Submitted by Adapted from POLIA Handbook by CoBaLTT Staff
Objectives:
Content:
Students will...
- gain a general understanding of the French school system
- demonstrate comprehension of a table to note similarities and differences between the educational systems of France and the US
Cultural:
Students will...
- identify their preconceived notions or background knowledge on the U.S. school system
- demonstrate prior and new knowledge to compare and contrast the educational systems in France and the U.S.
Language: Content Obligatory
Students will...
- discuss and construct meaning for the word école
- use cardinal and ordinal numbers accurately
- use the present tense
Language: Content Compatible
Students will...
- use comparative structures
- use the simple future tense or structure with "going to" to indicate future
- use accurate subject and verb agreement
Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will...
- summarize information discussed in small groups to answer questions
- predict the meaning of unknown words
- participate as active group members
- work cooperatively in groups of three
Time Frame:
One class session of 50 minutes
Materials Needed:
- Paper and writing utensils for small groups to record informatio
- Table summarizing the French educational system (See "Attachments")
Description of Assessment (Performance Project):
Pre-reading:
Students are asked to explain (in English, but with French used as much as possible) how one might describe the educational system (preK-12) in the U.S. What kinds of schools are available? How are academic years organized? What are the names of the various schools? (Pre-school, kindergarten, primary/intermediate grades, middle schools vs. junior high schools, senior high schools, etc.). The teacher then explains that the French system has similarities and differences with the U.S.educational system. Students are assigned to small groups having three students each and are asked to assign roles to the various group members:
- facilitator/reader, whose task is to read the assigned questions and keep the group "on task"
- the recorder, whose task it is to take note of the group's ideas and answers
- the reporter, whose task it is to report the group's answers to the class
In these groups of three, students are to work cooperatively to complete the 'during reading' activity.
During reading:
In their small groups, students use the table summarizing the French educational system (provided) to respond to the following questions:
- What meaning does the word école have for the French? How does that differ from the meaning of the word as it's used in the U.S.?
- The Smith family is moving to France. Their children are Susie, age 3, John, age 7, Sarah, age 11, and Josh, age 16. Where will these children fit into the French school system?
- Why might it confuse French students when a 20 year-old in the U.S. says that he/she is attending college?
Post reading:
The small groups report to the whole class and compare their answers. Class discussion allows students to create a mental conceptualization of the educational system in France.
Assessment:
The teacher should observe students during group work to get a sense of students' participation and comprehension. S/he can collect students' recorded answers to the questions posed in the reading activity as a more formal comprehension check.
References and Resources:
The table entitled Le Système de Scolarité en France was adapted from a table in
Mermet, G. (1991). Francoscopie. Paris: Librairie Larousse.
Attachments:
NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)Summary Table of the French system