“Chanson de la semaine” (song of the week) is a daily warm-up I use in French 1, 2, and 3. The objective is to introduce my students to francophone songs (culture standard) while exposing them to authentic language (interpretive communication).
- Day 1: watch the video clip, log the song in your song log.
- Day 2: look for vocabulary in the dictionary. Don’t forget noun genders. (I have underlined key words I want them to look for, I split them into groups and then we all share).
- Day 3: Determine verb infinitives and tenses (I have bolded verbs I want them to look at, tenses we have been studying as well as new tenses they might not be familiar with). I love it when later on in the year they scream “we have seen this in xyz song!”
- Day 4: Follow along with the lyrics (some classes sing along and I hit a presentational standard!)
- Day 5: Listening comprehension + record interesting vocabulary in your song log
Depending on the song, sometimes I toss some cultural questions in the mix.
Daily activities last between 5 and 10 minutes depending on the day/song.
I want to thank Corinne Hayes from Southwest schools, who shared this idea with me a few years ago. I have since refined it and made it my own.
Looking for songs? Here is my French 1 collection. Come back and watch this list grow!
Amel Bent “Ma philosophie” (2004)
Ilona Mitrecey “C’est les vacances” (2005)
Camelia Jordana “Non, non, non” (2010)
Gregory Lemarchal “De temps en temps” (2007)