Fair Lawn Public Schools
Fair Lawn, NJ
FRENCH CURRICULUM
GRADE 8
Created: 2008
Annie Blair
Ana Garcia
I. Statement of purpose
The purpose of the world language program at this level involves placing the students in meaningful, realistic situations where they must use their language skills for authentic communication purposes. All aspects of language acquisition are stressed including written, oral, reading and auditory skills. Students are given the opportunity to take risks in the target language in simulated, yet practical situations. Cultural practices and products from people of different parts of the Spanish-speaking world are incorporated routinely so that students may develop a sense of cultural plurality and thereby prepare themselves to become citizens of a global society.
II.Introduction
This course is composed of four thematic units. Each unit is anchored by an essential question. Instructional procedures, techniques and methods will be differentiated, interactive and characterized by authenticity. The students will be exposed to and will explore a variety of informational written and electronic sources. They will apply technology in some of the following ways: conducting research, composing thoughts, sorting and organizing information, developing presentations and following web quests. Assessment will be on-going and substantially performance-based.
III. Philosophy and Rationale
The ability to communicate is at the heart of knowing another language. Communication can be characterized in many different ways. The approach used within the New Jersey and National Standards is to recognize three communicative modes that place primary emphasis on the context and purpose of the communication. The three modes are:
- The interpretive mode: Students understand and interpret within the appropriate cultural context spoken and written communication. Examples of one way reading or listening include but are not limited to the cultural interpretation of texts, movies, radio and television broadcasts and speeches. Interpretation differs from comprehension because it implies the ability to read or listen “between the lines.”
- The interpersonal mode. Students engage in direct oral and/or written communication. Examples involving two way interactive communication are conversing face-to-face or exchanging personal letters or email messages.
- The presentational mode. Students present through oral and/or written communications information, concepts and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers with whom there is no immediate personal contact. Examples of this one to many mode of communication are making a presentation to a group or writing an article for the school newspaper.
IV. Procedures, Techniques and Methods:
A. Student-related:
Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions and exchange opinions.
Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics
Students present information, concepts and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics
Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and the perspectives of the culture studied.
Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied.
Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language
B. Teacher-related:
Preparing students to engage in spontaneous conversation requires a number of instructional strategies to help with the development of communication tactics. Some strategies that the teacher might use include:
Beginning with warm-up activities that lower the affective filter and provide students with thinking time.
Providing students with pre-thinking exercises or graphic organizers to activate the thought process.
Weaning students gradually from using a written script or notes in their oral communications.
Providing multiple opportunities for students to practice thinking on their feet without the pressure of being evaluated constantly.
Materials
- Textbooks:
- Allez, viens !, Holt French, Level 2
- Discovery French, McDougal Littell, Level 2 (Blanc)
- Bon Voyage, McGraw-Hill /Glencoe Levels 1 & 2
- Workbook: Discovery French,McDougal Little, Level 2 (Blanc)
- Reader: Joie de lire! Champeny, Séverine, et al. Austin: Hold Rinehart and Winston, 2003
- Ancillary Materials: Discovery French, McDougal Little, Level 2 (Blanc)
Bon Voyage, McGraw-Hill/Glencoe Levels 1 & 2
- French-English dictionaries
- Computers / Internet / Audiovisual equipment/Smart Board
- Flashcards / manipulatives
- Realia and videos from authentic sources
French Grade 8
THEMES:
I: Gone Shopping
II: Lights! Camera! Arts! (Technology)
III: Vacation: Time To Get Away
IV. Careers
Scope and Sequence
I. Gone Shopping
Essential Questions:
- How does fashion vary across cultures?
- What are good shopping skills and why are they important to know?
A. Objectives: Students will be able to:
1. Identify and describe articles of clothing
2. State color and size preferences
3. Shop for clothing
4. Describe people’s activities and what they wear
5. Express opinions and make observations
6. Understand cultural perspectives on shopping and clothing
7. Compare/contrast French vs. US fashion trends
8. Ask for help in a store
9. Visualize and create a new line of fashion
10. Critique a fashion show demonstration
11. Bargain for prices where appropriate
B. Vocabulary
- Clothing/accessories (sizes, fabrics, patterns)
- Categories of clothing (sports, élégant/ chic, affaires)
- Specific stores (grand magasin, magasin à rayon, entrepôts, etc.)
- Terms encountered in the store (solde, rabais, etc..)
5. Words describing clothes (colors, etc.)
6. Vocabulary for shopping
7. Numbers (quantities, prices) (Review)
8. Related professions (tailor, designer, sales person, etc)
9. Body parts
10. Shopping on line terminology
C. Grammar
1.Verbs (to sell, to put on, to try one, to choose, to spend, to purchase, to save, to do/make, to see)
2.Comparative
3.Adjectives to describe clothing
4.Review of the near future tense
5.Stem changing verbs
6.Demonstrative adjectives
7.Demonstrative pronouns
8.Prepositions (sur, sous, à gauche, à droite…etc…)
9.Expressions of quantity (beaucoup de, peu de, assez de…)
10.Possessive adjectives
D. Suggested Activities and Assessments
1. Presentation: Students will create a clothing catalog in groups. Each group will be assigned a season and must include clothing for casual and formal events, including colors available, sizes, and a description of the clothing with pricing related to the target culture
2. Group activity: Each student receives a slip of paper with another student’s name on it. Students will be able to write the clothes the person is wearing from head to toe and read the description to the class. Classmates stand as the description is read and sit down if the description does not apply.
