Big Ideas
Big Ideas
Listening and viewing with intent helps us increase our understanding of French.
Using various strategies helps us understand and acquire language.
With simple French, we can discuss our interests.
Reciprocal
involving back-and-forth participation
interactions are possible even with limited French.
Stories
Stories are narrative texts that can be oral, written, or visual. Stories can be simple or complex and may be derived from real or imagined experiences. They can be used to seek and impart knowledge, entertain, share history, and strengthen a sense of identity. Examples are indigenous oral histories, personal stories, skits, series of pictures, songs, student-created stories.
help us to acquire language and understand the world exploring, for example, thoughts, feelings, knowledge, culture, and identity
around us.
Deepening our knowledge of Francophone communities helps us develop cultural awareness.
Content
Learning Standards
Content
French letter patterns
such as groupings of letters that make the same sound (e.g., au, aux, eau, ô, os), rhyming words, and letter patterns that have consistent pronunciations (e.g., ai, -ille, -ment, -tion)
common, high-frequency vocabulary and sentence structures for communicating meaning:
- a variety of questionsfor example, Combien…?; Comment…?; Est-ce que…?; Où…?; Pourquoi…?; Quand…?; Quel…?; Qu’est-ce que…?; Qui…?
- descriptionsdescribing, for example, family members, Elders, friends, teachers, heroes, characters in texts (e.g., Mon père est enseignant. Il est grand. Il aime les chiens. Il joue au tennis.)of others
- locations and directions
- for example, à gauche, au parc, sur la table
- Students may also use gestures to enhance communication.
- reasons for likes, dislikes, and preferencesfor example, J’aime…parce que…; J’adore…parce que…; Je n’aime pas…parce que…; Je déteste…parce que…; Je préfère…parce que…
- simple comparisonsfor example, J’aime les pommes, mais je préfère les bananes; Elle joue au basketball, mais je joue au soccer
- cultural aspectsfor example, activities, celebrations, clothing, First Peoples regalia, festivals, food, land, music, practices, protocol, traditionsof communities
common elements of stories
place, characters, setting, plot
communities where French is spoken across Canada
- for example, les Acadiens, les Franco-Albertains, les Franco-Colombiens, les Fransaskois, les Québécois; Métis communities in Baie St. Paul, MB, Fort Nelson, BC, and Île-à-la-Crosse, SK
- could include information about celebrations, festivals, food, geography, history, population, territory, traditions
communities where French is spoken around the world
locations of some Francophone communities around the world (e.g., Belgium, France, Haiti, Morocco, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Switzerland, Vietnam)
cultural aspects of Francophone communities
ethics of cultural appropriation
use of a cultural motif, theme, “voice,” image, knowledge, story, song, or drama, shared without permission or without appropriate context or in a way that may misrepresent the real experience of the people from whose culture it is drawn
and plagiarism
Curricular Competency
Learning Standards
Curricular Competency
Thinking and communicating
Recognize the relationships between French letter patterns and pronunciation
Identify groupings of letters that make the same sound (e.g., au, aux, eau, ô, os), rhyming words, letter patterns that have consistent pronunciations (e.g., ai, -ille, -ment, –tion), and silent letters.
Comprehend key information and supporting details
answers to questions such as qui, qu’est-ce que, où, quand, combien, comment, pourquoi
in slow, clear speech and other simple texts “Text” refers to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital communication, including authentic or adapted texts (e.g., advertisements, articles, biographies, blogs, brochures, cartoons, charts, conversations, diagrams, emails, essays, films, forms, graphs, indigenous oral histories, instructions, interviews, invitations, letters, narratives, news reports, novels, nursery rhymes, online profiles, paintings, photographs, picture books, poems, presentations, songs, speeches, stories, surveys, text messages).
Comprehend
understand key information and events in stories
simple stories
Use various strategies to support communication
- include strategies to comprehend and express meaning
- will vary depending on the context and the individual student
- for example, interpreting body language; listening to intonation and expression; paraphrasing, reformulating, reiterating, and repeating; substituting words; using cognates, context, images, parts of speech, prior knowledge, reference tools, similar words in first language, and text features
Seek clarification
using a variety of statements and questions (e.g., Je ne comprends pas; Répétez, s’il vous plaît; Répète, s’il te plaît; Peux-tu répéter?; Que veut dire…?; Comment dit-on…?; Comment écrit-on…?)
of meaning
Use intonation and tone
for example, using question and statement intonation patterns, using tone to express different emotions, practising cadence of spoken French
effectively to communicate meaning
Follow instructions to complete a task
Exchange ideas and information using complete sentences, both orally and in writing
Express themselves and comprehend others through various modes of presentation
making use of those best suited to their own and others’ diverse abilities (e.g., digital, visual, and verbal modes; students may make use of aids such as charts, graphics, illustrations, music, organizers, photographs, tables, and videos)
Personal and social awareness
Explore and share information about Francophone communities across Canada and around the world
Explore and share information about connections between First Peoples communities and the French language
for example, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities in Canada where French is spoken (e.g., Huron Wendake Nation, Innu Nation, Micmac Nation, and Mohawk Nation in Quebec; Métis communities in Baie St. Paul, MB, Fort Nelson, BC, and Île-à-la-Crosse, SK)
Describe cultural aspects of Francophone communities