Ma Famille (My Family)

Big idea: Students will use all four language skills (listening, reading, speaking, and writing) to identify and describe their own and others’ families.

21st Century Skills-Creative thinking: students will engage in creative thinking when making up imaginary families and asking questions of their peers.-Collaborating: Students will collaborate by peer-editing blurbs about their families and by asking and answering questions about which family they belong to during the “sticker on the forehead” game.-Communicating: Students will be communicating about their families both through written and oral activities-Technology literacy: Students must access and use correctly the various websites provided to complete the unit on family.-Initiative: Students must take the initiative to complete each activity. Otherwise, they may let down a group member who is counting on them to have completed their work in order to advance through the unit.-Social skills: Students will be working a lot on social skills, as there is quite a bit of group work in this unit, and students must be able to work effectively and respectfully with others.

California Content StandardsCONTENT1.1 Students address discrete elements of daily life, including: b. Family and friends c. Pets2.1 Students address topics related to self and the immediate environment, including: a. Social relationshipsCOMMUNICATION2.0 Students use created language (sentences and strings of sentences).2.1 Engage in oral, written, or signed (ASL) conversations.2.2 Interpret written, spoken, or signed (ASL) language.2.3 Present to an audience of listeners, readers, or ASL viewers.Functions2.4 Initiate, participate in, and close a conversation; ask and answer questions.2.5 Demonstrate understanding of the general meaning, key ideas, and some details in authentic texts.2.6 Produce and present a simple written, oral, or signed (ASL) product in a culturally authentic way.CULTURE1.2 Recognize similarities and differences in the target cultures and between students’ own cultures.STRUCTURE2.0 Students use sentence-level elements (morphology or syntax or both) to understand concrete and factual topics.2.1 Use sentence-level elements (morphology or syntax or both) to produce informal communications.2.2 Identify similarities and differences in the sentence-level elements (morphology or syntax or both) of the languages the students know.SETTINGS1.0 Students use language in highly predictable common daily settings.

STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVE #1: Students will demonstrate aural comprehension of family vocabulary and write about different members of the family in French.ASSESSMENTS #1: Students check for aural understanding by answering the questions on “Français Facile” and on a teacher-created worksheet that accompanies the “AudioLingua” recordings.

STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVE #2: Students will present their (real, made-up, or famous) families orally in small groups, paying attention to correct grammar and pronunciation.ASSESSMENT #2: An in-class presentation given in small groups to minimize the anxiety of shy students or English Language learners who may be reticent to speak in front of the whole class.

STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVE #3: Students will demonstrate reading comprehension by reading about three authentic, diverse French/francophone families. Students will also practice speaking by working collaboratively by asking and answering questions involving family. ASSESSMENT #3: Students will answer reading comprehension questions which will be checked in class. Students will also find the family they belong to by participating in a game in which they must ask effective questions to their classmatesin French and understand their classmates’ answers.

Learning Activities

LESSON #1 ACTIVITIES1) After studying “family” vocabulary on “Français Facile”, students view the video and answer/self-correct the questions that follow. 2) Students go online to Audio Lingua where they listen to Camille and Guy describe their families. They answer questions on a worksheet while listening to each recording.3) As homework, students bring in a labeled photo or sketch of their own families (or an imaginary/famous one) to class the next day along with a brief blurb about each family member. (i.e. This is my mom. She is nice and she likes to read…)

Learning Activities

LESSON #2 ACTIVITIES1) Students will present their families in small groups using complete sentences.2) Students will peer-edit any written mistakes, and the instructor will go around the room to correct scripts while students peer-edit. 3) Volunteers will present their families to the class as a whole, and their classmates will be given the opportunity to ask questions.4) Students will then write down a question to ask me about my own family.

Learning Activities

LESSON #3 ACTIVITIES1) Students will read about three diverse French-speaking families. Cultural elements will be embedded in each reading. 2) After checking for understanding by answering reading comprehension questions posted on Socrative, the classroom will be divided up into three sections representing each family. Students will be given a sticker labeled with the name of a member of one of the three families to put on their forehead. Students will go around the class asking classmates about their assigned character and go to the appropriate section of the room once they find out to which character and family they have been assigned.

Why did I choose this unit?

I chose this unit because it is relevant and meaningful to each student’s life. I have found that students really enjoy talking about themselves and their families as well as learning about their classmates’ families. It is also a very practical topic that will come up very often when conversing with French speakers. This unit also lends itself well to the use of technology, as there are several websites that address the topic of family.