This year, I have been struggling to motivate my level 1 students to do...anything outside of class. They are great kids, but there are a few who are not the most dedicated of students. After entering grades, I was saddened to see the number of students who had fallen below the D or F line. We only had a few weeks before final exams, so I took drastic measures. I had the students write a note to their parents telling them what their current grade was, what they had or had not been doing to earn that grade, what grade they would like to acheive and, finally, what measures they were going to take to get to that grade. The students had two days to return the note to me signed by their parents. Those who did not return a note...we called Mom and Dad, right there in class. I was pleased to see that only a small handful of students didn't bring the note in, so I did not have to make very many phone calls. And, those parents whom we called, they signed that note and sent it back the next day. Out of all of my level 1 students, only one student didn't bring in that note. That was two weeks ago. After "the note", several students have really been working hard to improve. I wanted my students to know that I have noticed their improved effort. So, I made up little "Grade Improvement" certificates. We applauded for each and every student who made any sort of improvement from .01% to 4% (That was my biggest improvement.) My "biggest jumpers" got a little extra reward. I made sure that I acknowledged the improved effort of each of these kids. It is sometimes hard to tell with high school kids, but some of those who rarely smile might have snuck in a little smirk today.

Posted by Mme Burton at 10:29 PM | Permalink | Comments

Les français 2, il faut faire un voyage à Paris! Nous partons aujourd'hui!! Cliquez au suivant pour les renseignements!!

Posted by Mme Burton at 7:35 AM | Permalink | Comments

Bonjour à tous!!!

I hope everyone has returned from Spring Break rested and enthusiastic about Spring Break. In French 3, we are going to try our hand at reading some French literature that while challenging, will be exciting. For French 2, we have to complete Chapter 6, start and finish Chapter 7, and a Murder Mystery to to solve! In French 1, we have Chapters 7 and 8 to add to our "to-do" list. Lots of exciting things!!

I have a fun little extra-credit opportunity for everyone!! Next week is "Le Poisson d'Avril". For up to 10 points of extra-credit, research this silly French event, write a paragraph of at least 6-8 sentences (complete with an introduction statement and conclusion--don't forget the paragraphing rules that your Comm Arts teachers have taught you!!!), and a list of at least 2 sources in MLA format. French 1 and 2 can complete this in English, mais, les français 3, il faut l'écrire en français, bien sûr!!!

The due date for this is April 1st--NO EXCEPTIONS!!

Let me know if you have questions!!!

à bientôt!!
Mme B

Posted by Mme Burton at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments

Bonjour, Les eleves!!!

As we are learning all of the vocabulary in Chapter 6, we are going to start on one my favorite things that we will do this year: our "Restaurant Project". There are several steps to this project, and we will spend an entire week of classtime working on it. You may work by yourself, with one partner, or in a group with three people. I suggest that you read the requirements very carefully, plan your steps, and get started!!! This is a great opportunity to showcase your creativity, while learning quite a bit about French culture in regards to food. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Click on the link below to read all of the requirements.

Posted by Mme Burton at 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments

Salut, les élèves!! J'ai un peu de vous aider pour l'examen demain!!

En premier, étudiez le vocabulaire!!! Il y a beaucoup des expressions!!!
Qu'est-ce que c'est en anglais:
une fois
avant
après
plus tard
souhaiter une bonne nuit
en retard
il est temps de
en premier
tu devrais
ensuite
après ça
vas être prêt
tu dois
toute de suite

Savez-vous épéllez (spell) les activités???
to take a shower
to wake up
to get dressed
to comb / to brush / to style one's hair
to wash one's hair
to shave
to brush one's teeth
to put make-up on one's self
to dry one's hair

Et pour le paragraphe....Répondez avec l'impératif (command form)
Qu'est-ce que ton père te dit quand tu vas être en retard? Ecrivez 5 phrases.


Etudiez bien!!!
à demain

Posted by Mme Burton at 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

Bonjour, les élèves!! J'ai une opportunité de crédit extra pour vous!!!! Lisez:

The 2nd of February is a French holiday. To earn up to 25 points of extra credit you may do the following:

1. Use at least 2 different websites (wikipedia doesn't count) to research this French holiday.
2. Write a paragraph (in English for Levels 1 and 2, en français pour les élèves de trois) of at least 300 words describing what this holiday is, the history of the holiday, and what the French do to celebrate this holiday.
3. Include a Sources list which includes the MLA format for citing websites.
4. Create the dish that the French eat on this day to celebrate this holiday, and email or print pictures of your family or friends eating the dish. (If you choose to omit step 4, you may receive up to 15 points of extra credit.)

To earn the extra credit, the assignment must be submitted by Friday, February 6th. (And, one last thing, your paragraphs should be your own words, it is very easy to see if you have plagiarized!!)

Posted by Mme Burton at 8:27 AM | Permalink | Comments

Of course you would expect me to say YES!!!!!-you need to keep going, but I came across this website which gives some great reasons to continue with French: http://www.msdsteuben.k12.in.us/dblaz/newpage2.htm

Besides the fact that it helps you get a jump start on the foreign language class in college, and the fact that Level 3 and Level 4 are HONORS courses, there are some other great reasons to go on.

1. French and English are the only two global languages.
2.French is the 2nd most frequently taught language (English is first).
3.French, along with English, is the official working language of
the United Nations
UNESCO
the International Monetary Fund
the International Labor Bureau
the International Olympic Committee
the 31-member Council of Europe
the European Community
4. French is the 2nd most important language on the Internet, based on WWW pages, number of discussion lists, and number of countries connected to the Internet.
5. In 2003, the US was the biggest investor in France, and France was the 2nd biggest in the US.
6. France is first in the world in trains and production of luxury goods; second in the world in commercial aircraft production, defense production and export of agricultural products; third in rocketry and electronics equipment; fourth in automobiles (Renault also makes Mack trucks). If you are working in any of these fields, you may need French on the job, and it would help your marketability if you had working knowledge of French.
7. France is among the leaders in hydroelectric and nuclear power
8. 30% of English words come from French. Your English vocabulary will increase and learning French will be easier.
9. Those interested in art, dance, film, law, music will greatly benefit.
10.Most graduate schools require knowledge of at least one foreign language, and French remains the most commonly used language after English. This means that French will help you the most in your studies.

I honestly believe that you will regret it at some point, if you don't decide to go on. You've come this far, keep it going!!

Posted by Mme Burton at 2:56 PM | Permalink | Comments