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COURSE OUTLINE

Course Title: Core French
Course Code: FSF1D
Grade: 9
Course Type: Academic
Credit Value: 1
Prerequisite: Minimum of 600 hours of French instruction, or equivalent
Curriculum Policy Document: French as a Second Language - Core, Extended and Immersion French, The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10, 19992007
Department: French
Course Developer: Mrs. Norma Allen
Development Date: 2007
Course Revised by: -
Revision Date: -

Course Description:

This course emphasizes the further development of oral communication, reading, and writing skills. Students will build on and apply their knowledge of French while exploring a variety of themes, such as relationships, social trends, and careers. Thematic readings, which include a selection of short stories, articles, and poems, will serve as stepping stones to oral and written activities.

Unit	Titles and Descriptions	Time and Sequence
Unit 1	Les Métiers Gender and how it is treated in the French language is emphasized in this unit. (male and female endings, personal pronouns, recognizing gender words, agreement of adjectives in number and gender. As well, students are engaged in a review of verbs from prior French language learning. The negative and negative passé compose are also covered.	22 hours
Unit 2	La Vie quotidienne This unit begins with a focus on the present and the passé compose. Strong emphasis is given to how to show possession (Possessive adjectives, how pronouns show possession). Reflexive verbs are studied next. Using aller, regular and irregular verbs to express ideas in the future are covered concluding with expressing ideas in time (yesterday, today, tomorrow). Finally, the imparfait is covered (Repeated or continuous actions in the past).	25 hours
Unit 3	La Poésie The unit begins by looking at the verbs croire, penser, expirer, vouloir, etre, venire and aller as well as at relative pronouns. All this leads in icely to reading and writing poetry.	12 hours
Unit 4	Le Théâtre This is the Drama Unit for the course. The play being used is Cyrano de Bergerac. Activities include reading parts of the play, watching the movie adaptation, reading the synopsis, designing a poster for the play, and reading and writing character sketches. In addition, the comparative and superlative adjectives and adverbs are introduced.	16 hours
Unit 5	Le Roman This unit uses cultural studies to continue to work on the reading, writing, listening and speaking activities. As well, students will develop an understanding and appreciation of French language and culture from looking at other places in the world where French is spoken.	20 hours
Unit 6	La Francophonie The final unit uses cultural studies to continue to work on the reading, writing, listening and speaking activities. As well, students will develop an understanding and appreciation of French language and culture from looking at other places in the world where French is spoken.	12 hours
	Final Evaluation The final evaluation consists of listening, speaking, reading and writing. A different format is used for the listening and speaking components than the reading and writing. The listening and speaking are interactive with the teacher while the reading and writing is a proctored 2 hour written exam. Together these final assessment tasks constitute 30% of the student’s final mark.	2 hours
	Total	110 hours

Teaching / Learning Strategies:

Students will be involved in a variety of reading, writing, listening and speaking activities. The development of oral communication skills provides the foundation for students to read and write effectively. Students will have opportunities both to listen and to speak French. Vocabulary which is relevant to the unit’s work is introduced at the beginning of a unit. The reading activities will help students to build vocabulary, and to develop communication skills. Students will read a variety of written texts which will assist them in learning sentence structure.

Assessment and Evaluation Strategies of Student Performance:

Assessment is a systematic process of collecting information or evidence about a student’s progress towards meeting the learning expectations. Assessment is embedded in the instructional activities throughout a unit. The expectations for the assessment tasks are clearly articulated and the learning activity is planned to make that demonstration possible. This process of beginning with the end in mind helps to keep focus on the expectations of the course. The purpose of assessment is to gather the data or evidence and to provide meaningful feedback to the student about how to improve or sustain the performance in the course. Scaled criteria designed as rubrics are often used to help the student to recognize their level of achievement and to provide guidance on how to achieve the next level. Although assessment information can be gathered from a number of sources (the student himself, the student’s course mates, the teacher), evaluation is the responsibility of only the teacher. For evaluation is the process of making a judgment about the assessment information and determining the percentage grade or level.

