SusquehannaTownshipHigh SchoolMrs. Bowley

Harrisburg, PA 171092011/2012

AP French

Grades:11/12

Length:36 weeks

Periods per cycle:6

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

AP - French Language is a rigorous course which follows French IV Honors and which aims to enhance the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in preparation for the Advanced Placement Examination -French Language. The class is conducted primarily in the target language and is the equivalent of a third year college French course.The goals of the AP French Language course are the following:

  • to challenge the student to perform at the rigorous level of proficiency required for the AP French Language Examination in the understanding, speaking, reading, and writing of the French language.
  • to provide a rich variety of opportunities to use and comprehend spoken and written French as preparation for the four components of the AP Examination.
  • to increase the student’s awareness of resources such as Internet sites which can improve one’s knowledge of French and Francophone cultures while giving immediate access to native speakers of the language and to authentic uses of the French language (e.g., the French version of Yahoo.com).
  • to promote an appreciation of the culture and traditions of France and French-speaking countries.
  • to encourage the student to continue the study of French, to travel, and to develop a lifetime of pleasure in language learning and learning about other cultures.

TEXTS and other resources:

French Grammar (Mary E. Coffman); Preparation The Best Test Preparation for theAP French Language (REA),Une Fois pour Toutes (Sturges/Cregg/Herbst); En Bonne Forme -5th Edition (Dietiker) – a reader and grammar review with a multicultural focus, Le Journal français d’Amérique, Amsco workbook French-Three Years(Blume / Stein),Images Trois (Antoine/Valette/Valette), How to Prepare for the SAT II French (Renee White), Triangle -Troisième Edition (Demaray & Smith), articles, poetry, and frequent use of video and audio cassettes/CDs. Also, supplementary readings, songs and poetry are often distributed. It is necessary for each student to own an English to French / French to English bilingual dictionary for this class.

CLASSROOM RULES:

Speaking French:

It is imperative to understand that, except when asking for definitions or explanations, only the target language will be spoken in this class even when students are communicating with each other. The student’s “speaking” portion of his/her grade will be affected if he/she speaks anything other than French in class.

Make-up Work:

Quizzes and tests may not be made up during class. You must make arrangements to do make-up work before school, after school, or at a mutually convenient time during the school day. Make-up

work must be completed within the

Excused absences: Tests, quizzes and homework missed due to absence must be made up according to the STHS policy of 3 days allowed per day of absence not to exceed 5 days.

Unexcused absences: No make-up work is accepted for unexcused absences.

Returned graded work:

It is the teacher’s policy that all graded work that has been returned to the student must be kept and isnot to be discarded.

Final Exam:

All students will take a final exam in this class unless they have taken the AP test in May; however if the student who takes the AP test does not have a minimum of an 85% average, s/he also must take the final exam with the rest of the class.

COURSE OUTLINE

The student is presented at the start of the course with a detailed description of the AP French Language Examination. Thus, the teacher provides a framework – an overview – of the course so that the students understand the importance of gaining proficiency in each of the four skills and how these competencies will be achieved. The students are referred to the AP Course Description for the French Language Examination and to AP Central on the Internet. The latter source is particularly valuable since it offers the free-response questions from the most recent examinations, as well as the speaking prompts.

It is of great importance for every student to understand that plagiarism, including but not limited to the use of computerized translation programs and internet sites, will result in a zero for any and all affected work and a disciplinary referral (Level IV infraction). Determining whether or not a translation program has been used is at the teacher’s discretion.

MARKING PERIOD ONE

I)Grammar:

All of the verb tenses – including the subjunctive and the passé simple are reviewed.

  1. Une Fois Pour Toutes: approximately one chapter every other week.
  2. As review continues, blank verb charts are provided every other week on which students are to fill in the forms for the regular and irregular verbs indicated.
  3. Broader grammar practice is provided on a weekly or biweekly basis through practice on SAT II Test questions.
  4. Weekly verb and/or vocabulary tests.

II)Vocabulary:

Constant vocabulary building and review are essential in building the wide repertoire of words needed for conversation and to write with clarity and nuance.

  1. A list of idiomatic expressions and transition words are given to the students at the beginning of the year. These words are to be used regularly in the writing activities.
  2. Students make weekly personal lists of 10-20 words/expressions that they choose from each reading. Their criteria for choosing words are their usefulness and their importance to comprehending the reading. They are then asked to record chosen vocabulary (5-10 words) on index cards. These cards are collected and used in weekly (x1-2/week) sessions where students practice with each other by giving French definitions and having the partner respond with the appropriate word/expression.
  3. Weekly vocabulary lessons with quizzes at the end of every week.

