Lawrence SILVERSTEIN. Date: August 12, addressed as well)

Transcription

1 Name: Lawrence SILVERSTEIN Date: August 12, 2002 Name of the Piece: A Teenager s Day in Sénégal The Standard to which it is mainly addressed: CULTURES (although others are addressed as well)

2 1. Lawrence E. Silverstein Clairton School District 501 Waddell Avenue Clairton, PA LESSON PLAN: A Teenager s Day in Sénégal 2. Theme: What would a typical day be like for a teenager living in Sénégal? Topics: A. COMMUNICATION Vocabulary introducing reflexive verbs Review of vocabulary for family, home, school B. CULTURE Focus on foods, music, folklore, games Social interaction between teenagers in West Africa C. CONNECTIONS Learning history and geography of West Africa in the target language Using online Sénégalais newspapers to obtain information D. COMPARISONS What is similar to a teenager s day in Pennsylvania? What is different? What are the differences in the way you express them in French and in English? E. COMMUNITIES Using the Internet to interact with teenagers in the culture being studied Establishing pen-pals (online or through the mail) Presenting information about Sénégal to others Planning a trip to Sénégal; using authentic documents and resources 3. Level: French II (grades 10-12) or higher 4. Standards being addressed: A. Communication 1.1 Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions. 1.3 Students present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers on a variety of topics.

3 4. Standards being addressed (continued): B. Cultures 2.2 Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the products and perspectives of the culture studied. C. Connections 3.1 Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language. D. Comparisons 4.2 Students demonstrate understanding of the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own. E. Communities 5.1 Students use the language both within and beyond the school setting. 5.2 Students show evidence of becoming life-long learners by using the language for personal enjoyment and enrichment. Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21 st Century c. 1999, Allen Press, Inc., Page 9 5. General Overview. This lesson will be presented over several days, incorporating different facets of culture, language development, geography and history. This unit is also aiming at teaching to Multiple Intelligences as proposed by Lev Vygotsky, Howard Gardner, and Ellen Weber (Roundtable Learning: Building Understanding through Enhanced MI Strategies, c. 1997, Ellen Weber, Zephyr Press). The following lesson plans are geared for the Standards for Foreign Language Learning, but as a subcurrent will also look at ways of using the Mathematical-Logical, Verbal-Linguistic, Musical-Rhythmic, Visual- Spatial, Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal and Naturalistic methods of learning. The governing question for the unit would be: What would a typical day be like for a teenager living in Sénégal? In order to answer that question, students will need to discover the answers to other questions as well. 1. What does a teenager do when he/she wakes up? This gives the introduction to reflexive verbs, vocabulary for clothing, household words. 2. What does a teenager in Sénégal have for breakfast? Students will have to answer that question, find recipes (online or in International cookbooks), prepare and taste those foods. 3. What is a Sénégalais High School like? Students will discover differences in the education systems, seeing the similar and different courses of instruction and extracurricular activities. 4. What would a teenager do in his/her spare time in Sénégal? Examples of

4 popular music can be shown, traditional dance, folklore stories. Students will be expected to write a story in the style of a folk tale From Sénégal (in the target language and in English) and perform it as a puppet show to a fourth-grade class. 5. What would a Sénégalaise family have for supper? Again, recipes and taste tests of the target culture, including the difference in time for supper. 6. What would a Sénégalaise house be like? Would a typical teenager have his/her own room? Continuation of vocabulary for household items, names of pets, chores and other activities. 7. When would a typical teenager go to bed? Cultural differences, as well as a continuation of reflexive verbs, would end the lesson. As a concluding activity, students would prepare a videotape showing a typical teenager s day, presenting this information to their colleagues and their families at a Celebration of Learning at the end of the Unit. This activity is expected to take no more than five class days from beginning to culminating activity. 6. Agenda/Action Plan Day 1 (Monday): Warm-ups. Directed conversation, teacher-student and student-student. West African/Sénégalaise music in background. What did you do this morning? What time did you wake up? What time did you get out of bed? What did you put on? What did you eat for breakfast? etc., all in target language. (5-7 minutes) Present question for unit: What would a typical day be like for a teenager living in Sénégal? Comment serait un jour typique pour un décagénaire au Sénégal? Explain objectives for the week, and the final celebration to be held next Monday evening. (7-10 minutes, mixed French and English) Present/review reflexive verbs, se lever, se laver, s habiller, se maquiller, se preparer le petit déjeuner, etc. Vocabulary/grammar exercises for reinforcement. (7-10 minutes, all French.) Look at a map of Africa. Have students find Sénégal. Ask questions in French: Where is Sénégal? North, south, east, or west? What countries are its neighbors? What is its relation to Gabon? Is it warm there or cool? How close is it to the equator? What would the weather be like there? It s in the southern hemisphere would January be in the winter or in the summer? etc. (Draw into the Naturalistic domain with the questions plants, animals, etc.) What is the capitol? Here is a World Almanac find out how large the city of Dakar is. (Roughly the size of Chicago.) Invite student s questions; discover answers together in class, individual and small group participation. (10 minutes French; English only when necessary for explanation)

