Toronto Teacher Mom

Getting Started with Son-au-graphe

2026-01-11T21:33:00.018-05:00

Since starting out in my new role as a K-3 Early Reading Facilitator in support of French Immersion schools, I have come across a number of videos that have helped in learning how to use Son-au-graphe during the structured literacy block. I make a point of sharing these videos with my colleagues and so I decided last month to compile them into a single Google Slides document. This way, they can find them all in one place and can watch them from within the slideshow without any pesky ads getting in the way.

If you would like to see the videos I have collected thus far, I have embedded the slideshow below. Since the authors of Son-au-graphe have worked closely with UFLI, I have included UFLI specific videos since they can provide insights for using Son-au-graphe. And if there are any that I have missed, please let me know in the comments and I'll be sure to add them. Merci!

Les mnémoniques intégrés - vidéos pédagogiques d'ONlit

2025-10-07T20:56:00.009-04:00

Tonight I attended a webinar presented by Jordan Sloan to introduce ONlit's embedded picture mnemonics en français. This research-based way to teach children about letters and the sounds they represent uses letter cards with a picture of a key word embedded directly in a letter to help reinforce letter-sound correspondence. Their printable French resources are available for download via onlit.org and include:

a set of half-page flashcards with a mnemonic on one side and a sample instructional routine on the other (set printer to flip on long side)
a set of half-page flashcards with a mnemonic on one side and a plain letter on the other
a set of mini flashcards with 8 mnemonics per page

They have also created a set of videos, one with the instructional routine that is narrated and one without. The animations are adorable and I plan on sharing these videos with my colleagues. And if you know me, I always create a Google Slides document and embed the videos directly within the presention. It's not only easier for me to have everything in one place, it also eliminates those annoying YouTube ads and suggested videos that pop up at the end. I have already compiled all 27 of their vidéos pédagogiques, in order of the Son-au-graphe sequence, so if you'd like to access the Google Slides document, click on the link below.

Les mnémoniques intégrés - les 27 vidéos pédagogiques d'ONlit

If you want to learn about upcoming webinars, check out ONlit's event page or follow ONlit fr on Instagram for French specific updates.

Bonne fête à toi! - Karaoke Version

2025-09-01T01:11:00.002-04:00

Did you know that you can easily create animated videos using Canva? I love making fun videos to use in my core French classes and this will definitely be one of them - a karaoke version of Bonne fête à toi! In fact, I make it a routine to check my birthday list of roughly 200 students or so before classes begin to make sure I don't miss anyone's special day. I usually play my ukelele but I think this video will be a fun way to celebrate, too. What do you think?

NEW! French Digital Calendar 2025-2026, Weather Board and More!

2025-08-20T08:00:00.004-04:00

September is fast approaching but I'm excited to share that the 2025-2026 French Digital Calendar is now live on Teachers Pay Teachers. There is a Google Slides version as well as a PowerPoint version. For those who are hesitant about allowing TPT access to your Google Drive, consider the PowerPoint version and, after downloading it to your computer, you can upload it to Google Drive and it will automatically convert to a Google Slides document. Here is what both versions include:

a weather board with images and word cards with additional weather descriptions Il y a du brouillard and C'est partiellement nuageux as per user feedback.
a pre-populated monthly calendar with weeks beginning on Sunday from September 2025 through to August 2026
a pre-populated monthly calendar with weeks beginning on Monday from September 2025 through to August 2026
a Comment ça va? board featuring Ananas with interchangeable eyes, mouths, and word cards
a "Quelle est la date aujourd'hui?" board with all the word and number cards needed to formulate a complete response.
NEW! The tally chart slide can be used to count the days by simply moving the vertical and diagonal lines to create les marques de pointage. (There are enough to count to 200.) It now features number tiles and a place value chart!

Please note that this is not a perpetual calendar. This is a 1-year calendar for the current school year, which includes September 2025 to August 2026.

Head on over to Teachers Pay Teachers if you would like to purchase a copy of the updated French Digital Calendar in either Google Slides or PowerPoint format.

Join us at the Core French Connection Summit!

