South Pasadena High School Teacher: Sadie Medina

Foreign Language Department Room: 425

email:

(626) 441-5820 ex2425 Conference periods: 5th and 7th

Pre-requisite: French 5/6H .

7/8 Honors French Language and Culture

Material Type:Primary SourceFrench Language and Culture is a course intended for fourth year French students. It fits in perfectly with the new common core standards for literacy. The class offers a balance of informational and literary texts which they discuss among themselves and use a basis for expository and comparative essays.

Objectives:
Students will show that they have attained Intermediate to Pre-Advanced proficiency (as per ACTFL Performance Guidelines in K-12 Learners) in the French language and that they have developed an understanding of Francophone cultures in accordance with AP Curriculum guidelines and the Standards for Foreign Language Learning by demonstrating that they:
>understand conversations, instructions, radio and television broadcasts, videos, and popular music.
>understand authentic print sources, such as, newspaper and magazine articles, letters and postcards, Internet articles, as well as literary texts such short stories, and poetry selections and other non-technical sources.
>demonstrate proficiency in spoken and written Interpersonal Communication in a variety of situations by engaging in face to face communication in which they exchange meaningful information >demonstrate their ability in Interpretive Communication to understand and synthesize information from a variety of authentic audio, visual and audio-visual, written and print resources.
>express themselves in many different written formats and styles as the
purpose of the communication requires and by using different language and strategies to suit the audience as well as the setting.
>can engage in oral presentations for an intended audience, participate in conversations and write about different aspects of the francophone culture, specifically addressing the six course themes of Global Challenges, Science and Technology, Contemporary Life, Personal and Public Identities, Families and Communities, Beauty and Aesthetics . They will compare the many aspects of the francophone culture to their own cultures < Students will be able to use French in real- life settings.
Throughout the school year:
>the class will be conducted almost entirely in French. Students will be given a "use of language" grade.
>An integral part of this program will be the use of tv5.org's "7 Jourssur la Planète"
Every week the students will watch at least one news clip from "7 Jourssur la Planète". They will complete the downloaded worksheet provided by the program. This worksheet usually includes topics for written articles as well as for oral discussions ; the latter will be implemented during class. They will complete the written exercise for homework and be tested on new vocabulary words. <Throughout the school year, students will also watch and discuss in class documentaries, films, and cultural events tapped from TV 5 programs

<Another integral part of this program will be the use of AP French (APF), Preparing for the Language and Culture Examination by Richard Ladd. The students will be exposed to the 6 different themes of the AP curriculum by working with authentic materials provided by the publishers. The activities of this workbook are online and provide practice in each of the 7 sections of the AP examination: Interpretive Communication in Print Texts, Print and Audio Texts combined, and Audio texts, as well as Interpersonal Writing and Speaking and Presentational Writing and Speaking. Students will also be reading literary selections from Pearson’s Allons au-delà (AAD) and AMSCO French for Four Years (FFY)
> As this is a 4th year French class, there will be intensive grammar review and vocabulary building assignments integrated into the lessons throughout the year.
>Once a month students will write an in-class persuasive essay, based on the current course theme.
Units are approximately 5 weeks long.

Due to the extensive amount of instruction and practice that takes place in class, it is essential that students make every effort to attend class.

Homework Policy:

Homework Policy:

Regular, daily practice with the target language is essential to working toward proficiency in a foreign language.Homework, usually written, is given in each class. As each student learns in at a different pace, completion of the homework grammar and vocabulary packets will not be graded, however doing them is highly recommended as daily practice in the target language is essential to working toward proficiency in a foreign language. We will be correcting these packets in class. Students may also us the on-line textbook activities to review the current lessons

Other assigned readings, and written/oral homework will be graded. Students are also expected daily to study vocabulary lists and other material in progress. If a student is absent s/he is expected to pick up missed homework on the day following the missed day of class, which means, in our block schedule, that s/he should stop by the classroom pick up the missed assignment or get it from a reliable classmate. Homework will be posted in class and on my website which can be accessed at As per SPHS policy, there will be no extra credit opportunities. Late homework will not be accepted unless the student has an excused absence verified by an admit. Generally, students will have one block to make up a missed assignment for each day of absence.

