Pickering, Ontario, Canada
Thank you for inquiring about the small group cooperative learning activity calledI hope that your students enjoy this activity as much as mine! You will be amazed at how much writing they do!
The first thing which you will see in a few seconds is an explanation on how to use Phrases Magiques.
I tell the students that any group which writes sentences equalling 20 points or more will receive a reward (you decide on the reward). Please note that it is 20 points and NOT 20 sentences.
I find that telling the students that the team which gets the most points will receive a reward is not such a good idea because this creates a civil war of teams.
Please note that the vocabulary in the table below is from our particular text book and meets our needs. You will have to adapt the vocabulary and grammar structures from your own text to meet your needs.
If you take a look at the table below which I have set up as an example, (it is based on Unit 1 of a grade nine text called Passages), you will notice that I am having my students play with the passé composé of "voir" (a new verb) and faire and the position of the adverb in a passé composé sentence (a new grammatical structure). Also the words l'escalade and Ronde are new vocabulary items in this unit.
Here is the EXPLANATION of how Phrases Magiques works:
Phrases Magiques is another way to involve your students in cooperative learning and have fun manipulating the vocabulary and grammar of new units.
The idea is simple and the results amazing as you discover how inventive your students can be! You will also note with interest how much writing they do!
Here's how it works. Please refer to the table beneath
Divide the students into groups of two. One student will compose two sentences and the other will write them. The one composing will also check to ensure that the spelling is correct. After two sentences have been written the roles of the creator and writer are reversed and so on and so on.
Students start in the STAR box - here it is MOI. They then compose a sentence ie. "Moi, j'ai passé la fin de semaine au parc." They have come out of a star box and earn two (2) points.
They may, however, compose the following sentence. "Moi, j'ai passé la fin de semaine à Montréal." For this they earn one (1) point because they did not exit through a star box.
Students do not necessarily have to start in a star box to earn points. For example: "J'ai passé mes vacances d'été à Montréal." For this they earn one (1) point.
Remember, in order to earn two points, students must start in a star box and come out through a star box.
Students are not allowd to jump boxes. They must always use boxes which touch each other. Students write sentences on the lines provided beneath the table. You could have 15 lines (I have only put two in the interest of conserving space.) Students, of course, are allowed to compose as many sentences as they wish and can simply turn over the page to do so.
Here is the table!
de l'escalade déjà ******** Moi,
********
vu sensationnel de la natation
fait j'ai enfin un film un peu de bicyclette
avec mes amis
passé la fin de semaine
français ******** à la Ronde
********
mes vacances d'été
à Montréal une journée fantastique
******** au parc
********
1. .........................................................................................................................................................................
2. .........................................................................................................................................................................
ENJOY THE ACTIVITY! Please take a few moments to e-mail me your comments. I have made it easy - all you have to do is click on my name!
SO FAR VISITORS HAVE DROPPED BY
THANK YOU FOR BEING ONE OF THEM
Why not stop by another small group cooperative learning activity called Les Cinq Amis
Don't forget Mon Ami Imaginaire
Please also visit Volterre
Be sure to visit Tennessee Bob's Famous Links
Please visit also Les Applications pédagogiques de l'Internet
Best Wishes from Whitby, Ontario, Canada - Pete Jones
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This page was updated on April 21, 1997 and created on March 9, 1997.
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