12 April 2022 Newsletter

Here’s what’s happening today :

–Easy/intermediate track: We explore Easter and other religious celebrations in the video episode, “Pâques et beaucoup d’autres célébrations religieuses!”.

–ALL TRACKS: BREAKING NEWS: Kinder chocolats recalled for salmonella. This timely video is called “Danger: Oeuf en chocolat”. In this episode, we go out on a hunt to buy kinder eggs at the shopping mall, but then we find out they could be dangerous this year.

-Music: All tracks. Interviews: Intermediate & Advanced tracks: Planet French helps a church and a friend who is a Christian pastor. Come with us on this music video shoot. We speak with the band members and learn about Guadeloupe, the current situation in Haiti and about Daniel’s crusade to fund a cultural centre.

Also relevant:

-“Le printemps” episode is about spring, and more specifically the basic vocabulary around spring. This is part 1.

-All tracks: The narrated ebook “L’érablière” is presented as a flipbook and your students can follow along a yellow cursor as actors read the text. You can vary the reading speed with the gear icon under the video.

Beginner track: The ebooks and narrated ebooks in all our “k-12 collection” are colour-coded. If your students are beginners, use the texts marked with a green rectangle.

-The video “La sucrerie de la montagne, part 2” is a great summary of the traditional foods served at the sugar shack, presented by a giant smiling lumber jack, in easy French.

-The video “Les délices de l’érable” shows us the delicious “tire d’érable”, shows us 200 products made from maple sugar, and teaches us about the history and science behind this deeply Canadian product.

-In case you missed it, episode 266 is about LE PRINTEMPS!/Drones en Alberta/Nouvelle araignée en Ontario et dans les provinces maritimes.

-Les Peuples Autochtones du Canada: Les pensionnats autochtones (residential schools). This chapter is on pages 46-47 of the ebook from the course  LES PEUPLE AUTOCHTONES DU CANADA, The corresponding video is with Dr. Elizabeth Fast, also part of the course.

Here’s what’s coming in April:

-All tracks: We visit the biggest flower show in Canada, and we visit “Les jardins de métis/Reford gardens”, which is a world-class, national historic site of Canada HUUUGE garden experience with over 3000 species.

–All tracks:We learn about the climate and astronomy, and about the water cycle.

-Intermediate/Advanced Track: We get clothing/fashion advice for spring from an expert.

–All tracks: Activités à faire en été: on rencontre des experts. La plongée sous-marine/le Titanic/la nouvelle vidéo “Titanique dans la piscine”.

–Intermediate track: Sports:Équipe Canada de soccer se qualifie pour la première fois depuis 1986! We tie that in with the unit on soccer from the course BALLONS ET VAGUES.

-More French culture: La Martinique, les meilleurs endroits.

-Covid-19 updates, …and more…

C’est le printemps. Here is part 1 of the basic vocabulary unit on spring. It’s easy, it’s fun, it’s spring!

Here is the link to the video: https://planetfrench.com/courses/nouvelles-actualite-cette-semaine/lessons/le-printemps-partie-1-niveau-facile-vocabulaire-de-base/

-Spring and the seasons.

-New drones are being used in Alberta to spray crops.

-There’s a new huge spider invading Ontario and the Maritimes: The Joro! Here’s what you need to know.

– …all in easy French 🙂

Here is the link to the video: https://planetfrench.com/courses/nouvelles-actualite-cette-semaine/lessons/266-le-printemps-drones-en-alberta-nouvelle-araignee-en-ontario-et-dans-les-provinces-maritimes/

L’ÉRABLIÈRE (sugar shack)!

The video “La sucrerie de la montagne, part 2” is a great summary of the traditional foods served at the sugar shack, presented by a giant smiling lumber jack, in easy French.

Here is the link to the video: https://planetfrench.com/courses/bienvenue-a-lerabliere-course/lessons/erabliere-sucrerie-de-la-montagne-partie-2/

The video “Les délices de l’érable” shows us the delicious “tire d’érable”, shows us 200 products made from maple sugar, and teaches us about the history and science behind this deeply Canadian product.

