Module :

EXCEL Classes : 5th & 6th

Lesson 1

Using a spread sheet to enhance the learning process of French
.

Aims

  1. Our aim for the following lesson is to teach the French language with the aid of a computer and using a software program called Microsoft Excel.

  2.  To introduce new vocabulary / phrases.

  3. To enhance all the French that the children have already learnt and put it into practice

  4. To help children to familiarise themselves with the basic uses of a spreadsheet and learn the difference between Rows and Cells some simple formatting facilities of a word processor.

  5. To provide a relaxed and structured environment to allow the children to learn at their own pace with the help of their peers.

  6. To teach to the educable moment

  7. Make learning Fun

Materials/Resources: Handouts for Basic French Terms and Basic Excel sheets

Content / Methodology

As part of the first class the children will be assessed to see what level of French vocabulary that they posses and also how much they know about MS Excel        

The children will first be questioned by the class teacher as a means of revising vocabulary / phrases already taught.

Children will then be taught how to count in French using both numbers and people

The children will then be given a handout, which will incorporate French and English words.

The children will have to put the correct French word beside the English word using their pen and later on the spreadsheet using Cut and Paste

The children will first fill out on the sheet what goes where in terms of the French and English

The teacher shows the children how to open the spreadsheet program and shows how to use cut and paste and lets each team move the words around the screen so that the English and French are beside each other

At the end of this lesson the children are told to Practice what they have learnt during this lesson and to set aside time on their computer in class for more practice during the following week.

Follow Up Activities

As a follow up activity during the week the classroom teacher should start to count in French and show the children the difference between counting numbers and people.

Lesson 2

To enhance the skills already learned and to further promote the use of numbers and nouns
.

Aims

  1. To introduce new vocabulary / phrases.

  2. To revise vocabulary / phrases.

  3. To encourage children to converse in small groups using new vocabulary.

  4. To check how much the pupils learnt in the last lesson and to see how much can be remembered

  5. To teach the children how to use the highlighter button in Excel.

  6. To help children to familiarise themselves with more of the facilities of the spreadsheet program

  7. To learn French in a new and innovative way that they enjoy themselves and even learn sublimely

  8. To improve children’s peer to peer abilities and encourage teamwork.

Materials/Resources: Bingo Cards on a spreadsheet

Content / Methodology

The children will first be questioned by the class teacher as a means of revising vocabulary / phrases already taught.

The children will take turns to pose / answer questions.

When the revision is complete the teacher will introduce any new vocabulary any children who has not picked up as much this week can be called upon to call out the numbers for this lesson

The teacher reminds the children how to use the spreadsheet program and tells them all to open up a file called bingo sheet on their computer. (This is a small bingo card with numbers from 1 to 24 set out in the form of a bingo sheet with different permutations on each computer.

One of the children picks out the numbers between one and 24 and when the children have the number they use the formatting toolbar to highlight the number until they receive a (maison) Children are naturally competitive and will learn this lesson a lot and ask for the game to be repeated again and again.

Follow Up Activities

As a follow up to this the children can either practice during the week or practice with larger numbers.

Lesson 3

Class room Survey For Children’s Favourite Pets
.

Aims

  1. To introduce new vocabulary / phrases.

  2. To encourage children to converse using new vocabulary.

  3. To teach the children the French for the most common pets and animals with the help of Cards and pictures

  4. To reinforce the skills already learnt and to further their excel skills by graphing the result of a classroom survey

  5. To enable children to learn Spreadsheet skills with the help of charts and results

  6. To give children further opportunities to practice their French and computer skills.

Materials/Resources: A simple spreadsheet with a list of five favourite pets, which can be graphed easily, using a preformatted system.

Content / Methodology

The children are asked what their favourite pets are and then taught the French for each of their choices.

The previous two classes are reinforced and the children are asked and questioned as to how much each learnt.

Based on the amount of children in the class a survey is taken to see which animal or pet is the favourite with the children

The results are tabulated into the relevant cells and rows so that a chart can be drawn based on the findings slow learners can use a preformatted chart

 

Class Survey

Favourite Pets

French

L'anglais

Nombre

Le chein

Dog

12

Láne

Donkey

1

le lapin

Rabbit

8

le cheval

Horse

4

le Poisson

Fish

6

See Work Samples for the Graph of the Survey.
Clip art can also be introduced here to show the children that a picture says a thousand words and quite easily brakes a language barrier.

Follow Up Activities

As part of a follow up class a prize (Extra time on the computer) may be given for any student that can name over ten different Animals in French

Lesson 4

Reinforce all the skills already learnt and use the spread sheet for doing a French Crossword or Hangman
.

Aims

  1. To revise all vocabulary covered in lessons 1 to 3.

  2. To learn and practice the use of some simple verbs.

  3. To encourage children to converse using new vocabulary.

  4. To use the French skills already learnt and to practice with a few games of hangman or use a crossword to translate different animals or numbers

Materials/Resources: Any spreadsheet program

Content / Methodology

Using a spreadsheet already formatted with a crossword the students have to decipher the French for the picture clues and insert them into the spreadsheet

The pupils who finish early can make up their own game of  hangman and use animals or numbers for the games

Children must save their work back onto the computer

Children must be questioned on all previous lessons and a report generated as to how much the children learnt using the previous lessons.

Follow Up Activities

Children love to play these games and learn a lot in a relaxed and informal atmosphere by making the learning process fun the children will probably continue to play these games by themselves

Back to Excel