2025-08-19T19:30:00.018-04:00

Oh là là! C'est presque septembre. But have no fear, Mme Reid is here with her inaugural Core French Connection Summit! From Thursday, August 21 to Friday, August 22, you can attend this virtual summit and watch nearly two dozen presentations for FREE. Also included is a keynote address by Denis Cousineau, an interactive bingo game and a chance to win prizes, such as a $250 gift card for Reitmans, a $175 gift card for StickerYou, and a copy of my French Digital Calendar for the 2025-2026 school year. Session topics range from how to run centres as well as structured literacy in the Core French classroom to healthy habits for busy educators and how to create interactive activities using Google Slides (presented by moi).

Don't have time during the two days of the virtual summit? An all-access pass is available for $70 which will give you a year to stream the sessions any time you like and it includes extra perks:

My session will be available on Thursday, August 21 so I hope to see you there. All attendees can also connect with one another, as well as the summit speakers and presenters, via a CoLab Education professional community created for this summit, so feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or connect with me on my social channels, such as Instagram, Facebook or the app formerly known as Twitter.

Disclosure: This blog participates in affiliate marketing.

La poule Maboule - Je suis... Printable Activity

2025-01-27T12:15:00.001-05:00

Today I am sharing a quick little activity I threw together for my grade 2 students who are working on La poule Maboule. I drew the outline of the characters' heads so that students can illustrate their faces and provide a brief description by filling in the blanks and indicating comment ça va. The students really loved working on this activity and many teachers have been asking for a copy. So, here it is! Click on the thumbnails below to download your free copy.

Le jour du Souvenir - Book Creator

2024-11-10T23:21:00.008-05:00

For Remembrance Day, I wanted to introduce my younger students to some thematic vocabulary and decided to put something togething using Book Creator. I love that you can easily create a book with beautiful images and customizable elements such as page borders and fonts, but you can also upload media such as audio files, as well as embed videos. Here is my book on "Le jour du Souvenir" that includes the Last Post (Dernier Appel) and a video reciting Au champ d'honneur that includes subtitles.

(Click here to view the book if you are using a mobile device.)

Google Drawings Portrait Art Activity

2024-10-19T23:09:00.005-04:00

Everyone who knows me can attest to how much I love being a Core French teacher. I knew as young as 10 years old that I would become a French teacher and I still recall the thank you card I wrote to one of my elementary French teachers who inspired me to pursue my passion. A few years ago, I took a break from the classroom and joined the SIS Project to become a teacher-trainer. Once the term of my position ended, I ended up taking a position where I taught Core French for half of the day and French Specialty (French Immersion) for the other half, since there weren't any full-time Core French positions available in my area. Visual Arts was one of the French Immersion subjects I taught to grade 5, 6 and 8 students.

As much as I love art, I struggled to find ideas that worked within my schedule given the time constraints, especially seeing as I had to travel from class to class. Luckily, I knew of a number of digital art activities that I had come across over the years. One such activity was the use of Google Drawings to recreate portraits, which I had learned about at a 2016 Google Summit workshop with media specialist George Barcenas (check out slide 4 for an animated gif demo). He demonstrated how you can insert a photo onto one side of the Drawing canvas and trace over parts of the head and face using the curve line. The trick is clicking multiple times as you draw the line until you reach the starting point to close the shape. You can then right-click on the shape to edit any of the points (or double-click on it), format the colour of the line and shape fill/gradient, and even add a drop shadow.

Then move it to the other side of your canvas. Thinking in terms of layers, it is recommended that you begin with the head and hair since they will be the lowermost layers, and then draw the facial features, since every time you add a shape, it becomes the topmost layer. Or, you can simply right-click on the shape and click on Order to change the layer.

As you can see in the photo above, there are many different layers to the eyes and mouth but a tip I shared with my students was to choose a face that was somewhat symmetrical since, once they make one eye, they can duplicate it, right-click on it and select Rotate to flip it horizontally. This avoids having to start from scratch and they can always edit the points if need be. It's the same technique I used for the teeth. I created one tooth, duplicated it and adjusted the points. I used this activity in my grade 8 class and was truly impressed by their work!

Additional Tips:

Use the eye dropper tool to create custom colours that match the original photo.
Use a basic circle shape for the iris and pupil, layering them underneath the eyelids.
Click on a shape to activate the Format Options menu (or right click on a shape) to add a drop shadow, which helps create a sense of depth, rotate a shape using precise degrees or to lock aspect ratio.

