Putting French reflexive verbs in the passé composé isn’t hard, but man, it’s long. To help students manage this cumbersome structure, I created an acronym: PREPP. I say: It’s not hard, but you do have to PREPP yourself to put reflexives in the passé composé!* PR = Pronom Réfléchi You have to start with the […]
PREPP Yourself: French Reflexives in the Passé Composé* Read More »
When I got the little firework banner message proclaiming I passed–-I was finally Erin Austin, NBCT–-I cried. (I wanted to be tougher than that, but apparently I’m not.) The National Board certification process is long, difficult, and expensive. I completed the four components plus the language tests over the course of two years, and during
Tips for Component 1 (C1) of National Board Certification Read More »
Disclaimers: 1. Yes, I’m a product of the 90s2. Yes, I know this is frivolous3. Despite #1 and #2, I still assert that this is relevant 25 years ago Nirvana released arguably one of the Top 5 greatest live albums of all time: MTV Unplugged. I remain just as mesmerized by their albums now as
Top 3 Things Nirvana Can Teach Us about Good Teaching Read More »
Years ago, a former colleague told me about French classrooms having student “delegates”. Essentially, they were elected classroom leaders that helped the teachers and other students with various tasks. Genius! While it’s a modern trend to assign classroom jobs to every kid, that feels like too much to me: too much to set up, too
The Delegate System Read More »
“Can we have a food day?”“Can we eat French food?”“We never eat in here!” As a French teacher, I’m sure you’ve never heard those words from your students before… (Or, more likely, you hear them weekly!) On the one hand, we know food completely rules French life, so we feel like it’s our job to
Fête du Pain: a (truly) easy food day Read More »
If I got hurt as a kid, I could guarantee one of these responses from my dad: “Here’s a quarter. Go call someone who cares.”“I think we oughtta shoot ya.”“It’s two feet from your heart. You’ll live. As an adult, my best friend, a therapist, was appalled to learn this. How could anyone say that
Semester Evaluations: Let’s Toughen Up! Read More »