SCHOOL DISTRICT OF THE CHATHAMS
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CONTENT AREA(S): World Languages
COURSE/GRADE LEVEL(S): French 1/ Grade 6
I.
Course Overview
Sixth grade French is designed for non-FLES students of French. Through the use of
not only textbook and ancillary materials, but by incorporating technology and
authentic resources in the classroom, teachers will provide students with the
opportunity to begin to develop proficiency in spoken, aural, and written French. The
program will allow students to use basic French vocabulary and grammatical
structures in order to engage in simple conversations, to develop their receptive
language skills, and to participate in various cultural activities.
The goals of this course, as aligned with the 2009 New Jersey Core Curriculum
Content Standards, are for students to:
1) Build language and communication skills in the interpretive, interpersonal, and
presentational modes.
2) Begin the process of language acquisition by focusing on the skills of listening,
reading, speaking, and writing.
3) Develop an interest in the French language and culture and appreciate the
differences among the various French-speaking cultures in the world.
4) Achieve proficiency at the ACTFL Novice Mid-High to Intermediate-Low level.
II. Units of Study
Unit 1: Ou allons-nous?
Unit 2: La vie ecoliere
Unit 3: Comment est ma mason?
Unit 4: Ou sommes nous et qu’est-ce que nous faisons?
III. Learning Objectives
All students will be able to use a world language in addition to English to engage in meaningful
conversation, to understand and interpret spoken and written language, and to present
information, concepts, and ideas, while also gaining an understanding of the perspectives of
other cultures. Through language study, they will make connections with other content areas,
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compare the language and culture studied with their own, and participate in home and global
communities.
The specific objectives, as aligned with the 2009 NJCCCS are as follows:
Students will be able to:
1. Recognize familiar words and phrases, understand the main idea, and infer the meaning
of some highly contextualized, unfamiliar spoken or written words contained in culturally
authentic materials using electronic information sources related to targeted themes.
2. Demonstrate comprehension of a series of oral and written directions, commands, and
requests through appropriate physical response.
3. Recognize some common gestures and cultural practices associated with the target
culture(s).
4. Identify people, places, objects, and activities in daily life based on oral or written
descriptions.
5. Demonstrate comprehension of short conversations and brief written messages on
familiar topics.
6. Identify the main idea and other significant ideas in readings from age- and levelappropriate, culturally authentic materials.
7. Identify the main idea and most supporting details contained in culturally authentic
materials using electronic information sources related to targeted themes.
8. Demonstrate comprehension of oral and written instructions connected to daily
activities through appropriate responses.
9. Compare and contrast the use of verbal and non-verbal etiquette (i.e., the use of
gestures, intonation, and cultural practices) in the target culture(s) and in one’s own
culture.
10. Use the target language to describe people, places, objects, and daily activities learned
about through oral or written descriptions.
11. Demonstrate comprehension of conversations and written information on a variety of
topics.
12. Identify the main idea, theme, and most supporting details in readings from age- and
level-appropriate, culturally authentic materials.
13. Infer the meaning of a few unfamiliar words in some new contexts.
14. Compare and contrast unique linguistic elements in English and the target
language.
15. Use digital tools to exchange basic information by recombining memorized words,
phrases, and sentences on topics related to self and targeted themes.
16. Give and follow a series of oral and written directions, commands, and requests for
participating in age- and level- appropriate classroom and cultural activities.
17. Imitate appropriate gestures, intonation, and common idiomatic expressions of the
target culture(s)/language during daily interactions.
18. Ask and respond to questions, make requests, and express preferences in various
social situations.
19. Converse on a variety of familiar topics and/or topics studied in other content areas.
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20. Give and follow a series of oral and written directions, commands, and requests for
participating in age- and level-appropriate classroom and cultural activities.
21. Use appropriate gestures, intonation, and common idiomatic expressions of the target
culture(s)/language in familiar situations.
22. Ask and respond to factual and interpretive questions of a personal nature or on
school-related topics.
23. Engage in topics studied in other content areas (i.e. metric, Celsius, graphing, basic
math problems, etc.)
