Submitted by Barbara C. Anderson

Objectives:

Content:
Students will:

• Become familiar with some literary and artistic creations from the Middle Ages in France.
• Understand the role of art in the Middle Ages.

Cultural:
Students will:

• Become familiar with cultural products of the Middle Ages in France.

Language: Content Obligatory
Note: Content Obligatory Language objectives will vary for each group depending upon the topic of each presentation.

Students will:

• Use the third person singular and plural forms of the present tense to tell a story.
• Use the present and past tenses to read excerpts from works of literature silently and then aloud.
• Content obligatory vocabulary: une chanson de geste, un roman courtois, une farce, une tapisserie, une ballade.

Language: Content Compatible
Content compatible objectives may vary depending on the topic chosen.

Students will:

• Use transistion words, such as, alors, puis, ensuite, donc, après que, to tell a story.

Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will:

• Work cooperatively
• Take notes and do research
• Monitor themselves and evaluate their progress as they work in groups 
• Role play

Time Frame:

Five 50-minute periods

Materials Needed:

• Computers to search for texts and background information
• List of literary and artistic creations and websites
• Task description (see Attachments)
• Task rubric (see Attachments)

Description of Assessment (Performance Project):

Pre-Task:
Introductory class discussion: brainstorming.

Students will brainstorm the answers to the questions below in their small groups first, then with the entire class.

• What are some examples of different types of artistic creations?  (e.g., Books--Life of Pi, Films--The Day After Tomorrow; Paintings--Monet's waterlily paintings, etc.)
• Why do people create art? (personal expression, to entertain, to instruct, to celebrate the actions of a famous person, etc.)
• What is the role of art in a society?

During Task:
Students will be divided into groups of three to five students.

Each group will be responsible for a different topic which will be either an excerpt from a work of literature or a work of art (topics may be assigned randomly or groups may choose)

Groups will read or study about their topic.  If computers are available (or session in a computer lab can be scheduled) the students will be engaged in searching the Internet for specialized web sites that could provide examples of/illustrations of Medieval art work.  

They will prepare a dramatic presentation for the class to acquaint the class with their artwork as well as the role and importance of this cultural or artistic creation for society then and now. 

Students will present their artistic creation to the class.

This activity could be done using computer technology and software such as PowerPoint. If this option is selected, students will begin the task of gathering the material in class and then complete the activity outside the class as a group assignment (homework for next class which would then begin with a small presentation of each group PowerPoint presentation). 

Post-Task:
Summary discussion: During a time when famine, the plague, wars and invasions affected the daily lives of people, how did artistic creations improve people's lives?

Assessment:

Students’ performance in skits will be assessed using a rubric (see Attachments).

References and Resources:

Yvone Lenard (1997). Trésors du temps, Deuxième, Troisième et Quatrième Étapes. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill

(See Attachments for list of artistic creations for additional resources)

Attachments:

NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)

• (L4 listecre) This document contains a list of possible choices for skits and resources.
• (L4 tskcklst) This document contains a description of the task and checklist.
• (L4 rubrskit) This document contains a rubric for the skit. 

A Lesson from the CoBaLTT Project
/cobaltt
Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition
University of Minnesota