French DLI for parents period 2
French DLI for parents
7th & 8th grades
This page is designed for parents who wish to see what students do and what tasks are expected.
Content:
I - A year at a glance: Course structure
II - An instructional week at a glance: daily activities and weekly due assignments checklist
III - An Evaluation week at a glance: final assessments checklist
IV - AP Themes : what topics students will be working on.
I - A Year at a Glance
1 year = 6 units
Units are tied to an AP Theme: scroll down for more details
1 unit = 5 instructional weeks
Instructional Week 1: text comprehension
Instructional Week 2: audio comprehension
Instructional Week 3: text comprehension
Instructional Week 4: cultural document comprehension
Week 5: unit evaluation (project or AP practice)
French immersion grades will remain on transcripts.
II - An Instructional Week at a Glance
Highlighted parts show what assignments are due on the same day.
Day 1:
- KWL chart: students fill in 1st column (what we Know)
- New vocabulary, students memorize and explain vocab
- Quick Writing Prompt : students write their opinion on KWL chart
KWL chart = tableau SVA in French
Day 2:
- KWL chart Students fill in second column (what I Want to learn)
- Vocabulary Syllabification
- Students taking notes on Cornell Notes
- Genre introductory activity: teacher explains the genre
- Main resource activity: teacher reads / audio
- Students fill Genre Graphic Organizer
Day 3:
- Vocabulary structural analysis (how words are formed)
- Students creating questions on Cornell Notes
- Main resource activity: reading with teacher
- Academic conversation: students practice and present conversation
Day 4:
- Vocabulary: students create Frayer model
- Students summarize notes on Cornell Notes.
- Main resource activity: Students read to partner and give feedback
- Academic conversation: students practice and present conversation
Day 5:
- KWL chart: students fill in last column (L: what I have Learned)
- Fluency activity: students choose a passage from main resource to read in 2 minutes without any pause on Flipgrid (video).
- Genre review activity: students indepedently read a new resource and complete a new genre graphic organizer.
- Students reflect and write opinions on Cornell Notes.
- Final weekly activity; teacher chooses activity.
INSTRUCTIONAL WEEK CHECKLIST
By the end of a 5-day instructional week, students are expected to show that they have completed all the following activities:
- 1 KWL table (google doc)
- 1 Cornell Notes (google doc)
- 2 Genre Graphic Organizers (google docs)
- 1 Vocabulary Frayer Model (google doc)
- Flipgrid video recordings (through Canvas)
- Nearpod activities (through Canvas)
- 1 Unit bubbles : autoevaluation document
KWL chart, Cornell Notes, Frayer model, Genre graphic organizers are completed with partners and shared with the class.
Teacher also shows a model on the board that students can copy.
ANY MISSING MATERIAL must be redone.
III - An Evaluation Week at a Glance
The evaluation week comes after 4 instructional weeks. Instructional weeks and the evaluation week are tied to the same AP theme. Teacher may choose from 2 different options.
OPTION I: PROJECT (7th grade or 8th grade)
Day 1: Portfolio review
Unit Bubbles review:
- Self-evaluation: student makes sure that her portfolio is complete: all tasks were completed.
- Peer review: partner makes sure the portfolio is complete
Cornell Notes review:
- Self-evaluation OR peer review
- Teacher checks
Day 2: Review activity
- Teacher chooses activity
Day 3-4: Unit Project
Project: students work by groups: they design and create a project that will be presented to the class : essay, presentation, collage with explanations... Students may start working on their project once they have the teacher's authorization.
OPTION II: AP PRACTICE (8th grade only)
Teacher guides students through a final evaluation task that is mirrored on the AP free response.
Day 1: Portfolio review
Unit Bubbles review: self-evaluation: student makes sure that her portfolio is complete: all tasks were completed.
