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, August 24, 2016

Kindergarten

Students have been learning how to introduce themselves with JE M'APPELLE, and answer COMMENT ÇA VA? (How are you) with BIEN (well), TRÈS BIEN (very well), and FANTASTIQUE!  They are learning several classroom objects, some colors, and numbers 1-5 (we will continue this for several weeks):

le crayon (pencil)     la chaise (chair)     le tableau (white board)
le papier (paper)       le pupitre (desk)    la porte (door)

rouge (red)     bleu (blue)     jaune (yellow)      marron (brown)     rose (pink)
vert (green)    orange            violet (purple)      noir (black)

1 (un)  2 (deux)  3 (trois)  4 (quatre)  5 (cinq)

They have also been enjoying a "Hello" song, sung to the tune of "Where is thumbkin?":

Bonjour Madame, Bonjour Madame
Comment ça va? Comment ça va?
Très bien merci, Très bien merci
Au revoir! Au revoir!

First Grade

Students have learned to introduce themselves in two different ways: JE M'APPELLE (My name is___) and MOI, C'EST (I'm ____).  They have begun getting to know the members of the Legrand family, who appear often in our new program, Les Loustics.  They have been reviewing answers to COMMENT ÇA VA? (How are you?) from last year, and are working on the more casual dialogue,  ÇA VA? > OUI, ET TOI? > OUI, ÇA VA!  (Is it going well?  Yes, and you?  Yes, everything's OK!)

We learned a new Hello/Goodbye song:

Je te dis Bonjour.  Tu me dis Bonjour.  On se dit Bonjour, et Bonne journee!
Je te dis Au revoir.  Tu me dis Au revoir.  On se dit Au revoir, et À bientôt!

Students reviewed some commands of the classroom: ÉCOUTE! (listen), REGARDE! (look), CHANTE! (sing) and added new ones: MIME! (imitate), PARLE! (speak), MONTRE! (show--point to), LIS! (read)

We will also be reviewing numbers (and will practice reading and writing them--to 12), colors and how to say one's age:  TU AS QUEL ÂGE? >  J'AI SIX/SEPT ANS. 
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Tuesday, August 9, 2016

La Rentrée 2016!  Welcome back to school and, to our new parents, welcome to Archway Arete!

I am eager to introduce a new batch of kindergarteners to the world of French and to continue the journey with our first-graders!  This is my third year at Arete and my eleventh year teaching French formally in the classroom. 

My own journey with French began in the seventh grade and continued through university, earning my BA in French from UCLA.  In my first teaching position in California, I taught French to all grades, K through high school.  After an eight year pause to raise my children in Minnesota (and homeschool for a few years), I returned to education, tutoring reading and math at a French immersion school.  After moving to Arizona, I worked as a Special Education/Resource Assistant at Dobson Academy, and then taught high school French at Arizona School for the Arts.

When I am not teaching, I enjoy spending time with my husband and three children, reading, biking, taking zumba or dance classes, drawing, watching period dramas, and traveling.

I look forward to seeing how much your children will learn this year! 

Madame Harris

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