Stratégies et Activités pour la Classe
La Géographie et La Francophonie
Where in the world do people speak French? Where do the majority of French speakers reside? What is the citizenship of those born in La Martinique? After the discussion that ensues, introduce the concept of la Francophonie and DOM-TOMs. Project a world map as in Appendix 2 (http://mademoiselle-mauti.wikispaces.com/Maps), for students to see. Show and model aloud the pronunciation of all continents and oceans in French, having students repeat until they are able to pronounce these terms correctly. Using computer speakers and a SMART Board or a projector that can duplicate your computer screen, access: http://quizlet.com/2506259/francophonies-and-continents-flash-cards/. Go through the Francophonies and Continents flashcards with students, asking and answering the questions as a class. Enable the audio, and go through the flashcards a second time. Have students answer aloud. Students will need access to headphones, computers, and the Internet for at least a week's time, so if they do not have laptops of their own in class, provisions should be made to sign up for a computer lab, or to book a mobile computer lab in advance. Direct students to access http://www.ah-bon-french.wikispaces.com. Once on the Ah Bon Home page, click on Chapitre 2, Segment 1: Francophonies. Students will eventually complete all of the online activities pertaining to la Francophonie. Once they have gone through the flashcards twice, ask them to listen to and repeat "All 31 Terms" on their own. Have students click the "Back arrow," scroll down and read the notes on World Francophone Areas. Students should copy the notes, then study and memorize the Francophone areas that belong in each continent as well as how to spell them, for homework. They should study the individual maps on the site, and try to situate each place on a world map as well.
Have students go back to the Francophonies and Continents flashcards and unselect "show both sides." They should answer as many as they can on their own before they refer to their notes. On that same set of flashcards, Learn, Test, Scatter, and Space Race should be completed by students individually. These can be challenging. Have students redo them until they can master them. Create a six cell table on the board; one of the six continents where Francophonies are located should be the heading inside each square. One continent at a time, ask volunteers to name the Francophone places on that continent. Each student who answers correctly can write their Francophone place on the board, under the correct heading. You may wish to use a different color marker or chalk for each continent/square.
The next Francophonie lesson should begin with the students listening to, and repeating the audios for Amérique du nord, Amérique du sud, Océanie, Asie, Europe, and Afrique as they view them on a large screen. They should each repeat this activity on their own computers once we've done it as a class. Check for proper pronunciation by pointing to places on projected maps and asking for volunteers to name them. Once students feel more confident, choose "victims" to give the answers. Distribute legal size, blank paper to students and have them create a Foldable study guide by folding the paper into six equal squares. Label each of the six squares at the top with one of the headings: Amérique du nord, Amérique du sud, Océanie, Asie, Europe, and Afrique. Students should use the Ah Bon website if needed, to fill in the Francophone areas that belong in each square, making sure to list them under the appropriate headings. Because there are so many in Africa, they will have to write some of them on the back of that square as well. Hole punch one side of the Foldable so students can secure it in their binders.
Have students reconfigure the Quizlet as you prefer, and have them take the online Quiz. You may wish to record the scores of this online assessment, and do the same with the Test portion of the Francophonies and Continents flashcards, which you can have them reconfigure differently than how they took it the first time – preferably to a more challenging version. Students should explore the website: Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie – La voix de la diversité (The International Francophonie Organization – The voice of diversity) at: http://www.francophonie.org/. Additionally, you may want to prepare a set of questions for them to research on this site.
As a mini project, students will design a Francophonie packet. Access my wiki site: http://mademoiselle-mauti.wikispaces.com/Maps to find directions as well as PDFs of the maps that can be printed, photocopied, and collated into packets. Students will complete these by labeling continents, oceans, and Francophone countries/departments/ areas in French. Provide students with highlighters, markers, and pencil crayons so they may brightly color their maps, to have the francophone areas stand out on each page.
To further assess their knowledge of geography and geographical vocabulary in French, place a blank world map template inside a dry erase plastic pocket and distribute one, along with a fine tip dry erase marker, to each student. Without any aids, their task is to locate on the map from memory, at least 3 Francophonie areas on each continent and label them correctly in French, along with the continents and the oceans. Have students present to you individually, as they point out one continent at a time, and show you where the three Francophonies of their choice are on each continent. They should be graded both for geographical accuracy and for their French pronunciation of the geographical lexicon. For example: «En Amérique du nord il y a Le Québec, Saint- Pierre-et Miquelon, et la Louisiane.En Amérique du sud il y a…»
L'Histoire
Students are given key words to look up which will help paint the picture of the historical backdrop of antebellum New Orleans. Assigned words will include: quarteron(ne) (quadroon: one white, one mulatto parent), octavon(ne) (octoroon), esclave (slave), maître (master), Quadroon Balls, Vente de la Louisiane (The Louisiana Purchase), Créole, métissage (racial mixing), mulâtre (mulatto), plaçage
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pla%C3%A7age), représentant (Google Books: Bell, Caryn Cossé. Revolution, Romanticism, and the Afro-Creole Protest Tradition in Louisiana. p.112.), un mariage de conscience (a conscientious marriage), Le Code Noir (The Black Code), affranchissement (manumission), filles du roi or filles à la cassette (casket girls), Les Cenelles. You can give the web site clues to the students with the words plaçage, and représentant, as these may be a little trickier. The others should find plenty of information when they research their words; all students will be made aware that they should look up their words within the context of nineteenth century New Orleans.
