Tuesday 12 March 2013

Has Learning Occurred?


How do we know IF LEARNING HAS OCCURRED?

The TEACHER’S ROLE is to ask:

  • ‘What matters most?’
  • ‘What is this subject really about?’
  • ‘What is this Term Unit really about?’
  • ‘What must I share with the students to help them truly appreciate the magic of this subject in their lives?’
The TEACHER’S GOAL is:

  •  to hold the essential knowledge, understanding and skills for most learners; and
  • to ensure student access to that essential knowledge, understanding and skill set.

QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS
How do I access content?

How do I gain skills?

PROCESS

The PROCESS of learning begins when the teacher asks students:

  •  to stop listening or reading and
  •  to begin making personal sense out of information, ideas and skills they’ve accessed.
According to this definition, PROCESS begins when students stop becoming consumers and start making meaning in earnest.

What is a worthwhile activity?

  • One that asks students to use specific information and skills to come to understand an important idea or principle.
  • One that is unambiguously focused on essential learning goals.
  • One that requires students to think about ideas, grapple with problems, and use information.
  •  One that goes beyond “giving back information” - to seeing how things work and why they work as they do.
  • One that snags a students’ interest so that they persist at it, even when the task is difficult.

PRODUCT

A PRODUCT is a means by which students demonstrate what they have come to KNOW, UNDERSTAND and be ABLE TO DO – a major or culminating DEMONSTRATION of student learning.

Product assignments should have clear, challenging, and specified criteria for success, based both on grade-level expectations and individual student needs.

The best tasks are those that students find a little too difficult to complete comfortably.

Everything a student does is a potential source of assessment data.

UNIT WORK
Learning Intentions:

  • What concepts knowledge and skills are we focusing on in this unit?
  •  Do all the learning activities align with these learning intentions?
Assessment:

  • How to assess what students know and can do in relationship to these learning intentions?
  • How to communicate the success criteria for each assessment task?
  • How will students know what success criteria looks like in a piece of work?

In the 2 PRODUCTS below, is there evidence that LEARNING has OCCURRED?  In other words, have students begun making personal sense out of information, ideas and skills they’ve accessed?

A: Brian
De: Courtney
Sujet: le weekend
Date: mercredi 6 mars

Bonjour Brian, je m’appelle Courtney!  J’ai 14 ans et je suis très grande.  Quel âge as-tu?

Normalement le weekend, je me lève à quatre heures parce que je vais à la natation.  Je déteste me lever tôt, et toi?  Après la piscine j’ai un petit déjeuner et je me prends au lit pendant une heure.

De temps en temps, je vais au cinéma avec mes amis et parfois nous allons au restaurant.  D’habitude nous nous amusons.  Sors-tu avec tes amis?

Parfois, je regarde la télévision avec ma famille.  J’aime manger des pommes pendant que je regarde la télévision.

A dix heures, je me brosse les dents et les cheveux.  Après, je mange une glace!  J’adore la glace!  A dix heures et demie, je me couche parce que j’ai sommeil.

Tu fais quoi ce weekend?


A: Gérard
De: Jakob
Sujet: Salut Gérard
Date: le sept mars 2013

Salut Gérard,
J’espère que tu vas bien.  Quel temps fait-il dans ton village?

Qu’est-ce que tu fais le weekend?  Moi, souvent le vendredi soir je vais au cinéma avec mes amis.  Normalement, nous regardons des films comiques ou des films d’action.  Quel genre préfères-tu?

Chaque samedi matin, je me lève si tard parce que je suis un peu paresseux.  L’après-midi, je dois le réserver exclusivement à mes devoirs parce que j’ai besoin d’étudier plus.  As-tu beaucoup de devoirs?  Habituellement, le samedi soir je vais à des fêtes avec mes amis.

Généralement, le dimanche je joue au football en hiver et au cricket en été.  Quels sports aimes-tu?  Parfois, de temps en temps, s’il fait beau, je vais à la plage avec ma famille.  Nous nous amusons toujours.  N’est-il pas ton intention d’aller à la plage quand tu visites l’Australie?  Le dimanche soir, je reste chez moi pour me coucher tôt.

