French II
Course Syllabus
SY 2007-08
ROOM: D3.4
E-MAIL:
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
A
continuation of French I, this course will provide further opportunities for
communication in French through the study and use of writing, vocabulary,
reading, grammar and oral practice. The main aim of the course is communication
and students will be encouraged to use the language in everyday situations. All
French courses are based on a four-skill approach – oral communication
(speaking and listening); reading; writing; and language conventions, grammar
and vocabulary. The course integrates the DODEA and Canadian/Ontario French Second
Language Standards and Curriculum (Grades 7/8) preparing AFNorth International
School students for further study at the French III /FSF 1D level and above.
COURSE GOALS/OBJECTIVES/EXPECTATIONS:
By
the end of this course students will:
§
Listen to and
talk about simple oral texts in structured and open-ended situations;
§
Express ideas,
feelings, and opinions in conversations and discussions, using learned
language
structures
and a variety of vocabulary and
expressions;
§
Read a variety
of simple materials 400 to 600 words long, and demonstrate understanding;
§
Write in a
variety of forms, adjusting to suit the audience;
§
Identify and
use the vocabulary and the grammar and language conventions appropriate for
this grade level.
SCOPE
& SEQUENCE: (On y va! 1 & 2)
Unit 1 "Au casse-croûte"
§
Talking about
fast food restaurant, kinds of food and prices;
§
Discovering how
to serve clients and order food;
§
Grammatical elements (irregular verbs "pouvoir,
vouloir, devoir", verb agreement, imperative verb tense)
Unit 2"Chasse aux indices"
§
Talking about
burglary and elements of a good investigation.
§
Discovering how
to think like a detective;
§
Grammatical
elements (using "passé composé with irregular verbs, important irregular
verbs, adverbs ending in "ment")
Unit 3
"Bizarre et fascinant"
§
Talking about
extraordinary animals and the importance of animals in the medical field;
§
Discovering
interesting facts about different animals;
§
Learning to
maximize the use of dictionaries;
§
Grammatical
elements (pronoun "on", comparisons, superlative adjectives)
Unit
4 "Choix Multiples"
§
Talking about
interesting careers;
§
Discovering
information on interesting careers and how to prepare for a future career;
§
Grammatical
elements (review of passé composé with "avoir", pronoun
"on", adverbs ending in "ment")
Unit 5 "L'art sans limites"
§
Talking about
different art forms, giving opinions and preferences on art;
§
Discovering the
creation of different art forms, the material used in art;
§
Learning to
identify the general sense of a text using pictures and captions;
§
Grammatical elements (negation, pronoun
"en")
Unit 6 "Raconte-moi"
§
Talking about
natural phenomenon, elements of a legend, how to tell a good story ;
§
Discovering
legends;
§
Learning to
identify the general sense of a text using key words;
§
Grammatical elements (passé composé with
"être", review of pronoun "en")
Unit 7 "En route"
§
Talking about modes
of transportation and travelling into French speaking coutries;
§
Discovering
geography and transportation terms;
§
Learning to
find the meaning of a word with its context;
§
Grammatical elements (pronoun "y")
Unit 8 "Dans l'eau"
§
Talking about
activities done in lakes and oceans;
§
Discovering
ship wrecks, interesting artifacts and marine parks ;
§
Grammatical
elements (passé composé, comparisons and words from the same family)
Unit 9 "Autour de toi"
§
Talking about
volunteering and what young people bring to their communities;
§
Discovering how
you can help your community ;
§
Review of
different grammatical elements.
COURSE GRADING/ASSESSMENT:
Student progress will be evaluated
regularly. Assessment/Evaluation may
take the form of tests, quizzes, writing, discussions, end-of-unit projects,
dialogue presentations, listening comprehension tests etc. Assignments will be
checked for completion, collected and graded, or rubric scored. Performance expectations will be measured
using Language Strands (oral communication, reading, writing, grammar, language
conventions and vocabulary) and Achievement Levels (1-4) and Categories (communication,
comprehension, organization of ideas and application of language knowledge).
Grade Calculations:
Oral Communication 40%
Writing 20%
Grammar,
Language Conventions and Vocabulary 20%
Marks are recorded on a
regular and ongoing basis and grading is cumulative.