3. Written: Students will receive a situation that they need to buy clothes for, and they will look through the catalogs (made by their classmates) to find an outfit appropriate for the situation.
4. Oral: Students will pack a suitcase for a specific destination / culture
5. Research and write an interview of a famous designer
6. Critique of fashions for the upcoming season
7. Conduct a fashion show
8. Skit between a salesperson and client related to purchasing various clothing items
E. Cultural Connections
1. Prices in euros and other foreign currency
2. Department stores vs. flea markets vs. boutiques
3. Compare and contrast fashion of the USA with that of the target
culture
4. Traditional regional or national costumes
F. Standards:
1. World Language CCCS 7.1.A.1-6, 7.1.B.1-5, 7.1.C.1-4, 7.2 A.1,
B.1
2. Technological Literacy CCCS 8.1.A.1-5, 8.1.B.2-9, 8.2.
3. Career Education and Consumer, Family, and Life Skills CCCS
(By the end of Grade 8) 9.1.A.1,2,4, 9.2.A.1,2,5, 9.2.B.3,9.2.C.1,2
4. Language Arts Literacy CCCS 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4
5. Social Studies CCCC 6.6
6. Visual and Performing Arts CCCC 1.1.A.1
II. Lights! Camera! Arts!
Essential Questions:
1. How does technology influence our society?
2. How does the media influence our behavior?
3. How do the circumstances of the times impact the arts?
A. Objectives. Students will be able to….
1. Talk about television shows/movies
2. Describe the different types of television shows / movies (action,
western,etc.)
3. Compare television shows / movies from the past and present
4. Discuss how television / movies affect our lives
5. Create a promotional poster for a movie
6. Talk about the lives of French actors / actresses
7. Discuss positive and negative aspects of television
8. Interpret the rating system
9. Discuss plays and museums
10.Compare & contrast the arts of the past, present and future
B.Vocabulary
1. Types of television shows (comedy, cartoons, news, etc.)
2. Types of movies (action, horror, mystery, etc.)
3. Review of vocabulary used to make comparisons
4. Emmy award criteria (best actress, best comedy, etc.)Festival de
Cannes/Palme d’Or
5. Review of descriptive adjectives
6. Art terms
7. Computer terminology
C. Grammar
1. Savoir and connaître
2.Comparative and superlative
3.Intro of past tense
4. Object pronouns (me, te, nous, vous)
5. Direct object pronouns (le, la, les)
D. Suggested activities and assessments
1. Presentation: create a movie/play poster. Include the names of actors,
description of each actor, provide a summary of the movie/play, the year itwas released, the category that the movie/play is in, the review it received.
2. Group: Each group selects a television show from the past and a current program. The group will describe where the program takes place, a description of each character, the day and time the program was aired, the setting (coffee shop, house, office, etc.) and any other information except the names of characters. Groups are to guess the title of the program.
3. Scavenger Hunt at MetropolitanMuseum: Students will spend the day
at the museum and locate French art pieces based on descriptions. Students will utilize checklist provided and then report their findings
to their classmates. They will present their favorite art pieces.
4. Students will write a letter to their pen pals asking about movies, TV, technology, and the arts.
5. Create a game show
6. Role play a piece of theater
E. Cultural connections
1. Discuss the differences and similarities between French TV and
American TV shows, game shows; commercials in the target culture
2. Research the life of a French actor
3. Compare/contrast the rating systems of movies.
4. Critique French painters
F. Standards
1. World Languages CCCS 7.1A 1-7, 7.1 B 1-6
2. Technological literacy CCCS 8.1 A 1-5, 8.1B 2-9, 8.2
3. Career Education and Consumer Family and Life Skills CCCS (by the
end of grade 8) 9.1 A 4, 9.1 A 7, 9.1 B 3, 9.2 A 1
4. Language Arts Literacy CCCS 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4
5. Mathematics CCCS 4.4
6. Visual and performing CCCS 1.1A, 1B, 1.2C, D,1.4, 1.5
III. Vacation- Time to Get Away!
Essential Question:
How do we make good decisions regarding our vacation planning?
A. Objectives. The student will be able to:
1. List ten steps in checking in for a flight
2. Talk about service on board the plane
3. Talk about air travel
4. Describe travel-related activities
5. Tell what you or others are presently doing
6. Use words and expressions related to train travel
7. Purchase a train ticket and request information about arrivals and
departures
8. Talk about events or activities that took place at a definite time in the
past
9. Check in and out of a hotel
10. Ask for things he/she may need when staying at a hotel
11. Express future plans for a trip to the countryside
12. Ask for and provide directions
B. Vocabulary
1. Airport check-in and boarding
2. Services and procedures on board a flight
3. Equipment, services, personnel, and procedures a traveler typically
encounterswhen flying with a modern commercial airline
4. Departure and arrival procedures
5. Facilities, personnel and procedures at a railroad station
6. Checking in and out of a hotel
7.. Requesting hotel services
8. Basic hotel features and facilities
9. Terms to the countryside
10. Terms that narrate events (premièrement, puis, plus tard, finalement,
enfin, etc.)