Wednesday 13 June 2012

HOLIDAY HOMEWORK

Map of France
On the map of France you were given, fill in the names of all the regions IN FRENCH, and the capital of each region. Don't do departments, there are too many (100) and you will go mad.
Your Region
Research the cuisine for your region.
These are the key points:
1. What fresh produce is the region particularly noted for? eg Normandy - apples (amongst others.)
2. What specialities of the region are made from this fresh produce? eg cider.
3. What cheese(s) are particular to the region? What are they like? How made? From which animal's milk? etc
4. Is there a notable wine of the region?
5. Is the regional cuisine influenced by its proximity to another country, or the sea etc? And how so?
6. Find a couple of interesting regional dishes, and their recipes. The French tend to eat animals and bits of animals that are unfamiliar to Australians - that makes for interesting dishes!
ALL THE ABOVE INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE POSTED ON YOUR BLOG BY your first week back at school.

Bonnes Vacances!

Tuesday 13 March 2012

13/3/12

Classwork for those who missed:  Pair conversations - assessed.  Chat room question and answers - on 'rendezvous' under 'chat rooms'.
Revise irregular verb VENIR (to come) in the present tense
je viens
tu viens
il vient
nous venons
vous venez
ils viennent
The verb VENIR - followed by 'de' and 'an infinitive' is used to construct a tense called the 'Passe Recent'.  This tense indicates something that just happened.
eg Je viens de manger un croque-monsieur.  - I just ate a ham and cheese toastie.
Nous venons d'arriver a l'ecole.  We just arrived at school.

Thursday 8 March 2012

9/3/12

Test on pouvoir, vouloir, devoir, savoir in the present tense
Revise -RE verbs in the present tense 
VENDRE - to sell
je vends
tu vends
il vend
nous vendons
vous vendez
ils vendent

Conversation practice
Homework set for Wednesday 14/3/12 - http://moodle.vermontsc.vic.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=16683

Tuesday 6 March 2012

7/03/12

Correct homework sheet on Pouvoir, Vouloir, Savoir, Devoir
Play Old Maid game with Reflexive verbs

Thursday 24 November 2011

FRENCH EXAM! YAY!

1. Listening test - a dictée and a text/or two smaller texts - you will write answers to questions demonstrating your global comprehension and recognition of significant details.
2.  Reading test - there are 4 texts which you should study - in Tapis Volant student book p. 85, p. 86, 89, 91 - 92.
3.  Writing - a choice of 4 essays topics on health, holidays, personal life etc  You may be asked to write an email, journal entries, a speech script or a conversation script. 
4.  There will be no grammar section.

Wednesday 2 November 2011

ESSAY TASK DUE 11/11/11

Topic: You are an exchange student in France and have been asked to make a speech to your class telling them about yourself, your family, your interests and your hobbies.
Write the script for your speech - refer to the text type sheet handed out in class.
200 words
Use: 4 'avoir' expressions
Rhetorical question
Preceding Direct and Indirect Object pronouns
Avant de + infinitive
Apres avoir + past participle
Negative expressions
Connectors such as A mon avis, En plus, En conclusion

Tuesday 20 September 2011

HOLIDAY HOMEWORK

For those who would like to improve their skills over the holidays may I suggest the following site:  http://www.polarfle.com/   Scroll down the first page and click on 'Commencer'. Work your way through the levels, attempting exercises on the left hand side of the page to consolidate your understanding of grammar points.

Tuesday 9 August 2011

HOMEWORK DUE WEDNESDAY 17/8/11

Use the menus on these sites as a basis for creating a script about two (or more) friends dining out.  The waiter can also be included. 
Discuss the food.
Use comparatives and superlatives.
Use a variety of tenses.
180 words.
http://www.procope.com/carte-et-menus/
http://www.bouillon-chartier.com/index.php/en/menu
http://www.cafelouisphilippe.com/

Sunday 7 August 2011

HOMEWORK FOR FRIDAY 12/8/11

Edit your stories please.  I have made corrections in the comment box.  Please follow them.  After this is done, I will assess.

