Big Ideas
Big Ideas
Listening and viewing with intent supports our acquisition and understanding of French.
We can express ourselves and talk about the world around us in French.
With increasing fluency in French, we can participate more actively in reciprocal
involving back-and-forth participation
interactions.
We can share our experiences and perspective through 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.
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We can experience authentic Francophone cultures through creative works
works of artistic expression that represent the experience of the people from whose culture they are drawn (e.g., architecture, dance, filmmaking, musical composition, painting, poetry and prose, sculpture, theatre).
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Our understanding of culture is influenced by the languages we speak and the communities with which we engage.
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, letter patterns that have consistent pronunciations (e.g., ai, gn, -ille, -ment, oi, th, -tion, ui)
common, high-frequency vocabulary and sentence structures for communication in past, present, and future
Sentences change according to when events occur (i.e., a change in time frame requires a change in wording); for example, J’ai étudié pour mon test hier soir; Elles ne sont pas à l’école aujourd’hui; Nous allons regarder un film demain.
time frames:- a variety of questionsfor example, Combien…?; Comment…?; Est-ce que…?; Où…?; Pourquoi…?; Quand…?; Quel…?; Qu’est-ce que…?; Qui…?
- time and frequencyfor example, aujourd’hui, hier, demain, chaque jour, toujours, parfois, jamais
- descriptions of items, people, and personal interests
- comparisons and contrastsusing expressions such as aussi, mais, plus que, aussi que, moins que (e.g., Sarah est plus jeune que Nicole)
- reasons for preferences, emotions, and physical statesfor example, Je préfère…parce que…; J’ai peur parce que…; Elle est fatiguée parce que…
- beliefs and opinionsfor example, À mon avis…; Je pense que…; Selon moi…
- cultural aspectsfor example, activities, celebrations, clothing, dance, First Peoples regalia, festivals, food, history, land, music, practices, protocol, rituals, traditionsof communities
common elements of stories
place, characters, setting, plot
Francophone communities around the world
- for example, Belgium, France, Haiti, Morocco, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Switzerland, Vietnam
- could include information about celebrations, festivals, food, geography, history, population, territory, traditions
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, predict, and pronounce 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, gn, -ille, -ment, oi, th, -tion, ui), silent letters, les liaisons, and les élisions.
Comprehend key information and supporting details
answers to questions such as qui, qu’est-ce que, où, quand, combien, comment, pourquoi
in 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).
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
Exchange ideas and information using complete sentences, both orally and in writing
Comprehend and retell
understand key information and events in oral and written stories and retell stories orally or in writing
stories
Narrate
using common expressions of time to show logical progression
simple stories
Personal and social awareness
Explore and share information about Francophone communities around the world
Explore and share information about connections between indigenous communities and the French language
- for example, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities where French is spoken, in Canada (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); indigenous communities where French is spoken, around the world (e.g., communities in Gabonese Republic, Guiana, and Republic of Côte d’Ivoire)
- Discussion could include the fact that First Peoples writers in Quebec, such as those from the Innu Nation, have used the French language through prose and poetry to bring attention to the negative effects of colonization on their families and communities.
Explore ways in which Francophone cultures are expressed through creative works
Describe cultural aspects of Francophone communities
Explore ways to engage
for example, blogs, classroom and school visits (including virtual/online visits), clubs, concerts, courses, exchanges, festivals, films, pen-pal letters, magazines, newspapers, plays, social media and other online resources, stores/restaurants with service in French
in experiences with Francophone communities and people