Submitted by Kathy Johnson

Language: French Unit Cultural Theme or Academic Content Area: Self and Photography Target Audience: Traditional High School Year of Instruction: 3 Proficiency Level: Intermediate Mid

Standards: Communication:    1.1, 1.3 Cultures:    2.1 Connections:    3.1 Comparisons:    4.2 Communities:

Lesson Timeframe:

Each class period is fifty minutes long. To teach the lesson will take four classes of instruction. After the first three days of instruction, students will need a time lapse of approximately a week to complete a first draft of their Scrapbook Presentation Assignment (the assessment) outside of class. During this lapse, instruction could focus on other curricula with brief reminders and reviews of the material covered in the first three days of this lesson. Because student's assessment is a scrap book presentation, students should receive one class-period a couple days prior to presentation day to practice and receive feed back from peers. When the presentation day arrives, allocate time for these presentations based on class size.

Lesson Overview:

Students will learn basic photography skills, consider important aspects of their culture, and review self-descriptive narration.

Lesson Context:

Objectives:

Content:
Students will...

• Use basic techniques for improving their photography skills

Cultural:
Students will...

• Investigate important aspects of self: their identity, family, friends, community, home, school, and hobbies by taking pictures of their daily life and explaining their significance.

Language: Content Obligatory
Students will...

• Accurately use nouns associated with the camera:

  le déclencheur l'éclairage le zoom le flash

  le trépied le mise au point le prise de vue l'arrière plan

  la portée du plan le cadre la portée du flash la gamme

• Accurately use verbs associated with photography:

  verifier effectuer éviter paraître focaliser

  déplacer ajouter renforcer fournir cruer

  froncer adoucir fournir

• Demonstrate comprehension of vocabulary associated with art and appearance:

  le paysage le plan le profondeur le relief détendu

  claire interessante vivant dégagé dynamique

  courante netteté claret flou?

• Accurately use the expressions " Il faut" and " Je pense que tu as ," or "Je pense que tu n'as pas"

Language: Content Compatible
Students will...

• Identify and introduce themselves to others.
  
• Review adjectives and their forms by brainstorming a list to describe their pictures.

  Beau Mauvais Grand Petit Joli

  Vieux Nouveau Heureux Triste Intéressant

  Important Curieux Sympa Chouette Typique Etc.

• Review the verb tenses used in narration, especially the third-person singular and plural of the imperfect and present tense of être used to explain the significance of their pictures.

  Il êtait Elle êtait Ils êtaient Elles êtaient

  Il est Elle est Ils sont Elles sont

Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will...

• Practice note taking.
• Reflect on their daily life and culture
  - Give constructive feedback to their peers on the clarity of their presentations.

Time Frame:

Each class period is fifty minutes long. To teach the lesson will take four classes of instruction. After the first three days of instruction, students will need a time lapse of approximately a week to complete a first draft of their Scrapbook Presentation Assignment (the assessment) outside of class. During this lapse, instruction could focus on other curricula with brief reminders and reviews of the material covered in the first three days of this lesson. Because student's assessment is a scrap book presentation, students should receive one class-period a couple days prior to presentation day to practice and receive feed back from peers. When the presentation day arrives, allocate time for these presentations based on class size.

Materials Needed:

Students will need...

Materials for taking notes.

A camera and film for taking pictures (disposable or digital cameras would work well).

A photo album or scrapbook with space for labeling photographs.

Teachers will need...

Photos of aspects of "Daily Life" (e.g., scenes with family, friends, community, home, school, and hobbies) taken in France. (The photos chosen will later be used to teach the vocabulary associated with art and appearance; therefore, among them there should be examples that can be described by one or more of these vocabulary words: landscape, depth, relief, clear, blurred, dynamic, calm, interesting, lively, dynamic, and moving.)

"Post-It" Notes

Hand-outs and overheads on/with: (See attachments section)

- picture of a camera with clear parts (including a tripod) that can be labeled and a picture of a photo - nouns associated with the camera - verbs associated with photography - vocabulary associated with art and appearance - assignment on constructive feedback to their peers on the clarity of their presentations (clarity of the target language, questions about meaning, and comments on extensions or improvements) - copy of Des conseils pour prendre une photo. http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=317&pq-locale=fr_FR (Feb 2006) - Scrap-Book Assignment Sheet (used as assessment)

Description of Assessment (Performance Project):

Day One:
(Students bring cameras)

1. Look at photos of aspects of "Daily Life" taken in France.

2. Discuss (in French) cultural differences as noticed in photos. Throughout discussion, teacher takes notes about topics discussed. The teacher saves these notes for future use.

