es Does your school use a block schedule? Maybe you’re a pro at it and you love it. Maybe you’re like me and you could use some block schedule teaching strategies for your French class. Since I started teaching French in 2004, I’ve taught in schools with all types of schedules. Mostly, I’ve taught a […]
French classroom management
5 steps to plan a fun and engaging French lesson
How I plan a French lesson I get a lot of emails from teachers asking for teaching advice, and I try to put those into blog posts, because I figure they probably have questions a lot of the same questions as other teachers do. One question I get a lot is : How do I […]
French Bell-ringers to Simplify Your Class Routine
Using French bell-ringers is an easy way to start your class in a structured way every day. Once I started using a structured bellwork routine, my students and I felt so much less stressed as we transitioned from class to class. What are bell-ringers? Bell-ringers are warm-up activities students do at the beginning of class. […]
8 Easy Split Class Teaching Strategies
Are you teaching a French split class? Do you feel like you’re struggling to teach all levels? Do you feel like you’re cramming two (or more) lesson plans into one class period? You’re not alone! A lot of foreign language teachers find themselves in exactly this position, and it can be really scary, tiring, and stressful, […]
French Awards to Celebrate Student Success
I love giving out student awards in my French class! Celebrating student success is such a fun part of being a teacher! Yes, I love the AHA! moments, the field trips (really), and of course I love my subject, but my favorite part of being a teacher has always been forming relationships with my students. Celebrating […]
7 Easy Ways to Increase Student Enrollment in Your French Class
Enrollment time will be coming up soon! For French teachers, it’s often really hard to increase student enrollment in French. When I taught high school French, enrollment was always a really stressful time for me, because low enrollment could have meant teaching a class outside of my area, getting less funds, or getting a not-so-good […]
Easy ways to group students
I love grouping my French students for games, speaking activities or quick-shares, but I also want everyone working and all students to be included. I needed an easy way to group students, because when students pick their own partners, it’s not always fair for every student. In my class, I use student grouping cards in ALL […]
10 tips for teaching challenging teens
I love being a teacher. It is what drives me to learn more, work harder, and be…more. It humbles me to know that I can think I have accomplished so much but still know that each year I will be teaching new challenging teens. Even though I have been teaching for quite a few years, I […]