2nd week of School

Still plugging along...  We had Monday off so we could go catch a total solar eclipse.  It was pretty dang amazing, and if you ever get the chance to see one, it is worth the time and drive.  We drove about 45 minutes away to try and avoid clouds and rain and it was breathtaking.

Came back to school Tuesday and this is what we did:

French 1: Still plugging along with Special Person.  We added the Alain Le Lait song Bonjour as a break from the Special Person.  I'm struggling with French 1 because they are very slow processors but they get very easily bored with repetition.  I'm trying!  I had them get out a piece of paper for every student in class and we started writing "notes" on the kids we already interviewed.

French 2: Song bellringer. Talked about the weekend for about 10 minutes and continued with Special person.

French 3: Song bellringer. Talked about the weekend for about 10 minutes and then used Madame Shepard's Edpuzzle over an eclipse video.  My original plan was for the students to do this as an individual activity, but the wifi wasn't working for a bunch of students, so we did it as a group.  Then, we read part of an article about the eclipse.  The students said that it felt less difficult because of the background experience they had of just seeing an eclipse the day before.

French 4/5: song bellringer. Talked about the weekend and then did the eclipse activities from French 3.

WEDNESDAY:

French 1: Another day of special person.  Threw in Bonjour a few times, took notes, and took a True/False exit quiz.

French 2: Bellringer. FVR. Continued with special person and they started taking "notes" on their classmates.

French 3: Bellringer. FVR. We started talking about who wants coffee as I was trying to blend PQA, TPR, and a story together like I saw Alina do this summer.  We found out who liked coffee, what kind of cream they liked, and where to find the best coffee in LS.

French 4/5: Bellringer. FVR. We talked about coffee too, but it was 6th hour, so it fell a little short.  New plan for the week!

THURSDAY:

French 1: Because I've been on the struggle bus, I started class by asking them how they are and we talked a little bit about the weather.  All of this was extremely simplified with pictures and quick translations.  Then, back to special person, notes, and a quiz.

French 2: Bellringer. FVR. Continued special person.

French 3: Bellringer. FVR. Continued talking about coffee.  In my 1st hour class, there were actually kids who really wanted coffee and we had a great discussion about a teacher in the building who provides coffee, sugar, creamer, etc to his kids for only 50 cents a week!!  In my 5th hour class, the kids don't want coffee anymore, so we switched gears and found out that one student wanted dark chocolate and a different student had some in his backpack.  Boom!  Actors up and we started a story.
French 4/5: Bellringer. FVR. We started a "unit" on education by discussing after high school plans.  Then, we talked about favorite teachers and I had students write an adjective describing their favorite teacher on a Post-It note.

FRIDAY:

French 1: Talked about how kids are doing and found out that one student was doing well because it's Friday, so we had to watch the French version of Friday.  Then, I had them do a reading assessment where I had statements in French about the kids in class and they had to answer oui or non.  Then, more special person.  We finally got to the question about what the student likes to do.  Then, the kids did a 5-minute free-write to show what they've learned this week.

French 2: Bellringer. I had them do a reading quiz where I had statements on the board in French and they had to write who would say that (ex: I come from Indianapolis).  Then, another special person and a free write.

French 3: Bellringer.  I took the very first story from the latest edition of LICT and made it into an embedded reading.  Kids read the simplest version to themselves and then I asked them comprehension questions.  Easy, they said (well, i hope so since it's from French 1 curriculum!!).  Then, I gave them version two to read with a partner.  Finally, I gave them 3rd version, which is the original version in the curriculum.  They highlighted the new phrases.  They said it was easy.  Hopefully it will give them confidence for future readings so I don't hear so much groaning.  Finished with a free write.

French 4/5: Bellringer.  (I'm so proud of how this turned out today!!!)  I took the Post-It notes and we put them on the board with like words next to like words (sympathique and gentil were on the same line).  Then, we talked about which were essential for a good teacher.  They had to debate their POV and I threw in counterpoints when needed (when they said energy was absolutely necessary, I asked which students had had our English teacher while she was going through chemo and then I asked those students if they learned from her despite her lethargy...).  At the end, we voted on the essential, and the class decided that intelligence was the only truly necessary attribute of a good teacher.  Then, we watched a video of kids talking about their favorite teachers (the second video here).  Finished with a free write.

That was this week.  Still channeling my inner Alina and using a lot of her attention grabbers and breaks in the lesson.