Teaching Tips
Mental Shift with Younger Learners
The Question is: For the past three years I have taught junior/senior sciences & math. This year, in a new school, I am teaching senior math (grades 10-12 + calculus) and elementary Core French (grades 1-6) and Health 5. My question or problem is, how do I approach teaching at the younger grades? Is it just a mental shift and/or more game/fun oriented?
Elaine Bishop
Lafleche, Saskatchewan
The Answer is: Having taught kindergarten - third grades for the past fifteen years, I have found that my students truly respond to hands-on practices which encompass visual, auditory and tactile experiences.
Therefore, if I were teaching French lessons to students in grades 1-6, I'd create a word wall of French words for visual and daily practice. These words would be listed in bold, large type for easy viewing. The younger the grade, the additional need for pictures to accompany the word wall chart. My class routine could consist of reviewing the word wall chart when students enter the room and adding new words/pictures to the chart once introduced to the class.
I would teach French based on a theme approach, whereby, the words learn are associated with a particular subject (i.e. days of the week, months, numbers and alphabet words are part of a daily living unit). This would be highly effective if the classroom teachers could tell you what particular unit they're working on. Sure, this may mean more work for you, but the rewards would be highly visible and the students are learning French based on what they're learning in their classrooms.
Incorporate familiar music and tunes to help students grasp the French language. Younger children enjoy music and I have found that if it can be eaten, sung or rhymed, it has a greater chance of being learned for the long term. Therefore, create a morning or afternoon song to sing when students enter your room. The words would be taught in French and you'd be surprised how many students will share this song with their parents at home.
I'd also create a catch phrase bulletin board or wall to provide quick reference to phrases commonly said in english. Phrases like, "Good morning," "How are you," "Happy Birthday," would be listed and can be easily utilized throughout the day.
One of my newest teaching techniques is to create teachable bulletin boards for public display. This board differs from a regular bulletin board that is displayed for artistic purposes. My boards incorporate the art aspect, but I take it one step further. You teach six different grades for French and I would use 6 months of the year to give each grade level it's own bulletin board display. Therefore, all 1st graders would develop a bulletin board for December, while all the 2nd graders will create a board for January, etc.
I decided that for the month of December, the heading of my bulletin board will be Merry Christmas in French. I will provide a cardboard square to each 1st grader along with wrapping paper squares that are 2 inches larger in diameter than the cardboard. I would discuss the meaning of Christmas with the students and tell them the name for Christmas in French. I would inform them that they are going to give a gift to someone in their family and they will pretend that the cardboard square is a box for wrapping. I'd the chart on a chart tablet the type of gifts they'd like to give and immediately telling them the gift word in french while I'm writing down their answer. I would write their english word first, hyphenate and display the word in french.
Once I've collect every child's answer, I'd demonstrate how to wrap their cardboard squares. I'd assist the students and once all the squares are wrapped, I'd give each student a press-on bow. Now, I'll distribute a sheet that reads: My gift to you is _______________. I'd remind the students of the word list created on the chart. I'd inform the students to find their gift word in english and write the french word on the blank line. If time permitted, I'd allow each student to come to the front of the room and read their sentence strip, but state the gift they'd give in french.
Collect all papers and cardboard squares, staple your Christmas French word banner in the center of the bulletin board and staple the cardboard squares around it. The sentence strips for each child's square would be stapled below. Now, you have a neat bulletin board that highlights your students usage of the language and blends with the holiday season. The bulletin board would remain throughout the entire month of December until January.
In January, take down the December board, give the squares and sentence strips to the students. The 2nd graders would create the January board.
Be adventuress, take chances and enjoy this unique experience you've been given to work with younger students. Hopefully, you've already found that the attitudes towards learning are completely different in elementary compared to secondary. The elementary student enjoys almost everything directed to them and if you feel an activity didn't go well as you planned, don't fret, the students probably loved it!
Robert Winters
rwinters@dps61.org
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