- Peer review: partner makes sure the portfolio is complete
Cornell Notes review: self-evaluation OR peer review
- Teacher checks
Day 2: AP Essay
- Write an argumentative essay based on 3 sources, including an article, a table, graph, chart, or infographic, and a related audio source (played twice), that present different viewpoints on a topic (~55 minutes total: 15 minutes to review materials plus 40 minutes to write). Students will have access to the print sources and any notes they may take on the audio during the entire 40-minute writing period.
Because materials will have been studied in class during the 4 instructional weeks, students will have 40 minutes to complete their essay in the classroom.
Day 3: AP Email
- Read and reply to an email message (15 minutes)
Day 4: AP Comprehension
- Multiple choice with print texts. This section consists of a variety of authentic print materials (e.g., journalistic and literary texts, announcements, advertisements, letters, charts, maps, and tables). Students will be asked to:
-
-
- Identify the main ideas and supporting details
- Determine the meaning of vocabulary words in context
- Identify the author’s point of view or the target audience
- Demonstrate knowledge of the cultural or interdisciplinary information contained in the text
-
OR
- Multiple Choice with Audio
-
-
-
This section consists of a variety of authentic audio materials, including interviews, podcasts, public service announcements, conversations, and brief presentations. It is divided into 2 subsections:
- Interpretive Communication: Print and Audio Texts (combined). 2 sets of audio sources paired with print materials on the same topic with questions (articles and audio reports, charts and conversations).
- Interpretive Communication: Audio Texts. 3 sets of audio sources with questions (interviews, instructions, presentations).
- Students will respond to questions about main ideas and supporting details. Some questions will require students to demonstrate their understanding of cultural or interdisciplinary information.
- Students will have time to read a preview of each selection and skim the questions before listening to the audio. All audio texts will be played twice.
-
This section consists of a variety of authentic audio materials, including interviews, podcasts, public service announcements, conversations, and brief presentations. It is divided into 2 subsections:
-
Day 5: Feedback & Speaking
- Students review AP essay OR AP email
- Students review AP comprehension
- Students take either:
-
-
- AP Conversation: participate in 5 exchanges in a simulated conversation (20 seconds for each response).
-
OR
-
-
- AP Cultural Comparison: deliver a 2-minute presentation in response to a prompt in which students compare a cultural feature of a French-speaking community with which they are familiar to their own community or another community.
-
EVALUATION WEEK CHECKLIST
By the end of a 5-day evaluation week, students are expected to show that they have completed all the following activities:
- 1 Unit Bubbles reviewed
- 4 Cornell Notes reviewed
- 1 Project activity
OR (only for 8th graders)
- 1 Unit Bubbles reviewed
- 4 Cornell Notes reviewed
- 1 AP Writing: Essay
- 1 AP Writing: Email
- 1 AP Reading/Listening: Comprehension
- 1 AP Speaking: Conversation OR Cultural Comparison
IV - Units
Each unit corresponds to a AP theme. There are 6 AP themes.
![]() |
Unit 1La famille et la communauté: Families in Different Societies |
Students will learn language skills in the context of family life and values in French speaking societies and explore contemporary beliefs and challenges that families face.
![]() |
Unit 2La science et la technologie: How Science and Technology Affect Our Lives |
Students will examine how developments in science and technology affect daily life in French-speaking communities and use their growing language skills to interpret unfamiliar words and engage in more complicated texts.
Links to an external site.![]() |
Unit 3L'esthétique: Influences of Beauty & Art |
Students will explore how ideas of beauty and art influence and reflect culture in French-speaking communities.
![]() |
Unit 4
La vie contemporaine: Factors That Impact the Quality of Life |
Students will learn more about contemporary life in French-speaking communities and how social status, cultural perspective, and access to jobs and resources can make an impact on the quality of life.
![]() |
Unit 5
Les défis mondiaux: Environmental, Political and Societal Challenges |
Students will explore how complex global issues affect people's lives in French-speaking communities and engage in deeper discussions to suggest possible solutions.
![]() |
Unit 6
La quête de soi: The Influence of Language and Culture on Identity |
Students will build their vocabulary and learn about how language and culture shape and reflect evolving ideas about identity in French-speaking societies.