Kathleen Fitzpatrick
Unit Plan
ACET: Methods/Lesson Planning
Dr. Alison Arnold
4/30/23
French 1
Unit: Bon Appétit : Talking about food in French
Duration: 4-5 weeks
Rationale/Goals:
Food is a universal topic that can help students connect with the French language. Learning
vocabulary associated with French food, students can enhance their communication skills and
expand their ability to interact with native speakers in a variety of situations. Discovering French
cuisine and sharing their own culinary experiences helps students develop empathy and
appreciation for diverse cultural perspectives. Learning about French food can be a fun,
practical, and culturally enriching experience.
(Interpersonal) Students will share orally with partners the foods they typically like to eat at
breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They will exchange information in French about foods they like
and dislike.
(Interpretive) Students will read and discuss sample menus from restaurants in the francophone
world. They will view and consider video clips of French speakers using food vocabulary and
talking about their eating habits.
(Presentational) Students will present a role play in which they prepare a restaurant dialog that
would take place in a francophone country. They will create a menu in French for a group
project.
MSDE Standards
1.1.NL Novice Low
A. Learners can communicate on some
very familiar topics using single words
and phrases that they have practiced
and memorized.
1.2L.NL Novice Low
A. Learners can recognize a few
memorized words and phrases when
they hear them spoken.
Objectives: Students will be able to:
1. Use basic memorized phrases appropriately to
carry on a brief conversations in French with the
teacher or classmates.
2. Ask and answer simple questions in French.
3. Communicate about foods and beverages for
breakfast, lunch and dinner in French.
4. Apply partitive articles appropriately (du, de la,
de l’, des).
2.1N Novice Range
Use appropriate gestures and oral
expressions for greetings, leave
takings, and common classroom or
social interactions.
1.3S.NL Novice Low
A. Learners can present information
about themselves and some other very
familiar topics using single words or
memorized phrases.
1.2R.NL Novice Low
In the target language: b. Connect some
words, phrases, or characters to their
meanings.
5. Exchange greetings in a culturally appropriate
manner.
6. Communicate preferences for foods and
beverages in French.
7. Offer, accept and decline food in brief oral
exchanges.
8. Use the present tense of aimer.
9. Use the conditional of vouloir.
10. Use aimer and vouloir in the negative: n’aimer
pas, ne vouloir pas.
11. Use tu and vous appropriately: distinguish
between the formal and informal pronouns and
the single and plural use of tu and vous.
12. Distinguish between masculine and feminine
nouns, use and write their articles appropriately in
simple memorized words and cognates.
13. Communicate a food order for a restaurant.
1.2R.NL Novice Low
B. Learners can identify a few
memorized words and phrases when
they read.
1.3W.NL Novice Low
A. Learners can copy some familiar
words, characters, or phrases.
4.2N Novice Range
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Compare and contrast tangible
products (e.g., toys, sports,
equipment, foods) of the target
culture and their own.
Compare simple patterns of
behavior or interaction in various
cultural settings (e.g.,
transportation to school, eating
habits).
Content:
14. Identify foods and beverages for breakfast, lunch
and dinner in French.
15. Read, translate, and illustrate basic French words
and cognates for display on the classroom Word
Wall.
16. Compare foods and food customs in France to
those in the United States.
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Basic greetings in French – students will use appropriate greeting and leave-taking
vocabulary.
Appropriate use of vous and tu – students will demonstrate their knowledge of the second
person plural and singular, and second person formal and informal.
Vocabulary of breakfast foods and drinks in French – students will be introduced to
breakfast food vocabulary and will practice using it in pairs.
The partitive article – students will be introduced to the French partitive articles and will
use them appropriately in context.
The present tense of aimer – students will talk about the foods they like using aimer.
Conditional tense of vouloir – students will discuss the foods they would like using the
conditional of vouloir.
Negative of aimer and vouloir – the negation of the verbs aimer and vouloir will be
introduced and used by the students in context as they work in pairs.
Vocabulary of lunch foods and drinks in French - students will be introduced to lunch
food vocabulary and will practice using it.
Order food in a restaurant in French – students will watch a video of ordering lunch in a
French restaurant. Phrases related to ordering food in a restaurant will be introduced.
Students will practice in pairs.
Role play a restaurant scene where students order food in a francophone country –
students will work in groups to write their own dialog for ordering in a restaurant to
present to the class.
Vocabulary of dinner foods and drinks in French - students will be introduced to dinner
food vocabulary and will practice using it.
Typical foods of France, the café and dining culture of France – a video will present
distinctive French dishes and drinks. Café and dining culture will also be explored.
Research online to find examples of restaurant menus from francophone countries –
students will do research for their French menu project. Elements of a French menu will
be examined.
Create a restaurant menu in French – students will work in groups to make their own
French menu to be displayed in the class.
Compare and contrast French food culture with that of the United States – students will
investigate the differences between French and American food culture in terms of what
and how food is eaten.
Learning Activities:
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Graphic organizers: to reinforce student learning of vocabulary and food concepts.
Gives structure and support for more independent and successful learning as students
build vocabulary knowledge and language skill. Scaffold for differentiated instruction.
Student white boards: students respond to teacher inquires on individual white boards.
Encourages and enhances active engagement. Provides immediate feedback. Supports
differentiation.
