Bienvenue! Welcome to Madame Harris's website!

I am so excited to return to Archway Arete and to continue developing our French program! I will be working with our youngest students in kindergarten and first grade. Each student will have French class twice per week, for forty minutes each class. Classes will be taught in the immersion method. Proven effective, children quickly become accustomed to French sounds and words, and will be engaged in fun activities that make the new language feel natural. These include songs, games, coloring, stories, skits, and TPR (Total Physical Response--physical imitation and response to verbal commands.) The goals of the French program at Archway Arete are that the students become comfortable with and enjoy learning another language; build a foundation of phrases, vocabulary, and simple grammar, which will help them in their future language studies; and appreciate the cultures of France and the French-speaking world. The topics we will cover this year include greetings and expressions of courtesy, school, colors, numbers, the family, animals, adjectives, the calendar, weather, the house, and verbal commands. I look forward to introducing your students to the world of French! Please feel free to contact me with any questions that might arise throughout the year.

NOTES ABOUT PRONUNCIATION:

I will often put the pronunciation of vocabulary words in parentheses after the word. Please follow these notes to help you:

* indicates a nasal sound--hold your nose while saying it to practice the sound.
^ indicates a tight U sound--say the letter E while puckering your lips to get the sound.
ZH indicates a soft J sound, as in Jacques or the S in measure.
The French R is in the throat, almost as if gargling, but softer.



FIRST GRADE FRENCH CURRICULUM
The following units are based on the new curriculum, Les Loustics

Unit 1: “Bonjour” (August-September)
Greetings and taking leave, Classroom commands, Saying one’s age, Numbers to 12 (+), Shapes, Colors, Days of the Week


Unit 2: “Vive l’École” (October-December)
Naming school objects, Numbers to 20 (+), the Possessive adjectives MY and YOUR, Months of the year, Indicating preferred activities, the Alphabet


Unit 3: “La Famille LeGrand” (January-March)
Introduce one’s family and pets, Say where one lives, Name objects of one’s bedroom


Unit 4: “In Shape?” (April-May)
Parts of the Body, Emotions, Facial Features, Say what hurts



KINDERGARTEN FRENCH CURRICULUM

August-September
Greetings, Expressions of Courtesy, Classroom Objects, Numbers to 7, Colors (Ongoing), Classroom Commands and Action Verbs (Ongoing)
Songs: “Bonjour Madame,” “Violette à Bicyclette”

September-October
Parts of the Body, Days of the Week, Numbers to 10
Songs:
“Jean Petit Qui Danse,” “Les Deux Pieds Font,” “Tête, Épaules, Genoux, et Pieds” (“Alouette”)

November-December
Months, Seasons, Weather, Numbers to 20
Songs: “Tu Chanteras,” “La Neige Tombe”

January-February
The Alphabet, the Family, the House
Songs: “A-B-C-D,” “Frère Jacques,”

March
Food, Preferences
Songs: “1-2-3, J’irai dans les Bois”

April-May
Animals, Simple Adjectives, (Prepositions)
Songs:
“Saute la Petite Grenouille,” “Sur le Pont d’Avignon,” “Bisous d’Esquimau”


Stories—These are repeated during the year, and include reinforcing activities.
Le Petit Chaperon Rouge (Little Red Riding Hood)
Les Trois Petits Cochons (The Three Little Pigs)
















Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Students are currently learning the ALPHABET and CLOTHING.  We have also begun practicing new songs in preparation for Fine Arts and French Night, to be held on Wednesday, April 8th.  Look for details in a flyer to come. 

A link to a video of the pronunciation of the French alphabet is at right.

Clothing Vocabulary is as follows:

Le pantalon (pants), la jupe (skirt), la robe (dress), la chemise (shirt), le pull (sweater), le manteau (coat), les chaussettes (socks), les chaussures (shoes), le chapeau (hat)


Kindergarten is having lots of fun learning a song about the poor Alouette (lark), who is getting feathers plucked from parts of his body.  A link to a video of the song is at right.  The words are:

Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.
Je te plumerai la tête, je te plumerai la tête
Et la tête, et la tête, alouette, alouette, ahhhhhhhh
Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette, je te plumerai.

Repeat, but replace la tête (the head) with le bec (the beak), le cou (the neck), le dos (the back), and la queue (the tail)

First graders are enjoying a song about children who feel safe strolling through the forest because the wolf is too busy getting dressed!  A link to the video is at right.  The words are:

Promenons-nous dans les bois, pendant que le loup n'y est pas!
Si le loup y était, il nous mangerait,                                     
Mais comme il n'y est pas, il nous mangera pas!

Loup, y es-tu?  Que fais-tu?  Entends-tu?     (Wolf:  Je mets ma chemise!--I'm putting on my shirt!)

Repeat first verse, but each time the wolf adds a clothing item:  mon pantalon (pants), ma veste (jacket), and mon chapeau (hat).