Overall Expectations - FSF1D

Oral Communication
Overall Expectations
FOC.01	listen and respond to short, structured spoken texts;
FOC.02	listen and respond to a variety of short, simple, non-structured media works;
FOC.03	express ideas and opinions in short conversations and teacher-guided discussions;
FOC.04	make oral presentations on a variety of topics;
FOC.05	use appropriate language conventions during oral communication activities.
Reading
Overall Expectations
FRE.01	read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of simple texts;
FRE.02	read a range of simple texts to gather information and to expand their knowledge of the French language;
FRE.03	identify and understand language conventions used in their reading materials.
Writing
Overall Expectations
FWR.01	express ideas and opinions in short written texts;
FWR.02	create short written texts in structured and open-ended situations;
FWR.03	identify and use appropriate language conventions in their written work.

The Final Grade:

The evaluation of the student’s achievement in this course is based on the student’s achievement of the curriculum expectations. The percentage grade represents the student’s overall achievement and reflects the corresponding level of achievement as described in the Achievement chart for this discipline. A credit will be granted if the final percentage awarded is 50% or more. The final grade will be determined as follows:

• 70% of the grade will be based upon assessment tasks completed throughout the course. This portion of the grade will reflect the student’s most consistent level of achievement throughout the course, although special consideration will be given to the most recent evidence of achievement.



• 30% final evaluation consists of listening, speaking, reading and writing. A different format is used for the listening and speaking components than the reading and writing. The listening and speaking are interactive with the teacher while the reading and writing is a proctored 2 hour written exam. Together these final assessment tasks constitute 30% of the student’s final mark.

The report card will focus on two distinct but related aspects of student achievement; the achievement of curriculum expectations and the development of learning skills. The report card will contain separate sections for the reporting of these two aspects.

A Summary Description of Achievement in Each Percentage Grade Range and Corresponding Level of Achievement
Percentage Grade Range	Achievement Level	Summary Description
80-100%	Level 4	A very high to outstanding level of achievement. Achievement is above the provincial standard.
70-79%	Level 3	A high level of achievement. Achievement is at the provincial standard.
60-69%	Level 2	A moderate level of achievement. Achievement is below, but approaching, the provincial standard.
50-59%	Level 1	A passable level of achievement. Achievement is below the provincial standard.
below 50%	Level R	Insufficient achievement of curriculum expectations. A credit will not be granted.

Achievement Chart - Grades 9 - 10, French As a Second Language

Category	50-59% (Level 1)	60-69% (Level 2)	70-79% (Level 3)	80-100% (Level 4)
Knowledge and Understanding - Subject-specific content acquired in each course (knowledge), and the comprehension of its meaning and significance (understanding)
	The student:
Knowledge of language forms and conventions	demonstrates limited knowledge of language forms and conventions	demonstrates some knowledge of language forms and conventions	demonstrates considerable knowledge of language forms and conventions	demonstrates thorough knowledge of language forms and conventions
Understanding of content	demonstrates limited understanding of content	demonstrates some understanding of content	demonstrates considerable understanding of content	demonstrates thorough and insightful understanding of content

Category	50-59% (Level 1)	60-69% (Level 2)	70-79% (Level 3)	80-100% (Level 4)
Thinking - The use of critical and creative thinking skills and/or processes
	The student:
Critical and creative thinking skills	uses critical and creative thinking skills with limited effectiveness	uses critical and creative thinking skills with moderate effectiveness	uses critical and creative thinking skills with considerable effectiveness	uses critical and creative thinking skills with a high degree of effectiveness
Inquiry skills (e.g., formulating questions; planning; selecting strategies and resources; analysing, interpreting, and assessing information; forming conclusions)	applies few of the skills involved in an inquiry process	applies some of the skills involved in an inquiry process	applies most of the skills involved in an inquiry process	applies all or almost all of the skills involved in an inquiry process

Category	50-59% (Level 1)	60-69% (Level 2)	70-79% (Level 3)	80-100% (Level 4)
Communication - The conveying of meaning through various forms
	The student:
Communication of information and ideas	communicates information and ideas with limited clarity	communicates information and ideas with some clarity	communicates information and ideas with considerable clarity	communicates information and ideas with a high degree of clarity, and with confidence
Use of language	uses language with limited accuracy and effectiveness	uses language with some accuracy and effectiveness	uses language with considerable accuracy and effectiveness	uses language with a high degree of accuracy and effectiveness
Communication for different audiences and purposes, using various forms	communicates with a limited sense of audience and purpose, using few appropriate forms	communicates with some sense of audience and purpose, using few appropriate forms	communicates with a clear sense of audience and purpose, using few appropriate forms	communicates with a strong sense of audience and purpose, using few appropriate forms