Tuesday 2 August 2011

Tuesday 26 July 2011

A GOOD GUIDE TO THE USE OF ADJECTIVES

POSITION OF ADJECTIVES
Adjectives AFTER the noun
In English we usually put most adjectives before the noun.  In French, however, most adjectives come after the noun, including:
1.       Adjectives indicating colour or shape
Une robe rouge  -  a red dress
2.       Adjectives of origin, religion, profession, classification or those that refer to the arts
Une fille française  -  a French girl 
3.       Those formed by a past or present particIple
La semaine passée  -  Last week
Le jour fatiguant  - the tiring day

Adjectives BEFORE the noun
The following adjectives usually go before the noun. 
Autre (other)
Petit (small)
Jeune (young)
Vilain (ugly, naughty)
Même (same)
Bon (good)
Haut (high)
Grand (big, great)
Joli (pretty)
Gros (fat)
Mauvais (bad)
Long (long)
Méchant (bad, naughty)
Gentil (nice)
Meilleur (better, best)
Beau (handsome, beautiful)
Vieux (old)
Nouveau (new)

Vrai (true)


When 2 adjectives have the same position they can be joined by the conjunction ‘et’
Une femme intéressante et intelligente            An interesting and intelligent woman
If an adjective is an integral part of the noun, another adjective can follow it without using ‘et’
Un petit jeune homme      A small young man
Adjectives that change meaning according to position
Some adjectives have a different meaning depending on whether they precede or follow the noun
Eg Un triste livre  - a poor worthless book
    Un livre triste – a sad book   

Sunday 24 July 2011

HOMEWORK DUE MONDAY 1 AUGUST

In class we have read the poem 'Déjeuner du Matin' by André Prévert, and the three prose short stories  I wrote that derive from this poem.  The short stories use the same characters and plot, but employ a twist to change the meaning of the original storyline. 

Your task is to do the same.  In 180 words, write your own short story. The following criteria apply:
1. Your story must have a TITLE
2. Your story must have an AUTHOR eg par A. Fish
3. You must establish a POINT OF VIEW ie either 1st person or 3rd person
4. The following GRAMMAR must appear:
  • negative constructions
  • past, present, future tense verbs - also the present participle
  • direct object pronouns
  • avoir expressions
  • rhetorical questions
  • adverbs
  • set expressions I've taught you, or found by you in the dictionary
5. Remember to recycle language you already  know eg weather, health, meetings.
YOU SHOULD UPLOAD YOUR STORIES ONTO YOUR BLOGS PLEASE.
Déjeuner du matin http://moodle.vermontsc.vic.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=14262
Attendons l'amour  http://moodle.vermontsc.vic.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=14263

Sunday 17 July 2011

Thursday 7 July 2011

BY THE WAY...

Have you been watching the Tour de France?  If you're up and watching, check out the start - Gabriel Gaté sums up the cuisine of the area, including specialities and a recipe.  Might be a good idea to tape one on the region of your choice - then when I ask you to do a presentation, you'll have a lovely visual!
ALSO, looking forward to seeing you on the Wiki during these hols!!!!

Tuesday 5 July 2011

HOLIDAY HOMEWORK!

Map of France
On the map of France you were given, fill in the names of all the regions IN FRENCH, and the capital of each region.  Don't do departments, there are too many (100) and you will go mad.
Choose a region
Choose ONE region and research its cuisine. 
These are key points to research: 
1. What fresh produce is the region particularly noted for?  eg Normandy - apples (amongst others.) 
2. What specialities of the region are made from this fresh produce?  eg cider. 
3. What cheese(s) are particular to the region?  What are they like?  How made?  From which animal's milk?  etc
4. Is there a notable wine of the region?
5. Is the regional cuisine influenced by its proximity to another country, or the sea etc?  And how so?
6. Find a couple of interesting regional dishes, and their recipes.  The French tend to eat animals and bits of animals that are unfamiliar to Australians - that makes for interesting dishes!
ALL THE ABOVE INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE POSTED ON YOUR BLOG BY THURSDAY 21 JULY.