2024-2025 French Digitial Calendar and Weather Board

2024-08-21T09:57:00.003-04:00

It's that time of year again! Many of you have been asking for 2024-2025 French Digital Calendar and I'm happy to report that it is now live on Teachers Pay Teachers. There is a Google Slides version as well as a PowerPoint version. For those who are hesitant about allowing TPT access to your Google Drive, consider the PowerPoint version and, after downloading it to your computer, you can upload it to Google Drive and it will convert to a Google Slides document. Here is what both versions include:

a weather board with images and word cards with additional weather descriptions Il y a du brouillard and C'est partiellement nuageux as per user feedback.
a pre-populated monthly calendar with weeks beginning on Sunday from September 2024 through to August 2025
a pre-populated monthly calendar with weeks beginning on Monday from September 2024 through to August 2025
a Comment ça va? board featuring Ananas with interchangeable eyes, mouths, and word cards
a "Quelle est la date aujourd'hui?" board with all the word and number cards needed to formulate a complete response.
NEW! A tally board to keep track of the number of school days. There are enough tally marks to count to 200.

Please note that this is not a perpetual calendar. This is a 1-year calendar for the current school year, which includes September 2024 to August 2025.

Head on over to Teachers Pay Teachers if you would like to purchase a copy of the updated French Digital Calendar in either Google Slides or PowerPoint format.

If you use Google Slides, watch the video below to learn how to maximize your screen while still in edit mode, where you can manipulate the images and word cards in full screen mode:

Thank you to all those who have shown such wonderful support of my calendar over the years! I truly appreciate it, especially your reviews. If you ever have any feedback or requests for additional slide ideas, please leave a comment below or reach out on TPT. Merci et bonne rentrée!

French Resources: Le Carnaval de Québec 2024

2024-02-03T11:52:00.014-05:00

Salut! Long time, no blog, it would seem. As a little update, my role in our school board's SIS project ended in June and now I'm back, teaching français! I happened to notice that an old blog post on French resources for the Carnaval de Québec that I published back in 2013 is getting more hits than usual. Makes sense, given that we are right in the middle of Carnaval season, bien sûr! It's definitely time to give it a little refresher, n'est-ce pas?

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A post shared by Diana Mancuso 🍎 (@torontomom)

This year, our school had our own festivities in honour of the Carnaval de Québec, thanks to our student council volunteers and teacher leads. We had theme days, such as tuque day and red and white day, as well as school-wide bingo over the PA system. We also had a different staff member wear la ceinture fléchée on each of the five days and students had to write down their names on a ballot for a chance to win a prize. On the last day, we had a volunteer dress in a Bonhomme costume and take pictures in front of a Carnaval themed background I had designed.

In my grade 5 class, I showed them a YouTube video of les meilleurs moments du Carnaval 2022 and then we read a little paragraph about the Carnaval. I turned it into a texte qui disparaît activity, which I had first learned about from Richard Smith, a retired AIM French teacher. It's so much fun! The text is repeated on multiple slides but each slide has more and more words removed, with only the first letter remaining. The students really seem to enjoy the challenge of trying to recall the missing words. I then showed them the video of one of my favourite Carnaval songs - Salut, Bonhomme! Then I take out des cuillères and teach them a simple folkloric rhythm that they can use with their hands or to test out when I hand out my wooden spoons. TIP: I added both videos to the Google slidedeck to avoid any ads. Click here if you'd like a copy of the slidedeck above.

And if you own a Cricut machine, check out my Design Space page by clicking the image above. I have created three Carnaval themed projects using basic shapes and free images, which means you can make them without a subscription:

Joyeux Carnaval 2024 Pennant Banner
Palais de glace sign
Palais de glace - Extra Large (This is a modular design that fits on letter-size cardstock.)

For those who do not have a Cricut machine, I have created a PDF of the Joyeux Carnaval banner, which can be printed directly on to cardstock or regular printer paper and cut out by hand.

Of course, you have to visit the official Carnaval de Québec website, which has links to their social channels for those who like to follow along from afar, including the carnavaldequebec YouTube channel where you will find a variety of video montages and highlights from over the years. The site also has a teacher's corner where you can download free levelled educational kits containing worksheets. In addition, you can order old effigies, which make great prizes.

As always, feel free to share ideas on how you celebrate at your school by leaving a comment below.

Joyeux Carnaval!

