Topics:

Current Events

Politics

Technology

The Media

Topic: Current Events

Communication

• Person-to-Person Communication
  

• Debate issues concerning current events.
  

• Express and exchange reactions to current events.
  

• Listening and Reading for Understanding
  

• Identify pertinent information when listening to newscasts or reading selections from written news sources.
  

• Oral and Written Presentation
  

• Produce oral and written reports and articles on current events.
  

• Develop and explain opinions and reactions to current news events.
  

Cultures

• Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products
  

• Explore traditional attitudes when reacting to current events.
  

• Explore differences in reporting current events.
  

Connections, Comparisons, and Communities

• Making Connections Through Language
  

• Recognize a connection to various school subjects to include social sciences, history, government, and science.
  

• Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons
  

• Compare and contrast attitudes of people in the U.S. and in francophone countries towards world events.
  

• Recognize borrowed words and cognates from news articles and TV broadcasts in both languages.
  

• Communication Across Communities
  

• Locate and use authentic resources to broaden understanding of current events.
  

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• Vocabulary related to political systems
  

• Vocabulary related to geography and contemporary issues
  

• Expressions of conviction, opinions, and agreement or disagreement
  
  

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Topic: Politics

Communication

• Person-to-Person Communication
  

• Participate in sustained conversation and/or debate about past and present political events.
  

• Debate merits of political candidates.
  

• Listening and Reading for Understanding
  

• Read newspaper and magazine articles related to political events.
  

• Comprehend news broadcasts about political matters.
  

• Comprehend written and oral materials on elections.
  

• Oral and Written Presentation
  

• Produce spoken or written presentations on varied political views.
  

• Give a detailed summary and/or critique of an article or news broadcast about politics.
  

• Produce spoken and/or written presentations on the various political parties in francophone countries.
  

Cultures

• Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products
  

• Examine the influence of history on the political systems of francophone countries.
  

• Explore the influence different political systems have had on cultural aspects of francophone countries.
  

Connections, Comparisons, and Communities

• Making Connections Through Language
  

• Relate knowledge of politics gained in government or social studies classes to information learned in French class.
  

• Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons
  

• Compare the political systems in the U.S. and francophone countries.
  

• Compare the world view of the U.S. to world views of francophone countries (international law, conflicts, economic issues, etc.).
  

• Identify cognates and French terms related to politics.
  

• Communication Across Communities
  

• Access information on the Internet about political issues and events in foreign countries.
  

• Investigate the various voting policies in francophone countries.
  

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• Vocabulary related to the legal system
  

• Vocabulary related to rights and responsibilities
  

• Vocabulary related to government, political parties, and elections
  

• Vocabulary related to economic issues
  

• Expressions used in negotiations
  

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Topic: Technology

Communication

• Person-to-Person Communication
  

• Discuss the evolution of technology.
  

• Discuss the applications of technology in contemporary society.
  

• Describe how technology has influenced our society.
  

• Listening and Reading for Understanding
  

• Comprehend oral and written information about the use of technology throughout history.
  

• Explore and understand the history and evolution of technology in today's society.
  

• Oral and Written Presentation
  

• Describe how technology has created as well as solved problems in our society.
  

• Give a detailed summary and/or critique of an article or news broadcast about technology.
  

• Produce spoken or written presentations supporting the use of technology in our community.
  

• Use various technological techniques in a presentation to examine the use of technology in our community.
  

Cultures

• Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products
  

• Discuss attitudes towards technology in education and the workplace.
  

• Examine and discuss how technology has changed social interactions in today's society.
  

• Compare and contrast historical achievements without the use of modern technology.
  

Connections, Comparisons, and Communities

• Making Connections Through Language
  

• Discuss how technology is used in other disciplines, such as math, science, the humanities, and vocational studies.
  

• Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons
  

• Increase awareness of the use of technology in francophone countries.
  

• Identify cognates and other vocabulary related to technology.
  

• Communication Across Communities
  

• Access information on the Internet about the evolution of technology.
  

• Use technology in the production of commercials, plays, recordings, menus, etc.
  

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• Vocabulary related to technology

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Topic: The Media

Communication

• Person-to-Person Communication
  

• Maintain a discussion related to the media.
  

• Discuss the media's influence on current events.
  

• Discuss the impact of the media's presentation of current events.
  

• Analyze and discuss presentational techniques of the media.
  

• Listening and Reading for Understanding
  

• Identify pertinent information when listening to newscasts or reading selections from print news sources or the Internet.
  

• Oral and Written Presentation
  

• Produce an oral or written report on the positive and/or negative influence of the media.
  

• Develop and explain opinions and reactions to the media.
  

• Produce spoken and/or written presentations on the variety of ways in which the media can be used to slant the news.
  

Cultures

• Cultural Perspectives, Practices, and Products
  

• Explore authentic media sources and discuss cultural attitudes when reacting to the media.
  

• Explore differences in media reporting.
  

• Explore how media presentations reflect cultural attitudes.
  

• Connections, Comparisons, and Communities
  

• Making Connections Through Language
  

• Identify and/or demonstrate a connection to various school subjects including psychology, history, humanities, government, and technology.
  

• Cultural and Linguistic Comparisons
  

• Compare and contrast reporting techniques of the American media with those of francophone countries.
  

• Compare the French use of the imperfect tense, passs composs and passive voice with English when discussing current events.
  

• Communication Across Communities
  

• Locate and use authentic resources in French to broaden understanding of the media.
  

Related Vocabulary and Linguistic Elements

• Vocabulary related to the media, past and present
  

• Vocabulary related to contemporary issues
  

• Expressions of conviction, opinions, and agreement or disagreement

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