MEGE+Journal+4

Journal 4 French 2 (Hour 3) Thursday November 3

French 2 is mostly sophomores. This particular hour is very rowdy. There are 23 students, the largest of any hour, but the combination of students proves to be difficult as well. Since the first day I observed, I noticed that there is one particular group of boys that always sit next to each other (no seating chart) and talk the entire hour. Usually, the teacher tries to talk over them but occasionally tells them to be quiet. When they work in groups, they do their work and I know they understand it, they just get distracted really easily and aren’t always fully on task.
 * Student Learning and Development**

We played the flashcard game to review their verbs. Students had the option of working with a partner or doing it individually. They also played magic boards and that helps show me if they understand the material. They should be able to relate to these verbs because it is all a part of their daily routine. In my lesson, I should have asked them individually what time they wake up, if they shower in the morning or at night, ect to make them more personally involved.

One of their vocabulary words is “un fer à friser” which means a curling iron. I tried to point out to students that “fer” (iron) is easy to remember because “fe” is the periodic symbol for iron. This comparison should help students remember. I found out that some of them have not taken chemistry yet, but hopefully when they do they will think back to French class and be able to remember the symbol.
 * Teaching Strategies**

When teaching the three different ways to ask a question, I would frequently pause and check for understanding and answer their questions. Many of them didn’t have a question until they found out that posing questions was going to be on their homework assignment. In the last part of class, I circled around while they did their worksheet. The most common mistake I saw was students using both “est-ce que” and inversion at the same time (Est-ce que te laves-tu?) or conjugating the verb wrong. If I pointed to the verb and said something needs to be fixed, they could figure it out. They didn’t fully comprehend the difference between est-ce que and inversion. That definitely needs more work in the future and I didn’t realize that they have never been instructed that before. I thought they had some background and we were just reviewing. I was later told “they’ve seen it, but probably don’t know how to do it”. Had I known, I would have spent more time teaching it and not given them the worksheet until the next day.

I used formative assessments when the students used the magic boards. This shows if they are conjugating their verbs correctly and how long it takes them to write it out. Some students know the answer right away where as others need to sit and think it out. I also assessed them formatively as I circled the room and glanced at their homework. I noticed that a lot of students did not understand the difference between est-ce que and inversion. This definitely needs to be reviewed more in class.
 * Assessment**

As I said before, this is the most boisterous group. Lucky for me, they did not give me any major problems. There were a couple students that got off task and needed to be told to be quiet but other than that they were well behaved. I think that rearranging Mrs. Palmer’s classroom and assigning seats would be extremely beneficial for the students and Mrs. Palmer. Right now, the room is divided in two and the desks are turned so that students are facing each other from across the room. If the Smart Board is used, students on the right side of the room have to move, and if the white board is used, students on the left side have to move. There is a third white board in the front of the room. For me, it is a goofy layout and I want to change it because I think it would make things easier on everybody. I also think she should start implementing assigned seats being that she has a problem with students talking to their friends during class. Because I am new, they behaved much better and paid more attention than what they usually do. I believe that assigning seats and rearranging the room would help with classroom management. Students begin to talk and get off task as they are turning their desks when the side white board or SmartBoard is being used. I really think that a new arrangement would naturally calm them down and save a lot of valuable class time.
 * Classroom Management**