French Digital Calendar and Weather Board 2023-2024

2023-08-25T08:20:00.006-04:00

UPDATE: Click here if you are looking for the 2024-2025 French calendar.

How is it already August? I know I haven't been out of the classroom for that long but I kind of forget what I need to do to prep for Back to School. Working on the SIS Project was a welcome change, that's for sure. I loved learning all about Aspen and training and supporting staff boardwide but I sure did miss teaching French. This year, I will be teaching junior and intermediate Core French as well as some French Immersion subjects such as Phys. Ed. and Visual Arts. Can't wait to move back into my old office! In the meantime, I have been working on giving my French Digital Calendar a refresh for the 2023-2024. Here is what it includes:

a weather board with images and word cards - NEW! I have added Il y a du brouillard. and C'est partiellement nuageux. as per user feedback.
a calendar with weeks beginning on Sunday from September through to August
a calendar with weeks beginning on Monday from September through to August
an updated Comment ça va? board featuring Ananas with interchangeable eyes, mouths, and word cards
NEW! A "Quelle est la date aujourd'hui?" board with all the word and number cards needed to formulate a complete response.

Please note that this not a perpetual calendar. This is only for the current school year of September 2023 to August 2024.

Head on over to Teachers Pay Teachers if you would like to purchase a copy of the updated French Digital Calendar in either Google Slides or PowerPoint format.

If you use Google Slides, watch the video below to learn how to maximize your screen while still in edit mode, where you can still manipulate the images and word cards:

TIP: If you want to use the calendar in Google Slides but do not wish to grant TPT access to your Google Drive, you can purchase the PowerPoint version instead and upload that file to your Drive. It will convert it to a Google Slides document.

NEW! French Digital Calendar 2022-2023

2022-08-28T22:24:00.007-04:00

UPDATE: Click here if you are looking for the 2024-2025 French calendar.

Another summer is almost over, which means many of my teacher friends are preparing for a new school year. I, on the other hand, have been busy working all summer on the SIS training team for my school board, a temporary role which will end in June. Last week, I finally managed to find some time to update my French Digital Calendar for the upcoming 2022-2023 school and added a few extra touches. Here is what it includes:

weather board (with images and word cards)
calendar with weeks beginning on Sunday (now from September through to August!)
calendar with weeks beginning on Monday
manipulative cards for l'année, c'est...
NEW! A Comment ça va? board featuring my latest drawing of the beloved Ananas (with interchangeable eyes and mouths, and word cards)

Head on over to Teachers Pay Teachers if you would like to purchase a copy of the updated French Digital Calendar in either Google Slides or PowerPoint format.

Coding with CS First - Characterization

2022-04-26T21:57:00.003-04:00

This week, my students will put on their programming hats and have a little fun coding in Scratch. They will be selecting a character from a story we have read, such as Les lunettes de Lucette and Alain et Denis font du camping, and completing the Characterization mini unit in CS First. (Unfortunately, this mini unit is currently only available in English and Spanish but we will eventually move on to the longer Storytelling unit which is disponible en français! At the very least, students can change the language in Scratch to French.) The task will be slightly different from that which is outlined in the CS First unit but the concepts demonstrated in the videos and add-ons will be quite useful. The task involves picking a character from the story and finding a sprite that resembles the character. I will show them how to edit the sprite to look a little more like the actual character, such as changing the hair colour, for example. Students will then add speech bubbles, thought bubbles and movement, as well as audio recordings to accompany the speech bubbles. Here is an example I quickly threw together, featuring Pierrette le chat from Les lunettes de Lucette:

Following this activity, students will begin to work on the Storytelling unit to code their own story or chapter about what happens next in the book they have read.

If you have tried either of these units with your students, I would love to hear how it went. Comment below with any insights and tips, s'il vous plaît et merci! 😃

French DPA Dance Videos - Jeunes en santé

2022-03-31T21:39:00.008-04:00

The other day, out of sheer luck, I happened across a post in one of the many French teacher Facebook groups to which I belong, where a teacher shared her incredibly extensive YouTube playlist of "Pauses actives en classe". I felt like I had hit the jackpot! Of the videos I have perused, there were a few that became instant favourites and they just so happened to be from the Jeunes en santé YouTube channel. These videos are absolutely fantastic because, not only do they have the instructions for each of the steps in French, but many of their videos use French songs.

