Author

Dina Muise and Sonya Sauvé, Strait Regional School Board

Title

Le Grand Voyage

Grade Level

8

Subject Area

Core French

Overview of unit/lessons/activities (assumptions of prior knowledge/learning)

Students will:

• Select a country and research it using EBSCO and the internet
• Complete a concept web using Inspiration to sort search findings for their final project
• Register, search for, and write to an e-mail pen-pal (see information about E-pals here)
• Prepare a Freelance Graphics or PowerPoint presentation on their selected country
• Photograph tourist sites, landmarks, and points of interest in their communities/town/city
• Prepare a travel itinerary for a trip to their country
• Create a portfolio (paper or online) which includes each part of the project

Correlations to ICT and curriculum outcomes

Core French Outcomes: 
Communication:

• Function in a classroom where French is the language spoken

• Follow more complex directions
• Negotiate to understand
• Participate in an informal conversation, with support
• Ask for and give information
• Identify, describe and compare objects, people, events and places
• Give a report
• Describe physical traits
• Express a preference, an opinion or a feeling with justification
• State preferences and justify choices
• Become involved in a variety of interactive activities
• Participate in roundtable discussions, brainstorming and thought webs
• Ask a variety of questions
• Find information
• Clarify and verify learning
• Select pertinent information
• Select information by reading, listening to or viewing different texts
• Respond personally to a variety of texts.
• Plan, organize and evaluate a portfolio.
• Produce a variety of texts by following criteria.
• Produce an informative text.

• Explain the advantages of being bilingual in our society
• Demonstrate an interest in using French

• Use learning strategies, communication strategies and social strategies to communicate in French, both orally and in writing
• Demonstrate the use to non-verbal communication
• Use partial sentences, repetition, paraphrase and circumlocutions
• Request clarifications and explanations in order to understand
• Plan and organize their productions using their own learning experiences
• Prepare checklists
• Adapt a message to the circumstances
• Plan a written production
• Self-correct
• Keep a personal journal
• Give advice to facilitate group work
• Take turns
• Accept suggestions given by others
• Identify how knowledge an skills in French class can be useful in everyday life

• Understand and use the vocabulary, expressions and structures relating to the needs in the classroom and to areas of experience.
• Function in the classroom by using appropriate French expressions
• Participate in a conversation and involve themselves in a variety of interactions by using the present, future, and simple past tenses.
• Produce a variety of texts using the imperative, present, future, and past tenses, in order to produce a cohesive and coherent text

ICT Learning Outcomes:
Social, Ethical, and Human Issues
SEHI 9.3: Understand, model, and assume personal responsibility for the acceptable use of copyrighted and other information resources.
SEHI 9.4: Demonstrate an understanding of, and a commitment to accuracy, and ethical behavior, and personal privacy and safety as they create and distribute information about themselves, others and curriculum topics under study.
SEHI 9.5: identify technology-related career opportunities of personal interest, and begin to assess their strengths and interests with respect to technology.
SEHI 9.6: Follow the Internet Access and Use Policy.

Productivity
PTS 9.1: Use software to brainstorm, develop a thought web, outline, and map ideas under study with independence.
PTS 9.2: Explore curriculum concepts under study using specialized software, measuring, sampling and recording equipment; and computer-based simulations, with teacher assistance.
PTS 9.3: Explore the curriculum through a wide range of print and electronic forms; accessing and processing information by means of the specialized techniques associated with the technology they select.
PST 9.4: Create and manipulate sound, images and video, using digital equipment and computer-based editing, to represent their learning for particular audiences and purposes, independently with teacher supervision
PST 9.5: Develop multimedia presentations, based on sound principles of design, with increasing confidence, efficiency and independence.

Communication
CT 9.1: Use language, in a range of aural, print, media and electronic forms to explore and express their perceptions, feelings, ideas, and attitudes; refine their thinking; and interact, negotiate and collaborate with others in order to build their understanding.

Research, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
RPSD 9.2: Create and use electronic charts, maps, tables, graphs, spread sheets and databases to collect, analyze and display data independently.
RPSD 9.3: Write and represent their research using the structures, features, conventions, and techniques of specialized publications and presentation formats with growing fluency.
RPSD 9.6: Select and refine a research topic, according to teacher-provided criteria, to fulfill a curriculum requirement, with teacher assistance.
RPSD 9.9 Accurately and independently cite information sources.

