Read up on your Chacha — in both English and French!
What happens with you mix a passionate French teacher and Simbi? Apparently the Chacha!
Finding exciting content as a French teacher can be a challenging feat. Students come from different backgrounds of language learning into your class, needing engaging yet accessible stories for a variety of levels. Often it feels as though there’s a stark choice between stories that teach the French language, and stories that children can engage with on an everyday level — with problem solving, sharing, and other important skills. Finding a reading platform that supports French language and culture in an enticing way is even harder. But, we have some good news…
In our new Simbi Original Series, readers follow the stories of Chacha, a spunky, cat-loving, elementary schooler who loves adventures. Students can read 25 stories, in both French and English, as they move from learning readers in grade 1 to reading leaders in grade 3.
We chatted with the author of the Chacha series, Sara Langois, a local educator using Simbi in her class.
What inspired the Chacha book series?
I was inspired by both of my own children and my own childhood. Many of the adventures in the books are partly true!
Do you have a favourite Chacha book?
I think I especially like the one where Chacha learns to skateboard, featuring Uncle Martin, my own brother who is the best skateboarder I know and who keeps encouraging his niece to learn to skate.
What unique challenges do you face as a French immersion teacher?
It is difficult to find engaging yet suitable reading material for sure. I also think it is difficult to have students understand that French is not only a language but also a culture and an identity. I sometimes have young students that are quite surprised when they learn and realize where I’m originally from, that I grew up in a town where everyone spoke French, that my parents only speak French, that it can be your main and only language.
We love working with teachers to create content in our Global Library!
If you have a story to share or a language you want to see more content of, we would love to get in contact with you at hello@simbi.io. In the meantime, enjoy reading about Chacha’s many adventures here.
