Well, somehow we all made it through the 2020-2021 school year!  As a photographer, I always capture a lot of photos in my classroom.  This year, though, with so much instruction taking place virtually, I also had to rely on students to take some of the photos of our major classroom events from home.  Here is a look back at some of the photos that defined this school year for me and my students ..read more

This is my fifth post about using collaborative PowerPoints in class. Click here to read all the posts in this series. In this post I'll share an ABC Book project I did using PowerPoint. (Email subscribers need to visit the blog to watch the video) In case you'd like to see previous iterations of this project: My previous post about using PBL to create an ABC book Examples of that project from a subsequent year Examples from an earlier iteration of the project In case you missed it in my last post, I will be presenting on collaborative PowerPoints this summer at the NYSAFLT Summer In ..read more

This is my fourth post about using collaborative PowerPoints in class. Click here to read all the posts in this series. In this post I'll share a community-building activity I did using a shared PowerPoint. (Email subscribers need to visit the blog to watch the video) Click here for the positive adjectives vocabulary list. As I mentioned in the video, I will be presenting on collaborative PowerPoints this summer at the NYSAFLT Summer Institute!  It's completely virtual, so you can attend from anywhere!  Click here to register.  See you there! Liked this post?   ..read more

One tool I recently started using that has really had a huge impact on my instruction is Classkick.  Classkick is a platform that allows the teacher to watch students complete assignments in real time and give live feedback as they work.  Students can draw, type, insert images, and record answers, so there are a lot of different ways to assess students on here.  There are already plenty of tutorials out there about Classkick, so I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty of how to set it up here, but instead I'll be sharing what I like and don't like about it and some of the ac ..read more

Gimkit recently released a new mode called "Draw That"  While they say it won't be around forever, I am hopeful that it will come back as a Forever Mode, because my students and I simply love it.  It's essentially an online version of pictionary.  It's pretty simple to play:  a volunteer (or a random student) selects a term from the set you chose to play with, and once they click it they have 30 seconds (or whatever length you choose) to draw the term.  During that time, the rest of the class tries to guess the term.  Little by little, some of the letters are re ..read more

Some of you may be aware that I actually have a "side gig" as a professional photographer.  I got really serious about photography about twelve years ago.  I share with my students on the first day of school that I am passionate about photography.  It's something about me that shows them I'm human and have interests outside of teaching.  A couple of years ago, I had a student who was also very interested in photography, and we were able to connect over this shared interest.  Now, what does photography have to do with teaching French?  Well, the two of them can so ..read more

This is my second post about using collaborative PowerPoints in class.  Click here to read my first post, where I discuss the basics of how to set one up and provide a few ideas, and click here to read my second post, where I share some additional ideas.  In this post I'll share some more activities I've done with them. (Email subscribers need to visit the blog to watch the video) Templates for the activities mentioned in the video: Quelle est la date ? Les activités Mon carnet de voyage Affirmative/Negative Créez une carte Description d'une photo Liked this post?  Sub ..read more

I recently blogged in this post about how I planned to celebrate Mardi Gras with my students.  I shared both hybrid and virtual activities.  After we had our virtual celebration the Wednesday before break, I wanted to share some reflections from myself and from the students. What Went Well -The students were so creative with their costumes and dishes!  There was such a great variety of cultural elements to share.  Some students dressed up in medieval attire, some made masks or unearthed masks that their family had acquired during travels to New Orleans or other locales ..read more

Well, I've been trying to post my new hybrid and virtual ideas related to holidays before the holiday actually occurs so that readers have an opportunity to use any resources they like in their own lessons, but in this case, I'm a little late to the game with this post on Chandeleur, which occurred on February 2.  I figured that many of these ideas could be of use to readers next year or at any time for any type of virtual taste test, so I'll share it now. In this post, I shared how we did our first virtual taste test of the year for National French Week.  Whenever asking students t ..read more

NOTE:  I'm reposting this, as I added some additional resources. Like just about everything we normally do in our classrooms, Mardi Gras is another celebration that will look quite different in my classroom this year.  In the past, I blogged here sharing how I normally celebrate in my class.  This year I will be incorporating a lot of those resources, but I have modified them and added some new ones. First, we will watch the video below, as we always do (email subscribers will need to view this on the blog, as always).  It is in English and it is dated, but it really gi ..read more