PENETANGUISHENE SECONDARY SCHOOL
COURSE OUTLINE
Department: French
Teacher Name: D. Bastarache / Phone Number: (705) 549-7446
Website: http://mmebastsarache.wikispaces.com
Course Description: This course emphasizes the concurrent development of oral communication, reading, and writing skills, using broad-based themes, such as the media. Students will enhance their ability to understand and speak French through conversations, discussions, and presentations. They will also read short stories, articles, poems, and songs, and write brief descriptions, letters, dialogues, and invitations.
Course Title: / Core French
Grade: / 9
Course Type: / Applied
Ministry Code: / FSF1P
Credit Value: / 1
Prerequisite: / None
Textbook(s): / Quoi de neuf?; Supplementary texts as available
Required Materials: / Lined paper, writing tools & a three ring binder

Curriculum Expectations

The specific course expectations can be found in the Ontario Curriculum, or at www.curriculum.org
Strands:
The following three strands make up the course. A variety of activities and learning opportunities will be designed to facilitate an understanding in the following strands. Information on specific units will be available on my website as the course progresses.
Oral Communication / By the end of this course, students will:
• listen and respond to short, structured spoken texts;
• listen and respond to a variety of short, simple, non-structured media works;
• express ideas and opinions in short conversations and teacher-guided discussions;
• make oral presentations on a variety of topics;
• use appropriate language conventions during oral communication activities.
Reading / By the end of this course, students will:
• read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of simple texts;
• read a range of simple texts to gather information and to expand their knowledge of the French language;
• identify and understand language conventions used in their reading materials.
Writing / By the end of this course, students will:
• express ideas and opinions in short written texts;
• create short, simple written texts in structured and open-ended situations;
• identify and use appropriate language conventions in their written work.
Communicative Approach
Instruction focuses on providing students with opportunities to use the French language in a meaningful way. Errors are a natural part of the language-learning process and communication of meaning should be central, with less emphasis on language form. In short, fluency rather than accuracy is given priority. Classroom activities are often organized around such communicative activities as asking for information, expressing likes and dislikes, describing, inviting, promising, or apologizing – functions that a learner would need to know to get by in a foreign language. Contextual cues, props, and gestures are used to support communication of meaning. Grammar rules are learnt in the context of how they help to express meaning appropriately.
Action-Oriented approach
The “action-oriented approach” focuses on learning functional language related to accomplishing real-life tasks. This approach views students as “social agents” who use speech to interact with others in order to complete tasks that involve a problem to be solved, an obligation to fulfil or an objective to be achieved. Classroom activities closely mimic tasks students might face in everyday life. The tasks are therefore open-ended and require the use of a variety of skills and knowledge, often requiring oral and/or written interaction between two or more students. Activities engage learners in meaningful communication that is clearly related to their personal needs and interests and to life beyond the classroom.
Assessment and Evaluation (Based on Simcoe County District School Board guidelines)
Class Work (assignments, presentations, quizzes, tests, etc.) = 70% Final Exam = 30%
Students’ Class work will be assessed according to the achievement chart as described below:
Knowledge and Understanding / Thinking and Inquiry / Communication / Application
30% / 20% / 20% / 30%

Achievement Policy

A final grade is recorded for every course, and a credit is granted and recorded for every course in which the student’s grade is 50% or higher. The final grade for each course in Grades 9-12 will be determined as follows.

Ministry Policy

“Seventy percent of the grade will be based on evaluations conducted throughout the course. The portion of the grade should reflect the student’s most consistent level of achievement throughout the course, although special consideration should be given to more recent evidence of achievement. Thirty percent of the grade will be based on a final evaluation in the form of an examination, performance, essay, and/or other method of evaluation suitable to the course content and administered towards the end of the course. ”(Ontario Secondary Schools Grade 9 to 12 – Program Planning and Assessment p. 15)
Considerations relating to achievement of the curriculum expectations:
1.  The evaluations of the expectations should reflect the student’s most consistent levels of achievement for the particular sections. Although, special consideration should be given to more recent evidence of the achievement at the end of the semester.
2.  “Individual Education Plan (IEP) for exceptional students identifies the student’s learning expectations: outlines how the school will help the student achieve the expectations through appropriate special education programs and services; and identifies the methods by which the student’s progress will be reviewed.” (The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 to 12 Program Planning and Assessment p. 8)
3.  A student who is ill on the day of an evaluation, must immediately upon his/her return, arrange with the teacher for a make-up evaluation. A doctor’s note is required for a make-up evaluation for a final exam or final culminating activity.
4.  To ensure that further instruction time is not missed, make-up evaluations will take place outside of class time, either before or after school or at lunch at a mutually convenient time.
Late Assignment Policy
The student is responsible for submitting his or her work on the due date specified by the teacher, which is usually decided with input from the class. In certain circumstances, the Department recognizes that there may be circumstances in which the student must submit an assignment late. It is the responsibility of the student to inform the teacher with a valid reason for the delay in advance of the assigned due date. In this case, another due date shall be determined by the teacher. If the student does not communicate with the teacher in advance, the work will be subject to a penalty of 10% per day of up to a maximum of three days. After that, the student will be assigned a score of zero.
Presentation of work
The French Department requires that all written assignments follow a standardized format for easy reading and correction by the teacher. All written work will be typed on the computer and double-spaced using a 12 pt font. Any work not respecting this rule will be given to students for editing purposes and will be subject to the late assignment penalty of 10% per day.

Plagiarism

·  The Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) is committed to Character Education as exemplified by our board’s Commit to Character traits, including honesty.
·  Honesty is behaving in a sincere, trustworthy and truthful manner. Cheating is an act of dishonesty. Plagiarism is an act of dishonesty.
·  Plagiarism is the use of the language, products, and/or thoughts of others presented as one’s own.
·  Consequences for cheating and plagiarism will be based on four factors: the grade level of the student, the maturity of the student, the number and frequency of the incidents and individual mitigating circumstances.
·  The creation of original work is a celebration of your intellectual curiosity and hard work.