French II Syllabus and Class Rules

New Manchester High School World Languages Department Mr. J. Green, Ed.S. Room C 2 200

Course Description: The aim of second year French is to enable students to understand and use the language in a range of contexts and for a variety of purposes. Through the study of texts and social interaction, students should develop an awareness and appreciation of the world’s francophone cultures, namely those in Western Europe, North and West Africa, Quebec, and the Caribbean. The course focuses on the continued development of communicative competence in French. Students begin to show a greater level of accuracy when using basic language structures while being exposed to more complex features of the French language.

Materials: Students are responsible for bringing their own notebooks and a blue or black pen to class every day. The teacher encourages students to record notes in class and not simply to take pictures of information. This active engagement is the first step in learning new information and acquiring new skills.

Electronic Devices: Tech devices may be helpful when completing some lessons, but students should not depend on them to replace their own cognition. Translation services, for example, sometimes do students a disservice. Their translations are frequently inaccurate and use expressions and grammatical structures unfamiliar to students. (It’s always a danger to use words whose definitions one is unfamiliar of.) Students should first try to complete assignments by using their own knowledge of French and then by referring to the textbook. If students are still unsure of how to finish work, they are welcome to ask the instructor for help. The teacher does not suggest that student automatically defer to an online translation site to complete work.

Students may not look at, handle, wear, or leave on their desks any instrument that can send out or retrieve information while they have a quiz, test, or final exam in their possession. Such electronic devices may not be consulted when completing graded assessments.

Social media can be a big distraction to students in the classroom. Students try to multitask by communicating socially on their electronic devices and while appearing to pay attention to the lesson. This approach to classroom instruction usually results in stunted learning and low grades because adolescents simply cannot multitask as well as they think they can. Acquiring a foreign language requires long periods of uninterrupted concentration. Playing on one’s cell phone every sixty seconds will not lead to content mastery.

The teacher is happy to help students who focus 100% on the lesson during instruction time. The teacher is reluctant to offer assistance to those who pay constant attention to social media during the delivery of instruction.

Cell phones may not be charged using the electrical outlets in the classroom. Unattended phones are frequently stepped on, tripped over, or stolen. Students should keep their phones with them at all time and not leave them unattended. If a student believes that his or her phone is lost or stolen, he or she may complete a police report with the resource officer. In short, secured phones rarely disappear.

Students should not wear ear buds in or near their ears while in the language classroom. Neither should they listen to their own music while in the classroom. All focus should be on French words, not song lyrics. On rare occasions, the instructor may allow students to listen to their own music while completing work.

Curriculum: The Georgia Performance Standards (GPS), the state-approved curriculum, serves as the curriculum for this course. Parents and students may view

these standards on line.

(e)Textbook: D’accord, a state and district approved textbook series, will be frequently used in this class. The physical books in students’ desks will be used constantly throughout the course and should remain in the classroom. Outside of the room, students will have access to the ebook which is exactly like the actual one use during instruction. A login and password gives students access to the ebook. Some assignements must be completed online using the D’accord’s online resources, including the ebook. D’accord’s website offers a wealth of activities to help students. Such resources include tutorials, auto-correcting drills, and audio-visual activities.

Engrade: In addition to using the textbook, students may find PowerPoint presentations, lecture notes, exam preparations, and assignments on Engrade, the school system’s instructional platform. Struggling students should refer to this website to self-study before coming to teacher assisted tutorials. Students absent from school should use this platform to retrieve lessons and work missed while out of the classroom.

Teaching Methods: Paired conversational practice that promotes communicative competence in the target language, real world simulations that require cultural and linguistic competence, listening to and watching native speakers, guided and independent practice that reinforces grammatical structures, singing culturally authentic or mnemonic songs, manipulative activities, pre- and post-instruction assessments, student led oral presentations, multiple games, graphic organizers, and occasional lecture.

Use of Target Language: The language instructor teaches French in French. Students should quickly become used to having lessons presented in the target language and should try to use the target language whenever possible in class. The instructor will teach you high frequency classroom vocabulary and expressions.

Behavioral Expectations: The following expectations are posted in the classroom and enforced throughout the year.

1. Arrive on time and attend class regularly.

The instructor enforces the school’s disciplinary policy concerning tardies to class. Students are considered late to class when they enter the room after the tardy bell has rung and they do not have a written excuse from a teacher or administrator. It is the student’s responsibility to secure that pass before coming to class late. It is not the teacher’s responsibility to contact another adult in the building and inquire about why a particular student was late. If a student arrives at the door late and claims that a teacher kept him or her after class, the student may not miss more instructional time to get a pass. The student may later show a pass to the teacher.

2. Prepare for class by studying at home and by attending tutorial sessions if needed.

3. Limit hall pass requests and trips to the bathroom.

No one leaves the room the first and last fifteen minutes of class. Only one student is allowed out of the classroom at a time.