Grading Policy:

ScaleWeighting

100%-90AHomework 10% of total grade

89-80B Essays and use of language 30%

79-70CExamsand quizzes 40%

69-60DFinal Exam 20%

59 and belowFTotal100%

All grades will be posted on AERIES in a reasonable, appropriate, on-going and timely manner throughout the established five week grading period. It is highly recommended that parents/guardians acquire an AERIES account, from the front office, so that they can check their child’s grades and progress.

Tutoring/Extra Help:

A student who needs some extra help with material covered in class may find it in a variety of ways. I am available at varying times during the week: conference periods and after school. Students may always make an appointment with me at a time we can both agree upon. Also, the Foreign Language Department has a list of adult tutors and former AP students that students may contact to get help.

Contact Information:

There is no direct contact to the teacher’s room during the school day so that we can minimize disruption. Parents can reach me by email or can leave a message at the above extension and I will return the call as soon as possible.

Unit Information

August 22-September 28: Unit 1- La vie contemporaine Units 4+ 5, C’est à Toi (CT), Level 3 (EMC ParadigmPublishing): travel situations and vocabulary:

Content and/or Skills taught: . .conditional and future tenses, subjunctive tense with expression of emotion, uses of verbs with de + noun, use of dont .travel vocabulary .writing and responding to emails in French

Major Assignments and/or Assessments

  • Read:1. excerpt: Les petits enfants du siècle de Christiane Rochefort (AAD p. 153)
  • 2. Le Chandail (AAD) pg172: sports En groupes, discutez la fierté pour les équipes
  • Reading and Listening (APF): Le Récyclage, Restaurant Gilespgs 94, (InterpretiveCommunicaton, Print and Audio)
  • Audio texts (APF):Sélections #2 p. 129, #11 p.138, #30 p.157, (InterpretiveCommunicaton Audio Texts)
  • Courriels (APF) #1 et#5 pgs 164, 168 (InterpersonalWriting, E-mail Reply)
  • Presentational Writing (APF): Faut-il supprimer le Bac? p. 184 (persuasive essay)
  • Interpersonal communication: APF Sélection # 4 (Conversation) p.203
  • Cultural Comparison: APF Selection#4 (presentational speaking) p.212
  • Grammar: review of conditional and subjunctive tenses as well as uses of verbes + de + nouns and dont
  • Grammar and vocabulary assessments for Unit 5 ofC’est à Toi

October 3 -october 29: Unit 2-La science et la technologie Unit 6A, C’est à Toi: La technologie

Content and/or Skills Taught:

.Passé compose vs imparfait
.Comparative of adjectives
.superlative adjectives .technology vocabulary

Major Assignments and/or Assessments:

  • Readings and activities: (APF): La domotique…: Les technologies de demain(Interpretive communication, PrintTexts)
  • Rédaction comparant la vie d’aujourd’hui et la vie de demain
  • Reading and Listening (APF) sélections #7(whatdoesyour mobile phone say about you) + #13 ((Le virage technologique: cheval de Troie de l’avenir )pgs 98, 110 (InterpretiveCommunicatonPrint and Audio Texts)
  • Audio texts: (APF) selections #4 + 12 pgs.131, 139 ((InterpretiveCommunicaton Audio Texts)
  • Courriels :APF #4 + #7 (pgs.191, 192) (Interpersonal Writing, E-mail Reply)
  • Presentational writing: APF Sélection #7(effects of mobile phones on health) p.190 (persuasive essay)
  • Interpersonal communication (conversation): APF sélection #3 P. 202
  • Cultural comparison: APF selection #4(talk about how the work of a particular French scientist has changed the lives of people) pg.212 (presentational speaking)
  • Grammar: future, comparative and superlative adjectives
  • Grammar and vocabulary assessments for Unit 6 C’est à toi

