French as a Second Language - Les Parties du Corps

One of the units that I teach my 4th graders is "Les Parties du Corps". Here are some ideas for teaching this mini unit.

Cue the Music

These videos are a cute way to introduce students to different body parts. After introducing these videos to students, I like to add them to my French transition songs playlist. This playlist is made up of  French videos I like to play during transition times. This gets my students listening to French songs in a way that doesn't eat up precious time.  

These videos are also great for Brain Breaks as students can get up and dance to the song!

Use a PowerPoint Presentation!

After introducing new vocabulary terms through songs, I like to take my students through a PowerPoint presentation. You could make one yourself. I also have one available in my TPT store here. It even has an audio recording so that a substitute teacher who doesn't know French can walk your students through these terms!

Play Games

There are so many fun games that you can play to practice "Les Parties du Corps". 

Simon Dit

This game is a classic! For example: the teacher says "Simon dit toucher le pied." Any students that touch their foot get to stay standing, any that didn't have to sit down. The last student standing wins. 

Online Games and Activities

The government of Victoria has a great site full of activities that students can use to practice Les Parties du Corps. You can find it here.

Les Parties du Corps Games Set

I have created a set of 5 fun games that students can play to practice this vocabulary. The games include: Bingo, POP, Go Fish, Memory and a Board Game. You can find these games in my TPT store here. I love to use these games as stations in my classroom. The kids LOVE playing the games and I love the fact that I can assess their vocabulary knowledge, oral communication skills and group work skills just by walking around the room and observing!

Practice with Digital Interactive Notebook Activities

The last thing I like to have my students do is practice their new vocabulary with Digital Interactive Notebook Activities. I love these activities because I can assign them in Google Classroom, making them easy to push out to my students' devices. I also find that doing these activities digitally is very engaging and motivating for students. If you want to check out my Digital Interactive Notebook for Les Parties du Corps, you can find it in my TPT store, here.

Are you interested purchasing all of the Parties du Corps products featured in this post? You can check out the Bundle and purchase all of the activities at a discounted rate.

What are your favourite ways to teach students new French vocabulary terms? Let me know in the comments below.

Have a sweet week.

French as a Second Language - Teaching Colors

Teaching colours may seem very basic but it is incredibly important for students to learn! Once they know their colours, they can use this knowledge to build sentences, describe their physical traits, and play games!

Here are some activities I use to teach my students their colours! Remember that once the colours are introduced, it is important to review continually throughout the year.

Cue the Music!

Chart it Up!

I really believe that having a colours poster in your room is a MUST! This way, students can reference the chart whenever they need! I have a free one for you in my shop here. 

Art Attack!

I like to have my students practice their French colour words by completing a simple art assignment. 

I hope that you enjoy these ideas! Have a sweet week :)

Using Picture Books in Math Class - City by Numbers

After reading "Math Workshop in Action" by Dr. Nikki Newton, I knew that I wanted to incorporate more picture books into my math mini lessons.

"City by Numbers" is a beautiful book written by Stephen T. Johnson. It is essentially a collection of photographs that highlight the numbers 1-21 that can be found in the city. 

I like to start by reading this book as a whole class. I don't always read the book in the correct order (page 1 then 2, then 3, etc.) Sometimes I mix up the order of the pages. That way students really have to focus to figure out which number is in the picture. In the past I have even turned it into a little competition to see who could discover the number first. 

After reading the book, students complete a photo scavenger hunt. You can do the scavenger hunt as a whole class, or you could have students complete the hunt during a workstation. It is totally up to you!

I like to put students in teams of 3 and then give each team an iPad or a chrome book. I give students a set amount of time to explore the classroom, school or playground and search for numbers. When they find a number, they take a picture of it. 

After students are done the scavenger hunt, I compile all of the photos that they found into a photo collage. Sometimes I do this the low-tech way. I print off the pictures, cut them out and make them into a poster. Other times,  I use a website like Pic Monkey or an app like Pic Collage Kids to create a digital collage. 

Don't forget to add this book to your Math Picture Books Bin so that students can continue to reference it throughout the year! 

If you like this lesson idea, you might enjoy my "Math Curse" activity pack. You can find it for $1 in my TPT store here. This lesson focuses on math word problems and on helping students to discover the math in everyday life! 

Have a sweet week!