Go to: http://mademoiselle-mauti.wikispaces.com/Vocabulaire where you can open and print a Vocabulaire de la Nouvelle Orléans au 19ième Siècle handout. Students will define the word or words they have received, depending on how large your class is. Each word requires a new handout. I write the French word only on slips of paper, and allow students to choose their words from a hat or an envelope. They will define the word in French and in English. Once again, they will need computer access to conduct Internet research. They should also have access to a good, French only dictionary, since they are not simply providing an English translation for their vocabulary words, but a French definition of the word as well. I recommend Le Petit Robert. They will then use the word in a sentence, and draw an illustration that conveys the meaning of the word. When all students have completed this vocabulary exercise and I've checked that the definitions are correct, they will engage in a game of "Vocabulary Speed Dating" whereby two rows of students face one another in the middle of the classroom and using their vocabulary sheets, take turns teaching the person standing in front of them the vocabulary word they were responsible for, within the time constraint I give them. Row "A" will go first, followed by row "B." Each line of students will initially get one minute to talk about their word until the person in front of them understands the word and is able to explain it as well. It's a good idea to use a timer or a stop watch of some sort for this. There are many online stop watches you can access. Project one on your screen and turn your computer speakers up so the alarm sounds loudly when time is up! You may adjust the maximum allotted time you give students to explain their words as needed. Then Row A can move one person to the right, in order to face off with a different partner for a second round, and so on, and so forth, until the whole class has been exposed to the entire list of words. The Speed Dating activity should be followed up with a class discussion and notes. Students should work in groups to create a timeline of events from the colonial period to 1845 when Les Cenelles was published. You may have them go beyond, and trace the important events leading up to the Civil War, if time permits.
Interpretive Mode of Communication
As a practice in reading and pronunciation, a selected poem of the teacher's choice, depending upon student needs, will be read aloud. Students will follow along in the packets provided and do nothing but read along and listen to the pronunciation of the words and phrases. Each line of the poem will be read aloud twice while students read along and listen. Next, I will return to the beginning of the poem to read and have the students respond in unison, reading the same line. We will repeat each line in this manner twice. Once students have had the chance to practice repeating after me one line at a time, we engage in choral reading of the entire poem as a class. At this time students will feel considerably more comfortable with the text, and I will have them read aloud individually, one line each, as we go in order, up and down the rows of student desks.
Students must learn to understand and interpret written and spoken language or they will be limited in experiencing the esthetic pleasure that literature can provide. This ties in very well with culture as well, since we are studying authentic materials. 38 To assist with reading and comprehension, encourage students to use more top-down strategies. They should initially focus on what they already know and can understand in the text, and then work to fill in the gaps by looking up the words they are not familiar with. We will start by discussing the literal meaning of the selected poem so that students have a clear picture of what is being described. To see the packet I devised for reading, interpreting and analyzing the poems, visit: http://mademoiselle-mauti.wikispaces.com/Les+Cenelles. Click on Analyser ces poèmes. The PDF file can be printed, photocopied, and given to students as a packet. You may also want to create comprehension questions to help guide students in their study of the poems. This handout provides space to work with five poems in particular, but additional poems could be studied in a similar fashion. I've created one blank page that can be used with the poems of your choice, for this purpose. The packet will serve as an exercise in showing student knowledge before and after their study of the poems. The text box on the left side of the poem, titled «Avant l'analyse» is the place for students to fill in everything they understand upon an initial reading of the poem. This may include identifying the infinitives of verbs, tenses, vocabulary, and any stylistic remarks. Once they read the poem and analyze it more closely with the aid of resources, they can fill in any gaps with what they learned using the space in the text box on the right to do so.
Once students understand the literal meaning of a poem, we can explore what hidden messages of social criticism might be detected in it. With the authentic texts before them, students will interpret the poem; determine the main ideas, and all significant details. Students will ultimately be able to translate the poems with reasonable accuracy in this way.
