Submitted by Adapted from POLIA Handbook by CoBaLTT Staff
Objectives:
Content:
Students will:
- Demonstrate understanding of the content in the "bulletin trimestriel" by answering questions
- Identify and explain points of comparison -- numbers to letter grades, learner to class numbers
- Demonstrate comprehension of the "bulletin trimestriel" in a letter
Cultural:
Students will:
- Use prior and new knowledge to compare and contrast the grade reports used in France and the US, including writing register
Language: Content Obligatory
Students will:
- Use relevant vocabulary to respond to questions and describe differences and similarities
- Use present and conditional verb tenses accurately
- Demonstrate understanding of appropriate register use in writing
Language: Content Compatible
Students will:
- Use comparative structures
- Use superlative structures to support opinions in writing
- Demonstrate subject-verb and noun-adjective agreement in writing
Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will:
- Use the scanning reading strategy to find cultural information in the text
- Work cooperatively with a partner to comprehend the text
- Work cooperatively in small groups
Time Frame:
One to two 50 minute class sessions
Materials Needed:
copies of "bulletin trimestriel" for working pairs
Description of Assessment (Performance Project):
Pre-reading
Students will engage in a webbing activity whereby they are asked to provide the class with all the ideas which they associate with the concept "baccalauréat." Their answers are written on the board to create a web and are organized according to categories. To prepare for the reading, students are asked the following questions orally in French:
- How old is a student when sh/he is enrolled in "terminale"?
- How many times a year do you receive a grade report?
- How often does a French high school student receive a grade report (bulletin trimestriel)?
- What kind of information does one usually find in an American grade report?
- What kind of information do you expect to find in a French grade report?
During reading:
In pairs, students scan the bulletin trimestriel (provided) for specific cultural information:
- Around what time of the year did the student receive the bulletin (beginning, middle, end)? How do you know?
- On what type of scale are students graded?
- In which subjects did the student receive the best/worst results?
- Is the student for whom the grade report was written a girl or boy? How do you know?
- How is the student doing compared to the rest of the class?
- How many teachers provided information on the grade report? How can you tell?
- Are teachers' comments on the student's work positive/negative? List some examples to support your answer.
- What is the correlation between the numbers and the letter grades?
Post reading:
Two pairs join to form small groups. They discuss their answers to the questions posed in the during reading activity. Small groups report to the large class and discussion of the grade report occurs. As a follow-up, the small groups form again and students discuss the following questions in French. These questions create a framework for a cross-cultural analysis:
- Are there differences between the United States and France regarding subjects studied in high school? If so, what are they?
- Are there differences between the French bulletin trimestriel and the American grade report? Describe the differences and similarities.
- Which system according to you is stricter? Why do you think so?
Writing Activity:
As a homework assignment, students are given a writing activity. They are asked to imagine, "You are the head teacher (professeur principal) for this high school student's classe de terminale. Write a letter to her parents stressing her strengths and weaknesses and making recommendations about her studies."Students are to play close attention to
- vocabulary and language structures, such as agreement (subject-verb and noun-adjective), and appropriate verb tenses (e.g. present and conditional tenses, expressions for "should," etc.),
- letter format and register, and
- content - the letter should reflect the information that is in the grade report.
Assessment:
Students' comprehension can be assessed informally on the basis of their answers to questions assigned to pairs and small groups as well as during class discussions. A more formal assessment of comprehension on the reading activity can also be made; students can be asked to write their answers to the questions (in English) and submit them for assessment prior to the post-reading activities. Students' letter writing can be assessed with a rubric (provided), which should be distributed along with the writing task so that expectations are made clear.
References and Resources:
The Bulletin trimestriel was contributed by the unit author, a native French speaker
Attachments:
NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)Rubric for letter writing