Expression of the day: Les murs ont des oreilles
Literal meaning: "Walls have ears"
Figurative meaning:, you never know who might be listening in & what their intentions are

Today in class:
We began learning more advanced ways to describe physical appearances as well as some basic shapes including: carré-square, triangle, rectangle, cercle-circle and ovale

Virelangue of the day:
Sur six chaises sont assis six frères, sur six cent six chaises sont assis six cent six frères.

Today in class:
We began expanding our knowledge of body vocabulary and added many new words into our picture dictionary which also conveniently served as a bingo board to test our knowledge of our new words.  At the end of the class, students tested their knowledge of body vocab

 The last thing we did was listen and learn the song "Alouette, gentille alouette"

Today in Class:
We brainstormed ideas or how to complete the sentence "Je suis _________ parce que _______", which means I am _____ because __________. 

We also looked at our first virelangue (tongue twister): Je suis ce que je suis et si je suis ce que je suis, qu'est-ce que je suis ?

Today students took their Unit 1 test on Formal/informal greetings & commands, adjective placement and classroom vocabulary.   The tests are slightly more difficult this year because the information from this year is building on the information from last year. 

Make sure you are staying on track and asking questions when you don't understand.  Several students requested to take their test on a later date in order to have more time to prepare.  If you are on of those students make sure you complete your study guide and schedule a time to take the test with me outside of class (Before school, lunch or after school)

We also had a quick preview of our upcoming unit on "Le corps humain" or the human body as we learned to sing "Tête, Épaules, Genoux et Pieds" which is Head and Shoulders Knees & Toes"

Today in class we talked about letter writing in French.  We also looked at how to write the address on the outside of envelopes and what some of the main components of a letter might be. In class students wrote & turned in 2 short letters to the person of their choice to practice using the components of a letter in French.

Today in class:
We talked about how to tell if a conversation you are listening to is informal vs Formal as well as how to ask whether a person is from a certain city.  Students also spent time working in groups creating dialogues to present to the class.

Up and coming:
Test next Thursday on adjective placement, classroom vocabulary, informal vs formal commands and greetings and our cultural topics education in France.  We will be reviewing for the test on Tuesday.

Today in class we listened to a song called "Comment tu t'appelles?" by Matthieu Boogaerts.  We learned about some of the different ways to say goodbye in french (ie... au revoir, à demain, à plus tard, à plus, bisous, etc...) as well as the difference between formal and informal commands (ie... fermez le livre VS ferme le livre).

We also reviewed our classroom vocabulary playing the game "Je vois quelque chose..." (I see (spy) something...) as we ramp up towards our first test of the year which will take place Tuesday or Thursday depending on student readiness.

In class today students spent time using formal greetings:
Comment vous appellez-vous? AND Comment allez-vous?

Using commands with their classmates:
Indiquez le tableau! and Fermez la porte!

And reviewing placements of adjectives:
Elle est une jeune fille. VS Elle est une fille folle.

Today was a great first day of classes! I am confident that this year each of you as students will greatly expand your knowledge of French language and culture and maybe some of you parents will as well.

Recap of class today:
In class we spent some time playing a game to challenge our teamwork skills that I call "Nœud des humains" or the human knot.  We also spent time learning: vocabulary pertaining to our class description such as parler, lire and écouter; classroom expectations and reviewing classroom supplies vocabulary. Check out the vocabulary section to see some of the vocab we have and will continue to cover for this first mini unit of the year.

I am so excited for this upcoming year and I have so much in store for you all.  If you are new to my class, you will be happy to know that this website is going to be a great resource to you if you choose to use it.  There is a place for a listing of your homework assignments (Devoir), vocabulary and grammar information from our current and past units (vocabulaire), cultural videos and information discussed in class, a little bit about me if you are curious (à propos de moi), and my contact information in case you need to get a hold of me or need a little extra help.

Looking forward to a great year!

- Mademoiselle LaBarre