Submitted by Pam Wesely
Objectives:
Content:
Students will:
- use the Internet to find pictures and information about Paris in order to create a creative presentation about a trip to the city
Cultural:
Students will:
- develop the ability to produce original material which reflects the culture of Paris
Language: Content Obligatory
Students will:
- review the vocabulary words used previously in this unit
Language: Content Compatible
Students will:
- review the vocabulary words and structures used previously in this unit
Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will:
- create original work in French according to some requirements
- work independently of the teacher on a large-scale writing project
- decide to work independently or in small groups according to preference
Time Frame:
This lesson is meant for students who finish before their classmates on the previous lessons of this unit. Thus, the timeframe could be anywhere from one class period of 40 minutes to five or six class periods. At the beginning of this lesson, the students should know how many days they have to work and plan accordingly.
Materials Needed:
- Gargie website Lesson 4: http://www.angelfire.com/trek/gargie/extra.html
- computers with Internet access sufficient for all students to use
- computer printer connected to the computer
- pencils
Description of Assessment (Performance Project):
This lesson provides an opportunity for students to apply what they have learned, practiced, and imagined during the first three lessons of the unit. It is intended for use only by students who have completely finished the first three lessons. Furthermore, in the final evaluation of this unit, some completion of Lesson 4 is required to receive an A on the unit.
As mentioned in the Unit Overview, this lesson is constructed very differently than the previous lessons. Students who make it to this point are at least a day ahead of their classmates in finishing their project, and they have the time and, apparently, the skill to embark upon a project which is more free-form and creative. The Lesson 4: Supplementary page can be used as a resource. Once the students finish the first three lessons, they should be given the "Gargie Lesson 4 Student Guide" (see Attachments). This sheet explains the three choices offered to students, as follows:
1. Captions (for students who finish only one or two class periods early). Students must first examine the 15 pictures shown on the Lesson 4 page. They then need to write a five-sentence caption in French for as many pictures as they can. The captions can be detailed and related to Paris, or they can be more silly. The student should finish as many as he/she can before the time for the unit is up.2. Skits (for students who finish more than two class periods early). If more than one student finishes early and the students are interested in working together, they can set out to write a skit to be performed for the rest of the class. This skit should be conducted entirely in French, and it should be based around one or more of the pictures of Gargie on the Lesson 4 page. Beyond that, the students should make sure that they all have at least five, but preferably ten, lines of dialogue. Some creative ideas for their skit topic are:
- a meeting between Gargie and the gargoyles in Paris
- Gargie finds a girlfriend
- Gargie discovers an unknown side of Paris (aliens, underground dwellers, etc.)
- Gargie has a special adventure in Paris that was not on the website
- Gargie loses something important and has to travel around Paris to find it
- a "making-of" skit about Gargie's website
3. Illustrated books or cartoons (for students who finish more than two class periods early). Students can work in pairs or individually on this particular task. First, they should look at the pictures on the Lesson 4 page and select some to use as illustrations. They may also use other pictures from the Gargie website, or even draw some pictures themselves. They should then write a children's story in French about Gargie based on those pictures. If there are younger classes of French students, the students can be encouraged to write the story as if it is for that audience - that way, they will not feel overwhelmed with the idea of writing a book completely in French. The students should write five sentences of French per page of the book, and, ideally, their book would be at least five pages long. Some creative ideas for this book topic are:
- a fable about how Gargie got his wings, became grey, etc.
- what happens to Gargie when he becomes a real gargoyle
- a simpler retelling of the website story
- why Gargie left his life in Minneapolis
Assessment:
The specific assessment for this lesson is dependent on which choice the student made. In all three cases, the students are assessed on their language use, communication, and completion in the project. See "Gargie Lesson 4 Evaluation" in the Attachments for more information.
References and Resources:
Please click through the Gargie website, Lesson 4 for the pictures: http://www.angelfire.com/trek/gargie/extra.html
Attachments:
NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)Gargie Lesson 4 Student Guide - a worksheet to explain the final project to the student
Gargie Lesson 4 Evaluation - a rubric to assess their work