“Essential Questions/Enduring Understandings and Classroom Applications”
Shannon Stone
Edison Intermediate School – Westfield, NJ 07090
French
Content Area: French
Grade: Novice-Mid (French 8th grade)
Standard 7: Communication & Culture for the 21st Century
All students will be able to communicate, to understand and be understood in real world contexts, in at least one world language in addition to English.
Descriptive Statement:
Students will use language to understand and interpret spoken and written language (interpretive), engage in meaningful conversation and negotiate
meaning (interpersonal), and present information, concepts and ideas (presentational) as they gain understanding of the perspectives of the
culture(s)while experiencing its products and practices, make connections with other content areas, compare the language/culture studied with their
own, and participate in home and global communities in or outside a school setting.
Strand: Interpretive Interpersonal Presentational
Essential Questions
Enduring Understanding
You may leave this space blank.
You may leave this space blank.
The essential questions can be taken directly from the standards
document. First determine the proficiency level of your students. Then
select the appropriate grade level band. Next, select the questions that
are appropriate for each of the three tasks: interpretive, interpersonal,
and presentational. Copy and paste the appropriate questions in this
space.
The enduring understandings can be taken directly from the standards
document. First determine the proficiency level of your students. Then
select the appropriate grade level band. Next, select the questions that are
appropriate for each of the three tasks: interpretive, interpersonal, and
presentational. Copy and paste the appropriate questions in this space.
Content
Cumulative Progress Indicators (CPIs)
You may leave this space blank.
Interpretive:
Interpersonal:
Presentational:
Determine the proficiency level of your students. Select content
N-M 3: Identify familiar N-M 3: Ask and respond N-M 2: Copy/write
that is appropriate for that content area. Copy and paste it into this people, places, and
to simple questions, make words, phrases, or simple
guided texts on familiar
section.
objects based on oral
requests, and express
and/or simple written
descriptions.
N-M 4: Comprehend
brief oral and written
messages from ageappropriate, culturally
authentic selections on
familiar topics.
N-M T: View a podcast,
video clip, on-line video,
on-line audio clip, or
other emerging on-line
vehicle; or, read a blog, a
social networking site, or
an on-line site related to
targeted themes.
preferences using
memorized words and
phrases.
topics.
N-M T: Create a
podcast, videocast, video
N-M 4: Exchange
clip, multimedia
information using words,
presentation, electronic
phrases, and short
poster, or use other
sentences practiced in
emerging technologies to
class on familiar topics or
create a product for
topics studied in other
posting on a social
core content areas.
network, educational, or
personal webpage, or to
N-M T: Exchange
be sent to a target
information through a
language audience via evideo/phone/on-line
mail.
conference, texting,
IMing, e-pal, or other
emerging on-line
vehicles.
Instructional Focus
(Describe the process: How do you set the stage, provide comprehensible input and check for understanding? What are some activities that you
practice in class to prepare students for the final assessment task? Please fill in that information below. Give at least one example for each mode.)
Interpretive mode:
Create a PPT that will show students photos of our “Bonhomme” in Senegal (photos that I took with the Bonhomme) this summer while in Senegal.
Tell about his travels IN FRENCH (students will have learned the key vocabulary needed, and will learn new vocabulary via the PPT). Use photos to talk
about Senegalese culture.
Interpersonal mode:
Students will talk about similarities and differences between America and Senegal.
Will create a wiki page to fill in differences and similarities
Presentational mode:
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Interdisciplinary/Assessment Implementation Strategies

Interdisciplinary Connections
Social Studies (learning about other cultures)
Geography (Africa)

Technology Integration
Internet searches (interpretive)
Wiki (interpersonal)
Voicethread (interpersonal)
I-movie (or other multimedia presentation) (presentational)