Les Cenelles: Littérature, Langue, et la Critique Sociale
We have already seen how well this unit lends itself to interdisciplinary learning through the study of the geography of the francophone world, and the history of New Orleans. As stated in the national standards for Foreign Languages, ACTFUL (American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Standard 3.1 requires that students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language. 39 This unit also allows for the development of Language Arts skills. The connections that can be made to Language Arts will occur in identifying and discussing literary devices such as metaphor, simile, rhythm, rhyme scheme, meter, and voice. Students should also seek to identify any cultural nuances including humor, irony, or sarcasm. For the French terminology needed to study poetry, see: http://mademoiselle-mauti.wikispaces.com/Les+Cenelles and click on «Étudiez un poème».
Students will read and analyze at least five poems from this anthology. As readers who will be cognizant of the precarious circumstances of les gens de couleur libres in antebellum New Orleans, they will appreciate the deep sense of melancholy behind the poems of Les Cenelles. Once one is aware of the fact that its authors were among the most disregarded citizens of New Orleans, prohibited by law from publishing any social criticism, and snubbed by women of their own race who would sooner attain social status and wealth by becoming the mistresses of white men, then the verses begin to whisper with a profound sadness about the social injustices of the time, hope for a better future, and at times, resignation and despair. Suddenly we see more than just mere imitations of French romantic poetry. 40 While the poems do not explicitly speak of their precarious existence, Les Cenelles managed to express their displeasure with the plight of their people.
Épigramme by Lanusse is written in the classic 12 syllable Alexandrain, the longest and most majestic verse of regular poetry. Students will count the syllables in each line to discover this. As we read the poem aloud, they will also observe the ABABCDCD rhyme scheme. This perfectly constructed huitain is dripping with irony; Lanusse condemns the greed of Créole mothers who wish to "place" their daughters, thereby ensuring their own financial well-being. This author, who was also a teacher at the Institution Catholique des Orphelins, a school for black orphans, describes a mother who goes to confession in this poem. Her earthly agenda quickly reveals itself as being more pressing to her than her salvation, as we can almost hear her murmur to the priest: «Pour m'"ter tout motif de pécher désormais, / Que ne puis-je, pasteur – Quoi donc? placer ma fille…» 41 (To remove all motive for me to sin from now on, / May I – what? place my daughter?)
Although nothing is known about M.F. Loitau, the author of Mon vieux chapeau reveals himself to be a man who feels the dread of having become inferior or undesirable in the eyes of the women of his caste since they were mostly interested in plaçage arrangements with wealthy, white men. He worries about whether or not he will ever have the opportunity to propagate his race. The tone seems witty and lighthearted at the onset; the quick rhythm of six syllable lines appears to support the same, as the author defends his outdated hat and describes how he wears it with pride despite everyone telling him that he needs «un nouveau. » Yet in the last stanza, when he understates his desire to have a son by saying how flattered he would be to see «Un garçon de ma taille» (a boy my size) / «Mettre mon vieux chapeau.» 4 2 (Put on my old hat) the tone suddenly becomes very serious in this three stanza huitain, written in an ABBACDCD rhyme scheme. The imagery of his outdated hat is likely an allegory for the troubles of his people, who seem to have fallen from grace. The poet would think it a kindness from God to have a son carry on his legacy, or on a larger scale, to keep the legacy of his beloved gens de couleur libres from going the way of the dodo.
P. Dalcour elaborates on this feeling of dread felt by Les Cenelles in his Heure de désenchantement. This author spent most of his time in Paris because he could not bear the restrictions placed upon his race in Louisiana. 43 Here, he describes himself as a jaded individual who can no longer believe in happiness on earth, despite the fact that he is barely twenty-five years old. He proclaims this in a refrain at the beginning, and at the end of the poem. To further illustrate his stance, he uses a metaphor when referring to happiness as a "deceiving ghost." 44 The AABB rhyme is regular and the poet uses a series of 10 quatrains consisting of two couplets each, to express his anger and disenchantment with the world. Dalcour expresses his disdain for plaçage by calling to mind the disloyal hearts of the men who "possessed" these women. His despair over the condition of his people is evident in the eighth stanza: «Le monde est un cloaque où règnent les vices, / Où chacun bassement se livre à ses caprices, / Où le fort sous ses pieds tient le faible abattu, Où l'homme impudemment parle encor de vertu!» 45 (The world is a cesspool where vices reign, / Where everyone basely gives in to his whims, Where the strong keep the weak and dejected underfoot, / Where man impudently still speaks of virtue!) This is the powerful poem with which Lanusse chose to conclude the anthology. All of the poets who contributed to Les Cenelles undoubtedly shared in Dalcour's anger.
The hopeless romantic in me longed to share at least one love ballad with my students as well; hence Tu m'as dit je t'aime by M. St. Pierre, the swordsman and fencing master of the group, has found its way into my selection of poems for this unit. The up-beat, five-syllable lines which make up these three huitains would prove conducive to memorization, as would the ABABCDCD end rhymes. I suspect this will be the poem of choice for the majority of my students when it comes time to select one to recite in class. The love-struck poet proclaims his unbridled joy about Marguerite having told him that she loves him. «? bonheur extríme! / Qu'ils sont beaux mes jours! / Tu m'as dit: je t'aime! / Redis-le toujours!» 46 (Oh extreme happiness! / How beautiful are my days! / You told me: I love you! / Repeat it always!)
Un An d'Absence is the second poem by P. Dalcour which I chose to have my students analyze because it states concisely what they will have learned at this point regarding the difficulties suffered by les gens de couleur libres in nineteenth century New Orleans. Dalcour speaks of a place «Loin d'un monde imposteur, / Loin des regards profanes,» 47 (Far from an imposturous world, / Far from profane stares,) denoting his position of disdain for the inferior social situation in which he finds himself. He also makes reference to the "evils" that he has suffered. He speaks of having been "exiled" from New Orleans by cruel fortune, and expresses his happiness to be returning from France after having been away for a year. His poem is addressed to a blonde, blue-eyed Créole woman, the object of his affection, or does she represent the city of New Orleans? His refrain could just as easily be meant for his beloved New Orleans, "Yes, I still love you!" He closes the poem stating that he always will. Perhaps this is an allusion to the fact that despite the hardships of his existence in New Orleans, it is nonetheless home to him, and he will always feel a connection to it. These four huitain stanzas of ABABCDCD rhyme beautifully convey how entrenched the intangible heritage of New Orleans remained in Dalcour's identity, despite the injustice he had to face there. Upon his return from a year's absence, the unwavering love he has for his birthplace, despite its increasingly oppressive laws, allows him to return «fidèle. » (loyal) even though NOLA may not have always remained loyal to him.
Interpersonal Mode of Communication
Students will prepare, memorize, and perform a dialogue or role play in pairs, or groups, engaging in conversation, providing and obtaining information, expressing feelings and emotions, and exchanging opinions. 4 8 Ask students to role play the conversation taking place between a white suitor and a représentant (the young woman's mother or a close relative) as they negotiate the terms of their plaçage agreement. Alternatively, the conversation can be between a free woman of color and her white gentleman suitor, taking place during one of the Octoroon Balls where they meet, or between a Creole man of color who loves a Creole woman, but is turned down by her due to her ambitions of becoming a white Frenchman's concubine, a placée, instead. They can choose to recreate Anastasie Desarzant's case as she tried to "pass" as white but was found to be an imposter by the Supreme Court of Louisiana after several witnesses provided evidence of her black lineage. The conversation between Henriette Delille – the woman who chose not to "pass," and her siblings who did, would make for an interesting discussion as well. The authors of Les Cenelles, discussing their rationale for the first Afro-American poetry anthology written in French would also be intriguing. There are several possible scenarios for students to role play; they may also propose one of their own for approval before they get started. Encourage students to be humorous when possible, but to use the vocabulary and the information they've garnered from class discussions, notes, and their own research. Provide students with a list of elements you would like to see in their dialogues, regardless of the scenarios they choose to act out. For example, I would request that in each dialogue there be a minimum of 6 examples each of the subjunctive, the future tense including: le future proche, le future simple, le future antérieur, the conditional, and whatever other grammar points I wanted them to practice.
Presentational Mode of Communication
Given a small number of poems to choose from, students will select their favorite to memorize and recite/present to the class. Before they begin to prepare for their presentations, discuss ways to enhance their performance. Props: some students like to create sock-puppet characters, masks, or other paraphernalia to use during their presentation. Lighting: an overhead projector makes a great spotlight with classroom lights turned off. Colored transparencies on the projector can aid in setting a mood; blue for sad, yellow for bright and sunny, green for a "wicked" performance, or that of an extra-terrestrial. Costumes: dressing up for a recital can include assuming the identity of the poet, or of one or more of the characters mentioned in the poem. Other performance-enhancers worth mentioning: music, sound effects, voice pitch and quality. This is a creative project; students will be graded on their originality and their recital of the poem, pronunciation and enthusiasm included. Before students get to this point, they should have memorized and presented some poems collectively already, like Le Corbeau et Le Renard, a fable from La Fontaine, for example. When the class has worked together on memorizing and reciting, they are familiar with the process and they feel more confident and comfortable with the idea. If they've never had the pleasure before, take heart, you will be the teacher to introduce them to this phenomenon and they will never forget you for it!
This is meant to be fun for the students preparing as well as for the classmates observing! If students feel intimidated, direct them to this video of a three year old boy who recites a 30 line poem and squeals with joy at the end for having been able to do it! This is how excited I'd like my students to be about presenting one of the poems from Les Cenelles: http://cleveridiot.tumblr.com/post/998104175/amazing-poem-recital-from-3-year-old-the-poem-is.
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