Le roman autobiographique: Les bas du pensionnat, par Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
There will be three thematic units this semester, given a duration of five weeks each. For each of the three units, students will be evaluated in the areas of Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. There will also be weekly lessons to strengthen French-language concepts. Please note that there will be assignments and homework on a regular schedule, which you can plan ahead following the link below (right). An important value, 15% of the course mark, will be given to the use of spoken French in class (see the course outline link below (left)). These are two areas which must not be overlooked, and as they can significantly impact a student's achievement in this course. **We are privileged to offer an immersion environment, and put great emphasis on preserving the language community within the classroom!
UNIT 1 (Weeks 1-5): READING/WRITING: The first unit will be taken from the textbook for this course (Passeport vers la littératie), called Le courage, and will take in a series of articles where people have shown courage under difficult circumstances (focusing on a type of text called le récit personnel). It will also involve the reading of a class novel, Les bas du pensionnat, the true story of an Inuit girl sent to a residential school. This novel develops concepts taught in Grade 9 Social Studies, and includes vocabulary enrichment, comprehension questions, class discussions and a book report about the story line and characters, all of which will serve as a model for students to follow when they read on their own and in literature circles in UNIT 2. There will be a final project for the unit where students present to the class the story of a family member or friend who has been an example to them for the courage they showed at a particular time in their life. LISTENING/SPEAKING: During these first weeks in the course, students will enjoy viewing a series of 5 French television episodes, followed by a quiz game and prizes for the winning team. Students will also enjoy ending each week with the viewing of another French series, a comedy similar to the well-known sitcom, Friends. They will have activities which follow the episodes each week, and will create an "episode" of their own, at the end of the 13th week. LANGUAGE FOCUS: There will be a review and practice of infinitive verbs and verbs in the present tense: regular, irregular, and pronominal or reflexive verbs. Additional concepts practiced will include imperative verb phrases, contractions, prepositions à and de, definite and indefinite articles, possessive adjectives, 3 ways to phrase a question, expressing various types of negative sentences, and speaking in the future tense.
UNIT 2 (Weeks 7-10): READING/WRITING: The second unit will carry the 2nd theme from the textbook (Passeport vers la littératie) called La technologie envahit notre vie. It will focus on students reading a type of text called l'article informatif and developing strategies to help them make inferences and ask questions. For a hands-on activity, students will come together in groups to create their own invention, and will organize their ideas within the group using a selection of graphic organizers. In addition, students will read a short novel as part of a literature circle, and develop strategies to improve their listening and oral communication, as they interact in group discussions. Each student will have their own role in the group, and will be evaluated by their group members for their participation. As a final project, students will prepare an informative article and deliver the information to the class as a formal speech, which could also lead to their participation in the Oratorical Competition for the school district. LISTENING/SPEAKING: There are elements of both in the group activities described above, and also in the weekly viewings of French episodes and the activities which accompany them. LANGUAGE FOCUS: There will be a review and practice of expressing the past tense, by using passé composé with AVOIR (regular and irregular verbs) and ÊTRE (DR. & MRS. VANDERTRAMP and pronominal verbs) and by using imparfait. Additional concepts practiced will include more prepositions, more negative phrases, partitive adjectives, and a quick look at direct and indirect object pronouns.
UNIT 3 (Weeks 11-15): READING/WRITING: For this unit, there be an analysis of the elements which comprise "Le Conte", or "The Fairy tale". Various tales will be read in class and shared in literary circles. Students will create their own fairy tales and examine the roles of their characters. Their creative work will be shared as storybooks and skits. Once upon a time, or il était une fois, will lead into a discussion of the past verb tenses used to write a tale, and how they are to be distinguished from each other. LISTENING/SPEAKING: During this unit, students will enjoy the viewing of entertaining and educational video content related to our theme, and there will be class discussions about the various roles of characters and varying plot structures among fairy tales. Students will work in groups creating and presenting their fairy tales, and will be ready to create and present a TV episode as the grand finale for their weekly series. LANGUAGE FOCUS: There will be a review and practice of the differences between passé composé and imparfait, especially as they pertain to our topic, Le conte. Students will be expected to demonstrate their awareness of the concepts we have covered this semester, as they prepare their final, written fairy tale story and final oral TV presentation.
For the purpose of enrichment, students may choose ONE of the following options: 1) Select one longer novel in French to be read by the end of the semester, and discussed in either an oral interview or a written book report. 2) Select one topic to be researched in French and presented as a speech in class, according to the criteria for the District Speech Competition, held in the spring. Participation in the Competition is voluntary, but the student would be prepared to offer their candidacy, should they choose to do so.
As a cultural component to the course, students can benefit from the visit of grade 10 exchange students from Québec. They can consider participating in the Quebec exchange (applications available in the spring) and may be able to join a virtual exchange, where they will be matched online with pen pals from a class in Québec, or France. The semester will often include cultural presentations by guests in our SRHS theater, and by students in advanced grades. Our school will offer some cultural celebrations in the spring with «La semaine de la francophonie».
You are asked to review the course outline that follows, to be sure to have necessary supplies for class, and to understand the distribution of marks this semester. Extra help is available at noon and after school, and I can be contacted anytime from the homepage of this website, or at the school. Happy Semester!!