Kahoot: a fun activity to assess student learning toward the end of the lesson. Promotes
active engagement. Provides formative assessment, and immediate feedback. Encourages
collaboration. Supports differentiation.
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Oui/Non response cards: for quick reply to teacher questions. Promotes active
engagement. Providing formative assessment and immediate feedback. Supports
differentiation. Encourages collaboration.
Group projects: students work collaboratively as a group to complete a learning
activity: creating a French Menu. Supports active student engagement. Encourages
collaboration and teamwork, Develops problem-solving skills. Supports differentiation.
Gives opportunities for feedback and learning from peers.
Think-pair-share: students think individually about a prompt, discuss their thoughts
with a partner, then share their thoughts with the whole class. Encourages active
participation, critical thinking, and reflection. Gives opportunities for students to practice
communication and listening skills.
Role-Play: Students write a dialog and practice ordering food in French by role-playing
a restaurant scenario. One student plays the waiter, while the others student play the
customers. Practices real-life situations. Develops communication skills. Increases
student confidence in using French food vocabulary. Builds students' cultural awareness
and understanding of French food culture.
Assessments:
Formative assessments will include Kahoots, Exit Cards, response cards, think-pair-share,
collaborative activities, classroom dialogs, and teacher observations.
All-task (summative) assessments: Group project on “La Carte” (The Menu), a brief
performance assessment of student oral language skill, and a unit test covering the content of the
unit
Annotated Reading List:
DeMado, J., Champeny, S., Ponterio, M., & Ponterio, R. (2013). Bien dit! Holt
McDonald/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Textbook for French 1. Excellent resource utilizing the latest pedagogical theories for the
teaching and acquisition of a foreign language.
DeMado, J., Champeny, S., Ponterio, M., & Ponterio, R. (2018). Bien Dit!: Vocabulary and
Grammar Workbook Student Edition Level 1a/1b/1 (French Edition). Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt.
Companion workbook to the French textbook. Contains supplemental and enrichment
materials for each unit. Good for enrichment.
French Hacking. (2021, March 1). Learn French with short stories - fifteen beginner stories with
parallel French and English text. Retrieved April 29, 2023, from
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Learn-French-Short-Stories-Beginner/dp/B08XS6TTJN
Easy, appealing stories in French with parallel translation on each page. Contains a story
about French food. Appropriate for young adults, i.e., it’s not a children’s book.
Leblanc, M. (2021). Learn French with Arsène Lupin: Gentleman-thief / Arsène Lupin:
Gentleman-Cambrioleur: Interlinear French to English. (K. van den End, Trans.).
Hyplern.
The famous novel by Maurice Leblanc, Arsène Lupin: Gentleman-Cambrioleur, with a
word-for-word interlinear English translation of the French text. The translation of each
word is immediately available, making this book accessible to beginning French students.
Lingo Mastery. (n.d.). My World in French: Coloring book & picture dictionary. Retrieved April
29, 2023, from https://www.amazon.com/French-Picture-Dictionary-ColoringBook/dp/1951949498
Enrichment activities aligned with many lessons in the textbook. Contains sections on
French foods. Useful for differentiation. (Many students love to color.)
Merriam-Webster. (2005). Merriam-Webster's French-English dictionary ~ Merriam-Webster's
dictionnaire anglais-franç ais.
Comprehensive Adult French-English/English-French dictionary. A resource book for
students, used for translating, particularly when the internet is not available.
Rosetta Stone. (2022). French-English picture dictionary: Start building your child's French
vocabulary with over 500 words and phrases.
Full-color, illustrated French-English dictionary for enrichment. Includes key French
vocabulary: numbers, colors, animals, sports, and food, with phrases of common
greetings, and questions. Meant for younger children, but can be a helpful and
entertaining supplemental text for beginning language learners.
Technology Support:
Teacher computer or laptop
Smart board or large computer screen with controller
Word processing software for documents, slides (for daily lessons), etc.
Online access for showing online videos:
La Nourriture (Food Vocabulary):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzLdqHkWFQM&ab_channel=TheFrenchMinute
Les Boissons (Drinks Vocabulary):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E3JfX988xY&ab_channel=TheFrenchMinute
What Did You Have for Breakfast?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e43g6z-xZUc&ab_channel=EasyFrench
What Is Your Favorite French Food?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr1V8HDt8GQ&list=PLnazreCxpqRnOguahiHwdvImj_5kahn6&index=5&ab_channel=EasyFrench
Online computer games:
Blooket: https://www.blooket.com/
Duolingo: https://www.duolingo.com/
Kahoot: https://kahoot.com/
Websearch for French Menus:
Google image search for “French Menu examples”:
https://tinyurl.com/24m2y4dm
Pinterest collection of French Menus:
https://www.pinterest.ca/yardieliz/menus-fran%C3%A7ais/
Student Chromebooks (or cell phones for playing games or accessing online translation apps)
Materials:
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Student White Boards, dry-erase markers, and white board erasers
Graphic organizers related to food and food culture
Capture sheets for Food vocabulary
Samples of French restaurant menus
Supplies for students to create a menu: large paper, markers (or can be done electronically)
Index cards for Warm-ups, Exit cards, Oui/Non response cards, and Word Wall activity, with
markers