French 1

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)

• Communication 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
• Communication 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics. 
• Cultures 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied.
• Connections 3.2: Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the foreign language and its cultures.
• Comparisons 4.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of the language studied and their own.
• Comparisons 4.2: Students demonstrate an understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.
   

• Global countries where French is spoken.
• Basic traditions involving French greetings.
• Pronunciation: Basic French phonetics regarding nasal vowels and the French “r”.
• Vocabulary: Basic vocabulary related to names, ages, nationalities, birthdays, numbers, months, classroom objects, school subjects, and days of the week.
• Grammar: Subject pronouns, the verb “être,” distinguishing between definite and indefinite articles.

• Due to a history of colonization and population changes, the majority of French speakers today live outside of Europe.
• Personal space is expressed differently in France, as reflected through attitudes surrounding the “bise,” handshake, and hug.
• The throat and nasal passages are employed in French pronunciation more frequently than in English. 
• Verbs must match their subject in a process known as “conjugation.”
• All French nouns are gendered as masculine or feminine.
   

•    Speaking:
  • Introduce oneself to others in French.
  • Express and ask about individuals’ ages and birthdays.
  • Explain the month and day of a given class period. 
• Cultural:
  • List prominent French-speaking countries and their capitals. 
• Classroom:
  • Identify basic school subjects and supplies in French. 
  • Ask basic classroom questions in the target language.
  • Understand the teacher’s classroom commands in the target language.
• Reading:
  • Answer basic questions about the main characters in a video.
  • Identify topics and key ideas in brief French texts. 

• How prominent is French in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia? 
• What cultural assumptions do I make about greetings and personal space? 
   

• How do I express basic pieces of my identity–name, age, and school schedule–using structures like “je suis”?
• How do I understand meaning without understanding every word of a written or spoken text? 
   

• Chemins (textbook)
• VHL Central online platform (textbook website)
• Teacher-generated worksheets, handouts, and activities 
• Online resources for review: Quizlet, Kahoot, Blookit, Tex’s French Grammar, etc.
   

• Summative
• In-class exercises and activities
• Auto-corrected online resources 
• Formative
• Grammar and vocabulary quizzes (integrated)
• Journal 1
• Unit test on grammar, vocabulary, and content
   

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)

• Communication 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
• Communication 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics.
• Communication 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics
• Cultures 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied.
• Connections 3.2: Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the foreign language and its cultures.
• Comparisons 4.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of the language studied and their own.
• Comparisons 4.2: Students demonstrate an understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.
• Communities 5.1: Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting.
   

• Basic facts about the population, geography, and contributions of modern-day France.
• Pronunciation: Fundamental French phonetics, including accents, silent consonants, and the letter “h”.
• Vocabulary: Basic vocabulary related to greetings, farewells, thanks, feelings, introductions, numbers (continued), nationalities (continued), and objects and people at school.
• Grammar: Introducing adjective agreement; deepening understanding of the gender of nouns and agreement; deepening understanding of subject pronouns and the verb “être”. 

• France has a rich history and is a center of economic and cultural activity in Europe.
• Contemporary France is a multicultural society with immigrants from North Africa and Asia with diverse religions and cultural practices.
• French shares the same alphabet as English yet differs in five accents and the frequency of letters pronounced. 
• Recognizing cognates is a strategy for learning vocabulary.
• All adjectives, including articles, must agree with the nouns they modify.
   

• Speaking:
  • Greet people and say goodbye.
  • Introduce people to one another.
  • Describe your and others’ personalities and origins.
  • Identify objects in a classroom.
• Cultural:
  • Explain the difference between cultural greetings across the Francophone world.
• Classroom:
  • Ask basic classroom questions in the target language.
  • Understand the teacher’s classroom commands in the target language.
• Reading:
  • Answer basic questions about the main characters in a video.
  • Identify topics and key ideas in brief French texts.
     

• What stereotypes exist about French culture, and to what extent do they reflect reality?
• How does France define itself in the 21st century?

• How do I expound upon basic pieces of my identity–personality and feelings–using structures like “je suis” and “ça va”? 
• How do language cognates influence understanding of written and spoken texts in the target language?
   

• Chemins (textbook)
• VHL Central online platform (textbook website)
• Teacher-generated worksheets, handouts, and activities 
• Online resources for review: Quizlet, Kahoot, Blookit, Tex’s French Grammar, etc.
   

Summative

• In-class exercises and activities
• Auto-corrected online resources 

Formative

• Grammar and vocabulary quizzes (integrated)
• Journal 2
• Unit test on grammar, vocabulary, and content
   

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)

• Communication 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
• Communication 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics.
• Communication 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics
• Cultures 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied.
• Connections 3.2: Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the foreign language and its cultures.
• Comparisons 4.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of the language studied and their own.
• Comparisons 4.2: Students demonstrate an understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.
• Communities 5.1: Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting.
   

• Approaches to education vary widely across the French-speaking world.
• Pronunciation: Introducing “liaison” and deepening students’ understanding of the French “r”. 
• Vocabulary: School subjects and classroom items (continued); times and times of the day.
• Grammar: -er verbs, -cer verbs, -ger verbs, negatives, commands, the verb avoir, and expressions with “avoir,” asking questions, infinitives. 

