Unit Plan Draft with Three Lesson Plans

This Unit Plan Draft was provided by a student in French 400 who has never taught previously.

Therefore, it contains some things that the student improved upon later, but in general, it is on target for most aspects we are looking for. Please have a look at it, and note especially the following:

Introduction of the Unit Plan:

In this unit plan, the "context" contains the theme of family, likes and dislikes, descriptions of friends and family, and should not contain grammatical items, which aren’t really contexts at all. “Context” refers to the context in which we use the grammar, vocab., etc.: family in this case; other “contexts” would be things like: shopping, travel and leisure, school life, careers and professions, etc., as well as cultural contexts such as historical contexts of particular countries, or music, literature, art, etc. Grammatical items you plan to cover in a lesson or chapter or unit are not “contexts”.

“Standards to be addressed”: It is a good idea to use the National Standards (5 C's) as well as SOLs, and to identify which are which, or to at least identify which one you are using. National Standards are not used in this unit plan, although it would be better if they were.

Daily lesson plans:

This draft follows the format of the "Backward Design" wonderfully. This format is described in Chapter 3 (pages 99-100) and in Appendix 3.2 “Planning Template Illustrating Backward Design”.

In the objectives for the unit as well as for each daily lesson, there were originally some grammar-based objectives listed, but also listed, and more importantly, are the communicative and contextual objectives, such as these:

Students will be able to…

Identify family members

Express likes and dislikes

Utilize the verb avoir in describing family members

Answer questions about family members

Ask questions about family members

Describe family members

Comment on their likes and dislikes and those of other students

The student was asked to re-phrase the objectives that stated “conjugate the verb…”. In itself, conjugating isn’t really an objective; it’s a means to communicate something, so her later objective, “Utilize the verb avoir in describing family members” could be reformulated to combine both of those, perhaps by stating: “Conjugate the verb avoir in the present tense to describe family members” or “Describe family members using the verb avoir in the present tense.”

On the subject of stating objectives in terms of observable behavior, please remember that terms like “learn”, “understand”, etc., are not appropriate for these objectives. How will we be able to assess whether they have “learned” or “understood” something? By observing some action that shows they can use the concept. Have another look at Chapter 3 for this discussion, and the appendix for a very handy list of terms you can use for these objectives (Appendix 3.1 Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy).

The student should also add to the “Content, skills and knowledge” section something about family/friends vocabulary, knowledge of relationships, or something that goes along with the context of the unit, not just the grammatical knowledge necessary.

This plan has great warm-ups. Originally, the student had listed each day’s warm-up as a journal-writing activity, but she has changed that after suggestions for having students speak to partners and then report to the class (not time for all of them to report, but a few each day), or a whole-class oral activity. A warm-up should be a way to get everyone SPEAKING the language and warmed up for the day’s activities. Writing is certainly appropriate at times for this kind of activity, but speaking is a better way to get things going. It could be with partners some times, or could be a whole-class activity to identify items you show them or to answer a question. It should be communicative in nature, which the journal activity is, since it asks students to reflect on something personal and write or speak about it, but it is even more effective as a “warm-up” if it is oral and student-to-student. The teacher, in this case, will need to be everywhere circulating and checking on students.

Remember that a grammar explanation isn’t the only way to introduce new grammar. Remember our PACE lesson (Chapter 7)? It would be really great to incorporate a PACE lesson into your unit plan.

It is really important to incorporate partner work and group work or game or other communicative activity into every day’s lesson.

About assessments: the part of the lesson plan for “Determining (and planning for) acceptable evidence”: besides informal observation of the students to assess comprehension and output, a formative assessment is useful and at some point, a summative assessment. When planning assessments, remember that something like a quiz on expressions, vocabulary, grammar, should be framed in a communicative context. We haven’t gotten to the assessment chapter yet, but have a look through it as you plan your unit plan, so that you can incorporate some of the ideas there. In the final unit plans, we will want to see the actual materials that you create, such as quizzes or tests, descriptions of activities, worksheets (not my favorite tool for many reasons we have been discussing), etc.

It is important to incorporate “authentic” videos, stories, etc., such as the Air France commercial on YouTube used in this plan. Another suggestion for the Air France video is to have students create their own commercial for any product they choose, using the faire phrases. It could be a homework assignment, or a partner or group activity.

About “warm-downs”: These shouldn’t really be the homework assignment or asking questions about what the day’s lesson was, as I have seen in some lesson plans. Those could be done right before the “warm-down” so that you can do something similar to a “warm-up” as a “warm-down.” It should be something in which the students actually use the day’s lesson in some kind of communicative activity, although brief. They go out of the class speaking the language.

One last suggestion: don’t forget to proofread and fix typos.

Introduction:

This unit plan is for a French 1 beginning level course in a middle school setting.

Description of Course: (From Virginia Standards of Learning): French I students focus on developing communicative competence in French and expand their understanding of the culture(s) of francophone countries. Communicative competence is divided into three strands:

· Speaking and writing as an interactive process in which students learn to communicate with another French speaker (Interpersonal).

· Listening and reading as a receptive process in which students develop comprehension of French (interpretive)

· Speaking and writing in a presentational context in which students focus on organization of thoughts and awareness of their audience in delivering information (presentational).

