FRENCH 3 A
REGULAR/HONORS

Fall 2006

Instructor
Dr. Teresa Nowogorska    Email

Semester Review Date: January 11, 2007
Semester Exams: January 12-19, 2007

Textbook : Discovering French Rouge

Theme:                         Nature

Topic1:                         Outdoors                         Weeks 1-4 (Q1)

Objectives:

• Students will be able to exchange, interpret and present information and opinions about past and present outdoor activities
• Students will be able to describe outdoor activities of francophone countries
• Students will be able to access information on the topics of youth and vacation activities in francophone countries using the internet

• Present, passé composé, and imparfait verb tenses
• Use of the passé composé and imparfait

Topic2:                         Ecology                         Weeks 5-9 (Q1)

Objectives:

• Students will be able to exchange, interpret and present information and opinions on how to protect and avoid harming the environment
• Students will be able to interpret materials on environmental issues and events
• Students will be able to explain the impact of personal ecological routines on the environment

Essential Structures:

• The subjunctive verb mode
• The use of the subjunctive with expressions of need
• Negative expressions

Theme 2                         Traditions

Topic 1:                         Friends and Family                         Weeks 1-4 (Q2)

Objectives:

• Students will be able to describe and exchange information about the personal qualities, including emotions, of friends and family members
• Students will be able to interpret and present information about the personal qualities of characters in an authentic literary selection.

Essential Structures:

• Relative pronouns qui and que
• The use of the subjunctive with expressions of will and emotion

Topic 2 :                         Celebrations                         Weeks 5-8 (Q2)

Objectives:

• Students will be able identify, interpret, and exchange information about significant family events or ceremonies in francophone
• Students will be able to describe the foods served at special ceremonies and family events

• The use of reflexive verbs to express a reciprocal action

NATURE!/VIVE LA NATURE!

In the first topic of this theme, Outdoors/En Plein air, students exchange information on France and the French-speaking world in the context of outdoor activities. Students continue to review the présent, the passé composé, and the imparfait as they exchange and present opinions about past outdoor activities. They compare linguistic and cultural elements of French and English in the use of past tenses in English with the uses of the equivalent tenses in French. Students learn to communicate using idiomatic expressions related to outdoor activities such as faire une promenade or faire du camping. The culture component of this topic engages students in describing the outdoor activities available to tourists as well as to the citizens of a francophone country.

In the second topic of this theme, Ecology/L’Écologie, students identify and exchange information and opinions about ways to protect the environment and avoid harming it. To express their opinions, they communicate using expressions of need followed by the infinitive and begin to use le subjonctif with expressions such as il faut que and il est utile que. To understand the subjunctive mood, students make comparisons by looking at the different uses of the subjunctive in English and French. By reviewing familiar commands, l’impératif, students tell each other what can be done to protect the environment or avoid harming it. Students become familiar with authentic materials to interpret information on environmental issues and events. When talking about environmental topics, some negative constructions are introduced and used in order to express the concepts of nobody, nothing, never, neither…nor, and only. Finally, students study the differences between francophone countries and the U.S. with regard to environmental practices.

TRADITIONS/LES TRADITIONS

In the first topic, Friends and Family/Les Amis et la famille, the first topic of the Traditions/Les Traditions theme, students focus on the ways in which societies mark significant life events with their friends and families. Students describe the interactions and personal qualities of friends and family members in an authentic French-language film or literary selection. They exchange, interpret, and present information about family celebrations and holiday traditions. Students describe an interaction with friends and family, using le subjonctif with expressions of will and emotions as they communicate their feelings and emotions (je regrette que… and je désire que…) Students compare how the subjunctive mood is expressed in French and English. Students also study relative pronouns and reflexive verbs used in the reciprocal sense.

In the second topic of this theme, Celebrations/Les Fêtes, students identify, interpret, and exchange information about family celebrations and ceremonies that mark significant life events and holiday traditions, and compare them with those they know from their personal experience. They also describe foods and drinks that are served at these events, and they compare them with the dishes served at their traditional celebrations. Students revisit the uses of the impartfait and the passé compose, l’impératif, and practice the use of reflexive verbs used in the reciprocal sense in the present and past tenses. They continue to reflect upon linguistic differences and similarities, especially with the subjunctive and the use of relative pronouns.

General Class Procedures
1)    Report on time (3 unexcused = 1 unexcused absence)
2)    Be in your seat when the bell rings
3)    Be ready to work
4)    Bring your notebook, homework, writing utensil, textbook and workbook to class
5)    Be courteous
6)    Bring your handbook to record assignments and to use as a pass ( no handbook = no pass)
7)    Please ask for help if you are having difficulty

Homework
1)    will be assigned daily
2)    homework provides important practice in different skill areas and should be done regularly

Make-up Work
1)    It is your responsibility to make up all missed work
2)    If you are in school, arrive late or depart early and miss my class you should call a friend or stop by to get the assignment from the teacher
3)    If a test has been announced and you are absent the day before you will be expected to take the test
4)    If you are absent on the day of test, expect to take it on the day you return unless you are absent for several days
5)    You should get the phone number of one of your classmates so that you can find out about missed work

Behavior
1)    Should be suitable at all times
2)    Offensive behavior will be handled as follows:
           a)    first offense = warning
           b)    future offenses = 1) detention
                                               2) parental contact
                                               3) administrative referral

English
1)    will not be allowed unless the teacher permits it and is only to be used for clarification when you have difficulty understanding
2)    French, therefore, is the language of our classroom

Grading
1)    Grades will be computed out of the total number of points possible and will be based on
       assessments which may include homework, classwork, quizzes, tests, oral presentations
       and writing assignments which will be worth 90% of the grade. Homework completion
       will count for 10% of the grade.
2)    Final grades will be determined as follows: 90-100 A, 80-89 B, 70-79 C, 60-69 D, 50-59 E

Reassessments
The following procedures will be used:

1. Students will need to attend a 45-minute re-teach session at lunch immediately following the return of an assessment. Please note--student needs to bring lunch because the session does not allow for time to go pick up lunch.
    
2. The retest will occur at lunch on the Friday immediately following the re-teach session. This will be the only opportunity for a reassessment.
    
3. All re-teach/re-assess sessions will be held in room C-304 and will begin immediately.
    
4. Re-teach sessions will include activities such as one-on-one tutoring by the teacher or a member of the French Honor Society, as well as completion of practice exercises. Students will be expected to bring completed activities and homework assignments which they used to prepare for the original assessment.
    
5. Summative assessments both oral and written which are given at the end of each unit will not be reassessed. Students will be informed in advance of re-assessment opportunities.