Session 8: Card/Side Talk

Objective: By the end of class, you will be able to…

Beginner: say words or phrases in French to answer questions to describe the preferences of people in class preferences about weird chores they have to do

Intermediate: say two or more sentences in French to describe the preferences of people in class preferences about weird chores they have to do, using transition words to say more

Advanced: say a paragraph in French to describe the preferences of people in class about weird chores they have to do, using transition words to say more and organize your paragraph

Preparation

To prepare for Session Nine, the Community Survey, you might assign the task of surveying one, two, or three (or any other number) of people from the community on the topic of the survey. The example lesson uses the topic of school subjects, and students bring a response from one or two teachers and two or more students.

You can use any topic you want, and have students interview people in general, without specifying the categories of people to interview (e.g. teachers or students). However, having students bring responses from a specific category of people, or from two categories, as in the example of teachers and students, usually leads to a more interesting class discussion.

To prepare for this lesson, on Slide Talk or Card Talk, please see Session 5, in which this strategy was first introduced, if you need to re-read the detailed explanation of how to prepare for Card Talk or Slide Talk. This lesson uses the example of a Slide Talk from our Teachers Pay Teachers store (CI Liftoff) on the topic of “weird chores.”

Here are some example slides from the Latin slideshow, which also happens to contain some cultural information: the labors of Hercules. I am sure that for many of our students, the weird chores they have to do, indeed, do feel like Herculean tasks, at times!

Continue to greet the students in English review expectations, etc. Share the lesson objective.

If you have not yet set up your Videographer, I urge you to do so now. See the HR Manual in the Appendices for more information on setting up this and other student jobs.

Hand out (or project/display) the Reading Workshop text. You might make your own, use the ones in our Teachers Pay Teachers store (CI Liftoff), or read a Shared Writing text from a previous lesson. Then, share the lesson objective if you have not already done so, check in with your Class Starter (and perhaps Videographer), and begin the lesson.

Pronunciation Practice

See the notes in Session Three for detailed instructions on how you might conduct this Reading Workshop strategy. In this sample lesson, I use the beginner reading from our Teachers Pay Teachers store (CI Liftoff) for Cycle One Phase Two, shown below, in French. Other levels from our TpT store are shown in Italian.

As always, the lesson notes are written in English. To indicate the words that are said in the course language (French, in this example), I will use black text. The class’s stronger shared language is written in this color. Page 213

French Beginner Text - Brochure Italian Beginner

Italian Intermediate

Italian Advanced

Italian “Plus”

Once the students can see the projected text, or they have it on their desks, you can proceed. First, tell the class what the topic of the reading is most likely speaking in the class’s stronger shared language, and then read it aloud in the course language. “I will read this brochure to you in French, about seasons to visit French Polynesia.” (read in the course language)

“Let’s practice our French pronunciation. I will read a sentence in French and then we will all read it together. Your job is to pronounce the words as closely to how I say them as you can. We will really ‘French it up’ and try to use the ‘Frenchest’ pronunciation you can.” (Read a sentence from the reading aloud in the course language, really emphasizing the pronunciation so that students will stretch their speech articulation muscles when they repeat the sentence in the same fashion.)

“OK, let’s read that together, and ‘French it up’ as much as we can.” (Read with the class, modeling very clear and almost overly-articulated pronunciation in the course language.) “Good job. But I bet you can ‘French it up’ even more. Like this. Listen.” (Read the same sentence aloud in the course language, really emphasizing the pronunciation, perhaps even more than the first time.) “OK, let’s read that again, and ‘French it up’ even more.” (Read with the class, modeling very clear and almost overly-articulated pronunciation in the course language.) Repeat with a couple of other sentences. After a few minutes, move into the Guided Oral Input, with a short calendar check-in and then the Card/Slide Talk.

Card/Slide Talk (Preferences: Weird Chores)

It is suggested to continue the routine of a brief (2-3 minutes) calendar check-in, which (1) creates an opening/transition routine and (2) continues to reinforce, daily, and in a meaningful context, important vocabulary such as the names of the months and days, weather, numbers, preferences, and activities. For guidance on how to gradually introduce new topics/vocabulary into this daily routine, please see Session Five.

