Le mois de FEVIER 2012
Bonjour!!
My 3 Kindergarten classes, Mr. Kraus, Ms. Bryant and Ms
Campbell's are going very well! The students are learning so much so fast! It
is fun! We meet for 30 minutes five days a week. We have started learning
basic greetings, numbers, colors, calendar, weather, fun French songs like
Frere Jacques and Alouette, and parts of the body vocabulary as we play
Simon Says and sing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. Since 100% of the class
time is in French, we do not translate, and I don't require that they speak
any more than they are comfortable with. They learn the way they learned
their native tongue. So, we sing and move lots-- and have fun! We are
learning lots of vocabulary from the film, Muzzy. We learned about winter and
clothing vocabulary throughout January, and started on transportation. We are
learning some songs, like the Wheels on the Bus in French, which we
translate, "Les Roues de la Voiture."
In BOTH K and 2ND, we are starting to learn or review some MARDI GRAS
songs!!! Each February we on the IB Outreach committee and French team sell T-
shirts designed by a talented 5th grader. The profits (about $5) go directly
to a lunch program for the elementary students in our sister school on the
impoverished island of La Gonave in Haiti. This year's design, by Charlie
Hicks, is excellent, and I hope that all of our students will buy this $10 t-
shirt!! They will wear it on Mardi Gras, which for us is on Tuesday, Feb 28
(not actual Mardi Gras, which is the 21st) and support a great cause.
MERCI!!!!
In second grade, we always review the basics-- colors, numbers, alphabet,
weather, calendar, favorite French songs, while learning new vocabulary and
phrases. We have just finished a unit called Henriette Se Sauve about a
little Canadian mouse who escapes from her cage in a small village pet store.
She hides in several stores, giving us opportunities to learn lots of
vocabulary and phrases. Next, we study emotions and adjectives that are
masculine and feminine via a fun unit on clowns. We also study face and body
vocabulary. See info about Mardi Gras above, please.
Even the students who are new to Smith this year are doing beautifully in
French class, IF they pay attention, participate, and limit their distracting
behavior!! I hope- and expect- that all of my students earn A's by the end of
the year.
Thanks to all of the parent who volunteered to bring in French food this
year. We enjoyed eating galettes to celebrate a popular
French holiday, La Fete des Rois, Three Kings' Day!!
Merci!! I enjoy teaching your children and look forward to meeting many of
you. As always, please send your children to school well-rested and ready to
go! I have seen, over the years, so much added sugar to many of the foods
they eat. Please avoid; sugar overload really effects their concentration and
behavior.
Madame Noëlle (Marty Franchot)
mfranchot@atlanta.k12.ga.us.
