Classes & Curriculum |
French at WilsonThe Wilson School was one of the first elementary schools in the St. Louis area to offer foreign language classes to its students. French has been taught at Wilson for the past 40 years. Students from pre-kindergarten through the sixth grade learn French using the Symtalk curriculum specifically developed at Wilson. Symtalk involves a unique teaching method using symbols to teach vocabulary and is the foundation of our foreign language approach. Symtalk is now used in many schools, both public and private, throughout the United States, as well as in some foreign countries. Beginning with pre-kindergarten, our students acquire vocabulary so that by fourth grade they know an average of 250-300 words-verbs, nouns, articles, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs. First-graders are introduced to the French alphabet. Reading and writing in French also begins at this time and are expanded upon throughout the grades. In the upper grades (fourth through sixth grades), grammar, conversation, French culture and history, and geography are emphasized. By the end of the sixth grade, Wilson students can read books, write short essays and converse in French. |