I haven't mentioned this in quite a few blogs, but I also teach French. I used to spend a great deal of time crafting grammar lessons. If I've learned anything this year it is that traditional lesson planning is generally a waste of learning time.
Today I wanted students to understand adjective agreements.
Traditional Lesson
1. Spend time creating charts and rehearsing explanation of rules, give several examples, demonstrate noun-adjective agreement, have students come up to the board and demonstrate, create a worksheet, practise ... blah, blah, blah ...
Problem-Based Lesson
Create 1 chart with the following
Adjectives
1. patient patiente patients patientes
2. sportif sportive sportifs sportives
3. curieux curieuse curieux curieuses
4. sociable sociable sociables sociables
Discuss how adjectives are used in the English language.
Put students into collaborative groups of 3-4.
Give each group 1 paper and 1 marker.
Tell them to figure out why the spellings change (or don't change).
They all got it:
Adjectives in French are spelled differently depending on whether the noun they are modifying is masculine, feminine or plural.
I then gave them adjectives and they had to figure out the 3 other spellings.
ex: aventureux - how else can it be spelled?
creatif (yes accent is missing) - what are the other spellings?
They were able to determine the spellings based on the patterns.
Near the end of class, I asked students to summarize their learning which we did orally. I clarified any misunderstandings and elaborated on a few points. I then put up a chart with the rules. Students were free to copy it down or create their own version - whatever would help them remember.
At then end of class I did a quick survey asking their opinions of the approach. All of them preferred it to the traditional method. When I probed further, some were at the beginning stages of comprehension and knew more practise was needed. Students made suggestions as to what would help them solidify concepts.
The class thought the best way to practise would be to play games with the spellings. Several students suggested possibilities and the class left knowing what would be happening on Monday.
Very little planning was required on my part. The skill lies in structuring the lesson so that students solve a problem and then in determining weakness and next steps. That's it. So simple.
Today I wanted students to understand adjective agreements.
Traditional Lesson
1. Spend time creating charts and rehearsing explanation of rules, give several examples, demonstrate noun-adjective agreement, have students come up to the board and demonstrate, create a worksheet, practise ... blah, blah, blah ...
Problem-Based Lesson
Create 1 chart with the following
Adjectives
1. patient patiente patients patientes
2. sportif sportive sportifs sportives
3. curieux curieuse curieux curieuses
4. sociable sociable sociables sociables
Discuss how adjectives are used in the English language.
Put students into collaborative groups of 3-4.
Give each group 1 paper and 1 marker.
Tell them to figure out why the spellings change (or don't change).
They all got it:
Adjectives in French are spelled differently depending on whether the noun they are modifying is masculine, feminine or plural.
I then gave them adjectives and they had to figure out the 3 other spellings.
ex: aventureux - how else can it be spelled?
creatif (yes accent is missing) - what are the other spellings?
They were able to determine the spellings based on the patterns.
Near the end of class, I asked students to summarize their learning which we did orally. I clarified any misunderstandings and elaborated on a few points. I then put up a chart with the rules. Students were free to copy it down or create their own version - whatever would help them remember.
At then end of class I did a quick survey asking their opinions of the approach. All of them preferred it to the traditional method. When I probed further, some were at the beginning stages of comprehension and knew more practise was needed. Students made suggestions as to what would help them solidify concepts.
The class thought the best way to practise would be to play games with the spellings. Several students suggested possibilities and the class left knowing what would be happening on Monday.
Very little planning was required on my part. The skill lies in structuring the lesson so that students solve a problem and then in determining weakness and next steps. That's it. So simple.
I love the last paragraph. I also think too, though, that you have to develop trust with the students and have an environment where taking a risk is not only okay, but expected. To me that they are willing to do this is a testament to your community building. Well done all around.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to comment Bob. Building a trusting relationship is key. Once this relationship of trust is established it is humbling to see just how many risks students are willing to take with their learning.
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