5 Hand out homework assignment: vocabulary/grammar sheets reinforcing reflexive verbs, and a reading taken from Sénégalais folklore: a myth explaining the creation story from the Wolof point of view. (Taken from a library book. Reading is in French.) Use balance of class time to introduce the reading and the comprehension questions following. Day Two (Tuesday): Warm-ups: Directed conversation, Teacher-Student and Student-Student. West African/Sénégalaise music in background. What did you have for breakfast today? What did you have for supper last night? Do you cook? How do you make a hamburger? How do you make soup? How do you make an omelet? (In French, 5-7 minutes.) Collect homework. Go over reading assignment, noting characters, actions, explanation of the plot. (In French. Use English sparingly if at all.) The Sénégalais use stories to talk about nature. Can you think of something in Nature that you can explain in a story like that one? Break into small groups to discuss stories; each group can write their own Nature Myth. West African/Sénégalaise music in background. Get out paper and crayons to make puppets of the characters in their stories, using illustrations from the African Mythology book as examples. Let the students do their own work!!! Videotape the making of the puppets and the discussions, and have the students write a script to their stories by the end of class time. Explain that the students will be performing their puppet stories (In French as well as in English) on Thursday for the Fourth Grade class. Hand out assignments. Vocabulary: foods (breakfast, lunch, supper words); weather, seasons (to tie in with myth stories). Written assignment: have a script for your story ready to turn in tomorrow. Day Three (Wednesday): Warm-ups: Directed conversation, Teacher-Student and Student-Student. West African/Sénégalaise music in background. What did you have for breakfast today? What did you have for supper last night? Do you cook? How do you make a hamburger? How do you make soup? How do you make an omelet? (Similar to yesterday s; in French, 5-7 minutes.) Collect scripts, look over for content. (Don t do grammatical work at this point.) COMPLIMENT kids for their hard work! Bring out puppet theater (brought from home for this occasion); set up. Each group has a runthrough for their story using the puppet theater. (Mixed French and English; 15 minutes.) Ask: What would they eat for breakfast in Sénégal? Qu est-ce qu on mange pour le petit déjeuner au Sénégal? Using the blackboard, give a list of URL sites for gathering information: newspapers, online magazines, cookbooks, recipe sources. Have students write down the URLs in their notebooks. (5-10 minutes, French.)

