Objectives
In this unit, I propose that we take a page from those bumbling ways of my college days and have students choose locations to explore based on interest and curiosity rather than on top-ten lists of best-known, must-see spots. As they embark on a kind of picture walk through Paris, students will learn to describe what they see as well as the relationship between points (if they are near to or far from each other, for example). By looking at those places, those parts, in relationship to each other, they will begin to construct a sense of the city as a larger whole. By weaving back and forth between a larger-scale city map and pop-out, up-close "visits" to landmarks within neighborhoods through photographs and artwork, students will, I hope, develop a stronger sense of familiarity and confidence in what they come to know about Paris.
Images will be used in this unit to prompt language practice as students describe where they are "going to" or "coming from" and what they see there. They will distill their "experience" of each place down to its most essential elements, combining an image of the location with a key word or concept to create something similar to a comic-book panel. The words and concepts will meld with the images, creating visual-linguistic memory markers of the journey that will then be integrated into maps of the city, representing the physicality of place while also conveying aspects of place that inspire attachment. In this way I hope that our students may start to develop fluency not only in the French language but also in the geography and iconography of this most celebrated of cities.
When students are asked to present to the class, they often rely on reading what they've written on their supporting materials, a process that is boring for the audience and gives students the experience of simply reading rather than communicating. This is so very important for the true development of linguistic expression, and it is difficult for students to understand how to make the jump because in their English language classes they tend to struggle similarly. So in this unit there will be elements of both presentation and conversation, providing a balance between preparation in advance and spontaneous interaction. By having students distill each landmark down to key words or phrases, they will automatically begin examining and gathering what they consider to be important language and information relevant to the landmark; in this way the key words or phrases, if well-chosen, will then jog the memory of those other necessary language functions during presentation and conversation.
In our seventh-grade curriculum, more stress is placed on developing writing skills than it was in the fifth and sixth grades, both of which are more focused on oral expression and vocabulary-building. In eighth grade, everything gets more complex! Students have now developed such a wide array of language skills that situations call for picking and choosing appropriate ones; now there are even more ways than before to get at communication goals, so not only do students have to have a strong enough handle on all previous and current learning to know what to choose, but they also then have to keep language and grammar rules and exceptions in mind. So much choice and freedom can be overwhelming for students. This is that critical time when they will rise to the occasion and develop a thrill and taste for exploring language, or else they will tune out due to the ever-increasing challenges. It is obviously my goal to facilitate the former rather than the latter. I hope that this unit provides a solid structure within which students may and must make these more complex language choices.
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