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thefrenchwhisperer

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(based on 198 reviews)

A few years ago, I retired from my position as head of Modern Languages, a bit fearful of the "R" word. But to date, it has been nothing but fun! Canadian law requires school-aged actors to study with a qualified teacher when they’re off-camera. Many of our young actors are in immersion French so I've found a happy little niche, teaching a few days a week as an on-set tutor and moving in inspiring and creative circles! Furthermore, I get to share resources here! Vive la retraite!

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A few years ago, I retired from my position as head of Modern Languages, a bit fearful of the "R" word. But to date, it has been nothing but fun! Canadian law requires school-aged actors to study with a qualified teacher when they’re off-camera. Many of our young actors are in immersion French so I've found a happy little niche, teaching a few days a week as an on-set tutor and moving in inspiring and creative circles! Furthermore, I get to share resources here! Vive la retraite!
FRENCH GAME: Joyeuses Pâques!
CarlavCarlav

FRENCH GAME: Joyeuses Pâques!

(0)
C’est touchant ressemble un peu à Boggle™.) This C’est Touchant! puzzle for Easter is a Boggle™ with a twist. Embedded in the game grid are 8 French words on the Pâques theme and 70 more general vocabulary words. The file includes • a “how to play” guide • a full colour puzzle • 4 small B&W copies of the grid for teachers who are trying to cut back on photocopying costs • a thematic vocabulary  • the answer key Because the English version of the game, Hippity, Hoppity, Easter’s on its Way, has been warmly received, this French version has been on my “to do” list forever. Thank you for your patience. La fiche, Comment jouer, explique les règles du jeu en français.
Two Remembrance Day Activities
CarlavCarlav

Two Remembrance Day Activities

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Imagic After your students have solved the Imagic (visual crossword) puzzle, challeng them to make a little Imagic of their own. Broken Words In this virtual race, players have to reconstitute and recopy words that have been broken into pieces and scattered over the game grid. Students may play individually or in pairs. The words in this puzzle are: 1 hero 2 honour 3 prayer 4 silence 5 bugle 6 poppies 7 service 8 weapon 9 courage 10 parade 11 battle 12 defend I’ve included a suggestion for extending the lesson for this activity.
Poussin piou,a ridiculously infectious little song
CarlavCarlav

Poussin piou,a ridiculously infectious little song

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Thanks to MFL Resources, I discovered this clip last night. It has been going round in my head ever since so I thought I'd share the insanity. A bit like a pop version of 'Old MacDonald had a farm', it will work with young children and teenagers. (Even K4s or maybe, especially K4s who need a laugh.) Included are preteaching / presinging visuals and links to the karaoke and Gangnam (!) versions as well as to a bare bones parody that might inspire older students to make a clip of their own. Please, if they do, let me know. This is an updated version of the file as two of the original links had become unresponsive.
FRENCH: Futur simple flip cards
CarlavCarlav

FRENCH: Futur simple flip cards

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FLIPPING GRAMMAR flash cards Online flash cards are a great tool but my students prefer the social interaction of playing / learning with actual cards! This file includes a set of mini-cards to help students master regular verbs and irregular verbs in the future simple, a second set in business card format, a “how to play” guide and a little bonus. Individuals can work through these Flipping Grammar cards in class at their own pace as remedial or enrichment work. Or they can take home a deck until they’ve mastered the futur simple tense. However, Flipping Grammar sparks a lot of joy as a game for two. And you can extend the lesson by using the answers as mini-dictées. Just print, cut and go. QUESTIONS TYPES Tu _______ la pizza dans le four pour 30 minutes. mettre Ton robot _____ uniquement à ta voix. obéir Youpi! Nous ______ enfin à Disneyland! aller Selon Amazon vous _______ votre commande demain. recevoir Le jeu de cartes éclair FLIPPING GRAMMAR Sur un côté de chaque carte, on trouve la question [imprimée en noir] et l’infinitif à conjuguer au futur simple. La réponse [imprimée en rouge] se trouve de l’autre côté de la carte. Bien sûr que les cartes éclair virtuelles aident à mémoriser le vocabulaire et les conjugaisons difficiles. Mais mes étudiants préfèrent de loin de jouer avec de vraies cartes et de vrais camarades de classe! Avec les cartes éclair FLIPPING GRAMMAR, ils peuvent toujours réviser individuellement dans la salle de classe ou chez eux mais ils peuvent aussi jouer avec un partenaire et apprendre sous forme de jeu. Vous trouverez ici des cartes pour travailler le futur simple des verbes irréguliers, des cartes pour travailler le futur simple des verbes irréguliers et un petit guide de jeu.
Ta da! An INSTANT SUMMER HOLIDAYS LANGUAGE LESSON
CarlavCarlav