Google Slides Hack

Did you know that you can easily by-pass ads by inserting YouTube videos into Google Slides? You can do so by selecting Insert > Video and then either searching for the YouTube video or pasting the direct link. For my favourite Jeunes en santé videos, I prefaced each one with the list of steps to review before each video. Have a look here:

I also set up each video to play automatically once I advance to those slides while in presentation mode. The other benefit of inserting videos directly into Google Slides is that you can publish the slide deck and then embed it into your Google Site (or blog!) so that students can watch from home without being bombarded by ads or distracted by any unrelate videos that may appear under suggested videos on the right panel.

If you'd like to grab a copy of this French DPA slide deck, click here to have a copy made for you.

Don't forget to check out these popular blog posts:

Keyboard Shortcuts for Adding Accents and Other International Characters

How to Maximize Google Slides in Edit Mode

Video Tutorials on How to Take a Screenshot

New! Interactive French Calendar and Weather Board

French Word Search: Find the Opposites - Google Jamboard

Give Your Virtual Classroom an Instant Makeover

My Virtual French Classroom in Google Slides

Interactive French Activities for Distance Learning

Click on the image above to access additional resources, tips and tutorials.

Win 1 of 2 Blu-ray copies of SING 2!

2022-03-28T14:15:00.003-04:00

Calling all Sing fans! You can now watch your favourite characters in Illumination’s sequel Sing 2 from the comfort of your own home! Available on Digital now, the animated film features the ever-optimistic Koala, Buster Moon, voiced by Matthew McConaughey, and his cast who stage a dazzling show in the entertainment capital of the world, Redshore City. This comedy about the emotional healing power of music includes all-new characters: the world’s most reclusive rock star, Clay Calloway (Bono), Rosita (Reese Witherspoon), Ash (Scarlett Johansson), Johnny (Taron Egerton), Meena (Tori Kelly) and Gunter (Nick Kroll). Check out the trailer below!

On March 29, 2022, you can sing along on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K with a special Collector's Edition which includes a plethora of bonus features:

FOR GUNTER’S EYES ONLY (MINI MOVIE)* – Johnny and Gunter attend a hypnotist show in Redshore City where Gunter is hypnotized and believes he is a 007 type spy.
ANIMAL ATTRACTION (MINI MOVIE)* – Darius messes up his commercial shoot and audition.
OUTTAKES*
MEET THE ANIMATORS
SUPER SING-ALONGS*
HOW TO DANCE and so much more!

*Included on DVD

Giveaway!

Enter to win 1 of 2 copies of SING 2 on Blu-ray. Simply complete the Rafflecopter form below. This contest is open to residents of Canada, excluding Quebec. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Keyboard Shortcuts for Adding Accents and Other International Characters

2022-02-14T22:11:00.009-05:00

Remember when we first pivoted to online learning back in 2020? I know. I'd rather soon forget, too. If I look at the silver lining, I would say that people, both students and staff alike, are tech-savvier than ever. I remember one of the greatest challenges, though, was trying to help students figure out how to use their devices when some had Windows 10 laptops, Chromebooks, or iPads. Figuring out how to type in French using accents was particularly difficult, since I use my own MacBook and type instinctively using what are known as "dead keys". Chrome extensions were are a solution for some but now they appear to be blocked, nor would they be useful when typing within a Word document using the desktop application. So I started compiling the different shortcuts and requirements, such as adding an international keyboard, for Windows 10 computers, Chromebooks and Apple devices.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Adding Accents and Other International Characters

After trying out these shortcuts on the various devices that I have access to, I have compiled them all into one doc for ease of sharing. The heading on each page is also hyperlinked to the source I referenced. If you'd like to view the document, check out Keyboard Shortcuts for Adding Accents and Other International Characters. I hope that students and teachers find this to be a useful reference.

Don't forget to check out these popular blog posts:

How to Maximize Google Slides in Edit Mode

Video Tutorials on How to Take a Screenshot

New! Interactive French Calendar and Weather Board

French Word Search: Find the Opposites - Google Jamboard

Give Your Virtual Classroom an Instant Makeover

My Virtual French Classroom in Google Slides

Interactive French Activities for Distance Learning

Click on the image above to access additional resources, tips and tutorials.