Global Perspectives
Summative:
Here you should indicate what your three final assessments will be. Your interpretive task should lead to
an interpersonal task which should lead to a final presentational task. Keep in mind that there should be a
real-life purpose for the communication.
Interpretive:
Students will look at real websites and videos/advertisements that talk about charity organizations/humanitarian causes. They will be asked to write
down new/key vocabulary. They will be asked to choose one and summarize (in English) what their goal is. Students will then choose and organization
that they would like to support.
Interpersonal:
Students will get together with others who want to support the same organization. They will ask, in French why others were drawn to this cause and
discuss why it is important to support (they will, as a group, make a list or reasons). Students will then be asked to write a list of questions that they
will ask those in other groups to find out more about their organization.
Presentational:
Students will study the similarities and differences discussed. In groups, they will create a poll on doodle and place it on the wiki page. The poll will be
finding out which causes are most relevant to the other 8th grade french students. They will then choose an organization/cause (already in existence
or one that they want to create) that they would like to support and create a wiki page to promote their cause. On the page they will be asked to write
a summary about their organization (in French) and to plan an event/fundraiser/way to go about promoting their cause and raising awareness/funds
for it. They will then present a multi-media presentation to the class (trying to make others aware of their cause), in French. Ideally, the students will
become invested in the cause and share it with the larger community.
You may leave this section blank or you may provide some “along the way” assessment strategies that you
will employ to make sure that your students are “getting it.”
Formative:
Interpretive:
Interpersonal:
Presentational:
Content Area: World Languages
Grade: Novice Mid Proficiency
Standard 7: Communication & Culture for the 21st Century
All students will be able to communicate, to understand and be understood in real world contexts, in at least one world language in addition to English.
Descriptive Statement:
Students will use language to understand and interpret spoken and written language (interpretive), engage in meaningful conversation and negotiate
meaning (interpersonal), and present information, concepts and ideas (presentational) as they gain understanding of the perspectives of the
culture(s)while experiencing its products and practices, make connections with other content areas, compare the language/culture studied with their
own, and participate in home and global communities in or outside a school setting.
Strand: Interpretive Interpersonal Presentational
Essential Questions
K-5:
Enduring Understanding
K-5:
I will understand that…
How can I better understand when I do not know everything?
Listening for familiar words and watching the speaker for clues may help me
figure out what the speaker is saying.
Even though I don’t know all the words that are written, I can figure out the
main idea by paying attention to titles, pictures, and familiar expressions.
6-12:
I will understand that…
6-12:
How do I understand what I hear and read when I am just beginning to
learn a new language?
Actively thinking about what I already know helps me better understand.
When listening, watching the speaker closely or examining other visual clues
help me to understand more.
When reading, looking at pictures, charts, titles and other visual cues will
help me to better understand.
Content
Cumulative Progress Indicators (CPIs)
Content includes: Personal Identity (self, friends, family, pets), Home and Interpretive:
Community, Basic Needs, Geography and Climate (Social Studies and
Science Connection), Wellness and Leisure Activities (Health Connection)
within the context of the home and target cultures.
NM 4 - Comprehend
brief oral and written
messages on familiar
topics.
Interpersonal:
Presentational:
N-M 3: Ask and respond
to simple questions,
make requests, and
express preferences
using memorized words
and phrases.
N-M 3: Present orally or
in writing information
from age-appropriate,
culturally authentic
selections.
Instructional Focus
Interpretive mode: Comprehensible input prepares students for the summative assessment.
 Set the context for the unit by coming to class dressed as a traveler complete with sunglasses, a camera, passport and a packed suitcase.
Use multimedia presentation tool to showcase what students will do and the places they will visit during the trip.
 Scaffold activities so that students acquire the vocabulary and language functions.
Interpersonal mode: Information Gap activities and Role Plays prepare students for summative assessment.
You and your brother are packing your suitcases to go to summer camp. To check that you each have what you will need, compare what you have put
in your suitcases.
Presentational mode: Graphic Organizers prepare students for the summative assessment task.

Use a KWHL chart as students work through the unit. This will help them to organize what they are learning throughout the unit.
Interdisciplinary/Assessment Implementation Strategies

Interdisciplinary Connections
Geography (locations, map skills)
Science (weather, temperature)
Math (Currency conversion)
Language Arts Literacy (Comprehension & Communication strategies)

Technology Integration
Internet searches (interpretive)
Digital voice recording (interpersonal)
Pod-cast and/or Multimedia presentation tools (Presentational)

Global Perspectives
Take a virtual trip
Research products and practices of target culture (food, meal times, schedules, 24 hour clock)
Sample Assessment Items
Summative:
Interpretive:
You have traveled to the target country and are getting ready to decide what to do for the day. In order to help you decide, you will look at the
weather forecast on the Internet to help you decide how you should dress and where you will go. (Teacher provides students with an authentic
weather forecast from a target language country – this can be in either print or audio-visual format.)
Interpersonal:
While traveling from one city to another, you leave your suitcase in the train. You go to the police station to file a report. The officer asks you very
specific questions about yourself and the contents of your suitcase.
Presentational:
Create a Podcast, or any type of multimedia presentation for posting on your social networking site. Describe what you now know about the people,
places, and things to do in the target language culture.
Formative:
Interpretive:

Name the person/Point to the person who has a picture, manipulative of…

Signaling Thumbs up if the answer is ‘yes’; thumbs down if the answer is ‘no’.

Cover your eyes. I will remove a picture/item. Open your eyes. What is missing?
Interpersonal:

Teacher circulates and monitors students’ completion of task by having a rubric for assessing students’ participation in this activity.
Presentational:
 Teacher periodically checks students’ organizers to assess student learning.