3. Discuss "Scrap Book Assignment Sheet" to be used as a final assessment for material covered so that students understand the goals of the lesson. (See attached handout)

4. Teach nouns associated with the camera: Project a large picture of a camera and a photo on the overhead screen. Using the transparency, the teacher will label the nouns from the vocabulary list.

5. As teacher labels, students repeat to practice pronunciation.

6. Then, students practice vocabulary in pairs, using a game similar to "Old Maid": Each student copies all of the above vocabulary on "Post-It" Notes. Among each pair, students decide to remove one vocabulary word from their combined set of "Post-It" Notes, thus creating one vocabulary word which cannot be matched (i.e., "The Old Maid" or La Vieille Dame). Students then fold "Post-It" Notes in half, pulling the edge opposite the sticky side towards it; this way, students can still stick the notes to the table, but the vocabulary words cannot be seen. Students then stick all of the combined notes on the desk or table between them. Without seeing the words, students each take turns so that one draws 12 and the other, 11 notes. At the same time, students have their cameras and a sample photo in front of them and prop a notebook between them so that they cannot see each other's "Post-Its." Behind the cover of their notebooks, students unfold the notes that they drew from the center pile. In order to "claim" any word-pairs, students must attach the "Post-It" to their camera and their partner's camera (based on the part of the camera or photo the note relates to) while pronouncing the word correctly. Once the pairs within in their "hand" are established, students reach over the note-book to "draw" post-its from their partner, claiming their pairs as they gather them. The game continues like "Old Maid" until one student is left with the single "Post-It" note.

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Day Two:

1. Look at photos of aspects of "Daily Life" taken in France.

2. As students look at photographs, the teacher describes them using vocabulary associated with art and appearance:

landscape depth relief clear blurred

dynamic calm interesting lively moving.

Throughout this description, the teacher writes these vocabulary words on the board and makes sure that the students copy them and understand their meaning.

3. Students then look at the website: Des conseils pur prendre une photo (http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=317&pq-locale=fr_FR (Feb 2006). If the computer lab is not available for this, the teacher could show the site to the students via projector in class, or a list of the suggestions could be printed out and explained. Students will use context clues to become familiar with the verbs from the vocab list.

4. Using this list as display, teacher introduces this vocabulary to students by describing their definition in French. At the end of this activity, students should clearly understand the meaning of each of the verbs.

5. As students read the handout a second time, they take notes on it and the teacher guides their reading. Students use the expression, "Il faut + infinitive" to express those things required in taking good photos. Students will use aforementioned verbs associated with photography to finish this expression

6. Students then look at photos of aspects of "Daily Life" taken in France. Using their list of things that a good photographer does (Il faut + infintive), as part of a class discussion, students use the past tense to discuss whether or not the photographer who took the "Daily Life" photos succeeded at doing those things. Students will use the expression, "Je pense qu'il a?" or "Je pense qu'il n'a pas ?"

7. Using an overhead, the teacher then displays the list of cultural components discussed in yesterday's class. Based on the cultural differences noted in the French photos, students will brainstorm a list of things that they could photograph to show corresponding (albeit different) aspects of their own culture (e.g., scenes with family, such as meal-time; scenes with friends, such as where teens socialize; scenes with community, such as the land-marks and industries that are a part of it; scenes with home, such as styles of different rooms; scenes at school, such as the building and classes; and scenes with hobbies, such as where and how they are practiced.)

8. Teacher will finish the hour with a reminder of the "Scrap Book Assignment" given yesterday (see handout) and how their list and their newfound knowledge about taking photos relates to it.