October 31 - December 13: Unit 3-Famille et Communauté

Unit 7 (CT): Social Problems in French Society Today Unit 9 (CT) L’Afrique francophone

Content and/or Skills Taught:
.conditional tense with si
.Interrogative adjectives and pronouns
.demonstrative adjectives and pronouns .expressions with être and avoir .possessive pronouns .pluperfect tense .vocabulary pertaining to family and community

Major Assignments and/or Assessments:

  • Read an article in C’està Toi about French inner-city and immigration problems. Listen to the audio of this article on CD.
  • Group project: Using information from current reading and the internet, make a list of at least 4 problems faced by French immigrants today. Propose solutions to those problems, using "si" with the conditional tense. Present the findings to the class.
  • Based current reading and internet article (APF p.76) on immigration, write a compare and contrast essay about French inner-city and immigration problems vs those in the US (C2,C4,C7, C8)
  • Reading and activities: Le petit Nicolas (AAD): On a eul’inspecteur: Interpretive communication, PrintTexts
  • Watch "La Promesse" in French, discuss the similarities of Belge and French social problems
  • Reading: Role du girot (APF p. 12) and articles in CT about life in French Africa, based on these articles and information found on a French website, write a presentational essay comparing a French African and American courtship and marriage customs.
  • Presentational Writing: Sélection # 1 p. 176
  • Grammar and vocabulary assessments for Unit 7 and 9 C’est à toi

December17– February 7: Unit 4- Défiesmondiaux (Global Challenges)

Unit 10, C’est à Toi: On s’adapt Unit 6B, (CT) L’environnement

Content and/or Skills Taught:

.Expressions of quantity .Indefinite adjectives and pronouns .Past conditional .vocabulary pertaining to health and social issues

Major Assignments and/or Assessments:

  • Reading and Listening (APF) sélections #1, Bien Manger pour bientravailler p.86 (Interpretive Communication Print and Audio Texts)
  • Audio texts: (APF) selections #5 ((Interpretive Communication Audio Texts)
  • Using information provided in Unit 6B and information found on a French website, students will make an oral presentation describing and defending his/her choice of a French humanitarian mission such as Médecins sans frontières.
  • Reading and activities: 1 .Comme un arbreby JaquesPrévert followed by comprehension activites
  • Courriels :APF# 2 + #10 (pgs.165, 1173) (Interpersonal Writing, E-mail Reply)
  • Interpersonal communication: APF sélection #10 P. 209 (conversation)
  • Cultural comparison: APF selection #13(think of a disaster and tell about how it brought people together from all of the world) or 14 pg.213 (presentational speaking)
  • PresentationalWriting: Sélection # 1 (Quand on est riche, doit-on partager ses biens avec scux qui n’ont rien?) APF p. 176
  • Grammar and vocabulary assessments for Unit 10 and 6B of C’est à Toi

February 13 – March 16: Unit 5 –L’esthétique

Content and/or Skills Taught:

.Review of function words: Chapters 12-14 in AMSCO’s French for Four Years (FFY) .vocabulary pertainingto art and beauty

Major Assignments and/or Assessments:

  • Reading and activities: (Interpretive communication, Print Texts)

1. AAD: Ballade des pendus, Mignonne, allons voir si la rose, Le corbeau et le renard

2.Read and listen to Act II, scene 5 Bourgeois gentilhomme, watch exerpts from

Remi Waterhouse’s Ridicule.Discuss perceived fashion vs life’s real values. 3. Marion Cotillard: Piaf réincarnée (watch selections from La vie en rose)

