Bienvenu a la classe de Francais, 613 a Mason Middle school.  


We are starting to learn so much so fast as we are totally immersed into our new language, French!  It has been fun hearing stories students are sharing.  Some have French connections, their parents speak French and sometimes even their grandparents.  Some students want to share French books and other French things or they have questions about the posters of France on the wall.  They are inquisitive and they sparkle when they talk about French.


I was hired towards the end of the summer.  After a lot of hard work and 16 days of moving with my husband's tremendous help I have finished moving into Mason and feel like things are starting to feel like they have their own places and we have developed a sense of normalcy.  We have covered the basics, colors, 1-10, ABC's and we are starting to speak some.  The classes will be experiencing a lot of "Immersion" into the language and see very few written words at first. 


The Essential Questions for learning a new language is: How does learning a language apply to my life?  How does this new language affect me in my everyday life as a student and how will it benefit me in my future life, career ...?  Can learning a language benefit me more than just learning to talk to people around the world?  How does learning a language influence reading and build my awareness of vocabulary in my own language?  How will it help me comprehend pivotal and commonly found words in my own native language?  How will a language help me access the world and support my core subjects, besides being fun, interesting and expanding my life? 


As we learn this year, we will be looking at these questions, referring back to them often. There are many studies supporting the power of learning a language and how it benefits us as learners in different ways. Learning a new language affects your brain by creating new connections.


Welcome to the world of French! 

6th grade classes- Exploratory Languages through French

Goals:  We will build basic skills learning, colors, numbers, greetings...and studying art history.  We will start to see the magic of cognates (words that are spelled the same in both languages) and we will build on those cognates and learn how diverse a language might be, yet how similar it can be to our own language.  Our new language will come as a result of speaking, playing games, reading and writing poems, singing songs, acting out plays and creating art, all in French. 

7th grade- French I

Goals:  The French classes have students with distinctive abilities, so each class may be different, but our main goal will be to review any previous skills learned in French, and build vocabulary through music, art and poetry.  As we review, colors, numbers, the date, and the time, we will also be examining our language very closely and building those skills that look at words we don't recognize and see parts of a word and look for hints that might have hidden in it.  Homework will come on a more regular basis ensuring more practice is given, for certain advanced concepts.  This year of French is exciting because students are becoming conversational in French.  Your Student will receive a monthly French magazine for a $10.00 fee which they should submit to me now.


Grading Policy

Grades will be standards-based (point values will be assigned to the proficiency levels) in order to best reflect how students are learning, understanding, using, and retaining the material that we cover in class and through assignments.  Standard-based grading means:

  • Instead of evaluating whether or not a student has completed a given task or assignment, I will evaluate them on whether or not they are able to demonstrate mastery of a specific skill underlined with a specified standard (CCSS & ACTFL Standards).
  • The skills evaluated will be based on the learning targets of focus, which are related to everything we do in class.
  • The targets are designed for the purpose of preparing students to be successful in post-middle school education.
  • There will be both formative and summative assignments.

    Formative assignments are designed to allow  the student  to demonstrate how they are following along and understanding the material that is presented.  Formative assignments count for fewer points than do summative assignments.  They also help adjust teaching methods to help students better understand material.  Examples of formative assignments include in-class work, daily homework assignments, and smaller projects.

    Summative assignments traditionally are usually bigger assignments worth more points, such as papers, projects or presentations.  These represent the student's chance to demonstrate their learning.

  • If students are absent or have missed work, they are able to make up any and all missing assignments, but it will not always be necessary to complete all assignments, as long as those that are completed demonstrate the mastery of the skills of focus.
  • Once again, formative assignments play a much smaller role in grade calculations than do the summative assignments, and the online grade book may not depict an accurate picture of your current competency-based grade.  You may contact me at any time for an accurate assessment of your progress.


* Note!  Students wishing to earn high school credit for a Foreign Language will need to take two (2) full years of French (in both seventh and eighth grade) and must earn a grade of C or better in order to fulfill the Tacoma Public School's requirement.  Please contact me with any questions.


Your students grades and classroom information will be available by calling me at (253) 571-7009 and eventually online at via the "Home Access Center" through the Mason website (  Also, if you are interested in volunteering, I will have parent forms available (eventually online at mason/abarnha).  This will be useful for art projects, field trips, or French activities.  Contact me if you want to fill one out and we'll return it to the main office so that you can be kept on file.  Finally, please ensure that your email is also on file (Guidance Office can assist with that).


For information on the CCSS & ACTFL Standards mentioned above, contact me and I can refer you to their websites.


Thank you so much for your continued support of your student as they embark on a year of learning and exploration with the French language.  Always feel free to contact me for any reason.


Ann Barnhart


Phone: (253) 571-7009


Art!!  We need materials!   French artists will be our inspiration to make art with French!  We would like to build some community supplies, so

Parents!  We need your help!  If you could donate any of the following:


  • 1Elmers liquid white or clear glue, glue stick, and scissors are needed for almost all projects.
  • 2.  Leger - small, clean recyclable items of a "certain kind" for Leger's sculpture - to include the following; broken things, jewelry, funky things, non representational things, small toys, no hearts... ".  One toilet paper roll, paper straws, nuts, bolts, medicine bottle lids, and especially caps to pens... and place them into gallon zip lock bags. All items need to be smaller than 6" ( this is a recycling project, be creative!)
  • 3.  !!Volunteers!!!  needed to spray paint our sculptures.
  • 4.  Picasso - Raffia, and pipe cleaners.
  • 5.  Gauguin - Shirt- $5 for a white shirt and transfer and a set of Prisma Color colored pencils (Michaels).
  • 6.  We will need a volunteer from each class for:
    • to scan art onto a flash drive.
    •  to print the art on transfer sheets (provided), using  only an ink jet printer. 
    • to iron the transfers onto the shirts.



I have read and understand the requirements of this course and will do my best to achieve my highest possible level of French while seeking any necessary supports along the way.


Student Name (Printed) ________________________________________________________period___________


Student Signature ______________________________________________________________________________


Parent Signature _______________________________________________________________________________


I can help by donating or volunteering for the following: _________________________________________________


Enclosed is my $10.00 monthly French magazine subscription fee.