Course Title: French IV
Grade 10 Core French Academic Course Code (Ontario): FSF 2D
Textbook: Destinations 4 – Pearson
Nouvelles Frontières – Pearson
The aim of the program is to provide students with functional communication skills in French and an understanding of the nature of the language and its culture. According to the Ontario Curriculum Guidelines for French - This course enables students to increase their knowledge of the French language, further develop their language skills, and deepen their understanding and appreciation of francophone culture around the world. Exploring a variety of themes, students will develop and apply critical thinking skills in discussion, in their analysis and interpretation of texts and in their own writing.*
*The
Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 and 10 – French as a Second Language, 1999
Course Expectations: By the end of this course, students will:
Ø listen and respond to a variety of spoken texts;
Ø listen and respond to a variety of non-structured media works;
Ø express ideas and opinions in conversations and teacher-guided discussions;
Ø make oral presentations on a variety of topics;
Ø use appropriate language conventions during oral communication activities;
Ø read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of texts and simple authentic materiel; (minimum 60 pages)
Ø apply critical thinking as they read (e.g., infer meaning from the text, analyse information, determine cause and effect, and go beyond the surface meaning);
Ø identify and understand language conventions used in their reading materials;
Ø express ideas and opinions in short written texts;
Ø create short written texts in structured and open-ended situations;
Ø identify and use appropriate language conventions in their written work.
SCOPE AND SEQUENCE: The French IV Program includes 5 units of work from the Destinations 4 (Pearson) program spread over the academic year. In addition, activities and readings are included from the associated Anthologie program. There will be opportunities for extensive audio / visual and performance activities. See Teacher’s Guide for detailed scheduling and lesion plans.
Required material: Pens, pencils, erasers, ruler, lined paper (in binder), French/English dictionary
EVALUATION: Throughout the course, students will
be engaged in diagnostic and formative assessments which will
lead to improvement in student performance and provide feedback. All students must complete all summative
evaluations (ie. unit tests, major oral presentations, final unit projects
etc.) which will count in the final
calculation of marks. Unauthorized
absence may result in a mark of zero (F) being assigned. Students will
be given every opportunity to complete course work but as in the work world,
there are deadlines. Late assignments
may not be assessed and a completion contract or parental contact may be
required for students to complete missed assigned. A variety of assessment and evaluation methods is used to
determine your performance level. There will be regular unit tests, smaller verb/structure
and vocabulary tests, dictations, oral performances , skits and dialogues,
end-of-unit projects, discussion
appraisals, invitations, post cards, short book reports, listening
comprehension tests, reading comprehension tests, etc. Students will be engaged
in the Continuous School Progress goal of improving written
communication skills across the curriculum by referring to The 6 Traits + 1
model.
Formative
Assessment
There will be several short assignments, quizzes and tasks in each unit
of this course that do not “count” toward the final mark for the unit. These tasks are opportunities for teacher
feedback about what you are doing well and what you need to improve. In some cases, you will be encouraged to
work on the improvements, and hand the assignment in for further feedback. These tasks will be directly related to the
final summative assignment (test, activity or performance task) for the
unit. Therefore, despite the fact that
you will not lose marks for not completing these tasks, you are encouraged to
take advantage of these opportunities for very useful teacher feedback.
Summative
evaluation
The summative assignment(s) and/or test(s) for every unit MUST be
completed successfully in order for a student to pass the course. If this does not occur, a second opportunity
will be provided according to arrangements made by the students, the teacher
and the parents.
Learning
skills do not contribute to the academic mark
Five areas have been identified as learning skills and are being
evaluated separately from academic achievement: work habits/homework, organization, initiative, teamwork and
“works independently”. These are
very important skills for you to learn at school and at home, and they are
crucial in determining how successful you will be in your future employment or
post-secondary schooling. Both parents
and students need to pay close attention to this section of the report card,
and to understand the impact that these skills have on their learning, despite
the fact that they are not directly factored into their academic mark.
Much of the students’ work, particularly
for complex tasks and assignments, will be marked using a rubric and the final
mark will be given as a level (1 to 4).
For this work, a rubric will be provided to the students ahead of time
so it is very clear what criteria must be met in order to get a particular
level. The marks assigned will reflect very specific standards and criteria
that are outlined in the curriculum documents for the course. Assessments will take into consideration
four categories of achievement: Performance expectations will be
measured using Language Strands (oral communication, reading and
writing, language structures and vocabulary) and the Achievement Levels
(1-4) under the categories:
Communication;
Comprehension;
Organization
of Ideas;
Application
of language knowledge
Marks will be determined by linking the required curriculum expectations with the strands and achievement categories. The total of all formative and summative evaluations for the school year (term work) will represent 70% of the final grade.
Final Evaluation:
The final evaluation which represents 30%
of the students' final grade will include a written exam (15%) and a final rich
performance task (15%).
Because punctuality is a “learning skill” academic marks will not be deducted from work that is handed in late. However, there will be other non-academic consequences if this occurs without prior arrangements with the teacher or adequate justification. Formative work not handed in on time will simply not be marked therefore the students will not benefit from the feedback needed to perform well in summative evaluations.
Please think ahead and be prepared.
CONTINUOUS SCHOOL PROGRESS
AFNORTH International Middle/High School’s CSP (Continuous School Progress) goal is, “All students will improve their written communication skills across the curriculum.” The 6 + 1 trait is the model selected to improve school-wide writing in all subject areas. The 6+1 Trait writing framework is a powerful way to learn and use a common language to refer to characteristics of writing as well as establish a common vision of what “strong” writing looks like. Teachers and students will use the 6+1 Trait model to identify areas of strength and weakness as they continue to strive towards continued writing improvement. Success of all students requires that the 6 + 1 Trait become a consistent and integral component of each course taught at AFNORTH International Middle/High School.
The writing in this class will be assessed
and evaluated using different rubrics.
These rubrics will reflect the integration of the different traits that
are applicable to each assignments. The
traits that will be in focus are as follows:
o Ideas: clear central idea enriched with related details.
o Organization: well presented introduction, paragraphs containing related sentences,
smooth
transition between
paragraphs and effective conclusion.
o Voice: Expression of the writer’s feelings, opinion and
interpretations. Individual writing.
o Word choice: use of precise vocabulary
o Sentence fluency: use of appropriate French sentence structures
A word
about COMMUNICATION!
The ability to communicate is an
essential skill in today’s world.
French is not only one of Canada’s two official languages, but is also
widely used around the world, being spoken by upwards of 300 million people and
being a main language of communication in over 40 countries or states. Through
learning of a second language, students can strengthen their first-language
skills and enhance their critical and creative thinking abilities. Students who are able to
communicate in another language have a distinct advantage in a number of
careers, both in Canada and internationally.
Finally, French is a beautiful language and can be fun to speak.
Communication in the classroom will be directed in French and students are expected, as often as possible, to express themselves in French. Efforts to use French in their daily lives, both inside and outside the classroom will be recognized and rewarded.