3.) What is the difference in the marks for correct answers and the marks for attempts? Students are given checkmarks beside their names when they answer a question correctly AND when they answer
incorrectly. These checkmarks are worth the same. The only difference between the two is when a student answers a question
correctly, s / he receives un billet (a ticket).
4.) What are the billets for? The billets
are to be kept by the students until the class has un tirage (a draw). These draws happen at the end of every verb
quiz class.
5.) What makes up a cycle for le prof? A cycle
is completed once every student in the class has done le prof once. Then a new cycle begins, and (usually) changes
to the expectations for le prof are increased to challenge the students a little more.
6.) Does every class start off with le prof? Yes.
The only time a class will not do le prof is if there is a supply teacher in on that day.
7.) How long should le prof take? Le prof
should generally take the class only 5 - 7 minutes to complete. If it is taking longer than it should (which is generally
caused by questions taking too long to be correctly answered or le prof is not as prepared as s / he should
be), then I (the teacher) will put a limit on how many other attempts will be made to answer the questions before the billet is
lost OR begin asking questions in place of le prof (which will then cause that student to lose marks).
8.) Can I bring my le prof sheet up to the front with me? Only students in the Beginning French Program (level 1 / 2) are allowed to bring their sheets up to the front
with them. Students in the modified or regular programs are expected to know their 5 questions. Should a student in the modified
or regular program bring the le prof sheet or any other sheet with the questions written on it with him / her, the
highest mark s / he can receive is a 51%.
9.) As le prof, do I pick who answers or does the teacher? Usually it's the student doing le prof who picks who answers. However, if I (the teacher) notices that
a student in the class rarely put his / her hand up to try or is usually passed over, then I will say that I want that particular
student to answer or that the next question is for that student. This also help the student doing le prof to
recognize that s / he needs to "spread the wealth" a little more (look for students with no checkmarks or few checkmarks by
their names, rather than just their friends or the "smart kids").
10.) Am I allowed to ask someone's birthday and then ask for today's date? No. This is a repetition question. In other words, although the actual questions are different, you are still
asking for the same kind of information: the date. Repetition questions are not allowed...but I will show you ways
around this.
11.) Once a student has answered correctly, can I pick him / her again? No. Once a student has answered a le prof question correctly during your turn, you cannot ask him /
her again. This helps you to "spread the wealth" and also gives other students the chance to try.
12.) Can I make up my own questions? ABSOLUTELY! The
only tricks here are that the question has to make sense (obviously), the question has to be suitable to the average student
in your grade level, and it must review grade level vocabulary / grammar.
13.) What happens if I'm scheduled to be le prof and there's a supply teacher in
that day? Whenever there's a supply teacher in, the class will not do le prof
that day. If you're scheduled for that day, then you are bumped to the first class of the following week.
14.) What happens if I'm scheduled to be le prof and I say that I'm not ready? What
happens? This is not a situation I recommend you try. As the class is told at the beginning
of the year, students are expected to go over their le prof questions for at least 5 minutes a night. Also,
in most cases, students have at least 2 days between finding out when they're doing le prof and when they're at the
front of the class. Because of the time you're given and the expectation of regular review, you will be told that you're still
doing it. At this point, you have the choice between at least trying and possibly still receiving a decent mark, or not doing
it and receiving an R (a failing mark).
15.) What happens if I'm scheduled to be le prof and I'm absent? Does the class
still do le prof? Yes, the class will still do le prof in this case.
As with the situation of a supply teacher, if you are absent, you will be bumped to the first class of the following week.
However, the class still has to do le prof. In this case, either a student who hasn't done it yet will volunteer
(this is preferable) or if no one volunteers, then a student who hasn't done it yet will be chosen by me (the teacher). That
student will then have to do le prof and depend on his / her regular review or not do it and receive an R.
16.) Can I be le prof twice in one cycle? No.
Each student must have completed le prof or be scheduled to do it before the next cycle can start.
17.) What happens if I never raise my hand to try to answer any questions? Unfortunately, there are a number of students who do this. However, as le prof, a student can do just
as the teacher does and ask students who don't have their hands up. This shows that the le prof student is trying
to "spread the wealth" and trying to help other students improve their oral marks.
18.) I don't like talking in front of the class. Can I be exempted from le prof?
NO! In grade 6, the oral component of the program makes up 70% of the report card mark.
In grade 7, it's worth 60%. If a student refuses to do the oral component for whatever reason, they will not be able to pass.
Le prof provides students with the opportunity to get 2 easy oral marks. However,
if a student is uncertain of his / her pronunciation or needs help with the questions, s / he is more than welcome to see
me for help during lunch or after school.
19.) How can I improve my le prof mark? One
way to help you improve your le prof mark is to ask more than the minimum number of grade level questions given to
you by the teacher. This not only allows you to receive higher oral marks, but it also gives the class a chance to review
what they are currently learning or have learned earlier in the year. Another way to improve your mark is to work on how well
you ask your questions. This does not only include how well you pronounce the French, but also whether you use the proper
pitch to your voice when asking (when asking a question in French, your voice should go up slightly at the end). This is called
intonation. And finally, you can improve your mark when, once a question has been answered correctly, you are able to go back
to the students who answered incorrectly and give them the feedback needed to correct their answers.
20.) How do I know when I'm doing le prof? After
le prof inthe last class of the week, I (the teacher) will go through my daybook for the following week and my class
list. I will tell the class that I need people to do le prof for next week and then begin asking "Qui va faire
le prof (day of the week), le (number)(month)?". I will then look at the hands that are raised
to see who hasn't done le prof yet and say, "(Name of student), you are le prof on (date is given in French)."
That student is then expected to write when s / he is le prof in his / her agenda. If no one raises their hand to
volunteer for days (and I only wait for a few seconds), then I will just look down my class list until I see a student's name
without a le prof mark beside it. That student is then given a date and is expected to be ready for that class.
Introduction:
When doing le prof in front of the class, the student must first introduce the class to the activity. This gives
the class the signal that the class is starting and to focus. As le prof, the student leads the class through the
following routine:
