The Great Debate
Here in French 8 we debate the pressing issues of our times – in French! Are stereotypes about Generation Z accurate? What came first the chicken or the egg? What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow? We’ll create teams, a script, and… debate! This unit has been adapted from Debate in the French Classroom.
Verbal Fluency: Speaking Freely
Activités pour dévélopper la fluidité verbale: parler librement
- Using one of the word prompts provided, turn to a partner and speak for a full minute in French. You can say anything, so long as it is somehow related to your word.
- Write several sentences in French using your word as a prompt. Share your completed work with a partner. See if you can translate what the other has written.
The Power of Persuasion
Activités pour dévélopper la fluidité verbale: être persuasif.
- Review “simple convincing phrases” vocab. Try to convince your partner to try your hobby using only French.
- Write out five sentences using “simple convincing phrases” share your write-up with a partner. Try to translate one another’s work
Resources
Pronunciation Warm-Up
One reason we sometimes lack confidence speaking French is that we are uncertain or uncomfortable with the pronunciation and accent…
Watch the videos… try the accent and the suggested intonations…
Intonation
We communicate a lot with the tone of our voice. With a partner try saying these sentences with different moods / emotions:
- Où sont mes clés?
- Le train part.
- La porte du garage était ouverte pour toute la nuit et personnen’a remarqué.
Dites-la d’une façon ___________
With a partner. Write out French sentences, speak aloud and try to comprehend your partner (or) ad-lib a variety of French sentences utilizing the following emotions:
- Impatient/hurried (Impatient)
- Excited/thrilled (Excité)
- Amused (Amusé)
- Curious (Curieuse)
- Angry (En colère)
- Despairing (Désespéré)
Finished early? Try expressing one of these emotions!
The Tone of Narration
Is the tone different than Can you pick out anything
|
Il était une fois une maman cochon qui avait trois petits cochons. Elle les aimait beaucoup, mais comme il n’y avait pas assez de nourriture pour qu’ils puissent tous manger à leur faim, elle les a envoyé tenter leur chance dans le vaste monde. |
We’ll be reading La Trois Petits Cochon as a class – the wolf
will be going on trial!
L’Infinitif
We learn English without tackling too much grammar. On the other hand, in French we like to pick everything apart: labeling tenses, formally conjugating verbs etc. We won’t just pick up proper grammar through a combination of osmosis and being constantly corrected… “Where are they eating? Over there! They’re eating their croissants…” Let’s ‘pick apart’ one such topic – infinitives.
The infinitive is the basic, unconjugated form of a verb, sometimes called the name of the verb. In English the infinitive is the word “to” followed by a verb: to talk, to see, to return. The French infinitive is a single word with one of the following endings: -er, -ir, or -re: parler, voir, rendre. We usually learn French verbs in the infinitive, since that is what you start with in order to conjugate them.
Highlight all the verbs from the first paragraph of the Three Little Pigs story and write them in their infinitive form!
(For example, if the sentence were “Je mange.” You could write “Je mange = I eat -> manger = to eat”)
Persuasive Language
Here is an example of a student’s persuasive essay from an AP French course:
- Ensure comprehension (translation available below if necessary)
- Read the essay with a partner in a certain tone / with a given emotion (ie. Dites-la d’une façon…)
- Underline key words/words that you would emphasize if you were reading this as a speech
- Which words have positive connotations?
- Which words have negative connotations?
| Mr. Little’s Translation:
Car accidents are a daily problem. Every day there are many deaths around the world. One way to respond to the crisis would be to prohibit seniors from driving; however, is it truly necessary to do this? The first thing to realize is that the majority of accidents are caused by youth and adults, not seniors. Like it has been mentioned in numerous sources, seniors have less accidents than others. One reason is experience. As soon as a person has received a (driving) permit, they can drive. As a consequence, if someone starts to drive when they are young, they will have much time to practice. According to the table (ie. part of the essay prompt) people who are 65 years or more have less driving licenses – only 15.8 percent of permits. It is well known that seniors do not drive and speak on the phone or text, a major cause of accidents. Furthermore, seniors do not drink alcohol like young people do. Secondly the government will not be allowed to tell all the seniors that they can not drive. It is the right of the individual to decide if a person should drive. For example, my grandmother, who is 90 years old, drives every day because she has good health. After having heard the third source (eg. from prompt) I myself am forced to admit (rendered by the account) that many seniors are sick. However, it is not just to ban (not allow) all seniors. It is important that everyone has the opportunity to drive at all ages. It is discrimination to ban seniors. If the Jewish were banned from driving, everyone would be appalled. It is no different with someone’s age. Every citizen should have the same rights. In conclusion (having made all accounts), there should not be a driving ban based on people’s age. Accidents are not cause by them. A question to ask is the following: should one be banned from something only due to one’s age? |
Resources
- Day 2 PowerPoint: Intonation and Persuasion
- The Three Little Pigs
- French Infinitive – L’infinitif (ThoughtCo)
- (bonus) Infinitive – Infinitif (Lawless French)
- 30 Useful Essay Phrases (alternatively: in Quizlet form)
Video Links
Parlez-vous français?
Histoire traditionelle
Now that we’ve established some of the ways for us to intone our French, we can put it to use by performing Les Trois Petits Cochons, “une pièce de théâtre.”
- Form a group of 5 (or 4 with one person playing two roles)
- Ensure your group has a copy of Les Trois Petits Cochons (the one with the instruments) available here.
- Cast the various roles (le narrateur has the biggest part – your strongest French speaker!)
- Pratiquer!
- Each group performs their play (to me, or to the class, your choice!)
Fast groups can tackle the comprehension questions – these worksheets are only available in person…
Yes or No?
Je vais vous poser des questions. Essayez de les répondre sans dire “OUI”, “NON”, ou “Peut-Être”. Cherchez des expressions plus intéressantes de ma liste.
1) Begin with these questions:
Do you like soccer? Do you eat meat? Do you play sports? Do you like school? Do you love French class? (BIEN SÛR!!!) Do you get along with your parents? Do you like our Prime Minister?
2) In your group: let one person answer the questions that the rest of you make up!
Resources
- Day 3 PowerPoint: The Three Little Pigs
- Comprehension questions only available in class
- Les Trois Petits Cochons Flash Cards
- Les Trois Petits Cochons Language Flash Cards
- The Three Little Pigs
- Yes or No? Vocabulary
Video Links
Histoire Traditionelle: Le Vilain Caneton (Ping-Pong Reading)
- Form a group of 2, 3 or 4.
- Ensure your group has a copy of Le Vilain Caneton (The Ugly Duckling) available online here.
- Take turns reading the French and English
- Pratiquer votre accent et pronunciation.
- Each group should read a few of the French lines to me! I’ll help with pronunciation.
Sample Debate: Technology, is it useful?
On Your Own
- Use the argumentation vocabulary to fill in the blanks on the conversation script.
- Worried about time? Then start with half the conversation.
With a Partner
- Recite the combined dialogue…
- Try to pick out the meaning of the sentences – especially the argumentation vocabulary.
- Repeat, swapping characters…
Resources
- Day 4 PowerPoint
- Sample Debate Script
- Argumentation Vocabulary
- The Ugly Duckling – Le Vilain Caneton
Video Links
- Bonhomme Carnaval – Everyday Life (not part of unit – just interesting aside)
Stromae – Carmen Ping-Pong Reading
- Form a group of 2, 3 or 4.
- Ensure your group has a copy of the stromae lyrics, found online here.
- Take turns reading the French and English
- Pratiquer votre accent et pronunciation.
- Each group should read a few of the French lines to me! I’ll help with pronunciation.
Retweet, thumbs up, upvote this.
Crafting the scripted argument
- Cobble together your response to Stromae – Carmen using the suggested script options (or compose an original response).
- Team up and write a final version (use some of this vocabulary to add polish)
- Share your final statement with me!
Resources
Pour ou Contre – L’Immigration
- Consider your opinion of immigration (in France/Europe or Canada?)
- Remember this is a delicate subject, treat it with respect
- Consider Kery James – Lettre à la République video and his sentiments
- Team up to write your argument (you can use the arguments provided or write your own) [2, 3, 4?]
- Share your final statement in French then English
Superfight
Rules:
- 8 team tournament, pick a name for your team
- Choose 1 black and 1 white card from 3 white and 3 black
- Choose a random black card (you are stuck with this one!)
- Create a new “fighter” for each round
- 2 French sentences on why you will win… (and English translation)
- Class rules still apply
- Other teams vote for winner
- You may lose even with the better argument or better delivery… even if you win the vote because:
- Teacher has final word…
Sample Argument:
Spaghetti Monster, Shoots Lasers, Only While Asleep
- Je combats d’énormes dauphins tout le temps dans mes rêves.
- I fight huge dolphins all the time in my dreams.
- Les dauphins ne mangent pas de spaghetti
- Dolphins don’t eat spaghetti.
Dolphin, 10 of them, 10 stories tall
- Je peux te manger. Tu es délicieux.
- I can eat you. You are delicious.
- Je n’ai pas besoin de te battre quand tu dors
- I do not need to fight you when you sleep.
Resources
- Day 7 PowerPoint: Superfight
- This lesson *requires Superfight the card game
*(You could invent fighters for each team and round…)
Once Upon a Time
2 Groups 2 Stories: Fairy Tale How To
- Narrow down your stories down to the 5 best elements…
- One to two sentences per element (French and English Translation)
- Finish one card at a time – bring the finished sentences to me
- I can give you an “interrupt” card at any time – you must add
Sample Intro:
Card: Forest (place)
- Il était une fois une belle forêt.
- There once was a beautiful forest.
Card: Fairy (character)
- Dans la forêt, une fée a fait sa maison.
- Warning: Deep in the forest, a magical fairy made her home… (is this where our French is at?)
- In the forest a fairy made her home.
Story Tips
Assign roles:
- Who is bringing me each finished sentence and translation?
- Who is writing?
- Who is translating?
- How is everyone going to participate?
- Assign one person to create the sentence for each card?
- Try to use a variety of card-types. Make it interesting!
- Be flexible when you are “interrupted”
Remember:
- Class rules apply
- We will be ping-pong reading these stories (I’m writing them out)
Resources
- Day 8 PowerPoint: Once Upon a Time
- This lesson *requires Once Upon a Time the card game
*(You could invent story elements for your class…)
Pre-Trial Preparation
In smaller groups write:
- Why the pig is guilty
- Why the wolf is guilty
In larger groups write (two per class):
- The setting
- The rebuttals
- The punishments (one per juror)
Assign roles:
- Who will play the judge? The jurors? etc.
The Trial
Written works checklist:
- The setting
- Why the wolf is guilty
- Why the pig is guilty
- The lawyer’s rebuttal of the wolf’s comments
- The 2nd lawyer’s rebuttal of the pig’s comments
- The punishments (1 per juror)
Schedule:
- Ping-pong read the script as a class
- Ensure your lines are complete and you know where they slot in (do you have to edit them to make sense in the script?)
- Practice run(s)
- Present to the class!
Why debate anyway?
- Above all, be able to communicate your needs and opinions
- Develop your ability to form coherent arguments and support them … (this can be difficult even in your native language!)
- Develop the important skill of listening and learn to tolerate the ideas of others
- Express your own opinions, supporting them with examples from your own life