Ms. Stephens looks for authentic, engaging activities to build French skills, utilizing tech tools to make this happen. One example of her tech use is connecting her students with French peers through blogs, which allow for authentic communication in French. Recently, Ms. Stephens' students turned student-created picture books into videos, which provided an opportunity for students to focus on French speaking skills. Ms. Stephens eagerly seeks out new ways to provide richer learning experiences for her students.
Here is an example of how Ms. Stephens uses video in her French 1 classroom.
The student created videos have been used in other French classes in the district. Jane Dobreski at E.L. Wright used the videos from Ms. Stephens' French 1 class for E.L. Wright French 1 middle school students. The students watched the videos and commented on the videos using a Google Form.
Wendy Stephens received her Bachelor of Arts in French from the University of South Carolina Honors College and Master of Arts in Teaching French from the University of South Carolina. She has had the pleasure of experiencing France and other francophone regions in several capacities: studying in the city of Tours in central France, leading a group of USC Honors College students on a trip to Saint-Jean de Maurienne in the Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France, participating in field work on the Ghana-Togo border in West Africa, and visiting France with family, friends and students as a learner and traveler. This is her 6th year teaching French at Spring Valley High School. Madame Stephens sponsors student involvement in the following groups and activities: National French Honor Society, the Clemson Poetry Declamation Contest, National French Week activities, the National French Contest, Tuesday and Thursday study groups, French Day at USC, and interaction between French and American students via French-English blogs.
Learn more about Ms. Stephens and her class by visiting her website.
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Ms. Stephens is a wonderfully talented, creative teacher. Nice work Wendy!
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