MYP French – te(a)ch french

Visual resumés
My journey to better understanding visual literacy has been slowly progressing over the last couple of years. Mostly through discussions with Jeff. We both did a huge rework of our resumes before we applied to teach abroad. They were a hit at our Search fair (we got jobs!). I think my next rework is going to have to be another major one as I am uncomfortable making my resume any longer than 2 pages.

Infographics
When I started thinking about using an infographic in my French classes, I immediately went to Twitter to see if anyone in my PLN had something good. If I can take a couple seconds to outsource the work and not have to reinvent the wheel, I’m all for it. Karina came to my rescue and shared an amazing Pinterest board full of infographics…en français! (Merci à Gillian pour les réponses aussi!)

My class
In my MYP Phase 2 class, our current unit is about food (Qu’est-ce qu’on mange?). Our unit question is “How can cooking be good for my well-being and culture?” and our AOI is Health and Social Education.

My lesson
I found the infographic below on the blog ‘Autour de la gastronomie‘ which has numerous resources for French teachers. Although it would have to be altered for my students, I loved the layout and information! A few lesson ideas:

students choose a section of the graphic then discuss how/if food plays a similar role in their lives or culture (en français bien sur!).
in small groups students create survey questions for the school (using Google Forms). Results are tabulated and each group creates a part of the infographic (using easel.ly or similar). Surveys could also be shared on principal blogs for parents to take. Students could then compare and contrast (en français) the data from the two infographics.

Another year as a Technology Coach, another year teaching French. I am once again in the MYP Language B classroom (grades 9 & 10; phases 1, 2 & 3) part time due to unforeseen circumstances. I am entering my 3rd week in the classroom and I’m expecting to be teaching a minimum of this week and next. While it has been an incredibly challenging few weeks, I’ve learned a lot about MYP assessment.

The four criterion that can be graded in Language B are oral communication, visual interpretation, reading comprehension and writing. The middle school French teacher and I have started planning our formative assessments for the next unit based on our summatives.

Phase 3 Unit 2: On fait la fête!
Unit Question: ‘How can I be organized?’
AOI: human ingenuity.
Assessment tasks: A- tell a friend about your birthday party, B- analyze & compare birthday party invitations, C- read a text about Mardi Gras & answer questions, D- write a letter to describe your birthday party

Our focus will be on organizing parties. Although the summatives will be about birthday parties, we want to include a variety of cultural events throughout the unit. My favorite ‘C’ from the US National Standards for Foreign Language is Culture!

Language B French Formative: It is July 14. You are standing on the streets of Paris. This is the image you see as you look up into the sky. In French, write a short paragraph describing the holiday you are celebrating. Then, write a dialogue between you and two friends that you might have while participating in the festivities.

Tag: MYP French

Qu’est-ce qu’on mange?

Visual Interpretation in MYP Language B