III)Listening and speaking:

French is the primary language used in class, except for certain vocabulary and grammar explanations. It goes without saying that these two oral proficiencies are most often practiced together. It is essential that French be spoken constantly and that students realize that they are receiving credit for their contributions. Using anything other than the target language in this class will result in a lowering of the participation score within the speaking and listening category of the student’s final marking period grade. Grading for the speaking activities will be based on the following AP scoring guidelines:

5 - very good/superior

4 - good

3 - adequate

2 - limited

1 - extremely weak

0 - incomprehensible or no response at all

The following activities are used 2-3 times/ week:

  1. An oral report on a reading,article or story. The readings in En Bonne Forme are usually non-fiction and offer material for cultural comparisons to French and American customs. Discussion is lead by a class member through the use of questions and references to quotes from the articles.
  2. Frequent brief videos (French only): a day in the life of a French student, music videos, selected Fables of La Fontaine, cartoons, and advertisements. The student then writes a brief précis of the video, or the teacher freezes a frame and asks questions about what was just seen. Another oral or written follow-up activity would be to ask the students to respond to a “what if” question (e.g., “Qu’est-ce que tu aurais fait si ça avait été toi que le renard a flatté?”)
  3. Situations in which the student and a partner role-play: e.g., you loaned your apartment to a friend for vacation. When you return to Paris, s/he refuses to leave, and s/he has no money. Convince him/her to leave!
  4. A quotation for the day may be introduced for discussion at the opening of class as a warm-up activity (e.g., “L’enfer, c’est les autres.” Sartre)
  5. Pictures from transparencies are described or used as the starting point for stories composed by the students.
  6. Audio cassettes/CD’s are used frequently: poetry, songs, readings.
  7. The CDs that accompany the AP Exam Prep Book and Triangle are used constantly for practice for the listening section of the AP Examination.

III) Reading:

Students must confront a wide variety of readings if they are to be prepared to sight read the six passages on the AP Examination. A minimum of one reading/ week is expected of students. As stated above, for every reading, students add at least 10-15 words to their cumulative vocabulary lists (kept in their notebooks). Each reading requires a written or oral summary. Class discussion includes reading aloud, questions asked by the teacher and student, and vocabulary practice (e.g., class uses selected words in a sentence, or someone offers a definition, and another student guesses the word). Some of the readings used are the following:

1)Tahar Ben Jelloun: Le Racisme Expliqué à Ma Fille

2)Selection from Camus: L’Étranger

3)Mariama Bâ: Une Si Longue Lettre

4)Poems by Prévert

5)Articles from Le Journal Français are read and presented in one-minute summaries.

IV)Writing:

Like the previous skills discussed, writing French – especially at the sophisticated level demanded on the AP Examination – requires sustained attention. In her Teacher’s Guide – AP French Language, Renée White states, “… whether we are writing in a ‘foreign’ language or a native tongue, we must be guided by the principles of good writing that require a clear focus, logical development, appropriate details, selective supportive materials to reinforce and enhance the ideas in the essay, and self-correction and self-editing skills.” (1997) Essays will be graded using the following AP scoring guidelines:

9- strong control demonstrating excellence

7-8-good control demonstrating competence

5-6-fair control suggesting competence

3-4-weak control suggesting incompetence

1-2-poor or no control demonstrating incompetence

0-obviously written on another topic

Essays must be LEGIBLYhand written on composition paper, skipping every other line. Students keep a journal and are given time – the 1st 5- 10 min of class, 2-3 times/week to write. The teacher will peruse them from time to time, or the student sometimes will read from the journal as called upon in class.

  1. The focus of the first quarter is to practice less demanding topics so that the students may work to sharpen their grammar skills and to minimize such elementary mistakes as subject/verb agreement, noun/adjective agreement, etc. prior to addressing more complex (i.e., AP Exam) topics. During the 1st four weeks of the quarter, the students write one page each week on fairly simple topics: description of a friend, an important lesson learned in life, etc. Prior to beginning, the class discusses vocabulary that will be useful for the topic. These are written in class, where the teacher and other students can offer guidance. The teacher marks the errors and returns to the student, who must correct and resubmit the following day. The composition is then graded.
  2. For the remainder of the quarter, students continue to write a single page on slightly more complex topics: the value of the high school experience, the importance of families, how families have changed over the years. These are written at home, and the teacher marks the mistakes. The student has time to work with fellow students in class on corrections. As above, the student must return the composition next day for a grade.
MARKING PERIOD 2

I) Grammar:

Pronouns – stress, object, relative, demonstrative and interrogative are reviewed.

  1. Une Fois Pour Toutes: pages 65-117.
  2. At least two times each week, verb completions, function word completions, and practice readings are selected from the AP French Language Preparation manual for practice in class. Initially, they are timed at 10 minutes per exercise. Time is devoted to these two free-response activities and one reading several times/week. After thirty minutes, students and teacher correct the answers and discuss. The student receives a quiz grade.

