National French Week - Ideas That Work

NATIONAL FRENCH WEEK:

LA SEMAINE DU FRANÇAIS

NOVEMBER 5-11, 2007 & 2008

IDEAS THAT WORK

The following list represents some of the many ideas and suggestions of AATF members across the country which have arisen out of National French Week 1999. Links have been included to lengthier descriptions and related material elsewhere on this site.

Cuisine	Arts, Arts & Crafts	Sports, Games, Traditions
Science, Technology, Careers	Music and Dance	Other Great Ideas
Contests	Promotional Ideas	Ideas for Prizes
Places to Promote	Target Audiences	Groups with whom to Collaborate

Click here for reports from National French Week Grant recipients
Click here to view reports from AATF Small Grant recipients

Click here to consult other useful articles from past issues of the National Bulletin.

Cuisine

Demonstrations

cooking classes and demonstrations conducted by local chefs in the school or at restaurants
Developing or exploring recipes with a local chef
Sampling French foods such as chocolate mousse, croissants, fondue, crêpes, cheeses, tourtière
Serve French foods in the cafeteria (see also) at breakfast or lunch with printed menus in French
Distribute French candy to other students in the school or to any student in the school who comes to the French classroom and says a French word or phrase
Field trips to cooking schools, restaurants, bakeries for cooking demonstrations or lessons
Serving to students and special guests
- French dinners
- Déjeuner sur l'herbe picnic French meal
- Field trips to French restaurants for a meal
- Student-prepared meals or potluck French meals prepared by parents
- Food fairs with contributions from area businesses
- Breakfast served to school officials and other guests
- Croissants or other goodies served to school staff and in teacher lounge
- Free samples of tartines to non-French students during lunch
Wine tasting in the community
Food-related contests with special guests as judges
Recipe contests
Cooking contests
Choclate mousse eating contest

Activities

Set up a French cafe;
Create menus and posters for the cafeteria;
Organize cooking demonstrations by students;
Organize fairs or sales to earn money for the French Club or for charity

Arts and Crafts

Cinema and theater, see also
Show French or Francophone films
Organize a cinema evening with the French Club
Organize play performances by local theater troupes or by guest artists
Organize a discussion of a film or presentations by experts on themes related to a film
Organize presentations by students of fairy tales, plays or skits

Plastic Arts

Exhibits of French art by local museums, French language tours
Exhibits of drawings, photography, paintings, or other items related to France or the Francophone World
Slide shows of French art and architecture
Create wire sculptures followed by a discussion of the work of Rodin and other sculptors
Create portraits or caricatures of students in a French background
Exhibit of student versions of famous paintings with prizes
Exhibit of student-created artwork at school, in local museums or places of business
Student-created murals in school or local mall
Make a giant jigsaw puzzle of a famous art work for display in the school or make several for a contest
Organize a French fashion show
Provide fashion makeovers by local businesses
Create paper flowers for a Parisian flower market
Demonstrate French-style arranging of dried and silk flowers
Magic show and juggling
French-related variety shows, talent shows, karaoke
Cultural Exhibit on Africa or specific Francophone countries
Create story books, coloring books and other materials for elementary school children
Creating French buttons, bumper stickers, bookmarks

Literature

French Week at a local bookstore or library with displays of French materials
Readings, soirée at local book stores
Poetry Readings & Contests
Reading marathon in the local library
English versions of French stories with questions to be completed at home by the family
Sponsor a bilingual story hour at a local library or bookstore with one student reading in French and another reading the English translation

Sports, Games, Traditions

Sports
- Cycling
  - Screening of highlights from a past Tour de France
  - Mini Tour de France race
  - Cycle race through town
- Soccer
  - Hold a soccer tournament
- Other Sports
  - Pétanque tournaments or lessons
  - Play pelota
  - Organize a fencing demonstration
  - Study the history of the Olympic Games
Contests
- National French Week Poster and Essay Contests
- Ideas for contests
  - Geography Bee
  - Culture Trivia Contest
  - Guess the artist
  - Find the French words in a text, contest for the whole school to find French words and expressions
  - Trivial Pursuit or other board games
  - Play African games
  - Waiters' Race
  - Design tee-shirts and bumper stickers, talent contest
  - Create a giant crossword puzzle with common definitions in French
  - Have students play "Simon Says" with younger children
  - Trivia contest for the whole school
  - Internet Scavenger Hunt
  - French in English for the whole school
- Pétanque tournaments and lessons
- Play pélote
- Fencing demonstration
- Study the history of the Olympic Games

Science, Technology, Careers (see also Careers)

Have students research and prepare displays on French contributions to science and technology
Teach the metric system
Build a class Web site on France and the Francophone world
Students dress as famous scientists and artists
Provide information, lesson plans, student presentations to science teachers
Web exchanges with paired classes
Schedule a teleconference with a sister school in a French-speaking country
Collaborate with colleagues to prepare a presentation about the work of Gustave Eiffel

Careers

Panel discussion of how French can enhance careers by individuals who use French in their jobs
Presentation of French-Related technical and international careers with guest speakers
Guest speakers from area French and French-related businesses to talk with students
Career Day or job fair
Bulletin board display on importance of French in careers
Have students interview French-speaking faculty or business people and videotape the interviews for broadcast on the school cable channel or public access TV
Organize visits from armed forces/FBI recruiters speaking on the importance of languages

Music and Dance

Create music videos about the French language and French-speaking cultures
Put on a café-cabaret show with students or guest artists
Musical and dance performances by students or guest artists
Francophone dance classes
Schedule presentations by colleagues in Music and Dance
Lip-sync variety show
Students lead sing-alongs with the public or with younger students
Student-created music videos
Student performances and sing-alongs in a local mall
French music over the intercom
French music on local radio stations

Other Great Ideas

These represent ideas that have been successfully used by AATF member teachers but which do not fit into any particular theme or can be adapted to one of several themes.