Beginning level French classes encourage students to learn to communicate in real-life contexts about topics that are meaningful to them. To develop students’ communicative competence, emphasis is placed on use of French in the classroom and on use of authentic materials to learn about the culture. Rather than isolating grammar in a separate strand, it is integrated into instruction according to the vocabulary and structures needed in the various situations in which students are required to function. Through the language learning process, students develop a greater understanding of the structure of their own language and the unique aspects of their own culture. An important component of learning French is using the language in the real world beyond the classroom setting. This can be accomplished in a number of ways through integration of technology into the classroom, as technology is an important means of accessing authentic information in French and in providing students the opportunity to interact with native French speakers.

Grades: 6, 7, and 8

Bibliographic information for textbook:

Bragger, Jeannette D., and Donald Rice. Allons-y!: Le Français Par Étapes. Boston, MA: Thomson Heinle, 2004. Print.

Purposes and goals to be addressed: Students will begin to communicate regarding likes and dislikes, incorporating the verb “avoir”and “faire”, and family. Other goals: -----------(?)

Standards to be addressed:

FI.1 The student will exchange simple spoken and written information in French.

1. Use basic greetings, farewells, and expressions of courtesy both orally and in writing.

2. Express likes and dislikes, requests, descriptions, and directions.

3. Ask questions and provide responses about self and other familiar topics, such as family members, personal belongings, school and leisure activities, time, and weather.

FI.2 The student will demonstrate skills necessary to sustain brief oral and written exchanges in French, using familiar phrases and sentences.

1. Initiate, sustain, and close brief oral and written exchanges with emphasis on the present time.

2. Use formal and informal forms of address in familiar situations.

3. Use gestures and simple paraphrasing to convey and comprehend messages.

FI.5 The student will present information orally and in writing in French, using a variety of familiar vocabulary, phrases, and structural patterns.

1. Present information gathered from informal conversations, class presentations, interviews, readings, and/or a variety of media sources.

2. Describe basic information about such topics as self, family members and others, events, interests, school, recreational activities, and personal belongings with emphasis on control of the present tense.

3. Demonstrate increasing attention to accurate intonation and pronunciation, especially when presenting prepared material orally.

4. Demonstrate increasing attention to accurate word order, punctuation, accents and other diacritical marks, and spelling when writing.

FI.11 The student will compare basic elements of the French language to those of the English language.

1. Recognize cognates, genders, level-appropriate idioms, and differences in sound systems and writing systems.

2. Recognize basic sound distinctions and intonation patterns and their effect on the communication of meaning.

Context of the unit: Faisons Connaissance!: Expressing likes and dislikes. Identifying, and describing family members.

Objectives:

Upon finishing this unit, the student will be able to…

Identify family members in spoken and written discourse

Express likes and dislikes in spoken and written discourse

Utilize the verb avoir correctly in describing family members

Ask and answer questions about family members

Comment on their likes and dislikes and those of other students

Interact orally with other students in meaningful exchanges regarding family

Content, skills, and knowledge needed: Ability to use regular verbs in the present tense, and knowledge of descriptive, and activity vocabulary.

Instructional Strategies, Activities, and Procedures: In a 50 minute block, I will separate the time into different activities and procedures that are normal for most days.

Typical Day: 10 minutes: Welcome, greeting, and oral warm-up

10 minutes: Review of previous material, with speaking activities

10 minutes: Introduction of new material and oral practice

15 minutes: Game, presentation, group work, or authentic cultural exposure (reading, video) with activity

5 minutes: Homework, questions, and final closure-warm-down

In a French 1 classroom environment, I will use instructional strategies such as gesture, body language, and occasional use of English to explain assignments and grammatical concepts to students. I will provide a list of useful questions, and reading strategies for students to use in class, and while doing their homework.

Resources and materials: Textbook, workbook, journals, French dictionaries, pictures of family members, activity list, subject box, flyswatter, projector, and authentic video material.

Assessment instruments and materials: Daily homework assignments will be part of my lesson plans. I will have students apply their skills and knowledge in various homework assignments. They will normally consist of one of the following: grammar activities, brief writing assignments, brief listening comprehension assignments, and also brief reading assignments. Homework will be checked for completion and quality. Daily journal assignments will be graded and corrected for students to perfect their writing skills. The students will have several vocabulary and grammar quizzes a month. Assessment will also take place through observations in partner/group work. At the end of every unit, I will administer a test. These tests will test the overall ability of the students after a unit is complete, in the areas of speaking, listening, reading, writing and cultural knowledge.

Bibliography of sources used:

Bragger, Jeannette D., and Donald B. Rice. Allons-y!: Le Français Par Étapes: Cahier De Travaux Pratiques. 6th ed. Thomson and Heinle, 2004. Print.

Individual Lesson Plans:

Day 1. Stage 1: Identify Desired Results: The student will be able to conjugate the verb “avoir” in the present tense, and express likes and dislikes.

A. Context/Theme/Topic: Faisons Connaissance! : Being able to ask/answer questions about/to future friends or acquaintances.

B. Objectives: learners will be able to…

Conjugate the verb “avoir”

Express likes and dislikes

Comment on their likes and dislikes and those of other students

C. Standards/Goals: