Overview
For over 70 years, French has been an integral part of what makes the Marion Cross School a special place. The mission of the elementary language programs in SAU 70 is to prepare students to communicate and express themselves organically and confidently in another language. We believe that second language acquisition mirrors the process that builds one's first language: children hear the language before they produce it themselves.
As teachers, we provide students with comprehensible input through stories, songs, gestures, and the use of props in order to help them attain higher proficiency levels. Our approaches, techniques, and strategies allow us to meet the 90% target language use in the classroom goal per the ACTFL recommendation, thus creating a language-rich environment that brings French to life. (You can find more information about the ACTFL Proficiency Levels here.)
Student interests are at the core of French classes at MCS. The use of repetition, energy, personalization, and creativity on the part of the teachers engages the students; they internalize French without realizing it. As a result, students acquire vocabulary, grammar, and a technical understanding of the language in context. A classroom environment that encourages risk-taking instills in students a passion for language learning, outfitting them with the tools to become compassionate global citizens.
Students in all grades at Marion Cross, from kindergarten through sixth grade, take French as a part of their regular program of study.
PreK, K, grades 1 and 2: min/week
Grades 3&4: min/week
Grades 5&6: min/week
For over 70 years, French has been an integral part of what makes the Marion Cross School a special place. The mission of the elementary language programs in SAU 70 is to prepare students to communicate and express themselves organically and confidently in another language. We believe that second language acquisition mirrors the process that builds one's first language: children hear the language before they produce it themselves.
As teachers, we provide students with comprehensible input through stories, songs, gestures, and the use of props in order to help them attain higher proficiency levels. Our approaches, techniques, and strategies allow us to meet the 90% target language use in the classroom goal per the ACTFL recommendation, thus creating a language-rich environment that brings French to life. (You can find more information about the ACTFL Proficiency Levels here.)
Student interests are at the core of French classes at MCS. The use of repetition, energy, personalization, and creativity on the part of the teachers engages the students; they internalize French without realizing it. As a result, students acquire vocabulary, grammar, and a technical understanding of the language in context. A classroom environment that encourages risk-taking instills in students a passion for language learning, outfitting them with the tools to become compassionate global citizens.
Students in all grades at Marion Cross, from kindergarten through sixth grade, take French as a part of their regular program of study.
PreK, K, grades 1 and 2: min/week
Grades 3&4: min/week
Grades 5&6: min/week
Curriculum, Standards, and Proficiency Levels
NB: The Marion Cross School French curriculum continues to undergo updating and expansion.
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MCS French Program of Study
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Resources
History
The 2020-2021 school year marked the seventh decade of the French program at the Marion Cross School! In June 1960, the Superintendent of Schools, Arthur Cheney, wrote the following in the town report:
"The pupils of grade 4 in the Norwich School have been studying conversational French during this school year. Present plans call for expanding the program to include Grades 4&5 for the next school year. This curriculum offering has been made possible through the efforts of Mr. Michael Benamou and Mrs. Micheline Lyons."
The 1963-64 town report noted that “our French program is reported to be one of the best foreign language programs in the state.” The original program gave students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades a minimum of 120 minutes of French instruction per week.
In September 2010, the MCS Long Range Plan established a committee to look at expanding our language program. In 2011 we hired Helena Curtain as a consultant to lead us through this process. After working with Helena and doing substantial research, the committee recommended to the board that Marion Cross implement a pilot program that would bring French instruction to students in third grade for 90 minutes a week. (At this point, fourth graders at MCS had 90 minutes a week of French.) This pilot program began in the 2013-14 school year; the school board approved the full expansion of the French program to include all students, from kindergarten through grade 6, the following year.
French has always been an integral part of the Marion Cross School curriculum. Throughout the year there are multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate their competence in French. Students sing French songs at the holiday concert and perform in the French rep in March, as well as at various other moments during the year. All grades experience French integration in other disciplines, be it in the first grade meadow study, second grade and their fable unit, third grade’s study of folk tales, or explorers and the slave trade in sixth grade social studies.
The 2020-2021 school year marked the seventh decade of the French program at the Marion Cross School! In June 1960, the Superintendent of Schools, Arthur Cheney, wrote the following in the town report:
"The pupils of grade 4 in the Norwich School have been studying conversational French during this school year. Present plans call for expanding the program to include Grades 4&5 for the next school year. This curriculum offering has been made possible through the efforts of Mr. Michael Benamou and Mrs. Micheline Lyons."
The 1963-64 town report noted that “our French program is reported to be one of the best foreign language programs in the state.” The original program gave students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades a minimum of 120 minutes of French instruction per week.
In September 2010, the MCS Long Range Plan established a committee to look at expanding our language program. In 2011 we hired Helena Curtain as a consultant to lead us through this process. After working with Helena and doing substantial research, the committee recommended to the board that Marion Cross implement a pilot program that would bring French instruction to students in third grade for 90 minutes a week. (At this point, fourth graders at MCS had 90 minutes a week of French.) This pilot program began in the 2013-14 school year; the school board approved the full expansion of the French program to include all students, from kindergarten through grade 6, the following year.
French has always been an integral part of the Marion Cross School curriculum. Throughout the year there are multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate their competence in French. Students sing French songs at the holiday concert and perform in the French rep in March, as well as at various other moments during the year. All grades experience French integration in other disciplines, be it in the first grade meadow study, second grade and their fable unit, third grade’s study of folk tales, or explorers and the slave trade in sixth grade social studies.
