Are you looking for an engaging way to teach and reinforce the imparfait to your intermediate French students? Are you also looking for community building activities for your classroom? This project does both!
This project was my favourite one in French 10 this year because I got to learn more about my students’ childhoods. Seriously, it was so cute to see their baby photos, toys, trophies and unique knickknacks from their childhoods!
The idea for this project is not my own and I have to thank my friend and colleague Ingrid for this incredible idea! Thank you so much, Ingrid, for suggesting this amazing idea!
Project Criteria
Students choose 3 physical objects that represent different values from their childhood.
These values could be family, sports, books, culture, etc. After choosing their 3 objects and values, students must write paragraphs where they :
- describe what the object is
- How does it look? How did they obtain it? What value does the object represent?
- describe the significance of the object to their childhood.
The Writing Process
Subsequently, I have my students write their draft and I normally collect all work before the bell rings. This ensures that :
- they do not use Google Translate or other translators at home.
- their family members or French Immersion friends do not complete or edit their work.
- they do not lose their work.
While they write, I circulate the entire time and answer questions. This is extremely valuable time because I get to work one to one with every single student in the class.
After they have finished their draft, I circle their mistakes using a grammar correction code. They then have 1-2 classes to fix their mistakes and to ask me questions. I ask them to show me their corrections to ensure that they have corrected correctly.
Once they are done their final draft, they begin memorizing.
Presentation Day
Everyone comes prepared with their three objects on presentation day. I have the desks pushed to the perimeter of the room and we sit in a giant circle.
Finally, I have each student ask their peers at least 3 relevant questions.
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Avec plaisir,
Pav
