Archive of ‘Reflections’ category
exposé by romana klee on Flickr
As a Core French teacher, I want my students to develop second language learning strategies that will translate into being able to think critically and communicate their ideas effectively in a foreign language context. This includes spelling – which can be a challenge even to native French speakers.
Despite trying to follow best practices, my students’ final work is often peppered with spelling errors that compromise its readability or message. Often they write short simple sentences with less creativity so as to produce work with fewer errors.
Fast-forward to a day this Spring when I walked in to our computer lab while one of our Assistive Technology coaches was demonstrating how to use WordQ. WordQ is a software that works over other programs, such as Word and internet Explorer, and predicts what word you might be trying to type. It gives you options, which narrow as you keep typing and when you select a option, it will read it to you. What’s more, is that it comes in French and is very easy to use.
Although we only prescribe the use of such software to students with Individual Education Plans, I started thinking about using it for all students in my grade 5/6 Core French class. Should using such software (for students who do not have learning disabilities) be considered cheating? Do they need to be able to spell French words independently?
Upon reflection I realized the following:
- I teach in my second language yet almost never write in it by hand
- when using a word processor, I right-click any misspelled words to see the spelling suggestions
- the word-prediction feature of WordQ is similar to texting software and texting is an authentic way that my students might communicate in written French in the future
- word prediction software is NOT a translation tool so the students are still thinking and writing in their second language
- by having the words read to them, they are honing their auditory discrimination abilities
- by seeing and hearing six or seven similar words in one go, they are making the connection between speech and spelling patterns and getting a visual reminder to use a word that ends in a plural suffix (which would not necessarily be pronounced in French), if that is their intended meaning
In my first assignment in which I encouraged the use of WordQ, this is what I noticed:
- my students wrote more
- everyone worked in the computer lab (i.e. typing French was not “too hard”)
- everyone handed in their assignment within two days of the deadline
- and, most importantly, the students were proud to have their work displayed in our school hallways (even knowing that they would be seen by their French immersion counterparts)
So, is proper spelling still important? Umm, yeah. But I think that my ideas on how to get there are evolving.
Image by Extra Ketchup. (Our lab is actually a lot more modern looking. I chose the picture because it reminded me of what I see in other schools I visit. That, and the penguin mascot!)
Here is the first part of a document that I wrote in 2010 about integrating technology in grades 1-3 Core French classes. I wrote this document for colleagues of mine with whom I was working on a Core French support document in hopes of starting a converstaion about technology integration and the logistical challenges that exist – and can be surmounted – by primary Core French teachers. It is based entirely on my own experiences as a beginning Core French teacher interested in technology integration but still adjusting to the logistics of it all – especially as an itinerant teacher who employs the “French only” rule.
Integrating technology into Core French allows students to interact with the French language in a variety of ways. The effective use of technology can capture the attention and harness the creativity of certain students who may feel uncomfortable in French but quite comfortable and eager to push their learning with new technologies.
At the Primary level, there are many ways to integrate technology into the Core French learning environment. Here are a few suggestions:
Book a weekly computer lab time for each of your classes, beginning in grade 1.
Logistics:
- The day before each visit to the lab, familiarise students with routines and expectations. Expect the first few classes to be spent practicing logging in and how to take care of the equipment.
- Teach the vocabulary your students will need to be able to speak French in the lab. If you use a token system to encourage students to speak French in class, try to continue that same system in the lab.
- Prepare cards with individual student usernames and passwords that you handout and collect at every session so as to avoid relying on homeroom teachers, or students remembering their agendas.
- As much as possible, have 2 students per computer so as to encourage French conversation, teamwork, and peer assistance.
- Ask homeroom teachers to pick their students up from the lab so that you can pick up your next class on time.
- End class early and have a song or activity prepared for the last 5 minutes as it often takes longer than expected to wrap up on the lab.
- Assign monitors who are responsible for checking that all chairs are pushed in, screens are turned off, computers are shut down or logged off, etc….
- Keep all your files and instructions in the Handout Folder. (Create a file called Madame ____ or Core French and in it have a subfolder for each grade or class.) Have students practice going to the Handout folder every time they are in the lab. This will become their routine rather than going straight on the internet or to games. You may want to include the path to the Handout Folder (Start, My Computer, etc…) on each student‘s log in card so that they always have a quick reference at their fingertips.