Ta da! An INSTANT SUMMER HOLIDAYS LANGUAGE LESSON

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This resource is for teachers of English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin, or any modern language, who desperately need a meaningful, instant lesson. Assign it as quiet seat work to the whole class or to individuals. Or, if you’d like a bit of fun and noise, turn it into group work with each team racing to complete the most accurate answer sheet! There are answer keys provided for English, French, and Dutch. The theme of this INSTANT LANGUAGE LESSON is “Summer Holidays”. If you would like me to make an INSTANT LANGUAGE LESSON on an other theme, please let me know.
JOYEUX NOËL: a French sentence-building game
CarlavCarlav

JOYEUX NOËL: a French sentence-building game

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Warning: JOYEUX NOËL includes several juvenile jokes about reindeer poop . . . the chocolate Christmas snack not the actual reindeer droppings. If you are already peeling your students off the ceiling, do not play this game. And definitely don’t make and share any reindeer poop using the super simple, 3-ingredient recipe included. ZIPLINE PHRASES are sentence-building games full of humour and serious learning. Students work in teams to build sentences by connecting any two dialogue balls directly linked by a straight line. Each ball may only be used once per sentence. All sentences must be (relatively) logical! JOYEUX NOËL will encourage your students to think in context and to speak and / or write in full sentences.
Le vocabulaire de Noël illustré et prononcé
CarlavCarlav

Le vocabulaire de Noël illustré et prononcé

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In this videoclip, the following Christmas vocabulary is modeled slowly and timed to allow your students to repeat each expression. l’arbre de Noël / le sapin le bas de Noël le bonhomme de neige la boule de Noël / la décoration la bûche de Noël le cadeau / la surprise la canne de Noël le casse-noisette les chandelles (f.) le chant de Noël les choristes (m.) de Noël / les chanteurs (m.) de Noël les cloches (f.) la couronne la crèche la dinde l’église l’étoile (f.) le gâteau aux fruits le gui le houx les jeux (m.) les jouets (m.) le lait de poule les lumières de Noël (f.) le lutin la magie de Noël la neige le pain d’épice la paix le papier d’emballage la papillote de Noël / le pétard de Noël le Père Noël le poinsettia / l’étoile de Noël (f.) le pôle nord le renne les rois (m.) Mages le traîneau la veille de Noël le vitrail You can download it; here’s the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/DkgPfJXTlzA The same vocabulary is the basis for the activity, QU’EST-CE QUI MANQUE ICI (NOËL): https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/resource-12942690
A Peppa sentence-building game  (French)
CarlavCarlav

A Peppa sentence-building game (French)

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Zipline Phrases is a sentence-building game full of sly humour and serious learning. Students work in teams to build sentences by connecting any two dialogue balls directly linked by a straight line. Each ball may only be used once per sentence. All sentences must be (relatively) logical! MDR! The game encourages students to think in context and speak and / or write full sentences. It also offers a built-in homework opportunity. I recommend playing this Zipline Phrases game after you watch the Peppa episode, “À la recherche de Monsieur Dinosaure”.
LA RENTRÉE (1  PUZZLE VAUT 1000 MOTS)
CarlavCarlav

LA RENTRÉE (1 PUZZLE VAUT 1000 MOTS)

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Imprimez et découpez ces puzzles pour que les petits puissent les reconstruire. Par l’effet d’osmose, ils apprendront à lire et écrire les mots illustrés tout en jouant. Le premier dossier comprend les puzzles en lettres minuscules; le deuxième comprend les puzzles en lettres majuscules . Engage your pupils with reading (and writing) through play by printing and cutting out these puzzles for them to solve.
L'écrivaine, Francine Christophe, raconte un petit miracle vécu à Bergen-Belsen
CarlavCarlav

