L’Algérie
• create a map that shows where Algeria is located
• find or create illustrations to show what Algeria looks like
• find information about the cuisine of Algeria
• find information about activities that are common among Algerian young people
• learn about Algerian immigrants in France
• create a bulletin board and present the information to the rest of the class.
Flipbook à la mode
Find an old magazines to cut figures from. Then, cut out separately three heads, three torsos, and three pairs of legs. Next, student will randomly line up the heads, torsos, and pairs of legs and glue them to a rectangular piece of construction paper. Finally, keeping the heads exposed, student should cut out three or four more layers of construction paper and glue three new torsos and pairs of legs to each one in alignment with the three visible heads to create a “fashion” flipbook.
Le Pont d’Avignon
Teach students the words to the traditional French song «Le Pont d’Avignon». The music is available on the Internet and the lyrics are provided below.
«Sur le pont d’Avignon,
L’on y danse, l’on y danse;
Sur le pont d’Avignon,
L’on y danse tout en rond
Les beaux messieurs font comme ça,
Et puis encore comme ça.»
Mon magasin
Student creates a catalog page for their own department store. Student will select the items for his or her catalog page and include a description and price for each item. They will also include photographs or illustrations to accompany each item. Student lays out the images and descriptions to create an appealing catalog page. As an alternative, the students could research the names of French department stores, such as Les Galeries Lafayette and Le Bon Marché, and do research online in order to create a catalog page for one of these stores.
Ma famille
Student will use a poster board to create a real or imagined family tree. Have student include a picture for each family member and a paragraph explaining their relationship to the student. Imaginary family members can be cut out of magazines.
Une maison
Student will create an audiovisual home tour. Student can use their own home, a friend’s or a relative’s home, or a home featured in a magazine. First, have student select three rooms they wish to present and write short paragraphs describing each room. Next, student will make audio recordings of their paragraphs and select appropriate photographs for them. Students may create a poster, or enlarge individual photographs to accompany their audio recordings. Finally, student will present their tours to the class. Student has the option of videotaping or creating computer audiovisuals of their presentations.
Une mini-histoire
Find a copy of a map of a French town, or if unavailable, use the map of Villeneuve on page 202 in the text book. Model a short story about where one character goes and what he or she does while in the town. Add details to your story like date, time, and what the weather is like. When you are finished, hand out copies of your story with blanks for students to fill in. Have students fill in the blanks individually, with details they recall from your version, and review the story as a group.
Les modèles
Allow students to choose a Parisian landmark (historical monument, cathedral, museum, or other well-known structure). Have students learn more about their landmark, through library or Internet research, and then construct a small model of it. Students may use whatever materials they deem appropriate to create their models. Once their reproductions are complete, have them add a brief paragraph about the landmark and a map showing where it is located. Have students present their models to the class. As a variation, you may expand the project to include landmarks from anywhere in the francophone world.
Mon site Internet
Students will visit several French Web sites. Students will create their own French Web page layout. Select a topic for the Web page or make a personal Web page telling who you (they) are and what you (they) do. Create a visual model of what the Web page would look like. Student may create their layouts by hand or on the computer. Make sure page links like “home,” “search,” etc. are written in French.
Les voitures françaises
Student investigates what French cars look like. They may want to visit the Web sites of Renault, Peugeot-Citroën, and other car manufacturers. Student may create an artist’s rendition of one or several of the French cars using any artists medium (watercolor, marker, paint, etc.). Display the finished artwork on posterboard and have students vote on the car they would most like to buy.
Gratin de pommes de terre
This tasty side dish combines the flavors of potatoes, onions, and cheese. Serve with a main dish of fish, meat, or chicken. Since crème fraîche is not widely available in the United States, it is possible to create your own using any of the following combinations:
• half sour cream and half heavy cream
• heavy cream with some lemon juice or buttermilk added to it
• skim of the heavy cream layer of a large container of organic
plain whole milk yogurt
You may find recipes on the internet or use the following:
Ingredients
• approx. 1/2 cup grated Gruyère (Swiss) cheese
• 1 egg
• approx. 3 tsp. crème fraîche (1/2 sour cream, 1/2 heavy cream)
• approx. 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 onion, cut in thin slices
• approx. 3 cups medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut in slices
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 356° F. Butter a baking dish.
2. Put the potato slices in a bowl of water.
3. Cook the onions in butter on low heat until they soften.
4. Put a layer of potatoes in the baking dish. Top with a spoonful of onion.
5. Sprinkle with cheese. Continue to add layers of potatoes, onions, and cheese.
6. Beat the egg with the crème fraîche. Pour over the potatoes and add more cheese.
7. Cook for a half hour.
La musique francophone
Student will search the Internet to find out what singers, musical groups, and songs are currently popular in France or in francophone countries. Students will find photos of some of these artists and create a bulletin board about francophone music. Student may wish to draw comparisons between their findings and some of their favorite popular music groups and performers in the United States. As a bonus, student may wish to burn a CD from French mp3s or CDs that we can listen to in class.
Écrire un poème
French is rich in rhyme. (for example, the infinitive form of all verbs ending in-er rhyme.) Student will brainstorm some rhyming words they have learned in French. Then they will use their lists of words to create a short poem. You will recite your poem to the class.
MODEL:
Je n’aime pas nager, je préfère danser.
Mais je veux bien parler français.
Maintenant je ne peux pas nager,
Je ne peux pas danser.
Je dois étudier le français!