Category	50-59% (Level 1)	60-69% (Level 2)	70-79% (Level 3)	80-100% (Level 4)
Application - The use of knowledge and skills to make connections within and between various contexts
	The student:
Application of knowledge and skills in familiar contexts	applies knowledge and skills in familiar contexts with limited effectiveness	applies knowledge and skills in familiar contexts with some effectiveness	applies knowledge and skills in familiar contexts with considerable effectiveness	applies knowledge and skills in familiar contexts with a high degree of effectiveness
Use of language in new contexts	demonstrates limited ability in using the language in new contexts	demonstrates some ability in using the language in new contexts	demonstrates considerable ability in using the language in new contexts	demonstrates a high degree of ability and confidence in using the language in new contexts
Making connections (e.g., between personal experiences and the subject, between FSL and other subjects, and between FSL and the world outside the school)	makes connections with limited effectiveness	makes connections with some effectiveness	makes connections with considerable effectiveness	makes connections with a high degree of effectiveness

Resources:

• FSF1D online course of study
• French-English dictionary
• Some external websites (eg. jobfuturesCanada, Career Cruising)
• Movie version of Cyrano de Bergerac
• Materials for making posters
• Access to a digital camera to take pictures of the poster

Possible Resource Texts:

• Sans frontières 9^e, Catenacci et al., Pearson Education Canada, 2000

Program Planning Considerations for French:

Teachers who are planning a program in French must take into account considerations in a number of important areas. Essential information that pertains to all disciplines is provided in the companion piece to this document, The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 to 12: Program Planning and Assessment, 2000. The areas of concern to all teachers that are outlined there include the following:

• types of secondary school courses
• education for exceptional students
• the role of technology in the curriculum
• English as a second language (ESL) and English literacy development (ELD)
• career education
• cooperative education and other workplace experiences
• health and safety

Considerations relating to the areas listed above that have particular relevance for program planning in French are noted here.

Education for Exceptional Students. In planning courses in French, teachers should take into account the needs of exceptional students as set out in their Individual Education Plan. French courses reflect the dual nature of Canadian linguistics, and offer a vast array of opportunities for exceptional students. Students who use alternative techniques for communication may find a venue for their talents as French writers. Just as French responds to the needs and demands of the greater world of work in our country, French courses are largely shaped by the needs and demands of students who may eventually end up in this greater world.

The Role of Technology in the Curriculum. Information technology is considered a learning tool that must be accessed by French students when the situation is appropriate. As a result, students will develop transferable skills through their experience with word processing, internet research, presentation software, and telecommunication tools, as would be expected in any business environment. In particular, there will be much learning with respect to the use of the special characters in the French language for communication purposes.

English As a Second Language and English Literacy Development (ESL/ELD). This French course can provide a wide range of options to address the needs of ESL/ELD students. Detailed analysis of the components of sentences aid ESL students in mastering not only the French language but as well, the English language and all of its idiosyncrasies. We have purposely chosen literature from Europe to enrich the student's learning experience. In addition, since many occupations in Canada require employees with capabiliies in both the French and English language, many students will learn how their backgrounds and French language skills can contribute to their success in the larger world.

Career Education. French definitely helps prepare students for employment in a huge number of diverse areas. The skills, knowledge and creativity that students acquire through this French course are essential for a wide range of careers. Being able to express oneself in a clear concise manner without ambiguity in a second language, would be an overall intention of this French course, as it helps students prepare for success in their working lives.

Cooperative Education and Other Workplace Experiences. By applying the skills they have developed, students will readily connect their classroom learning to real-life activities in the world in which they live. Cooperative education and other workplace experiences will broaden their knowledge of employment opportunities in a wide range of fields. In addition, students will increase their understanding of workplace practices and the nature of the employer-employee relationship. Teachers of French should maintain links with community-based businesses to ensure that students have access to hands-on experiences that will reinforce the knowledge they have gained in school.

Health and Safety. The French program provides the reading skills for the student to be able to explore the variety of concepts relating to health and safety in the workplace if they should ever find themsleves in a French environment. Teachers who provide support for students in workplace learning placements need to assess placements for safety and ensure that students can read and understand the importance of issues relating to health and safety in that environment's workplace.