• In France, grading takes place on a scale of 0/20, and students must pass an exam in order to graduate high school.
• The concept of liaison involves pronouncing a silent letter when it is followed by a vowel.
• “Regular” verbs, including -er verbs, refer to a set pattern of conjugation that can be applied to multiple verbs with a few exceptions.
   

• Speaking:
  • State likes and dislikes about school subjects and practices.
  • Discuss your schedule and your classes.
• Cultural:
  • Identify similarities and differences between American high schools and global French-speaking education.
  • State opinions about a variety of public school systems.
• Grammar:
  • Apply -er conjugations in unfamiliar settings, both oral and written.
  • State opposing facts and opinions, using the negative.
  • Ask questions about cultural practices and times.
     

• How does the school experience in French-speaking countries compare to the school experience in the U.S.? 
   

• How do I discuss my personal school experience using the present tense?
   

• Chemins (textbook)
• VHL Central online platform (textbook website)
• Teacher-generated worksheets, handouts, and activities 
• Online resources for review: Quizlet, Kahoot, Blookit, Tex’s French Grammar, etc.
   

• Summative
  • In-class exercises and activities
  • Auto-corrected online resources 
• Formative
  • Grammar and vocabulary quizzes (integrated)
  • Journal 3
  • Unit test on grammar, vocabulary, and content
     

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)

• Communication 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
• Communication 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics.
• Communication 1.3: Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics
• Cultures 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied.
• Connections 3.2: Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the foreign language and its cultures.
• Comparisons 4.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of the language studied and their own.
• Comparisons 4.2: Students demonstrate an understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.
• Communities 5.1: Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting.
   

• Definitions of “family” in global French society vary widely in structure, expectations, and social norms.
• Pronunciation: The names of the five French accents.
• Vocabulary: Descriptions of pets and family members, physical characteristics, emotional characteristics, and professions; numbers 61-100; prepositions of place.
• Grammar: How to make adjectives agree in gender and number; basic facts on adjective placement; using “pronoms disjoints” after prepositions.

• Blended families are increasingly common in France.
• In North Africa, relatives live together as members of a household. 
• Close friendship in France is defined especially through providing support to one another in times of need.
• Accent marks change the pronunciation of a word in addition to the spelling.
• In French, most adjectives are placed before the noun they modify.
   

• Speaking:
  • Discuss family members, friends, and pets.
  • Express ownership and relationship.
  • Explain people’s personalities and professions.
• Culture:
  • Describe family structures, friendship, and traditions in France and the Maghreb.
  • Name basic facts about the geography and culture in Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco.
• Reading and Listening:
  • Ask for repetition and use visual cues to create meaning.
     

• How do the ideas of family, friendship, and relationships vary across cultures?
   

• How does one describe their family’s physical, professional, and emotional characteristics using adjectives?
   

• Chemins (textbook)
• VHL Central online platform (textbook website)
• Teacher-generated worksheets, handouts, and activities 
• Online resources for review: Quizlet, Kahoot, Blookit, Tex’s French Grammar, etc.
   

• Summative
  • `In-class exercises and activities
  • Auto-corrected online resources 
• Formative
  • Grammar and vocabulary quizzes (integrated)
  • Journal 4
  • Unit test on grammar, vocabulary, and content
     

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)

• Communication 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
• Communication 1.2: Students understand and interpret written and spoken language on a variety of topics.
• Cultures 2.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the culture studied.
• Connections 3.2: Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through the foreign language and its cultures.
• Comparisons 4.1: Students demonstrate an understanding of the nature of language through comparisons of the language studied and their own.
• Comparisons 4.2: Students demonstrate an understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.
• Communities 5.1: Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting.
   

• Basic facts about French pastimes, including French café culture.
• Vocabulary related to urban locations and ordering food at a restaurant.
• The conjugation of the verb “aller,” contractions with the preposition “à,” the interrogative adjective “quel,” partitive articles, ir- verbs.
   

• French café culture involves particular rituals that differ from American expectations of eating out.
• Forming the near future in French parallels its construction in English, requiring the conjugated form of “aller” (to go) plus the infinitive.
• -Ir verbs is the second of three groups of regular verbs in French.
   

• Chemins (textbook)
• VHL Central online platform (textbook website)
• Teacher-generated worksheets, handouts, and activities 
• Online resources for review: Quizlet, Kahoot, Blookit, Tex’s French Grammar, etc.
   

• State the common American misunderstandings of French café culture.
• Talk about places and activities around town.
• Express plans for the near future.
• Order food and beverages at a café.
• Ask for a check.
   

• How do social interactions and traditions related to food provide insights into a culture?
   

• How do I express politeness with the verbs “aller,” “prendre,” and “boire” when ordering food at a Francophone restaurant?
   

• Summative
  • In-class exercises and activities
  • Auto-corrected online resources 
• Formative
  • Grammar and vocabulary quizzes (integrated)
  • Course final