French Alphabet Fun with Scratch and Bitmoji

2022-01-27T21:56:00.007-05:00

A while back, I started working on a Scratch project with the intent of creating a fun way for my students to practice the French alphabet while also honing my block coding skills. I found myself stuck on the game portion and never got around to figuring it out until just recently. What I love most about this project is that I was able to use my Bitmoji as a sprite and added different poses as costumes. It was also a lot of fun adding silly sound effects, too!

If you want to try adding your Bitmoji to your Scratch projects, I would suggest adding the Bitmoji Chrome extension and search for "pose" to find the various costumes. Using the extension allows me to drag and drop my Bitmoji stickers directly into my dedicated folder on my desktop and they will automatically save as PNG files with a transparent background, which is ideal if you want to use them as sprites or costumes.

To take a peek inside the code, head on over to my project "On joue avec l'alphabet" and click the blue "See inside" button near the top right. For a fun challenge, you can share this with your students so they can remix it to record their own voices or go as far as extending the game portion by following the patterns in my original code. Or you could even challenge them to add a scoreboard!

Check out this other Scratch project I tried for Hour of Code: Animate Your Name Using Scratch.

How to Maximize Google Slides in Edit Mode

2022-01-18T20:25:00.009-05:00

When using Google Slides for manipulative activities, I prefer to maximize screen space whenever possible to focus attention on the content of my slides. However, presentation mode does not allow you to move or manipulate the objects on the slide. Previously, I would hide the speaker notes and my Chrome bookmarks bar to make eliminate some of the unnecessary clutter. But now, Google has added the ability to hide the "filmstrip", which are the thumbnails of your slides that appear to the left, as well as enter full screen mode which allows you to still edit your slides.

Here is a quick video that demos five tips for maximizing your Google Slides in edit mode:

5 Tips for Maximizing Google Slides in Edit Mode

1. Hide speaker notes under the "View" menu.

2. Hide the filmstrip under the "View" menu.

3. Hide the bookmarks bar under the kebab menu next to your Chrome avatar.

4. Hide the menus by clicking on the upward pointing arrow near the top right. This will still give you access to the formatting tools if you still need them.

5. Activate full screen mode under the "View" menu.

And if you navigated here in search of my calendar, click here: digital French calendar.

Click on the image above to access additional resources, tips and tutorials.

Create Worksheets with Canva for Education

2022-01-03T08:43:00.062-05:00

Happy New Year! It has been quite a while since I have posted here on the blog so I thought I'd kick off the year with a fun little activity sheet on drawing emotions (en français!) which I created while playing around in Canva. By the way, did you know that Canva for Education is free for K-12 teachers? Not only do you get access to tonnes of amazing templates and resources but you get Pro features which allow you to:

access millions of premium images
use premium fonts, graphics, videos and animations
remove the background from an image in a click
upload school logos and fonts
add Bitmoji and gifs to personalize your work

And did I mention it's FREE? You can sign up at canva.com/edu-signup using your school or Google-certified email domain. (You’ll be asked to verify your teaching credentials.)

With Canva, you can easily create a worksheet using a pre-designed template or you can start from scratch by clicking on "Create a design" and selecting "worksheet", which will create a letter-size document. When searching for images, it isn't always easy to narrow your choices down to just the right image since there are SO many in the library. For this reason, I often find myself adjusting the filters. For example, when searching for these images, I change the colour filter to white and select static images to get a more refined search result. Once I find an image I like, I add it to my design and then, like magic, Canva offers recommendations of similar images. I also make a habit of hovering over an image in my search results, clicking on the three-dot kebob menu and inspecting the keywords to help with my search moving forward. Otherwise, I never would have known to search for "head vector illustration" to find the images I used for this worksheet.

TIP: Clicking on the kebob menu also gives you the option to favourite ("star") an image or add it a folder for ease reference later on.

In case you were wondering, the emotions I chose for this particular worksheet were inspired by one of my favourite French songs by the ever-talented Juli Powers, who is also a French teacher based in Ontario. Here is a YouTube video of the song from Sylvia Duckworth's channel:

Once the worksheet is ready to go, you can change the file type to download it as a PDF. C'est simple comme bonjour! If you'd like a copy of "Dessine l'émotion", just click on the thumbnail below.

Alternatively, I have created a 3-frame Jamboard that can be used during remote learning.

Students can have fun selecting from the pen, marker or highlighter tool, and shading or colouring with the paintbrush. They can even get creative with some of the basic shapes like I did in the example above.

