Syllabus

Instructor: “Madame” Morgane Bryson Email: mobryson@greenville.k12.sc.us

Room: 203 School voicemail: (864)355-0244

Class website: http://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/whhs

Course Description: 

This semester-long course is the second level of French study and is designed to introduce students to both the French language and culture. The student will develop the ability to communicate in the five modes of communication: Interpretive Listening and Reading, Interpersonal Communication, Presentational Speaking and Writing, Investigation of Cultural Products and Practices, Understanding of Cultural Perspectives and Participation in Cultural Interaction. Emphasis is placed on proficient communication in the language while studying four relevant, real-world theme based units: Who Am I?, How Have I Changed?, What Are My Choices? and Where Am I Going?. The prerequisites for this class are successful completion of high school French 1 and a teacher recommendation.

 

Instructional Philosophy:

Many instructional approaches will be used to help all types of learners: graphic organizers, language ladders, paired activities, cooperative learning, questioning strategies (yes/no, either/on, multiple choice, short answer), Total Physical Response (TPR), surveys, reading authentic documents, listening to authentic music, visiting authentic websites and Google Slides presentations to name a few. Students will be actively engaged and will be expected to participate voluntarily and/or when called upon. Participation does not mean always giving the correct answer but a willingness to try to use French and a genuine attempt at learning the material or asking questions when the material is unclear. The class will be conducted in both English and in French, with more French used progressively with each unit.

 

Course Goals/ Power Standards:

The standards for World Language classes revolve around levels of proficiency in the production and comprehension of the language.  GCSD has mandated the exit proficiency targets for levels 1 – 4 in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  At the completion of level 2, students should rate at an Intermediate Mid level for listening in which the students can understand the main idea in messages and presentations on a variety of topics related to everyday life and personal interests and studies and understand the main idea of conversations that they overhear.  For speaking, students should rate at an Intermediate Low level in which students can present information on most familiar topics using a series of simple sentences.  For reading, students should rate at an Intermediate Low level in which they can understand the main idea of short and simple texts when the topic is familiar.  For writing, students should rate at an Intermediate Low level in which they can write briefly about most familiar topics and provide information using a series of simple sentences.


Course Goals & Literacy Standards: 

This course addresses the following standards from the Common Core standards:

 

Major Assignments & Projects: 

At the end of each thematic unit, students will be assessed and evaluated by the Integrated Performance Assessments (IPAs). These IPAs measure a student’s ability to listen and/or read (interpretive), speak (interpersonal) and write (presentational) in French. The following IPA examples may be adjusted throughout the semester according to the teacher’s discretion.


  Unit 1: Who am I?

Interpretive: Read short descriptions about three different people. Answer true/false statements about the people based on what you read.
Presentational: Write a letter to your new principal introducing and describing yourself and a classmate. Ask questions to find out what your new principal is like.

Additional major assessment:  Project


 Unit 2: How have I changed?

Interpretive: Read about someone's childhood and answer T/F questions and short answer questions.
Presentational: Describe what happened at different points in your life. Compare it to someone else's life/childhood.

Additional major assessment:  Project



Unit 3: What are my choices?

Interpretive: Read an article related to one of this unit’s 4 major topics: daily routine, health, transportation, or dating/relationships. Answer true/false statements and respond to short answer questions.

Presentational: Write about your own choices regarding daily routines, health, transportation, and dating/relationships. Give advice to another person regarding his/her life choices.

Additional major assessment: Project


 Unit 4: Where am I going?

Interpretive: Read job ads and answer true/false and multiple choice questions.

Presentational: Express what will happen in the future and what would happen under certain circumstances using the appropriate grammar and vocabulary.

Additional major assessment: Final exam

 

Course Assessment Plan and Grading:

In accordance with Greenville County School District:

Major assessments are worth 60% (for example, IPA, long term in-class and out-of class projects, tests, etc.).

Minor assessments are worth 40%. 


Overall grade is calculated as 1st quarter grade = 45%, 2nd quarter grade = 45%, final exam = 10%

 

Required & Recommended Reading:

In-class reading: Variety of authentic articles, short stories, and materials from authentic websites.

Students can bring an English-to-French dictionary to use during in-class activities (not on quizzes/major assessments) but it is not required.

 

Pacing Guide:

Unit 1:  Who Am I? Weeks 1-4 

Unit 2:  How Have I Changed? Weeks 5-8 

Unit 3:  What are my choices? Weeks 9-12 

Unit 4:  Where Am I Going? Weeks 13-16