  • Reading and Listening (APF) selections: #16 p. 116 (Interpretive Communicaton Print and Audio Texts)
  • Audio texts (APF):Sélections #8(extrait of a press conferance given by Albert Camus) p. 135, #16 p.143, , (Interpretive Communicaton Audio Texts)
  • Presentational writing: APF Selection #2(what was the value of an exhibit of Edvard Munch when his most famous painting, the Scream wasn’t included) p.180 ((persuasive essay)
  • Cultural comparison: APF selection #1(explain how a particular French work of art reflects the French culture) pg.212 (presentational speaking)
  • Grammar activities in FFY
  • grammar and vocabulary assessments

March 19- April 27 Unite 6 – La quête de soi (Pesonal and Public Identities)

Content and/or Skills Taught:

.reviewimpersonal constructions: Infinitif, gérondif, particiipe présent (FFY ch. 10)

. new vocabulary

Major Assignments and/or Assessments:

  • Reading and activities: 1.L’aliénation et l’assimilisation: Beni ou le paradis privé, extrait de Schizophrénie lingustique – Watch excerptsfromEntre les Murs 2. Read Au Champs byMaupassant (Interpretive communication Print Texts) Watch thefilm Au Champs(2a) and write a compare/contrast essay about the two.
  • Reading and Listening (APF) selection: #9 p. 102 (Interpretive Communicaton Print and Audio Texts)
  • Audio texts (APF):Sélections #8 p. 135, #19 p.146: students listen to an interview with Maghrebian writer Jaques Chancel , (Interpretive Communicaton Audio Texts)
  • Courriels :APF# 3 + #8 (pgs.166, p.171) (Interpersonal Writing, E-mail Reply)
  • Presentational writing: APF Selection #3 p. 182 (what constitutes personal identity) (persuasive essay)
  • Interpersonal communication: APF Sélection # 8 p. 207 p.203 (Conversation)
  • Cultural comparison: APF selection #9 pg.213 (talk about how language and culture mark the personality of an individual (presentational speaking)
  • Grammar activities in FFY
  • Grammar activities
  • Grammar and vocabulary assessments

May-June: Content and/or Skills Taught:
Interpretation of texts

Major Assignments and/or Assessments:

Students will watch 8 Femmes directed by François Ozon, then will write produce their own mystery skit à la Clue.
Students will read Tintin au Tibet and selected stories by Guy de Maupassant and discuss them in class.
Students will also watch videos of these and write comparative essays about the differences between the books and the movies.

Textbooks/Course Materials

Textbooks

Author:Clark, Augusta Desimone
Second Author:Ladd, Richard
Title:C'est à Toi Level 3 Revised Teacher's Edition
Publisher:EMC
Published Date:2002
Description:A 3rd/4th year French text book plus
supplemental CD, workbooks and worksheets, as well as tests and quizzes

Author: Ladd, Richard Title: Allons au-delà Publisher: Pearson Published date:2011 Description: Varied anthology of French Literature grouped according to the 6 themes of the AP Exam and including various written and audio activities geared to encourage and develop higher order thinking skills

Author:Ladd, , Richard
Title:AP French, Preparing for the Language and Cultural Examination
Publisher:Pearson
Published Date:2011
Description:AP Examination review, with internet listening and audio activities

Author:Nielsen, Linda
Second Author:Herbst, Henry
Title:UneFois Pour Toutes
Publisher:LongmanPublilshing
Published Date:1992

Author:Shein, Françoise
Title: AMSCO French for Four Years, with AP Componant
Publisher: Published Date:2006
Description:Review for AP exam plus selected literary texts and accompaning exercises
Description:Grammar Review

Other Course Materials

MaterialType:Primary Source
Description:Champs Elysées, audio magazine
7 Jours sur La Planète, TV5.org
TV5 cablechannel

Description: short stories Contes normands et parisiens by Guy de Maupassant, Classiques Hachette (Hachette livres 2006)

Material Type:Primary Source
Description:LesAventures de Tin Tin au Tibet, by Hergé (book and film)

Websites

URL:
Description:French web site containing news clips as well as information on many different subjects in the Francophone world. This site also provides activities for students