TIP: If students are using a computer and find it hard to make their drawings precise, they can try zooming in. On a Macbook, for example, you can double tap on the trackpad to zoom in, and double tap to zoom out. (Or pinch your finger and thumb together, place them on the trackpad, and drag them away to zoom in gradually. Then pinch them together to zoom out.)

Click here to grab a copy of the "Dessine l'émotion" Jamboard.

Don't forget to check out these popular blog posts for French teachers:

Click on the image above to access additional resources, tips and tutorials.

Have You Met Grandmasaurus?

2021-08-31T12:07:00.006-04:00

Have you met Grandmasaurus? By the very sound of her name, you have likely guessed that she is not your ordinary grandma. In fact, every time she sneezes, she gets herself into some pretty funny business thanks to a little bit of magic dust. If you've already enjoyed The Adventures of Grandmasaurus, then you will be happy to learn that she is back again with her silly antics in The Adventures of Grandmasaurus at the Aquarium Rescue Centre.

This cute children's book follows Grandmasaurus as she accompanies her grandchildren on a field trip to the Aquarium Rescue Centre. It's not long they arrive when she starts sneezing and transforming into various Mesozoic Era marine reptiles, stirring panic amongst her grandchildren who have been tasked with completing a field trip report by the end of their visit. Instead, they must try and find their grandma before she sneezes again!

The second in The Adventures of Grandmasaurus series, this book is written by a local Toronto children's author and a long-time blogging friend of mine Caroline Fernandez. She is also the author of Stop Reading This Book and the Boredom Busters set. The fun illustrations, featuring Grandma Shonisaurus, Grandma Elasmosaurus and more, are by Shannon O'Toole, a Toronto based illustrator, painter and elementary school teacher.

Order your copy today on Amazon.ca.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book to facilitate this review, which will be donated to my school library.

NEW! Interactive French Calendar and Weather Board

2021-08-27T15:34:00.018-04:00

UPDATE: Click here if you are looking for the 2025-2026 French calendar.

Greetings and salutations, fellow French teachers! After several of you have reached out inquiring about an updated interactive French calendar for the new school year, I am excited to finally announce that I have updated my old calendar and weather board to bring you a fresh new look, complete with my own drawings! Each interactive element is an image, which makes it easier to move around, and I have also combined both a calendar that begins on Sunday and one that begins on Monday. You can delete the slide with the calendar that you don't plan on using and duplicate the calendar and weather board slides to have enough for each of your classes. Alternatively, you can make the required number of copies of the presentation if you plan on sharing it with your students directly for prof du jour, for example.

I am super excited about how my weather board turned out! I drew my own PNG icons using the Procreate iPad app and my trusty Apple pencil. I even created the patterned blue background. So fun!

Click on the links below to download your preferred presentation format:

Interactive French Calendar - septembre 2021 (Google Slides)
Interactive French Calendar - septembre 2021 (PowerPoint)

For Microsoft users accessing the PowerPoint, you may need to use the download option if the "Save to OneDrive" does not work, and then upload it to your online drive.

French Interactive Calendar & Weather Board 2021-2022 (Google Slides)
French Interactive Calendar & Weather Board 2021-2022 (PowerPoint)

Don't forget to check out these popular blog posts for French teachers:

Click on the image above to access additional resources, tips and tutorials.

Peter Rabbit 2, Rent it at Home NOW!

2021-07-06T19:51:00.003-04:00

It has been three years since Peter Rabbit first popped up on the big screen and I am so excited to announce: he's baaaaaack!

If you are at all like me, you might be feeling desperate for cinemas to open but hoppily, we can still enjoy new releases from the comfort of our own home. And what better way to kick off summer vacation with the kids than munching on veggies and watching Peter Rabbit 2, which is now available to rent from home across Canada! Last week, my son and I snuggled up, snug as a bug in a rug, and enjoyed an advanced screening while laughing at all the punny jokes and hilarious scenes. In fact, we liked it even more than the original. I think it has to do with all the adorable and delightfully entertaining characters that share the screen with Peter, from Flopsy and Mopsy to Felix D'eer. Plus, we were also quite impressed by how realistically the animated characters interact with the real world characters, sets and props. Lettuce just say, we give the movie two floppy ears up!