24. Create and present brief messages, poems, rhymes, songs, short plays, or role-plays
using familiar vocabulary orally or in writing.
25. Describe in writing people and things from the home and school environment.
26. Tell or retell stories from age- and level-appropriate, culturally authentic materials
orally or in writing.
27. Tell or write about cultural products associated with the target culture(s), and
simulate common cultural practices.
28. Present student-created and/or authentic short plays, skits, poems, songs, stories, or
reports.
29. Use language creatively to respond in writing to a variety of oral or visual prompts.
30. Compare and contrast age- and level-appropriate culturally authentic materials orally
and in writing.
31. Compare and contrast cultural products and cultural practices associated with the
target culture(s) and one’s own culture, orally, in writing, or through simulation.
IV. Essential Questions
Unit 1:
1) Who am I and how can I get to know you?
2) Where is French spoken in the world?
3) What is the weather like during the year in French-speaking countries throughout the
world?
4) What clothing do I wear in different weather situations?
5) How do I feel about the different seasons and weather?
5) Can I describe myself and others?
Unit 2:
1)
2)
3)
4)
What is my school life like?
How is my school life different than that of my French-speaking pen pal’s?
How can I tell someone what I want, what I need, and what I already have?
What do I do in my free time and when I’m at school?
Unit 3:
1) What is my home life like?
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2) How is my home life similar to and different from that of someone in a French-speaking
country?
Unit 4:
1) What is my town like?
2) How is my town similar to and different from that of someone in a French-speaking
location?
3) How do I address people according to my relationship with them?
4) Where do I go in my town and why?
5) What do I need to know in order to attend a World Cup Soccer match?
6) Can I identify and convert the various currencies used in French speaking countries?
V. Key Performance and Benchmark Tasks
Unit 1:
1) Packing a suitcase: oral/written description
2) Reading/creating a passport
3) Reading/creating/listening to weather forecasts
4) Identifying French-speaking locations on a map
5) Creating an email and personal introduction slideshow for the students’ host families
6) Providing a written description of a thief who has stolen a personal item/ Identifying a
“thief” after hearing an aural description of the thief
Unit 2:
1) Creation of a daily schedule specifying classes and extra-curricular activities.
2) Written/oral description of daily routine in which activities and times are identified.
3) Completion of a letter/postcard in which students describe their pen pals’ school lives.
Unit 3:
1) Design a house and provide both an oral and written description of the house in French
2) Build a house according to an oral and written description
3) Create an advertisement for a house for sale
4) Retelling and dramatization of The Three Bears
5) Creation of a family album in French
Unit 4:
1) Creation of dialogues to:
a) Invite others to an event
b) Purchase tickets for an event
c) Purchase snacks at a concession stand
d) Ask for and provide directions to a specific location
e) Obtain a signature from a famous soccer player
2) Design of a town along with a set of written directions to a specific place in the town and
a written description of the town
3) Creation of podcasts that describe the game that is attended
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VI. Instructional Materials
Unit 1:
1) Teacher-generated PowerPoint presentations
2) Flashcards/Picture prompts
3) Authentic passports and airline tickets in French
4) Web-based weather forecasts (aural and written)
5) Teacher-generated Smart Board exercises
6) World maps
Unit 2:
1) Teacher-generated PowerPoint slideshows and Smart Board activities.
2) Websites for the ordering of school supplies/materials in French.
3) Picture prompts/flashcards
4) Clocks/Telling time Bingo
5) Authentic French schedules and school information
Unit 3:
1) Les Trois Ours
2) Teacher-generated Power Point presentations and Smart Board activities
3) Visual prompts: flash cards, digital, props
4) Authentic French housing advertisements/websites
5) Photos of various houses throughout the French-speaking world
Unit 4:
1) Flashcards and picture prompts for vocabulary
2) Maps of French-speaking countries
3) Authentic train tickets and sporting event tickets
4) Recordings of authentic French cheers and game announcements
5) Video of World Cup Soccer
6) Photos and video of French towns