4. Treat the school building and its occupants with care.

5. Gum, food, and drinks should not be seen or heard in the classroom.

Breakfast and lunch should be consumed before coming to class. Students will not be allowed to finish meals in the room or while standing outside the room. Such snacking distracts students from paying attention to the lesson or needlessly removes them from the classroom during instruction.

6. Focus on learning.

Do not use electronic devices for social and entertainment purposes during instructional time. Avoid behaviors that disrupt the lesson.

7. Graded assignments should be written in blue or black ink.

Ten points are deducted from graded assignments written in pencil or colors other than blue or black ink.

Consequences: Those who choose not to act according to these expectations can

expect (in sequential order or according to severity of the act) a verbal warning/private conference, before or after school detention, a parental contact, or an office referral. Those who do not serve teacher assigned detention will be referred to the office.

Assessment and Evaluation: Tests and quizzes are announced days in advance. Assessments may include listening, reading, writing, and oral parts.

Make-up work and re-takes: Students who are absent from class for any reason are responsible for completing the work missed. They are advised to study documents posted to Engrade or peruse D’accord’s website. If a student is present in class the day of a quiz or test, he or she is expected to take that quiz or test even if he or she missed some of the instruction. Students who make a 69 or lower on a quiz or test may re-take that quiz or test before or after school. They may not re-take that assessment during instructional time or during lunch. Students must complete a review assignment before re-doing an assessment. They need to show the instructor evidence or remediation (e.g. a verb conjugation written multiple times, vocabulary flash cards) or come for tutoring before being allowed to retake a quiz or test. The teacher will record the average of the two grades.

Graded homework assignments or assignments for D’Accord’s website may be submitted only once. Students may not re-do these assignments since they are usually graded for completion and effort.

Students should turn in late work and re-take tests no more than two weeks after the original due date. Do not expect the teacher to allow you to make up work missed months ago. The time to turn in missed work or retake quizzes and tests is immediately after the first due date, not more than two weeks later.

Grading: The course grade will be determined as follows:

Tests (These summative assessments include 50%

unit tests and projects)

Daily Grades (These formative assessments 30%

include quizzes, classwork, homework

and on-line/ebook assignments)

Final exam 20%

There are currently no end-of-course tests for French. Students will take a final exam. The course grade is determined by the calculation above. Obviously, if one does very poorly on or never takes the final exam, one’s grade will fall one, and in some cases two, letter grades.

Grading Scale: Your instructor uses the revised grading scale for the Douglas County School System. A 90-100

B 80-89

C 71-79

D 70

F 0-69

Final Exam: The final exam will be given during the last week of the semester. Seniors about to graduate and students with administrative approval will take their finals early. Students should plan on attending class and taking the final exam of the scheduled day as this test counts as 20% of the course grade. Those who for some reason do not take the final exam on or by the designated final exam date will receive an M (for missing grade) on the final exam. This M, which counts as a zero, will remain until the student takes the assessment early during summer vacation. Students will prepare for the assessment thoroughly on the days leading to the final exam. No one may re-take the final exam.

Grade Appeals: A student or parent has five business days from the date report cards are issued to appeal the final grade. The appeal must be made in writing to the principal, and the decision of the principal is final.

High School Graduation and College/University Requirements: The state of Georgia does not require that high school students take a world language in order to graduate. Four year colleges and universities, however, do require that two credits of one language appear on an applicant’s high school transcript in order to be considered for acceptance. Once students have met the two credit requirement, they must make at least on 80 in any pre-requisite class before continuing on to the next level (i.e. if you have earned high school credit for French I and have a 75 average in French II at the time of registration, your French teacher will not recommend you for French III.) Foreign language grades do count in HOPE scholarship calculations.

Extra credit: It is not the teacher’s practice to offer extra credit. Students should concentrate on completing assigned work rather than asking for extra credit.

Tutoring: The instructor tutors students one day a week (usually Wednesdays) after school in his classroom. These dates and times are posted outside his room and on the school’s website. As a courtesy and reminder to the teacher, students should tell him when they plan on attending. Also, students should bring with them a few questions they want answered during the tutorial session to guide the teacher’s instruction and as proof they are studying the content outside of class.

Communication of Grades: At any time during the semester, parents and students may check grades using the school’s online service. Grades are usually updated within six to twenty-four hours of turning in an assignment. Thus, the posted grade is the up-to-date average. A score of zero means that the student completed the assignment but got no answers correct. A score marked M indicates a missing grade. That assignment was never turned in. An M counts as a zero. Zeros do great damage to averages, and students should make every effort to turn in all graded assignments. Report cards are sent home every nine weeks.

Personal Communication: You may contact the teacher of French by his school email address () or by phone (770-651-2754). He is likely to reply before 8:15 a.m., after 4:00 p.m., or during his planning period.

Foreign Language Honors: In the fall, upper level students who meet certain criteria will be invited to join the French National Honor Society.