L'écrivaine, Francine Christophe, raconte un petit miracle vécu à Bergen-Belsen

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I stumbled across this extraordinarily moving and hopeful clip yesterday and feel that it deserves a wider audience. In clear, careful and beautifully articulated French, author Francine Christophe recounts a little miracle that was born of an act of kindness in Bergen-Belsen. I’ve done very little other than to put together a transcript of the story, with a link to a second, related clip and a bibliography of Christophe’s work. I’ve also included a link to a version of the clip with English subtitles for any of your anglophone colleagues who may be looking for something for their history classes or Remembrance Day.
L' Oeuf de Pâques (Crespi): a crazy, mixed-up review activity
CarlavCarlav

L' Oeuf de Pâques (Crespi): a crazy, mixed-up review activity

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If you’ve been working on Henri Crespi’s "L’Oeuf de Pâques" and you’re looking for a hands-on, collaborative alternative to paper and pen review questions, try this activity. The original text and an audio version of the story are available online here: http://web2.gyldendal.no/contact/flash/chap9/ecoute4.swf BTW, I usually distribute chocolate Easter eggs before we read the story . . .
Taming the 6 Times Tables without Tears (GET THE PICTURE? multiplication game)
CarlavCarlav

Taming the 6 Times Tables without Tears (GET THE PICTURE? multiplication game)

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In an article about children's struggles with multiplication tables, "The Guardian" once pointed out that the hardest numbers for kids to multiply are 6 x 8; they get that wrong 63% of the time! Here’s a little 6 times tables exercise camouflaged as an entertaining, self-correcting card game. Happy 6 times tables mastery. The card decks for the Times Tables from 2 through 12 are available here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/taming-the-times-tables-without-tears-get-the-picture-multiplication-game-11309583
Mots coupés (Halloween) 2.0
CarlavCarlav

Mots coupés (Halloween) 2.0

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In this virtual race, players have to reconstitute and recopy words that have been broken down into syllables and scattered over the game grid. Students may play individually or in pairs. The words in this puzzle are: 1 horreur (f.) 2 chaudron (m.) 3 grimoire (m.) 4 squelette (m.) 5 fantôme (m.) 6 hanté 7 sorcier (m.) 8 zombie (m.) 9 citrouille (f.) 10 cercueil (m.) 11 balai (m.) 12 souris (f.) L’intrus: peur
Message magique: devinette de Noël
CarlavCarlav

Message magique: devinette de Noël

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These magic message riddles will serve as instant Christmas cards for your students if you print them on card stock. The riddles resemble QR codes until you raise them to eye level and read the “magical messages” from bottom - indicated by a red number - to top. There are four cards to the page. Decades ago, these things took me forever and a day to draw by hand. But then I could legitimately challenge my students to draw a message of their own. Nowadays, I use the computer so they just take forever. However, I’ve lost the moral authority to launch my drawing challenge. But the “wow” moment when a student actually sees the message still makes it worthwhile.
A Magic message to motivate your students: IT’S ALWAYS TOO EARLY TO QUIT.
CarlavCarlav

A Magic message to motivate your students: IT’S ALWAYS TOO EARLY TO QUIT.

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These message cards are just little ice-breakers. They look a bit like QR codes until you raise them to eye level and read the “magical messages” from bottom (indicated by a number) to top.  Decades ago, these things took me forever and a day to draw by hand. But then I could legitimately challenge my students to draw a message of their own. Nowadays, I use the computer so they just take forever. However, I’ve lost the moral authority to launch my drawing challenge. But the “wow” moment when a student actually sees the message still makes it worthwhile. If you print your magical messages on card stock you can also use them as little reward records. Once my students accumulate ten stickers or stamps on the back of their magic message card, they redeem the card for a small treat or a bonus point on a future test.
Message magique pour motiver: VOULOIR, C’EST POUVOIR!
CarlavCarlav

Message magique pour motiver: VOULOIR, C’EST POUVOIR!

(0)
These message cards are just little ice-breakers. They look a bit like QR codes until you raise them to eye level and read the “magical messages” from bottom (indicated by a number) to top.  Decades ago, these things took me forever and a day to draw by hand. But then I could legitimately challenge my students to draw a message of their own. Nowadays, I use the computer so they just take forever. However, I’ve lost the moral authority to launch my drawing challenge. But the “wow” moment when a student actually sees the message still makes it worthwhile. If you print your magical messages on card stock you can also use them as little reward records. Once my students accumulate ten stickers or stamps on the back of their magic message card, they redeem the card for a small treat or a bonus point on a future test.