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French IV/Honors

Course Description

Students will review and improve upon those language skills acquired in previous levels. They will increase their command of the spoken and written language through reflection and analysis. Students will continue to develop language skills based upon abstract concepts. They will read and write more extensively while examining some advanced grammatical structures. Students will continue to investigate the history and culture associated with the target language. They will complete daily homework assignments and will show proficiency through interviews, written quizzes, presentations, in-class compositions, spontaneous conversations and unit exams. The class will be conducted primarily in the target language.

Students taking IV Honors will be expected to move at an accelerated pace, showing a greater proficiency of the learned material, displaying a high level of intellectual curiosity and self-motivation.

Grade Level(s): 11th-12th grade

Related Priority Standards (State &/or National):  Missouri Course Level Expectations - World Languages

Essential Questions

  • How does learning a language help you understand the cultures that are different than yours?
  • How am I part of a global community?
  • How will I use my language skills outside of the classroom?
  • How can I be competitive in a world job market?
  • How does language connect individuals and cultures promoting empathy and tolerance?

Enduring Understandings/Big Ideas

The study of a world language and the ability to communicate with it foster a life-long appreciation and an open mind for cultures different from our own in a 21st century global society: "knowing how, when, and why to say what to whom (ACTFL 2006)."

Course-Level Scope & Sequence (Units &/or Skills)

Unit:   Communication

Communicate effectively in more than one language in order to function in a variety of situations and for multiple purposes.

  1. Interpersonal Communication - Learners interact and negotiate meaning in spoken, signed, or written conversations to share information, reactions, feelings, and opinions.
    1. Students will discuss or debate a wide variety of topics from the local to the international level, hypothesizing, convincing, persuading, and negotiating to reach a conclusion.
    2. Students will ask and answer a variety of questions that require elaboration and substantiation of opinions.
    3. Students will defend personal preferences, feelings, and opinions with substantive arguments.
    4. Students will suggest options and negotiate to solve a problem.
    5. Students will ask for clarification and are able to paraphrase to ensure understanding.
  2. Interpretive Communication - Learners understand, interpret, and analyze what is heard, read, or viewed on a variety of topics.
    1. Students will understand written materials on a wide variety of topics.
    2. Students will use word forms, word order, contextual clues, and prediction to derive meaning.
    3. Students will use extensive listening and reading strategies to understand a wide variety of topics.
    4. Students will comprehend the main ideas and supporting ideas of authentic materials.
  3. Presentational Communication Communication  - Learners present information, concepts, and ideas to inform, explain, persuade, and narrate on a variety of topics using appropriate media and adapting to various audiences of listeners, readers, or viewers.
    1. Students will present student-created works and authentic literature.
    2. Students will write and present a speech on a substantive topic.
    3. Students will give a series of detailed instructions to someone.
    4. Students will create a story with substantive description and detail.
    5. Students will write formal compositions and letters for a variety of purposes.

Unit:  Cultures

Interact with cultural competence and understanding.

  1. Relating Cultural Practices to Perspectives - Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between the practices and perspectives of the cultures studied.
    1. Students will interact in a variety of cultural contexts with sensitivity and respect.
    2. Students will examine the role and importance of various activities within the cultures studied.
    3. Students will explain how beliefs, perspectives, and attitudes affect behaviors within the cultures studied.
  2. Relating Cultural Products to Perspectives  - Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationships between the practices and perspectives of the cultures studied.
    1. Students will connect objects and symbols of other cultures to the underlying beliefs and perspectives.
    2. Students will examine the role and significance of the contributions of other cultures in today's world.
    3. Students will discuss how historical and contemporary influences from other cultures shape people's views of the world and their own attitudes toward issues facing the world.

Unit:  Connections

Connect with other disciplines and acquire information and diverse perspectives in order to use the language to function in academic and career-related situations.

  1. Making Connections - Learners build, reinforce, and expand their knowledge of other disciplines while using the language to develop critical thinking and to solve problems creatively.
    1. Students will engage in simple discussions on topics from other school subjects such as worldwide health issues or environmental concerns.
    2. Students will acquire information from a variety of sources written in target language about a topic being studied in other school subjects.
    3. Students will combine information from other school subjects with information in target language in order to complete language classroom activities.
    4. Students will exchange information orally and/or in writing, regarding topics that are being studied in other school subjects.
  2. Acquiring Information and Diverse Perspectives  - Learners access and evaluate information and diverse perspectives that are available through the language and its cultures.  Students will use selected sources, both teacher-adapted and those intended for same-age speakers of target language.

Unit:  Comparisons

Learners access and evaluate information and diverse perspectives that are available through the language and its cultures.

  1. Language Comparisons - Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the nature of language through comparisons of the language studied and their own.
    1. Students will recognize that cognates undergo changes in meaning and form from native to target language.
    2. Students will analyze elements of the target language, such as time and tense, and comparable linguistic elements in English, and conjecture about how languages use forms to express time and tense relationships.
    3. Students will compare and contrast writing systems if different from native language.
  2. Cultural Comparisons  - Learners use the language to investigate, explain, and reflect on the concept of culture through comparisons of the cultures studied and their own.
    1. Students will explore the relationship of products and perspectives in target culture and compare and contrast these with their own.
    2. Students will explore the relationship of perspectives and practices in target culture and compare and contrast with their own.
    3. Students will reflect on how they feel using or thinking in target language compared to base language and articulate cultural differences they perceive.

Unit:  Communities

Communicate and interact with cultural competence in order to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world.

  1. School and Global Communities - Learners use the language both within and beyond the classroom to interact and collaborate in their community and the globalized world.
    1. Students will communicate orally or in writing with members of the target culture regarding topics or personal interest, community, or world concern.
    2. Students will participate in career exploration or school-to-work project in which they might use proficiency in target language and culture.
    3. Students will participate in career exploration or school-to-work project in which they might use proficiency in target language and culture.
  2. Lifelong Learning - Learners set goals and reflect on their progress in using languages for enjoyment, enrichment, and advancement.
    1. Students will consult various sources in the language to obtain information on topics of personal interest.
    2. Students will engage in activities related to their personal interests, such as cooking, crafts, etc.
    3. Students will establish and/or maintain interpersonal relations with speakers of the language.

Date Last Revised/Approved:   2014