Hi everyone!
This week, Zach and I are working on badge #3! To complete this badge, Zach needs to be able to count 1 to 20 (from French-English and English-French), in order and out of order!
Before we started using the strategies, I tested Zach to see where he was at, and what he already knew! Those results can be seen in the table below!
After seeing that Zach still needs some work, we started with his favourite strategy- a song! The song can be found here!
For your entertainment, here is a video of Zach signing along to the song as he is learning his French numbers!
- Finding objects around the house, and counting how many he saw
- Flash cards
- Counting game (we played "dix", instructions can be found here)
What we found:
- Songs: Zach really enjoys songs because it is easy for him to remember rhythms and tunes.
- Dix (counting game): Zach really enjoyed this and it was useful because he would have to pay attention to the number before and after, so would have to identify the number he would have to say. This game also helped with his pronunciation and his speed with identifying numbers in French! I have never thought of number games as a strategy, but it really worked for Zach!
- Flashcards: This was a helpful tool, but not as engaging as the other tools and strategies that we used today!
- Finding objects in the house and counting them: Zach had fun with this one, and helped develop his French counting in order!
After using the strategies listed, Zach was able to count in French up to 20 (in French-English and English-French), in order and out of order! The results are in the below table:
This means that he has earned badge #3!!!
Moving Forward:
- be able to say basic greetings (hello, goodbye)
- be able to say how he is doing (I am doing well, and you)
- be able to communicate if he doesn't understand/has a question
I have been doing some research on how I can best teach him to complete this badge. Here are some resources I have found:
Basic French greetings: https://www.fluentu.com/blog/french/learn-french-greetings/
Video of French Greetings: http://www.jefrench.com/basic-french-lessons/basic-french-lesson-1/
My past research mentioned that repetition is important, so all throughout this week, Zach and I will go over this video and some basic greetings, and only greet each other in French. the goal here is to get him familiar with greeting and to start using them fluently! As we continue to progress, he should be able to speak more and more fluently. We are going to try to keep speaking in French together so that he is getting as much practice and repetition as possible, which is one of the keys to learning a new language.
Reflecting on this week:
This week was a lot of fun! I love seeing how into the French songs Zach is, and how much it is helping him learn! The only challenge I faced this week, was I didn't realize that Zach already had a very very basic foundation of French, which has made these 3 badges very simple for him to earn. Moving forward, I know that badge 4 and 5 will take a bit more work to earn, and he is not as comfortable with spontaneous conversation and being able to speak to someone. Yes, he was fairly good with numbers, months and days, but the next portion of the genius hour will be the most work, as this is where Zach struggles. I really wish I had done a diagnostic assessment at the beginning so that I could've skipped some elements of the language. That being said, I am still learning some great strategies and practicing teaching the language I love!
In order to prepare for next week, I will introduce basic greetings to Zach and teach him how to express when he is confused, or doesn't understand a questions. He has been doing quite a bit of this on duo lingo, but we are going to continue working on this throughout the week. We will only greet each other in French so that Zach can repeat and become more familiar with some basic French!
Stay tuned to see if Zach is able to earn badge #4 next week!
Unit next time,
Sydney
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