6 Assign: Bring in a weather report ( La Météo ) from Sénégal printed from an online source IN FRENCH, one Sénégalaise breakfast recipe and one main dish recipe. Make sure that proper citations are given on the papers for Internet sources. (This activity ties in with technology, and with research techniques in other classes.) (7-10 minutes, French with English only to clarify or explain.) Balance of class time: Rehearse for tomorrow s performance, correct grammar or pronunciation. Day Four (Thursday): Warm-ups: Directed conversation, Teacher-Student and Student-Student. West African/Sénégalaise music in background. (5 minutes) Collect Internet assignments. Pack up the class, the puppet theater, and the puppets and scripts to go to Mr. Bowen s fourth grade class downstairs. The students will present their Folklore Myths, and will answer questions from the fourth grade class. (Videotape the entire presentation.) (30 minutes. Return to classroom.) Music: We have been listening to some Sénégalaise music this week. Here are some dance steps to go along with one of the songs. Teach a simple dance (already researched) to go along with the tape. (10 minutes) Hand out assignment: a reading assignment taken from an online magazine, current issues in Sénégal. (This will be researched just prior to the class to ensure current material.) Some comprehension questions will follow. Extra credit for finding a similar article and bringing it in. Day Five (Friday): Warm-ups: Directed conversation, Teacher-Student and Student-Student. Sénégalaise music in background. What courses are you taking in school? If you were in Africa, what courses would you take? (5-7 minutes) Discuss educational differences between U.S./Europe and Sénégal. What is different? What is the same? (7-10 minutes) Go over reading assignments; collect extra credit assignments. Discuss issues raised in news articles. (5-7 minutes) Pack up students and go to the Home Ec room. Have a taste test of one of the dishes researched in class. (INSTRUCTOR: TRY THIS AT HOME BEFORE DOING IT AT THE SCHOOL!!!!!) (30 minutes) Be sure to videotape the preparation and the reactions! Balance of time: practice dance, practice puppet show for Monday. Day Six (Monday culmination of activities): Warm-ups: Directed conversation, music in background. (5-7 minutes) Putting the day together: : What would a typical day be like for a teenager living in Sénégal? Walk through a typical day from the point of view of a Sénégalais teenager. Have one of the students act out the teen

7 as you videotape and get the other students in the class to make comments: Waking up, getting dressed, etc. (Reflexive verbs) Making breakfast (Vocabulary; culture content) Going to school (Vocabulary; culture content) Making dinner (Vocabulary; culture content) Teenage interests: most teens don t go to the mall in Sénégal! What do they do?? Going to bed (Reflexive verbs) Final preparations for tonight s celebration with parents and other interested members. Celebration of Learning (Monday evening): The Celebration of Learning is a MITA (Multiple Intelligence Teaching Approach) activity that brings closure and gives an opportunity to evaluate how much has been learned by giving an opportunity to the rest of the community to share in what the students have learned. Parents, teachers, other students, and other members of the community are invited to the school for a two-hour party where the students can show what they ve learned. As planned, the students will prepare an evening in the Multi-Purpose Room or in the 2d Floor Cafeteria with posters on the walls and exhibits on the tables to explain HOW they have learned the content through the eight Intelligences (Mathematical-Logical, Verbal-Linguistic, Musical-Rhythmic, Visual-Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Interpersonal-Expressive, Intrapersonal-Reflective, and Naturalistic) with an exhibit at each of eight tables. After a time of visiting the tables and seeing the displays, the guests are invited to take seats in a performance area where the students and instructor will explain the full event and the Multiple Intelligence theory behind it. Students will perform their Puppet mythology plays in the same way that they performed for the Fourth Grade; a video showing the activities of the week and the Day in the Life of a Senegalese Teenager will be shown. Then the guests will be invited to share in the refreshments, featuring foods from Senegal as part of the display. Students will be evaluated on FULL participation in the event, not only on the verbal and linguistic material covered in class. Rubrics for grading will be included in handouts on the first day (Monday) of the Unit Week.

