chose this semester to continue with the book from last semester while others were ready to try something new. Either way, I am pleased that they are reading, that they are challenging themselves, and that they are interested in reading. We will likely read one book together during the last quarter - a book written by a surrealist, a book that I read in the French high school when I was in 11th grade.
Currently, French 4 just did some research and gave presentations on German Occupation and French Resistance during WWII, and are now in small groups viewing some movies from that timeframe that they will then present to their peers. The students are proving to be quite connected and in tune with how people felt then. They shared on Thursday pieces they had written as if they were in the shoes of a resistance fighter or a collaborator. Their written work was quite moving.
French 3 students this semester are reading a book called Choc des cultures, which tells the story of a friendship between two high school kids , one French boy and one Algerian girl. In the story, my students are learning about what it is like to maintain one's cultural identity while trying to fit in; what life has been like in Algeria since the late 1980's; what various political movements in France mean to immigrants; how immigrants live in France, etc. While they are reading the story, they are simultaneously doing research on topics that connect Algeria to France (economy, food, music, language, politics, culture, religion, etc.) and they will present their research next week, in order to gain a better understanding of the book they are reading.
Both classes are still writing letters back and forth with Nikole, our PCV in Senegal, and she was able to connect with some students in Golere who wanted to have penpals, so the students just finished, this past week, letters to those students in response to theirs. I have been scanning and emailing the letters to Nikole, and then sending the originals by snail mail as well. The students seem to enjoy these exchanges.
I hope to be better about posts this semester. I was off to a good start and then forgot, at the beginning of the year.
French 4 students gave book talks in December during exam period to share what they had read that semester. Some had finished one book and started another; others were still working on the first book (let's face it, reading Les Misérables in its original text is a daunting task!). Some chose this semester to continue with the book from last semester while others were ready to try something new. Either way, I am pleased that they are reading, that they are challenging themselves, and that they are interested in reading. We will likely read one book together during the last quarter - a book written by a surrealist, a book that I read in the French high school when I was in 11th grade.
Currently, French 4 just did some research and gave presentations on German Occupation and French Resistance during WWII, and are now in small groups viewing some movies from that timeframe that they will then present to their peers. The students are proving to be quite connected and in tune with how people felt then. They shared on Thursday pieces they had written as if they were in the shoes of a resistance fighter or a collaborator. Their written work was quite moving.
French 3 students this semester are reading a book called Choc des cultures, which tells the story of a friendship between two high school kids , one French boy and one Algerian girl. In the story, my students are learning about what it is like to maintain one's cultural identity while trying to fit in; what life has been like in Algeria since the late 1980's; what various political movements in France mean to immigrants; how immigrants live in France, etc. While they are reading the story, they are simultaneously doing research on topics that connect Algeria to France (economy, food, music, language, politics, culture, religion, etc.) and they will present their research next week, in order to gain a better understanding of the book they are reading.
Both classes are still writing letters back and forth with Nikole, our PCV in Senegal, and she was able to connect with some students in Golere who wanted to have penpals, so the students just finished, this past week, letters to those students in response to theirs. I have been scanning and emailing the letters to Nikole, and then sending the originals by snail mail as well. The students seem to enjoy these exchanges.
I hope to be better about posts this semester. I was off to a good start and then forgot, at the beginning of the year.