11. Review expressions of weather
C. Grammar
1. Review of regular/irregular verbs
2. Intro: Future tense
3. Review of past tense
4. Relative pronouns (qui/que)
5. Review: direct object pronouns
6. Past participle agreement
D. Suggested activities and assessments
1. Students will work in groups and present a two-scene skit
describing a trip from the arriving to the airport to deplaning.
2. Plan a family trip to a French region in France.
3. Students will choose a hotel in the French-speaking world
and createa Michelin guide of symbols referring to services provided
in the hotel. Accompanying this guide, students will write a paragraph
describing theservices in detail.
4. Oral: Students will do the following: You are at the train station in
Paris (Gare de Lyon). You want to buy a ticket for Nice. Your partner
is a ticket agent. Tell the ticket agent what you want, ask the price,
find out what time the next train leaves and ask for the track number.
5. Contest: In order to win an all-expense-paid trip to France, students
will write an essay in French and send it to the company sponsoring the
trip. In the essay, students will indicate which region they would like
visit, how they will get there, what they will do there, and what they
will learn.
6. Itinerary: Students will plan a week visit to Paris. They will indicate
their travel arrangements, hotel accommodations, transportation
methods and places to visit.
E. Cultural connections
1. The importance of air travel in France
2. The influence of geography on air travel in France
3. Various types of trains and rail services in France
4. Different types of hotels in France
5. International transportation symbols
6. Various types of lodging in the target culture
7. French love of nature
8. Familiarize students with the time difference between the US and
France and its effect on travelers
F. Standards
1. World Languages CCCS 7.1 A 1-7, 7.1 B 1-6, 7.1 C 1-4
2. Technological Literacy CCCS 8.1A 1-5, 8.1B 2-9, 8.2
3. Career Education and Consumer, Family and Life Skills CCCS (by the end ofgrade 8) 9.1A 4, 9.1A 7, 9.1 B 3, 9.2 A 1
4. Language Arts Literacy CCCS 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4
5. Mathematics CCCS 4.4
IV Careers
Essential questions: 1. What careers interest me and why?
2. How can French help me in the job market?
3. Why am I a valuable candidate for the profession of
my choice?
4. What qualities are necessary to secure a job in the 21st
Century?
A. Objectives. The student will be able to:
1. Discuss his/her personal career goals
2. Explore and describe the pros and cons of certain jobs
3. Apply and interview for a specific job of his/her choice
necessary qualifications for specific jobs
5. Describe why he/she is a suitable candidate for the job
6. Classify skills needed for various careers
7. Categorize careers based on potential benefits
8. Critique and cross edit resumes
9. Discuss the advantages of learning French for future employment
10. Compare and contrast the top ten occupations in France and the US
B. Vocabulary
1. Trades, professions, careers
2. Letter writing terminology
3. Terms related to the work world (à temps plein, à temps partiel, etc.)
4. Job terminology (embaucher/engager, renvoyer, démissionner,
promotion, avantages sociaux, etc.)
5. Job search terminology
6. Resumé (C.V.) terminology
C. Grammar
1. Future tense (quand, dès que, aussitôt que, lorsque)
2. Conditional tense
3. “Si” clauses
4. Omission of indefinite articles with professions
5. Review of past tense
D. Assessment Options
1. Compare and contrast resumes with curriculum vitae
2. Act out a job interview
3. Write a cover letter requesting an interview for a job
4. Create a curriculum vitae (C.V.)
5. Address an envelope and a letter
6. Complete a Gouin series sequencing the steps in finding a job
7. Create a job poster to recruit new candidates to a given profession
8. Research and interpret job ads as in print and online
9. Debate the pros and cons for various careers
10. Playing “Qui suis-je?”
11. Readings: Lectures culturelles: Bon Voyage 1 & 2
12. Design a poster depicting future career plans
13. Create and describe the ideal job
E. Cultural Connections
1. Part-time jobs for teenagers in the US and in France
2. The role of women in the work force
3. Debate over weekly work hours
4. Education required for certain jobs
5. How to read an ad in a French newspaper
F. Standards
1. World Languages CCCS A 7.1-6, B 7.1- 5, C 7.1-3, A 7.2 1-5, B 7.2 1-3, 7.2-2
2. Workplace Readiness CCCS 2, 3, 4, 6
3. Language Arts Literacy CCCS 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.5
4. Science CCCS 5.1, 5.2
5. Social Studies CCCS 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.6
6. Technological Literacy CCCS 8.1, 8.2
7. Visual and Performing Arts CCCS 1.5
8. Career Education and Consumer, Family and Life Skills CCCS 9.2
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