“Look (gesture and pause to sweep the class with your eyes to check for understanding) at the calendar. Is today’s date…September 9 (jot “9” somewhere, perhaps on the board) or October 9?” (Some kids call out “September”) “Yes, class, today is September…9 (write 3 on the calendar).” “Class, is today Thursday (point)…or Monday (point)? (Some kids call out “Monday!” )

“Yes, class, today is Monday (point), September (point) 9 (point).” “Is the year 2021 (place your hand under “2021” on the calendar) or 2022 (jot “2022”)?” (Some kids call out “2021!” ) “Yes, class, today is Monday (point), September (point) 9 (point), 2021 (point).” (Walk over to the window, or display the weather forecast, if you have no windows.)

Look (gesture) out the window (walk to the window and point). Look (gesture) out the window…think (gesture)…is it sunny (point/hold up a visual aid that says “sunny” in a “windy way” in your course language, like the examples provided, or establish a gesture) or rainy (use visual or gesture)?

(Students answer, in English or French, depending on ability/inclination, Windy!/Rainy!/No!)

Today it is NOT rainy, and it is NOT windy. (depending on answers, you might write or place a visual aid on the calendar). Class, is it hot (gesture) or cold (gesture)?

(Students answer)

Today it is hot. Very hot (depending on answers, you might write or place a visual aid on the calendar).

Then, you will move on to Card or Slide Talk. For a more detailed explanation of this strategy, please refer to Session Five, where it was first introduced. This example lesson uses the Slide Talk from our Teachers Pay Teachers store (CI Liftoff), on weird chores. You can use this slideshow, or make your own to elicit students’ preferences on any topic that you are required to teach, or that you want to address. This is a good chance to “angle” the input to work with any required vocabulary to which you might need or want to expose students.

As you discuss the images that students submitted to the slideshow (for Slide Talk), or the sketches they made on the cards (for Card Talk), you might have the class fill out a graphic organizer to keep track of the details of their classmates’ preferences. There are many possibilities for graphic organizers you might use but this lesson uses the “Talking Heads in a Row” format, which is a good option for any discussion format (such as Slide/Card Talk) that elicits multiple perspectives on a topic.

“Talking Heads in a Row” Graphic Organizer

Your Guided Oral Input might go something like this today:

“Class, look (gesture) at the slides (place your hand on the slideshow).”

“Look (gesture) at Catherine’s (place your hand under the name) slide.”

“Catherine has (gesture)… Has (gesture) means has (gesture). Show me has (gesture). Show me thinks (gesture). Show me looks (gesture). Show me likes (gesture). Show me loves (gesture). Show me has (gesture).”

“Catherine (place your hand under the name) has (gesture) a cat (place your hand under the picture on the slide to establish the meaning of “cat”).”

“Who in the class (gesture) has (gesture) a cat (place your hand under the picture)?”

“Catherine, look (gesture)! One, two…(counting in the course language )…twelve people in the class have (gesture) a cat (place your hand under the picture).”

“Does Catherine LOVE (gesture) changing the litter (place your hand under the picture on the slide)?” “Yes, class, Catherine DOES NOT (gesture) love (gesture) changing the litter. Does she HATE (gesture) changing the litter (place your hand under the picture on the slide)?”

“Yes, class, Catherine HATES (gesture) changing the litter (place your hand under the picture on the slide). Who in the class (gesture) LOVES (gesture) changing the litter (point)? ZERO (hold up a “zero” with your hand) people LOVE (gesture) changing the litter (point).

Who in the class (gesture) HATES (gesture) changing the litter (point)? One, two (counting in the course language) nine people HATE (gesture) changing the litter (point). Catherine, look (gesture) at the class (gesture). Nine people (hold up nine fingers or jot 9 on the board) HATE (gesture) changing the litter (point).”

“Class, does Catherine LOVE (gesture) or NOT LOVE (gesture) her cat?” “Yes, class, Catherine LOVES (gesture) her cat. Does she LOVE (gesture) changing the litter (point)?” “Yes, class, Catherine HATES (gesture) changing the litter (point).”

