French

Bienvenue à la site Française chez SWS

Welcome to the French website for SWS!

Many families have asked for information about videos and resources that their children can access at home – to review material we’ve covered in class, or to extend their learning. Bookmark this page and check back often for classroom updates, links to new resources and more!

A little about French at SWS:

The students continue to amaze me every day with the enthusiasm, determination and strength in their language acquisition, particularly given I only see most of them once per week (with the exception of PK3 which has French twice a week).

My focus from the beginning has been on teaching applicable language in context rather than isolated vocabulary lists (as many of us were taught when we learned a foreign language). We commonly use TPR (Total Physical Response: example: you learn the command “Levez-vous” (stand up) by doing that action) storytelling using commonly-known children’s stories and fairy tales, as well as music and dance. Francophone culture is introduced through authentic materials – videos, magazines, books, photographs and food tastings. Much of the focus in the first two years of the program was France and Québec, and this year we’ll be expanding our study to include Madagascar, which was the Francophone country chosen in our school-wide election last spring.

It will be an exciting year – we’ll be reading stories from Madagascar, learning songs, exploring foods, art and customs, and hopefully welcoming visitors to the school who can share about Malagasy culture.

Please feel free to visit your child’s French class anytime, or to contact me with questions, ideas or just to say “bonjour!”

Merci!

Madame Greif