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Day Three:

1. Students will begin the hour by playing a quick game to review those things required to take good photographs. The teacher will pick a student to start the game. That student will say one thing required (using the expression il faut...) and then call on a student to follow him or her. The second student will not only name the thing described by the first student, but he or she will also add their own tip. The game continues  -- each time a new student is added to the "chain" of those students already called upon, she not only has to recite the tips previously mentioned from memory, but she must also add her own tip. This continues until all the tips from yesterday's notes have been recited. (This activity is similar to one many people played on car trips as young children: "Grandmother is going on a vacation, and in her suitcase there is a," or "On our picnic, I am bringing".)

2. The teacher asks students to pull out their "Scrap Book Assignment Sheets."

3. Students are reminded that adjectives must be used correctly in their captions and explanations of photos.

4. Next, the teacher displays on the overhead the brainstormed list of things that students could photograph to show aspects of their own culture, as listed in yesterday's class. The items on this list should be scattered over the page in random order, with space in between them.

5. The teacher then creates "webs" around each of these words to review adjectives and their forms based on words generated in class discussion. This will help students create accurate description in the captions and explanations that go with their scrapbook presentations. They might use adjectives like beau, mauvais, grand, petit, joli, vieux, nouveau, heureux, triste, interessant, important, curieux, sympa, chouette, typique, etc. There is no limit to the adjectives that could be generated in this list.

6. Students are also reminded that verb tenses in narration, especially the third-person singular and plural of the imperfect and present tense of Etre, need to be used correctly to explain the significance of their pictures. Students briefly review these forms including

Il était Elle était Ils étaient Elles étaient

Il est Elle est Ils sont Elles sont

They review by creating sentences about something to be presented to the class. These sentences use the chunk, Je voudrais vous dire autour ma" / mon ___noun__. Il / Elle était __adjective___, mais maintenant il / elle est ___adjective___. This reinforces not only the use of these verbs, but also the use of adjectives, just discussed.

7. Teacher finishes the hour by asking students to pose any questions about "Scrap Book" assignment that may have come up.

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** Approximate One Week (or more) Lapse for Project Completion **

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Day Four:

1. Teacher asks students questions to lead them in discussion of their notes on taking good photographs. (Qu'est-ce qu'il faut faire pour prendre de bonnes photos? Il faut...) The teacher continues asking such questions and eliciting such responses until the list of notes has been adequately discussed.

2. Then, through a chorale activity in which students simply repeat, they review the past tense of the verbs just used after "Il faut" in the last activity (number one, above). Students use this as a warm-up for giving each other feedback about their presentations, so they begin their phrases with, "Je pense que tu as" Therefore, they review changes made to infinitives to put it in past tense.

3. The teacher then facilitates a wagon wheel activity in which students present their projects to class members. Have students create (depending on class size) approximately eight circles of four students. Four of these circles stand or sit inside of four of the other circles; students face each other. Each student presents: first the one on the outside and then the one on the inside. Students start their presentations with, "Bonjour. Je m'appelle" and then continue based on the instructions in the attached "Scrap Book Assignment" handout (the assignment given on the first day.) The listening student gives feedback on the photos ("Je pense que tu as"), and on the presentation itself (i.e., clarity of the target language, questions about meaning, and comments on extensions or improvements - see attached handout). After adequate time has been given for both the inside and outside of the circles to present and give feedback, the teacher instructs the students to switch. Students rotate to a new partner by having the inner circle turn; by the end of the activity, each student should have received feedback from about four partners.

Approximate two- day lapse for students to use feedback to make changes to their presentation.

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Day Five:

Assessment (See below)

Assessment:

Students present "Scrap-Book Assignments" as a means of introducing themselves. (For a detailed explanation of assignment and rubric, see attached handout.)
Students are graded on:
The quality of the photo album:
The content of their presentation
The fluency of their introduction
clearly introducing themselves to others using "Bonjour" and "Je m'appelle"
Clear description of daily life and culture including important aspects of self: identity, family, friends, community, home, school, and hobbies
Correct use of adjectives and their forms in describing their picturesቴhe comprehensibility of their explanation
The clarity in expression

References and Resources:

Des conseils pour prendre une photo. http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=317&pq-locale=fr_FR (Feb 2006).

Attachments:

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

Handout for Scrapbook Assignment including a Rubric for Assessment
Vocabulary Lists (nouns, verbs and art words) 
Assignment Handout used in Wagon Wheel Activity (constructive feedback to peers on the clarity of their presentations -- the target language, meaning, and content)