II)Listening and Speaking:

  1. At least once per week, “Rejoinder” and “Conversation” activities are practiced (AP French Language Preparationand Triangle). Students write their answers to the taped questions, and the class then checks the answers.
  2. Every 1-2 weeks, the class does a lesson from “Preparing for the Listening Comprehension – Extended Dialogues” from How to Prepare for the SAT II French and “A l’Ecoute” from Triangle.
  • Working with a partner, students practice introductory vocabulary by discussing questions from the exercises.
  • Students complete listening activities provided for each dialogue.
  1. At least once during the marking period (and in the 3rdmarking period), each student completes a presentation on a historical topic or a literary work. The talk lasts 2-5 minutes. (The student may use the text from FRIV HonorsTrésors du Temps)

III)Reading:

Trésors du Tempsis used for historical background of France and French literary traditions and history. Also, extracts from How to Prepare for the SAT II Frenchare used. Students are given 10-15 minutes to read the selection and to respond to the multiple-choice questions. Each student is asked to justify one of his/her answers (by referring to the passage).

IV)Writing:

Several changes occur the second marking period:

  1. Students are required to have more structured writing. A work plan is introduced, and the student is required to use it to prepare each composition. This is simply the plan (or outline) for the essay that the student writes: exposition, development, conclusion; vocabulary (student makes a list of 5-10 choices of verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and idioms); reminder to avoid “banalities” such as bon, mal, chose, beaucoup, etc. It is important that this preparation become automatic for all essays – those written at home and those written under time constraints.
  2. The grading rubrics used to grade the AP Examination essays are introduced and discussed. Also, students read sample essays (among those actually submitted by students on previous AP exams) and recommend their own grades. The AP grading scale is used on all future essays and compositions.
  3. Every other week, the student writes a dissertation on one of the topics listed in either the AP Exam Preparation manual or Triangle, or from previous AP exams: e.g., define and identify problems we currently face in the world, and what changes would you recommend? These are 2-3 pages in length (200-300 words). They are written outside class and rewritten after the teacher returns the paper with errors marked and comments. The teacher stresses at all times that the student is to use at least 3-5 idioms, 3-5 transition words on all essays.
  4. At least once during the 2nd or 3rd quarter, each student is required to make a copy (before the teacher has corrected it) of the essay for every student. The essay will be discussed and corrected by the class.
  5. An additional composition of one page will be completed each month.
MARKING PERIOD 3

I)Grammar:

Adjectives, adverbs, comparative/superlative, prepositions, conjunctions, infinitive, and present participle:

  1. Une Fois pour Toutes - Lessons 10, 11, 12.
  2. Each day, at the beginning of class, a different section from the AP Exam is assigned with a 10-minute time limit: verbs function wordsreading. On Fridays, the emphasis is on speaking and listening.

II)Reading:

More time is spent on timed readings. Passages chosen from AP French Language Preparation and Triangle, as well as extracts found in Imagesare given to the students. As the quarter progresses, the students are given less time to answer the multiple-choice questions. Initially 10 minutes, then 7 minutes per passage are allowed.

III)Listening and speaking:

CDs are used more and more in the classroom – those accompanying Listening Comprehension Skills, Triangle, and AP French Language Preparation (in addition to other video and audiotapes cited earlier). Twice a week, students practice the listening portions of the AP Examination. They also are given a picture, picture sequence, or a general question to answer (a minute to prepare, a minute to speak).

IV)Writing:

Students write 2 essays of 300-400 words outside class. They then write a minimum of three more essays (approximately 200-250 words) in class.

MARKING PERIOD 4

I)The goal of the 4th quarter is intense practice on all sections of the AP Examination. This requiresdaily activities (often timed) in the 4 areas tested.

II)Weeklytimed essays (minimum of 200 words) in class.

III)Homework requiring practice free-response questions (completions) or readings (AP French Language Preparation).

IV)Wide-ranging vocabulary review (in class/homework).

V)Practice exams: at least one SAT II practice exam (selected from the SAT II prep book); AP Exam most recently published.

AFTER THE AP EXAMINATION

  1. PRESENTATION: student recommends 2-3 Internet sites, which he/she describes to the class as effective for finding information on a selected topic (e.g., French art, music, etc.) The student shows these to the class.
  2. PRESENTATION: student selects an author and work to present to the class. The student makes a copy of a passage or poem for each student; the class then discusses.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

  1. Frequent homework (reading, grammar, essay or paragraph).
  2. Test every week: usually grammar and vocabulary (student must use a word in a sentence, not define the word).
  3. Projects: National French Week – November 2 – 8 (cultural presentation).
  4. Memorize one poem per marking period (Prévert, Hugo, etc.) and recite to the class.
  5. It is necessary for each student to own an English to French / French to English bilingual dictionary for this class.

GRADE

Homework:15%

Speaking-Listening (including oral presentations): 20%

Essays: 15%

Tests and Quizzes (other than reading comprehension): 30%

Reading Comprehension:20%

Determining the final grade: Each marking period counts as 20%, the mid term exam 10% and the final exam counts as 10% as well.