(As time permits, move on to another slide(s) and continue in a similar fashion.)

After about 12 to 15 minutes of Guided Oral Input, regardless of how many slides you covered, move on to Scaffolded Oral Review. You can return to cover more slides in the next lesson, or later in the second round of Guided Oral Input in a block class.

Quick Quiz

Move to your Review Spot. For a detailed explanation of the “Quick Quiz” strategy, see Session One. “OK, time for a review quiz. Remember, you will hear the question TWO TIMES. The first time, LISTEN. Do NOT talk. Just listen. The second time, answer.” Generally I ask between six and ten questions, or even more. But on the first days, you might ask only two or three, or even just one, depending on your class schedule.

You are advised to continue sticking with simple “either-or” or “yes-no” questions, providing two choices, one of which is correct and the other incorrect. Additionally, I recommend that you literally give students the answer as you ask the question, and also provide plenty of “hints” in the form of extra-linguistic information such as vocal inflection, gestures, pointing to visuals, and facial expressions.

After moving to the Review Spot, your quiz might go something like this:

“OK, time for a review quiz. Remember, you will hear the question TWO TIMES. The first time, LISTEN. Do NOT talk. Just listen. The second time, call out the answer.”

“Number One. (hold up one finger) Class, does Catherine LOVE (gesture) …. shhhhh…. or HATE (gesture)… shhhh…changing the litter…..shhhhh? Shhhhh! Does Catherine LOVE (gesture) …. shhhhh…. or HATE (gesture)…shhhh…changing the litter?” (The class calls out, “HATE!”) “Yes, class! Catherine hates changing the litter.”

“Number Two. (two fingers) Does Catherine LOVE (gesture)…shhhhh…or HATE (gesture) her cat…..shhhh….Does Catherine LOVE (gesture)…shhhhh…or HATE (gesture) her cat?”

(The class calls out, “LOVE!”) “Yes, class! Catherine LOVES (gesture) her cat, but she HATES (gesture) changing the litter.” Repeat with more questions if time permits.

Write and Discuss

See Session One for a detailed explanation of Write and Discuss. The example provided below will, of course, differ from your class’s text. You will still most likely find that you only have time to write three or four sentences for Shared Writing. That is OK; you are still building the foundation in these first lessons, and even throughout the year(s) you might routinely only write a few sentences in any given Shared Writing session, so that you have time for the other lesson components in the daily instructional framework.

Your Shared Writing might sound something like this today:

Write: Our Chores. We love Say: We love (gesture) cats…or we love (gesture) changing the litter? Students: CATS! Say and write: We love cats. C-A-T-S. Write: Catherine has Say: Does Catherine have one (hold up one finger) cat or three (hold up three fingers) cats? Class: One! Say: Yes, Catherine has…(writing and spelling) O-N-E-space-C-A-T. Reading/Recycling: Our Chores. We love cats. Catherine has one cat. Say and write: Catherine’s cat is named Say: Is Catherine’s cat named Sojo or Buttercup? Students: Sojo! Say and write: Catherine’s cat is named (writing and spelling) S-O-J-O. Catherine Say: Does Catherine LOVE (gesture) Sojo or does she NOT LIKE (gesture) Sojo? Students: LOVE! Say and write: Catherine LOVES her cat, (say “comma” in the course language) Sojo. Say: How many (gesture) people in the class have (gesture) a cat? One (hold up one finger)? Two (hold up two fingers)? Three (hold up three fingers)? How many (gesture) people have (gesture) a cat? One (hold up one finger person)? Two (hold up two fingers) people? How many (gesture)? Students: Nine! Say and write: Nine people in our class have a cat Say: Does the class LOVE (gesture) or HATE (gesture) changing the litter? Students: HATE! Say and write: Nine people in our class have a cat, (say “comma” in the course language) but we HATE (gesture) changing the litter. Reading/Recycling: Our Chores. We love cats. Catherine has one cat. Catherine’s cat is named Sojo. Catherine loves her cat. Nine people in our class have a cat, but we HATE changing the litter.

