Français 8

Goals

This year, we will incorporate the vocabulary learned in 6th & 7th grades with new vocabulary and new grammar formulas, including practice of the future and past tenses.  We will practice French in all four proficiency areas: speaking, reading, writing and listening.  More of the course will be conducted in French.  And of course, we will continue to learn about French culture and the francophone world.  (Hopefully, we will have the opportunity to correspond with pen pals from France!)  Students must pass the New York State Proficiency final exam in order to receive credit for one unit of world language study needed for a NYS high school diploma.  At the end of this year students may choose to continue in either Honors or Regents level French, and will have the opportunity to add a third world language – German, Latin or Spanish.


Curriculum

Our curriculum is guided by the Bien Dit Level 1 textbook series (see below) and supplemented with Discovering French Today and the new Voces Digital Library, Français 1.

Chapitre 6  Bon Appétit!  - foods, meal-taking, restaurants

Chapitre 7  On fait les magasins – clothing & shopping

Chapitre 8  À la maison – house & household chores

Chapitre 9  En ville – places around town, directions

Chapitre 10  Enfin les vacances – travel


Supplies

When in school, you will need:

-vocabulaire (vocabulary)

-grammaire (grammar)

-examens (tests & quizzes)

-divers (miscellaneous)

Absences & Late Work

Students are responsible for classwork and homework missed due to an absence. Assignments are posted on the homework calendar on the homepage of this website (also linked to team websites) and also on Google Classroom.  Hard copies of missed assignments will also be in the purple milk crate in the back of the French classroom.   Feel free to e-mail me with any questions about homework or upcoming tests – but don’t wait until 10pm the night before an exam to seek help!

Any assignment not turned in on time will receive at most half credit unless you were absent.  On time means at the moment the work is checked or collected in class, or the time posted on Google Classroom. Late work may be turned in before the end of the quarter for, at most, half credit.  I reserve the right to set specific deadlines for particular assignments after which no credit will be given. 

Grading

Your class grade is calculated on weighted percentages as follows:

Tests/Quizzes/Projects 60%

Classwork 15%

Homework 15%

Engagement* 10%      

 100%


*A note about Engagement: What was once a participation score has evolved into a score that provides feedback on a student’s engagement.   I came to believe that participation can sometimes be more a measure of a student’s personality than of their attentive, earnest efforts to perform and improve their language skills.  Self-confident and extroverted students tend to earn high participation scores, while quieter students might be penalized, although they are equally engaged and conscientious.  Student engagement will be assessed on a 5-point scale each quarter measuring the consistency and quality of students’ engaged, on-task contributions to learning in class, willingness to participate productively in partnered and group activities, to take risks and to respond with earnest effort when called upon.  (See the Engagement Rubric, below.) This 5-point score is weighted 10% of each quarter’s average.

Google Translate

Students’ work should always reflect their own skills and abilities.  Presenting French copied from Google Translate as one’s own work is a form of plagiarism.  In addition, while students might seek help from siblings or parents, it’s important any help or tutoring remain in the boundaries of what is learned in class.  Student work that is not strictly his/her own, or that has been copied from Google Translate will receive a zero.  Students will be given an opportunity to re-do such work, but will only receive half credit.


Extra Help

Extra help is available by appointment before or after school.  Do not wait until the very end of the marking period to seek extra help!

 


Contact Madame

E-mail is best: lmacko@niskyschools.org.  You may also leave a message with the main office at (518) 377-2233.