Synopsis:

In PETER RABBIT™ 2, the lovable rogue is back. Bea, Thomas, and the rabbits have created a makeshift family, but despite his best efforts, Peter can’t seem to shake his mischievous reputation. Adventuring out of the garden, Peter finds himself in a world where his mischief is appreciated, but when his family risks everything to come looking for him, Peter must figure out what kind of bunny he wants to be.

Watch the trailer below!

Hop on over to the Peter Rabbit 2 official site for Canada to rent via CineplexStore, Microsoft, PlayStation Store, Prime Video, Apple TV or YouTube.

Si vous cherchez la version française Pierre Lapin 2, cliquez ici.

Disclosure: Complimentary screening and images are courtesy of Sony Pictures Canada.

Notre Père Read-Along - Google Slides

2021-04-21T22:03:00.004-04:00

After posting the read-along for Je vous salue, Marie, I have been meaning to create one for the new translation for Notre Père. And so, le voilà! Using Google Slides with animated text boxes that fade in on click, I also recorded myself reading it using the Screencastify Chrome extension and then uploaded a copy to my YouTube channel. The reason I prefer this over simply sharing the video file from my Google Drive is that there is a cap on daily views. This means that, once it exceeds daily views, students are unable to watch the video and then I get a tonne of requests to have access to the file. (This happens similarly with audio files housed in Google Drive, in particular with the audio files from my widely used listening activity on prepositions.) Fortunately, YouTube has no restriction on daily views and, because it is a Google for Education app, they can easily be embedded within Google Slides.

If you'd like a copy of the slide deck I created for Notre Père in order to change the last part from "Tous les saints, priez pour nous" to your school's saint, click here.

Click on the image above to access additional resources, tips and tutorials.

Digital Magnetic Letters with French Accents - Google Slides Template

2021-03-31T21:40:00.007-04:00

The other day, I received a message on Facebook from someone who had a set of digital letters but needed help adding letters with French accents. It got me thinking about how I would use magnetic letters in class and would just have students manually add any required accents using a dry erase marker. But really, why aren't there magnetic letter sets out there that contain French accents? (If you do know of a place that sells them, please let me know!) Of course, the Google educator in me was determined to create my own digital magnetic letters, complete with accents, to be used in an interactive Google Slides activity. After creating and publishing several Google Drawings, I know have a full set of lowercase letters.

If you'd like to have a copy, click on the image above. There are three of each letter layered on top of each other but you can easily copy and layer on as many as you like. Hope you find it useful!

Don't forget to check out these popular blog posts for French teachers:

Interactive French Calendar in Google Slides

French Word Search: Find the Opposites - Google Jamboard

Give Your Virtual Classroom an Instant Makeover

My Virtual French Classroom in Google Slides

Interactive French Activities for Distance Learning

Click on the image above to access additional resources, tips and tutorials.

French Word Search - Find the Opposites - Google Jamboard and PDF

2021-02-25T10:50:00.000-05:00

Last January, while looking for ways to create a digital word search for my students, I decided to finally jump on board the Google Jamboard train. It really is such a handy tool and, as it is a part of the Google for Education Suite, it makes the most sense for those of us who use Google Classroom, since you can assign Jamboards and make copies for students just as you would using Docs, Sheets or Slides. I decided to use a French word search on opposites that I had made a while back and use it as the background of the Jamboard so that students can use the highlighter or paintbrush to highlight the words they found. They can also use the pen or marker to write the words next to their opposite if they are using a mobile device or a laptop with a touch screen, or they could alternatively use the text box to type their answer.

Since I use les contraires a lot as part of the AIM Method, I decided to create a second version and add a second page to my Jamboard. I just love creating my own complementary materials, such as interactive SMART Notebook activities, DIY magnetic words and mini books, to further engage my students but given the current times, it's nice to have another tool such as Jamboard to create digital and interactive activities that can be used virtually or even assigned as a homework activity for extra practice.

If you'd like a copy of the Google Jamboard, click on the image above. If you would like a printable version of Les contraires #2 in PDF, click on the thumbnail below.

Don't forget to check out these popular blog posts for French teachers:

Interactive French Calendar in Google Slides

Give Your Virtual Classroom an Instant Makeover

My Virtual French Classroom in Google Slides

Interactive French Activities for Distance Learning

Click on the image above to access additional resources, tips and tutorials.