- Have a J’ai fini document that students can go to if they are done the days work. You can simply paste links to French educational websites for them to go to.
- If possible, use a projector to model for the students what they are to do in the lab that day. It can be helpful to have everyone sit on the floor or have all students turn off their screens to avoid distraction and maximize attention.
- By grade 3 students may be ready to type in French. Teach them to use the French “Canadian Multilingual Standard Keyboard” which is or can easily be installed on all board computers. This will allow them to type common French letters with accents, such as é, è, à, and ç, by only touching one key.
Activity ideas:
- SmartNotebook is great software to use for Core French as you can easily insert and manipulate text and images. Here are some ideas:
o Match pictures with words
o Read a familiar text and highlight certain types of words (animals, people, colours, verbs, etc…) in a particular colour.
o Drag words together to create funny sentences (Le hamster mange Madame ___ et tout le monde est content.)
o Listen to recorded text or record themselves using headphone and microphones.
o Sort words and images into graphic organisers.
o Answer questions in which the answer is contained, by highlighting the words from the question that will appear in the answer.
o Create simple powerpoint-style presentations
o Complete or create quizzes to reinforce spelling, vocabulary, feminine/masculine, opposites, etc…
o There are many great websites that include games, stories online, video clips, etc…
o Beginning in grade 3, students may be able to use online dictionaries and grammar checkers.
o Create a word processing document with the website(s) you want your students to visit and then save that document in the Handout folder. That way young students can simply click the link.
o Comic Life is available in French. You will likely need to do some explicit teaching regarding French menu items, such as enregistrer, etc…
o Have students present their information in comic or graphic novel format. You can even take pictures in class and then save them to the handout folder. Students can then add captions and thought or speech bubble to write what is happening.
o Have students create a plan in class before hand so as to maximize productive time in the lab and encourage a higher quality of French writing.
The list of educational technologies and activity suggestions above is in no way exhaustive. Technology is constantly changing and students often adapt more easily to these changes than teachers – Just as students take risks to communicate in French so too should teachers take risks to integrate new technologies into their practice. That said, however, technology does not replace good teaching, planning, and class management. It is a tool like any other and should be considered as such. When selecting tasks that integrate technology into the classroom, teachers should follow the same teaching principles they would otherwise follow, taking into consideration learning styles, differentiation and optimal attention span.
Holding up my grade 1 picture. (We did not have a school uniform but I liked to wear a tunic anyway. Hmm. Would you believe that I became a teacher?)
My elementary/high school – which I loved attending and have many detailed memories of – is currently entertaining the notion of merging with another elementary/high school with many similar but also many divergent practices. Through newsletters, press releases, surveys and advance copies of newspaper articles, the school has been endeavoring to keep stakeholders – including alumni – informed and involved. Yesterday, after reading an advance copy of an open letter to be published in a local newspaper, I felt compelled to send my feedback regarding a key issue of the merger that I felt had yet to be addressed. The next day, I received a reply from the President. I was struck not only by the promptness of the reply and its sincere tone, but also by the last paragraph in which he said, “It is encouraging to know that our parents and alumni among other stakeholders are as engaged. It bodes well for our future, whichever direction we choose.”
As teachers, we want an open dialogue with our students, their parents, our administration and our peers. Although engagement does not always mean getting our way, simply participating in the conversation and feeling listened to shows an active interest in keeping the quality of education high – a fact which benefits current and future students but also maintains the value of what it means to be a graduate from a particular school or school system.
As a graduate of one school system, a teacher in another, and a parent in a third, I am learning the value of being engaged – on one level or another – and how a vibrant group of diverse stakeholders can invigorate a teaching and learning community. Look to your educational past, present and future and get engaged! It feels great!
http://www.dsbn.edu.on.ca/schools/supportservices/Curriculum/French/images/CoreFrench4-8.jpg
Every year I hand in long-range plans that I format into pretty tables (oh, how I love tables) and every year I make myself a spiffy new Day Book – ready for the documenting of a year’s full of lessons. After submitting the former, I file it in the latter and generally never look at those plans again. As a Core French teacher, my major pre-planning is figuring out which specific AIM plays I will teach for each grade. I confess that in my first year, I only really consulted my curriculum document as I sat down to write report cards. (Good thing that turned out, kind of.) It never even occurred to me to look at those long-ago drafted long-range plans to see how I had fared for term 1 or how they might guide me for term 2.
