This week my French 3 students began a unit on the environment. This is the first year that I’ve included this unit in French 3, but I thought it was important for the students to learn some of the vocabulary and ideas related to environmental topics before delving into the topic in greater detail next year in AP. I am also using this unit to introduce the subjunctive to these students. As with other grammatical topics that I’ve introduced this year, I’m not teaching this structure for mastery. Instead, I’m introducing the verb forms to the students and creating activities in which these structures will be used. The activities I’ve developed for the unit are all found in this packet: environment unit
Here’s how I plan to conduct these lessons:
Lesson 1: Global Warming (2-3 days) I will introduce the students to the vocabulary associated with global warming by showing a Brainpop video. In addition to being authentic, these videos can be shown with option subtitles (click on the ST button). Although I would not allow the subtitles if I were assessing their listening comprehension, I think they are valuable when introducing the complicated vocabulary associated with this topic. An additional advantage to this resource is that the site includes a quiz based on the video which makes a great formative assessment. Although I will project this video on the screen, it could also be watched individually if students had an appropriate device. After the video, the students will read an authentic magazine article about global warming (Global Warming02072015, Global Warming 202072015). Although I would have liked to incorporate more current articles for this unit (the magazine is from 2007), I chose these articles because a)I had them, b)They are written at an appropriate level for my students, and c)They lend themselves to the types of extension activities that I wanted to include in the unit. I have altered the interpretive task so that the students are using French in the supporting detail portion. My goal is to begin preparing them for next year, when all of their interpretive tasks will be in French only. After the reading, the students will interview a partner about his/her actions related to global warming. As a follow up presentational activity, the students will write a note to their partner with suggestions about how s/he can be more ecological. Before assigning this activity, I will quickly point out the expressions of necessity/wanting and the subjunctive conjugations that I have included at the end of the packet. After the writing, the students will practice a role play in which a teenagers tries to convince his/her parent to adopt some of the suggestions given in the article. In general, I like to choose a pair or two to present their role play after giving the class time to practice. After the role play, I have included two additional videos and a song. I usually like to project any videos that I have at the beginning of the period, so I will probably use these before the end of the lesson—It just depends how far I get in each class period.
Lesson 2: Pollution (2-3 days) As with the previous lesson, I’ll begin this one with a Brainpop video and quiz, followed by an article (Pollution 102072015, Pollution 202072015). After the article, the students will again interview a partner and then write him/her a message with suggestions. I am considering having them write these messages as e-mails/google docs, rather than on paper so that their partner can respond (in writing). Lastly I’ve included another role play and an additional video.
Lesson 3: Preservation (2-3 days) As with the first two lessons, the students will watch a Brainpop video/quiz, read an article (Deforestation 102072015, Deforestation 202072015), interview a partner, write a message, and practice and present a role play.
Although I haven’t yet created all of the materials, these lessons will be followed by a series of activities designed to prepare the students for a culminating project on an endangered animal. Stay tuned for these materials!