Bonnes Vacances!

Thursday 9 June 2011

YOUR SEMESTER ASSESSMENT

WHAT AM I ASSESSING?
1. All the classwork, tests and homework you've done this semester.
2. SPEAKING - Your MP3 speaking task; your structured speaking task in class about going out  with friends and health; your general (French) speaking participation in class.
3. LISTENING - Your general listening ability over the semester ie your comprehension of French spoken in class and exercises done in class; your results on the listening part of the exam.
4. READING - Your results on homework reading assessments over the course of the assessment; your responses to reading questions during class; your results on the reading part of the exam.
5. WRITING - Your blogs; your engagement in the editing process of your blogs; your results on the writing part of the exam; translation exercises done for homework over the semester.
6. CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING - Your engagement in discussions about French news and culture eg DSK, smoking and cannabis use in France, legal issues around Muslim women wearing the burqua and hijab, the French school system - and how the French cultural perspective differs from the Australian.

WHAT WILL BE ON THE EXAM
1. A listening text - questions to be answered in ENGLISH
2. A listening dictée
3. A verb table
4. A series of multiple choice exercises on the passé composé
5. A reading comprehension task - questions to be answered for the most part in ENGLISH
6. A English-French translation of two journal entries about health - specifically smoking.
7. A third journal entry of 100 words, following on from the first two, to be written in FRENCH.

HAPPY REVISING!

Tuesday 31 May 2011

conversation - la santé

You should open an Audacity file and record your conversation.  When satisfied with it, click file, export, and save as an MP3 file.  You should then go to topic 14 on Moodle - La Santé conversation and upload it under all names in your group. 
See me for help if required.

Tuesday 24 May 2011

For those who missed Wednesday 25/5/11 class

Go to this site and complete the reading task asap.

http://moodle.vermontsc.vic.edu.au/mod/hotpot/view.php?id=13486

Thank you

Homework for Thursday 2 June

Verb table - http://moodle.vermontsc.vic.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=13515
Reading Comprehension - http://moodle.vermontsc.vic.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=13516

Click on the connections, print off sheets and complete.  It may be a good idea to save the sheets, complete them on Word and then give them to me in wordprocessed form - easier for me to correct.

F

Wednesday 18 May 2011

Homework dueThursday 26 May

Download the 2nd verb table from Topic 11 on Moodle and complete.
Complete translation handout given on Thursday 19 May in class.  If you are not in class on this day, please see me asap.
Amusez-vous bien!!

Thursday 12 May 2011

Homework for Thursday 19 May

1. Go to Moodle Topic 11, print off the verb table and complete it by Thursday 19 May.
2. Read the text on pages 26 & 27 of your Tapis Volant Textbook, and answer the comprehension questions on pages 34 & 35 of your work book - also for Thursday 19 May.

Thursday 5 May 2011

SEND ME YOUR URLS ASAP

Please message me your urls asap please so that I can find your blogs.

Homework Term 2 Week 3

Due Thursday 12 May - pages 40 - 42 Tapis Volant Workbook, THE PERFECT TENSE, Exercises 1 - 5
Due Monday 16 May - your second journal entry to be uploaded

Wednesday 27 April 2011

Bienvenue a fishyfrench

Today you are going to start your own blog/digital portfolio.  This is an essential learning tool for you, and an easy way for me to assess your progress.

Your first task is to create a journal called 'Journal d'un(e) hypochondriaque'. 
This will consist of 5 journal entries over Term 2.
The first two journal entries will consist of 100 words each, and the other three will consist of 150 words each.
You should paragraph.
You should write informally.
Each journal entry should have a date.
Each journal entry should be in French.
Each successive journal entry should show increasing range and ability.