French Fact for the Day read over the morning announcements
French in English Contests
Poster, bulletin board, display case presentations of student trips, French in action locally, student posters, realia
U.S. map display with French place names highlighted
Displays of student research on French heritage in the U.S.
Form a French Parents Booster Club
Pen Pal Projects
Presentations about student exchange programs, study abroad, and student travel
Invite guest speakers and performers of all sorts
Give mini-French lessons to the public or to younger students
Invite teachers in other disciplines to incorporate French-related items in their lessons during the week
Prepare units with students' help on French contributions to distribute to teachers in other disciplines
Give extra credit to students who label items in French in other classrooms
Organize French-language tours of local places of interest or museums
Construct an Eiffel Tower with Coke cans at lunch
Ask students to find relatives or neighbors who speak French and/or have visited a French-speaking country, create a bulletin board with the results
Create French-related displays in the school library
General activities

Good Ideas with a Caution

These are all wonderful activities that many teachers organize and participate in. However, unless they target specific groups other than students and their teachers as well as the media, they do not really fit with the purpose of National French Week. Reach these target groups by inviting them to attend as judges, observers, awards presenters. Try to interest media representatives in coming to see student accomplishments. Involve parents and administrators whenever possible. Be certain that all students and the public, if possible, benefit from outside speakers and demonstrations.

Immersion days and language camps, but with outside participation by target groups
Francophone student festivals but with special invited guests as judges, award presenters (see also)
French assembly for all students but with presentations or demonstrations about the Francophone world, guest speakers, contests
Presentations by colleagues in other disciplines to the school community at large or general public, not just to French students

PR Activities

Get a proclamation from the mayor or governor
Get a French message up in lights on buildings around your community
Get National French Week on school marquee
Get messages in programs and newsletters (ie. music or art department programs, school calendars, grocery store flyers)
Provide a teacher/guest speaker/student for presentations to local community groups
Distribute posters and student artwork to local businesses
Distribute a student-produced newsletter or publication
Film events and presentations for local TV
Display Francophone flags and other student-created displays throughout the school and community
Create Power Point or Web presentations to provide to local civic groups and to display in public places
Student-created programs or mini-lessons in feeder schools
Have students write letters to the editor of the local newspaper
French word a day on local radio station
Appearance by French teacher and Spanish-speaking students on a local Spanish TV show
Involve the French Club, Pi Delta Phi, Société honoraire and other groups to get publicity
Distribute press releases widely

Slogans

These represent a few slogans that have been used by the AATF or by some of our teachers to promote French.

French is...
Open Your World with French
Le Français m'ouvre le monde
French: An Investment in the Future
French is all around us
Frienship Revolves Around New Cultural Experiences
Le Français, plus qu'une langue
On apprend à tout âge
Reach Out to the World: Learn French!
My child speaks French, a subject taught in the ____ schools (Great for bumper stickers!)

Prizes

Students and guests are always delighted to receive door prizes or awards recognizing their work. Here are some of the items AATF members were able to obtain for National French Week 1999 and which you can offer as suggestions as you contact merchants and plan for National French Week 2000.

Fragrance gift baskets
Free pizza
Gift certificates from local business and restaurants
Discounts on purchases of French products
Discounts to students who use French to ask for an item or order in a restaurant
Coupons from area businesses
Free meal coupons
Books, CDs, CDs, calendars, posters, T-shirts, buttons, and other items
French candy
With an area bookstore: Find any item in the bookstore with the word "French" on the face or back and receive 25% discount on that item.
Discounts for French students
Trips provided by area travel agencies
Certificates, plaques, medals, buttons

Target Audiences

National French Week is about more than providing enriching classroom or immersion experiences in French for students. Take French out of the classroom! Target these groups to demonstrate clearly that French is a language that should be studied, that is still useful in today's global economy, and that provides many opportunities for students to learn and achieve. Students are the best advertisement for the study of French. Offer them guidance and let their enthusiasm speak for itself.

Parents of current and potential students
Other teachers
Potential Students
Counselors
School administrators
School board members
Mayors and other elected officials
Journalists
General Public
Merchants
Civic groups

Take French Out of the Classroom: Places to Target

Other school classrooms; enlist the help of art, music, drama, home ec, physical education teachers in your projects
School cafeterias
Sporting events
Local museums
Local businesses
Local malls
Grocery stores
Public parks
Other schools
Feeder schools

Groups with whom to collaborate

Merchants
Local restaurants
Area native speakers
Other area schools and teachers
Local colleges and universities
Sister City Associations
Alliance française
International Student Organizations
Civic Groups
Veterans Groups
Music or Arts Groups
Area Museums and Historical societies
Travel companies
City Hall

For more information contact AATF National Headquarters, Mailcode 4510, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901; Tel: (618) 453-5731; Fax: (618) 453-5733; E-mail: abrate@siu.edu

AATF Services

Resources