Many Backwards Design workshops later, I again find myself thinking about planning as I return from maternity leave – determined to implement some of what I learned. This time, I want to create long-range plans that I will actually use to guide my day-to-day teaching. Usually the challenges for me are that the current Core French curriculum is quite vague (which can be a bonus in that you can follow your students’ interests) and I never seem to know at what pace my students will be able to internalize the language, vocabulary and structures we are working on. As a Core French teacher going forwards with going backwards, here’s my plan for my plans:
- Determine which AIM play will be used in each class;
- Find non-fiction connections between the play and the science and/or social studies curriculum of that grade (I find that in Core French, it is often easier to complement plays with non-fiction rather than fiction since non-fiction tends to be written in present tense and there are often a lot of similarities in English and French when it comes to scientific or technical language) and then source level-appropriate read-alouds, images, and online sources;
- Think of one or two “Big Picture Questions” that can be drawn from the AIM play for discussion and reading response;
- Consult the curriculum document to make sure that I am on track and that I have the overall and specific expectations in mind when I head to step 5;
- Decide on how I will evaluate each strand (oral communication, reading and writing) come report card time.
I have been jotting down my plans on a Prezi canvas. The months of the year do not factor in and it looks like I am so far gearing up for a culminating task for each strand and a bunch of mini-tasks and class activities to help get us there. The lack of calendar (which may or may not be a faux pas – I’ll have to check on that one) has made my tables a thing of the past and my new plans look a lot more like a doodle pad than polished professionalism. I am hoping, though, that they will be more authentic, useful, and consulted(!), allowing me to fall backwards on my design rather than something else…
I’ve talked the talk and now I am finally walking the walk – blogging about my reflections on teaching and learning and (unlike my future classroom blog which I am working on at the same time) actually “publishing” my writings online instead of forever saving them in draft form. It feels good!
Over the past year, and especially while I have been home on parental leave, I have been learning with and from my Twitter PLN. There are so many great educators out there and so much engaging material that I often find it overwhelming and end up heading to bed late; leaving way too many tabs open on my computer for future digestion. I also question how much of it I am processing, if I am using my time wisely and if my Bookmarks Folder entitled “School of Cool” (hold the jokes, please) is becoming a bit like a treasured junk drawer. I think that the answers are (1) some of it, (2) sometimes, and (3) yeah, but the best part about keeping a junk drawer is the fun you get when you rediscover all the great things you saved.
I have really enjoyed Google Art Project which I learned about from one of my tweeps. (Apologies for not giving credit here but I have not yet figured out how to search Twitter effectively!) I have shared it with colleagues and friends and although I haven’t “processed it” – as in figured out how I would use it effectively with my Core French students – it feels good to be part of the ripple effect that comes with sharing resources and interesting items.
Despite too much time spent bouncing from blog-to-website-to-Twitter-and-back, I also find myself undertaking new projects that excite me and make me look forward to my return to teaching at the end of the month. I am currently using Prezi to create long-range plans and non-fiction cross-curricular connections for the AIM French plays my classes will be doing. This is as a direct result of time spent reading a tweet from @SafinaN, encouraging teachers to use this awesome tool.
So, am I becoming a bit of a digital pack rat? Umm, maybe. But it’s no different than great PD days or courses when I fill binders and write pages of notes that I will hopefully get to at a later date. Some of it is sinking in slowly, some of it is hitting me over the head and jump-starting me into action, and a lot of it is worth saving for that 25th hour of the day when I get to read what’s going on in the School of Cool. Thanks to the people in my PLN – digital, personal, official and unofficial – for keeping me inspired (and busy!).
P.S. (I am adding this post script the day after my original post. Is that allowed? I tried to comment on my own post but haven’t gotten there yet.) After spending way too long setting up my blog and thinking about and writing my first post, I had a good laugh as I was falling asleep and realized that I neglected to reflect on the fact that this whole blog – and the one for my classes, for that matter too – is also as a result of time spent in Twittersville! Duh! Thanks @janesmith, @barbaram and @shannoninottawa for helping me launch into the blogosphere. I’m sure some educational theorist somewhere once said something about applying learning without even realizing it… :)