While there are many sources of information about sugar shacks, no other resource brings it all together like the Bienvenue à l’érablière package does.

This fun unit is available on Planet French in digital format with videos, activities and an eBook that features texts at 3 levels, beginner to advanced.

There is a comprehensive teacher’s guide available to you at the beginning of the unit. The guide has 10 activities leading up to an end-of-unit summative task.

We recommend you do 2 units per week or more, which takes you to the middle of April. There’s plenty to do with this unit and your students will really enjoy it.

Here is a link to the demo video for this unit: https://vimeo.com/259029137

Here is the link to get to the unit itself: https://planetfrench.com/courses/bienvenue-a-lerabliere-course/

There are also printed books to go along, if you are interested in augmenting the online experience, which you can purchase here: https://rr112.infusionsoft.app/app/storeFront/showCategoryPage?categoryId=27 Since you won’t need the DVDs the prices are a little cheaper than advertised.

Email guy@planetfrench.com for details.

Come and join us for a real sweet taste of French culture!

This video part of the unit LES PEUPLE AUTOCHTONES DU CANADA, teaches students about how First Nations Peoples lived around the time of first contact with Europeans. Food, clothing, education and more.

Le centre d’histoire: 1ère partie. Le centre d’histoire est une bonne vidéo pour nous situer. On découvre comment les peuples autochtones vivaient, où ils habitaient, comment ils construisaient leurs maisons, si ils allaient à l’école et beaucoup plus.

Here is the link to the video: https://planetfrench.com/courses/les-peuples-autochtones-et-les-explorateurs-europeens/lessons/le-centre-dhistoire-1ere-partie/

C’est le printemps. L’hiver est terminé. Bientôt il y aura du soleil, de la chaleur, et les gens vont se promener en vélo et en moto. Quel est ton moyen de transport favori?

L’autobus? Le vélo? Le scooter? L’auto? Il y a Naomie, une fille de 15 ans qui est plus rapide que des hommes avec sa moto!

Here is the link to the video: https://planetfrench.com/courses/nouvelles-actualite-cette-semaine/lessons/177-le-printemps-une-fille-rapide-en-moto/

• Des gens contrôlent leur ordinateur avec leur cerveau! We’re hearing more and more about neural links to control computers directly with our brains! Here are some current examples.
• Du pétrole à Terre-Neuve-Labrador! Where do fossil fuels actually come from? Are they from dinosaures, or from something else?
• Les dinosaures au Manitoba! Manitoba used to be under water! Let’s take a trip back in time…
• Tara ne veut pas changer l’heure en Colombie-Britannique! It’s that time of year when we change the time, but this may be the last one. The U.S. are thinking of staying with daylight savings time, and so are many Canadians.
• Le texte ET UN QUIZ sont sous la vidéo!

Here is a link to the video, in levelled French: https://planetfrench.com/courses/nouvelles-actualite-cette-semaine/lessons/265-controler-un-ordinateur-avec-ton-cerveau-du-petrole-a-terre-neuve-labrador-les-dinosaures-au-manitoba-tara-ne-veut-pas-changer-lheure-en-colombie-britannique/

BEGINNER TRACK:

New lesson: Les pièces de la maison. This very easy video goes over the rooms of the house, and features a fun little game with a cat at the end.

Here is the link to this lesson: https://planetfrench.com/courses/la-maison/lessons/les-pieces-de-la-maison/

It’s part of the unit LA MAISON.

BEGINNER TRACK:

We learn about our home, and everyone knows the heart of the home is the kitchen. In this brand new beginner video students learn the vocab of kitchen objects and appliances and structures like Voici, qu’est-ce que c’est, c’est…

We will be adding more to the existing videos in this unit very shortly.

Here is the link to this video lesson: https://planetfrench.com/courses/la-maison/lessons/la-cuisine/

Ma santé: Facile!

We’re starting a new course for the K-3 called “MA SANTÉ”. Here are the first 2 videos.-Qu’est-Ce Que C’est? C’est Une Pomme-C’est Une Banane, And LES POMMES ET LES FRUITS, which focus on basic structures