Time permitting, you might write more or less.

The “Go-To” Daily Strategies

You will work with the text that your class created together using the three “Go-To” strategies (or, for block classes, perhaps four strategies, if time permits). Today, Shared Reading might sound something like this:

Read in the Language

“Now I will read to you in French and then we will read in English together.” (reading with expression, and pointing to the words) Our Chores. We love cats. Catherine has one cat. Catherine’s cat is named Sojo. Catherine loves her cat. Nine people in our class have a cat, but we HATE changing the litter.

Choral Translation

“Now we will read together. Read with the class, not faster, not slower, not louder, not softer, just say each word as I highlight it. It might be in a strange order when we say the English, but that’s OK; it’s normal. Say the words as I point. 3-2-1, go!”

(class reads: our…chores…???) (sensing confusion, you circle the words “nous”.) “This word means “we.” Let’s start over here.”

(class reads: our…chores…we…love…the) (remembering that you taught this point in a previous Shared Reading) Good job! You remembered that “les” means “the” and we have to say that in French but we don’t need to say it in English. Nice memories! Let’s start over here.”

(class reads: we…love…the…cats…Catherine…has…one…cat…the…cat…???) (sensing confusion, you circle the words “of”) “This word means “of.” In French, we have to say “the cat of Catherine” because there is no “apostrophe s” in French. We always have to say “of the person” like here, “the cat of Catherine.” In Engish, we usually would say, “Catherine’s cat.” That’s not an option in French. There is no “apostrophe s” in French. Let’s start over here.”

(class reads: the…cat…of…Catherine…is named…Sojo…Catherine…loves…???) (sensing confusion, you circle the words “son”) “This word means “her.” Let’s start over here.” (class reads: Catherine…loves…her…cat…nine…people…in…our…class…have…a…cat….but…we… hate….changing…the….litter.)

Continue in this fashion, time permitting.

Grammar Discussion

“Nice work reading! Did anyone notice anything else about the French language, how it is spelled, or put together, that they can teach the class?” (Lead a brief class discussion and circle any students’ noticings on the text, ideally using a second color, and perhaps writing the students’ name/initials by their contribution.)

To continue to Reading from the Back of the Room:

(You have walked to the back of the room)

You will most likely find that since you have been doing the same sequence of Shared Reading strategies all year to this point, you can simply move to the reading from the back of the room spot and begin asking questions, without needing to speak in English to transition. Your specific questions will vary.

Again, this is a major benefit of using a daily instructional framework and re-using the same instructional strategies; you can begin to simply deploy the familiar strategies with less and less English to set up and reinforce the activity each day, as students learn the expectation. Moving to various locations in the classroom to conduct the various repeated lesson components helps to cue students that you are moving to the next step in the lesson.

Q and A Game

For a more detailed explanation of this strategy, please see Session Six in which it was first introduced. Students will find a partner, or you will partner them up as described in Session 6. Today’s Q and A Game might sound something like this:

“Get with a partner.” (Students get with a partner in whatever way you have chosen.)

“Decide who is Partner A and who is Partner B. Partner A will raise their hand.” (repeating the directions in the course language) “You will decide who is Partner A and who is Partner B. Partner A will raise their hand.”

(once half the class is raising their hand) “I will ask a question to Partner A. Partner B will listen and count the words and gesture like this to encourage Partner A to say more. You get a point for every word you say.” (repeating the directions in the course language) “I will ask a question to Partner A. Partner B will listen and count the words and gesture like this to encourage Partner A to say more. You get a point for every word you say.”

“Partner A, what is the name of Catherine’s cat? What is the name of Catherine’s cat?” (Partner As are talking, Partner Bs are counting. After about 20 seconds, it is usually time to move on.)

“Partner B, does Catherine love changing the litter or hate changing the litter? Does Catherine love changing the litter or hate changing the litter?”

(Switch back to Partner A and continue on in this manner if time permits.)

At the end of the period, you might to debrief on what went well, and perhaps setting or reviewing goals.