Term work will be weighed at
75% of the final grade.
The end of year evaluation
(culminating assignment and examination) is worth 25% of the final grade.
CLASSROOM
EXPECTATIONS/CONSEQUENCES:
Students
are expected to come to class following the school’s dress code.
Students
in this class are expected to participate in all aspects of the course (written
assignments, oral presentations, etc.)
Since everyone has the right to learn,
unsolicited or inappropriate interruptions to the class will not be
tolerated. In such case the student
will receive a fair warning and if the behaviour continues further disciplinary
actions will be taken. Students are expected to come to class on time, prepared
with their textbook, workbook, homework assignment, notebooks, pen/pencil,
eraser and paper. Failure to do so will
result in a tardy mark. A notebook is
required for the course. Students must keep all graded assignments, tests and
quizzes until the end of the semester.
Group work is essential in the foreign language classroom to practice
and master conversation in the target language. During group time, all students are required to stay on task in
the target language. Students who interrupt the learning process will be asked
to leave. The time out procedures will
be in effect with an administrator in the office. A conference will be held with their teacher, counsellors, and
administrator to discuss the problem.
TEXTBOOKS:
"On
y va! 1 and 2" (Addison Wesley)
SUPPLIES (REQUIRED/RECOMMENDED)
§
French/English
dictionary
§
Lined paper
(in a binder)
§
Pens, pencils, erasers
§
Ruler
§ Pencil crayons
HOMEWORK POLICY:
Students
should review after every class session. If there is homework or a project, students are expected to have their work
completed before entering the classroom.
Work that is not ready to be turned in at the beginning of class of the
date due may not be accepted. If there
are exceptional circumstances, work may be handed later after discussion with
me. It is the students’ responsibility
to come to see me for an arrangement and to hand in work on the first day
returning to school after an absence.
If a test or quiz was missed, the student may take it during class or
seminar of the first day back.
Exercises and activities assigned during class and not completed are
considered homework. When we correct
this work in class it is considered formative evaluation. This is work that the student is doing to
monitor his or her progress. The
student is expected to complete work, and to make corrections when we take it
up. This is part of the students’
responsibility to make use of feed back for improvement. He/she should then ask for help with
anything that is not clear so that results of summative assessment (tests,
quizzes, projects….) are as strong as possible. If students use the time
in class and seminars effectively, they might not bring home French homework
very often.
MAKE-UP WORK POLICY:
In
the case of an absence you are responsible to find out what you have
missed and make arrangements with the teacher in order to make up the work or
exam promptly. If you know that you
will be away you should make the arrangements prior to your
absence.
CONTINUOUS
SCHOOL PROGRESS: AFNORTH
International Middle/High School’s CSP (Continuous School Progress) goal one
is, “All students will improve their reading comprehension skills across the
curriculum.” Goal two is, “All
students will improve skills in mathematical computation.” Standardized
assessments, such as the PSAT and Terra Nova will be used to identify areas of
strengths and weaknesses and to assess growth as we continue to strive towards
continued academic improvement. Success of all students requires that
instructional strategies to improve reading comprehension and mathematical
computation become a consistent and integral component of each course taught at
AFNORTH International Middle/High School.
6
Traits + 1 Writing Rubric: The 6
Traits + 1 is the model selected to improve school-wide writing in all
subject areas. The 6 Traits + 1 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.
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
o Mechanics: Correct application of grammar, spelling and punctuation conventions.
PARENTS
/ SPONSORS: A word about COMMUNICATION
The ability to communicate is an
essential skill in today’s world.
French is one of the official languages of the United Nations, NATO, The
European Union, The African Union, The Olympic Games, La Francophonie, The
International Postal Union and of course, Canada. It 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 North America 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.
You can help by
making sure that you son/daughter completes his/her homework. You may want to quiz them on weekly
vocabulary words. Students, who
carefully complete all homework assignments, score much higher on tests and
exams and a much faster rate of language fluency. When traveling in a French
speaking country, encourage your child to use the French language. It is a great motivating force. The student
should use the target language outside the classroom, whenever possible,
watching French TV, videos and DVD; listening to French music; reading French
language magazines or just conversing with a friend or native French speaker.