Projected timeline for preparation and for carrying out activities

All activities to be completed in the projected timeline of the unit – 22 classes (30-40 minutes each)

Equipment Requirements: (computers, software, etc)

• Computers with internet access
• Digital cameras
• PowerPoint or Freelance Graphics (or any presentation software)
• Word-processor (Word, WordPro, WordPerfect)
• Inspiration
• Tech support (enough server space for students to save their multimedia presentations and word-processing documents)

Teaching materials provided (Blacklines, worksheets, templates, teacher materials)

• Computers
• Paper
• Pencil
• Le Grand Voyage text (or CD - 23006 - Authorized List of Resources)
• Le Grand Voyage Teacher Guide (23008 - Authorized List of Resources)
• Rubrics
• Chart paper
• markers
• Assignment outlines
• Sentence starters / conversation starters
• Digital cameras
• 3.5" floppy disks

Resources available for teacher/student use (websites, references, etc)

http://www.ednet.ns.ca/index.php?sid=701479640&t=sub_pages&cat=457 (collection of websites about E-mail pals)
http://search.ebscohost.com (EBSCO periodicial database)
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ (World FactBook)
www.thepaperboy.com (online international newspaper directory)
www.universalis.fr/ (Knowledge portal - French)
http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/menu_geo_fr.html (country information in French)
http://www.1clic1planet.com/ (Country information - French)
http://www.westjet.com/french/home/index.htm] (Westjet - French)
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/ARTFL/forms_unrest/FR-ENG.html (Encyclopedie Universalis - French English Dictionary)
http://www.aircanada.com/fr/home.html (Air Canada - French)
http://lrt.ednet.ns.ca (Learning Resources and Technology Services, Nova Scotia Dept of Education)

Detailed instructions for each activity or lesson (teacher notes, activity information, learning strategies, teacher role, student roles)

Remu-méninge (Class brainstorm)

Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4.  Each group will  be brainstorming about the countries that they wish to study. Provide students with chart paper and markers to record their ideas. Allow approximately 10 minutes for the students to work on their ideas. Write topics to think about on the board including, the name of the country, the country flag, population, location, famous landmarks, tourist attractions, transportation, travel warnings, and cultural details. Students create a graphic organizer using Inspiration to organize these ideas.

Je recherche mon pays! (Research!)

Now that the groups have chosen their country they will use the Internet to find more information about the country of their choice using their concept web as a guideline. Topics include: the name of the country, population, country flag, a continent, famous landmarks, tourist attractions, transportation, travel warnings, and cultural details. Remind them to keep adding information that they find to their graphic organizer and to keep track of where they found the information so they can create a bibliography.

J’écris un courriel électronique ( EPals)

For this activity each student will need to use a computer for 15 minutes. Set up a time sheet in your classroom so students can to allow having at least fifteen minutes for each student to use a computer. Students will go to the website www.mathabos.com , click on "correspondre", and then they can read through the list of pen pals and find a pen pal to email. Or, if that is not possible the teacher may know someone in another district with whom students can correspond. Students must print a hard copy of all correspondence and keep it in their portfolio.

Instructions for the portfolio

Presentation outline

Planning the trip

Echantillon (Remu-méninge)

Presentation Instructions and Rubric

Email guidelines and samples

Student products expected

Portfolio including the following: hard copy of their graphic organizer, hard copy of all email correspondence, itinerary of their trip, hard copy of their PowerPoint presentation, and all research material. Students will be responsible for managing a portfolio for the duration of the unit. In their portfolios they will keep working copies of their project, all self and group evaluations, outlines and all correspondence with e-mail pals.

At the end of the unit the students will have completed a multi-media presentation on a country of their choice, following a given outline. They will also have made travel arrangements to visit their country.

Samples (include teacher notes, assessment information, student work if available)

sample powerpoint

sample brainstorm

Logistics (organization, grouping, management issues, access to technology)

From a class website, you can post assignment outlines, encourage online discussions and provide links to some relevant web sites for student use.

Lo-Tech – Set up a communication board in the classroom with the same. Use school board communication tools (like SRSB’s StraitUp) to post the information
Establish groups of 3 – 4 students for the final project. Activities can be completed independently or in groups.
Organization – Classroom pods of computers can be used on a group rotation basis. Computers labs could be used for a whole class lesson.

Assessment information (e.g., rubrics for products and/or process)

Students will manage a unit portfolio for the duration of the unit. They will use self, group and teacher rated rubrics. Checklists and outlines are provided for the various assignments. Students will be required to present their final projects to the class with rubrics provided for final project and process.

Possible extensions

Adaptations for students requiring additional support

Teachers should take care when creating groups to ensure a heterogeneous mix of students. Groups can divide the work so that students  with language difficulty can be assigned tasks that are more visual than written (searching for clip art, taking photographs, research)