Submitted by Carrie Grabowski
Objectives:
Content:
Students will...
- identify the different states of water and where they exist in nature
- identify the two kinds of water
- identify the three parts of the water cycle
- name what forms of life need water to survive
- identify what other planets have water in liquid form
- identify ways that humans use water
- demonstrate understanding of the history of domesticated water
- demonstrate understanding of how water gets polluted
- demonstrate understanding of how water is purified
Cultural:
Students will...
- begin to develop an awareness/understanding of the importance of water in our culture and in other cultures
- demonstrate understanding of water usage of different cultures by comparing/contrasting them (This is an extension activity.)
- identify the number of people around the world without regular access to potable water (This is an extension activity)
- describe in what ways their own lives would be different if faced with this problem
Language: Content Obligatory
Students will...
- use the present tense (3rd person singular & plural) to answer questions about the text with verbs like (nettoyer, traverser, transformer, trasnporter, distribuer, épurer, etc).
- use the present tense (1st person plural, 3rd person singular and plural) to summarize article in oral presentation for classmates using some of the above-mentioned verbs.
- make adjectives agree with the nouns modified according to number and gender. Adjectives include: salé, doux, souterrain, buvable, sec, naturel, polluant, etc.
Language: Content Compatible
Students will...
- use the present tense (3rd person singular and plural) of pronominal verbs such as se laisser, se nettoyer, se laver, se précipiter.
Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will...
- practice reading strategies
- use context and surrounding images to understand a text
- guess meanings of words based on prior knowledge of other words
- learn that un accent circonflexe replaced an "s" to aid in reading comprehension
- review dictionary skills
- practice looking up verbs in a dictionary (recognizing that the conjugated form is not in the dictionary)
- practice looking up nouns and using abbreviations to determine if the word is masculine(m), feminine (f), or a noun (n), or a verb (v)
- read and summarize with a partner
- report the section read with visuals for the rest of the class
- take notes
Time Frame:
This will take 3 50-minute periods.
Materials Needed:
- The articles L'eau, l'or bleu (pages 6 and 7), L'eau c'est la vie (pages 8 and 9), Au service de l'homme (pages 10 and 11), L'eau se lave (pages 12 and 13) from Wapiti Mensuel 19 mars 2003
- dictionaries
Description of Assessment (Performance Project):
Pre-task
1. The teacher asks questions to activate students' background knowledge and takes notes on butcher paper.
- Où trouve-t-on l'eau? Sous quelles formes?
- Pourquoi est-elle importante?
- Est-elle toujours potable sous toutes ses formes?
- Pourquoi ou pourquoi pas?
- Que savez-vous d'autre à propos de l'eau?
2. Avant de lire (Before reading)
- The class will discuss parts of speech
- The teacher will ask students how they can understand a text if they do not understand all the words and hopefully some students will suggest images, the surrounding text, and cognates
During-task
The class is divided into four groups to read the four articles about water and answer comprehension questions written by the teacher. Students also identify examples of subjects and verbs and explain the different verb endings for "er" verbs and être. This should be a review for 5th and 6th graders not an introduction.
Article 1: L'eau l'or bleu!
- L'eau qui coule aujourd'hui est-elle l'eau qui a coulé dans le passé?
- Décris les trois parties principales du cycle de l'eau mentionnées. Fais un dessin si tu préfères.
- Quel pourcentage de notre planète est couvert d'eau?
- Quelle est la profondeur moyenne de l'océan?
- Nomme deux réserves d'eau douce.
Article 2: L'eau c'est la vie!
- Y a-t-il une autre planète où l'eau existe sous forme de liquide?
- Qu'est-ce qui commence dans ce précieux liquide?
- Comment est l'intérieur du ventre d'une maman enceinte?
- Un adulte et un bébé ont-ils le même pourcentage d'eau?
- Nomme deux mots qui décrivent la couleur et l'odeur de l'eau?
Article 3: Au service de l'homme
- Que veut dire "au service de l'homme"?
- Qu'est-ce qu'un barrage?
- Qu'est-ce que la sécheresse?
- Nomme les deux activités qui consomment le plus d'eau
- Nomme au moins deux choses que l'eau sait faire..
- Qui a domestiqué l'eau, quand, et pourquoi?
- Les Romains qu'ont-ils fait de spécial?
- Nomme deux choses à faire pour gaspiller moins d'eau.
Article 4: L'eau se lave.
- Explique quand et comment l'eau s'auto-nettoie.
- Nomme trois sources de pollution.
- Combien d'étapes faut-il pour épurer l'eau? Nomme-les.
- Quelle fraction représente le nombre de personnes au monde sans eau potable?
- Nomme trois choses que l'on peut faire afin de moins polluer.
Post-task:
The students use the notes taken to write an oral presentation which will presented to the rest of the class.Read through the grading rubric with the students before they begin writing the presentation. They will use and define essential vocabulary and practice subject/verb agreement by writing original sentences, which the teacher corrects.
Assessment:
Each group summarizes the article read and gives an oral presentation to the rest of the class. Students are evaluated on 1) content and organization; 2) speech; 3) visuals. The listening students take notes, which can be used when playing Jeopardy, a fun way to review what the students learned while reading, listening, and taking notes.
References and Resources:
Wapiti, mensuel 192, mars 2003, pages 6 to 13.
To order copies: http://www.milanpresse.com/Boutique/Index.htm. (go to "Les anciens numéros", choose "Wapiti", click OK, and then choose the 192 issue).French language dictionaries
Attachments:
NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)Grading rubric to evaluate the oral presentations: (rubrique orale.doc)