8 7. Hook/Prior Knowledge A. Students will have had prior introduction to West Africa, as part of the French-speaking world. A study of Sénégal as a more specific topic builds on the global nature of previous geographic study. B. Students enjoy hearing music in class. Seeing the similarities in Sénégalaise rock (or popular) music capitalizes on an already-established interest. C. Students will have done some cooking in class, in cooperation with the Home Economics teacher. Use of the school facilities have already produced chocolate mousse and sourdough bread for this group of students. Finding recipes and executing them will add to their experience, matching that skill with the foreign language (Standard 3.1). D. Students will have already had specific vocabulary (home, family, some activities); drawing on those words and expanding them to include reflexive verb formations (se lever, se laver, s habiller, se preparer, etc.) will introduce new vocabulary as well as new grammatical structures. 8. Progress Indicators. As part of the rubrics for this unit, students will meet certain criteria for grading purposes. Those criteria will roughly match the Progress Indicators expressed in Standards for Foreign Languages, pp. 206ff. Communication. 1.1 Interpersonal Communication. Students will use French to greet one another and the teacher, and engage in appropriate conversation. 1.2 Interpretive Communication. Students will use authentic documents from the Internet or from other sources to obtain information, including weather, hotel prices, airline/bus schedules, etc. Students will also read traditional folklore stories (provided by the instructor) in the target language Presentational Communication. Students will write a similar story to be presented orally to an elementary class in both French and English. As a culminating project, students will prepare a video depicting a typical teenager s day in Sénégal, to be shown to other students, other teachers, and students families. Cultures. 2.1 Practices of Culture. Students will compare and contrast aspects of school life in Sénégal and in the United States. 2.2 Products of Culture. Students will listen to, and appreciate, authentic popular music from Sénégal, and will perform one traditional dance. Students will also read one or more tales of folklore or myth in the target language from Sénégal, and will produce their own story in the same literary style to be performed for a fourth grade class. Students will research foods prepared in Sénégal and produce examples, using authentic recipes (as much as possible) and preparing dishes in the Home Economics kitchen under close

9 supervision. Connections. 3.1 Making Connections. Students will use French to communicate and follow recipes, using authentic Sénégalais recipes in class researched in International cookbooks or on the Internet. 3.2 Acquiring Information. Students will use authentic French-language sources to obtain information about the weather, geography, history, and cuisine of Sénégal, and will read authentic sources for current news items taking place in Sénégal. Comparisons. 4.1 Language Comparisons. Students will continue in vocabulary studies, noting cognates and faux amis words with similar forms but different meanings. 4.2 Cultural Comparisons. Students will demonstrate understanding of differences between Sénégalaise education and schooling in the U.S. Students will also compare and contrast differences in foods eaten between the two countries. Communities. 5.1 School and Community. Students will use the target language while acquiring information interactively over the Internet, either with online search engines in French, or in interpersonal communication. Students will also present their sample myth in both English and in French to students in the elementary school, as well as to colleagues, other teachers, and families, in a Celebration of Learning event held after the end of the school day. Students will also present their video as a final project for this Unit. 5.2 Lifelong Learning. It is hoped that the students will continue to use the skills demonstrated in this project to continue to gain information and enjoy cultural exchanges for personal enjoyment after the project is over. As instructor, I will make opportunities available to do so throughout the academic year. 9. Materials necessary. Activities involved in this project will require the use of computers and Internet hookup (available in the school libraries and computer labs); video camera and tapes (supplied by the instructor); various groceries required for the preparation of authentic dishes (to be purchased by the students and by the instructor); use of the Home Economics kitchen; and use of the Multi-Purpose Room (or similar facility) for the final evening celebration event. All other materials would be standard classroom materials. 10. Technology Connections.

10 Technology can be incorporated into this activity in several ways. Initially, the students will be obtaining information from the Internet using specific URLs for online Francophone newspapers for weather information and news items in Sénégal. Then, a search engine can be used to find the natural setting and indigenous plants of Sénégal and west Africa, showing the flora and fauna of the target culture. How would those plants and animals affect the culture? Search engines can also be used to find authentic recipes for breakfast and supper in that country, and to obtain information for hotel and airplane prices in the section for planning a trip. The instructor will be attempting to make contact through the Internet to a typical lycée or high school, to contact an English teacher in order to initiate class letter exchanges or exchanges. Online music services would be available to obtain typical Sénégalaise music as MP3 or other audio downloads. The entire project will be documented on videotape as part of the closing activities, which will also be part of the criteria for evaluation. 11. Integration/Extension. This project integrates Cooking, Research Skills, Creative Writing, Dramatic Presentation (including puppetry), and interpersonal language skills in interactive settings. The extension to the other school contacted in Sénégal (as a Sister School ) would give opportunity to use the target language in out-of-school settings, and set up contacts for Lifelong Learning scenarios. URLs of online newspapers and magazines, and other sources, will be available for further exploration as the students need or wish.

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