We go back to school on Monday, January 7th, 2019 and although we are well into the new year I am still going to start with New year’s traditions and resolutions.  As a school we are planning to re-establish routines, rules, and relationships after the two week break.  My goal is to do this in the target language while making cultural comparisons.

I start out with this song as they enter the classroom.  The lyrics are just “Bonne année et bonne santé, tous nos voeux de bonheur” which is basically Happy New Year and good health, all our wishes for happiness.  I write the lyrics and translation on the board as well as the question… How is the new year celebrated in France?

First they watch a couple Youtube videos and discuss a few of these infographics on my Pinterest page to build background on products, practices, and perspectives.

I use a presentation from Teachers Pay Teachers by Frenchified  to introduce the traditions in France.  After learning about traditions in France we can look at common resolutions in French.

Top 10 most popular New year’s Resolutions in French

1. Passer plus de temps avec ma famille.
   Spend more time with my family.
2. Perdre du poids.
   Lose weight.
3. Économiser de l’argent.
   Save money.
4. Arrêter de fumer.
   Quit smoking.
5. Moins boire.
   To drink less.
6. Faire du sport régulièrement.
   Exercise regularly.
7. Manger sainement.
   To eat healthy.
8. Faire un voyage.
   To take a trip.
9. Étudier quelque chose de nouveau.
   To study something new.
10. Faire plus attention à sa santé.
    To be more careful about one’s health.

Next, we talk about what we want for the new year in our lives.  We go over common resolutions, including those that will improve learning and the classroom atmosphere.  Here are some ideas for resolutions for kids in French.  Pick out a template and have them chose some resolutions to write on the templates and display in the room or in the hallway.

After making our resolutions in French, I have everyone pick one resolution from their list to read aloud and quickly whip around the room and list them on the board.  We compile our top ten resolutions and then compare them to the top ten in France.

Students can create their own graphics and cards to share on social media with family, friends, and teachers.  There are so many free cards and images to create with if you give students some phrases to work with and have them go to spark.adobe.com.  They could also be posted to a padlet.com

Then there are the cartoons…Bonne année et bonne santé!