Famous French People

A WebQuest for French 2

Designed by Katie Murry

KatieEMurry@hotmail.com

Introduction

I designed this lesson so that students would increase their knowledge of well-known French people.

The students are to gain enough information on a famous French person to present in creatively to the class so that that person is remembered.  

Learners

This lesson is intended for French level two high school students.  It can be modified for higher level French by assigning the paper and presentation to be done entirely in French.  This lesson could also be modified for lower grade French requiring less information.

Learners should have a general idea of some famous French objects to relate to the famous people.  And students should have knowledge of how to write a bibliography and be able to present in front of the class.

Curriculum Standards

The existing standards that are covered in this lesson are:

Foreign Language Standard Addressed

• Cultural knowledge is an integral part of all second language study. Such knowledge allows linguistic and paralinguistic behaviors to be recognized and executed, enhances understanding of societal norms and institutions, and deepens appreciation of the culture’s artistic and intellectual achievements.

This lesson focuses on research, writing and presented.  The focused area is a French person to tie in well known pieces of art or other works to the country about which the students are learning.   

Process

This lesson requires two block periods in the library/computer lab.  The paper and presentation are due the third day.  All students should be ready to present and turn in their paper that third day, but if time runs out, presentations only can overlap to the next day.

This is the process given to students:

1.  First, you need to pick a person.  You can pick someone you already know something about, or you can pick an area that interests you.  No one can do the same person and remember that you need to show the person's works during your presentation (make sure you can do that!)  When you have decided on a person, tell me immediately so I can assign him/her to you and no one else can have him/her!

Painters          Writers        Singers      Designers        Actors/Actresses      Athletes

2.  Second, use the links under these different areas to go to sites that have some biographical information about your person.  If the sites do not have enough information, or if you need pictures of works or of your person, you will need to go into the library and look for specialized books or others that you can find on your person.

3.  Write your paper.  Remember that it needs to be typed and to include the information listed under the task.  If you leave out any parts, you will lose points.  See the scoring guide.  Also, don't forget about plagiarism!  This is your paper, not just information from a web site.

4.  Organize your presentation.  You can use your paper or flash cards, but do not read!  The presentation is supposed to relay important and interesting information about your person, so that they are remembered.  You don't want to be so boring that the class falls asleep!  Remember the presentation needs to include all information listed under the task.  Again, if any parts are left out, points will be deducted.  Again, see scoring guide.

Your paper and presentation are due on the date said in class.  This project is worth 60 points total (see scoring guide.)  5 points are taken off each day that you are not prepared to present.  The paper can be turned in on time, but 5 points will still be taken off without a presentation each day late.

Some students have trouble picking a person to research.  I am hoping that this WebQuest will focus them to a certain area (as described under the process on the student page.)  Sometimes, I have had to just assign a person to a student.  However, the student has no connection and therefore either doesn't do an adequate job, or doesn't finish the project. 

I am hoping that with this WebQuest this lesson will be easier to get the students on task faster and to get them to choose a subject person easier.  All student's progress does need to be monitored and each student should have an assigned person within the first half of class.  I have had the most problems with absent students missing the instruction and library time, but again with this WebQuest, I hope that issue will be somewhat resolved.

Variations

Higher level French classes could require the paper and the presentation to be written and spoken entirely in French.

Lower level French classes could omit the requirement of the paper or presentation.

Resources Needed

Resources needed:

• Computers with internet access
• Specific reference materials in the classroom or school library
• Video or audio materials as needed to show the works of the famous people.  (These should be acquired by the student if you cannot provide)
• VCR, cassette player, and/or DVD player to show any famous works as brought in by the student

Only one human resource is needed, you.  Aides or parents can help monitor students in the computer lab or the library.  They could also help focus students on specifics in their research and guide them in the right direction.  A field trip has been taken to somewhat relate to this lesson.  At the city museum a selection of French works was on display.  We went in French 3 a year later because we had a smaller class size.  The students remembered learning about a few of the artists whose works were on display.  They learned even more at the exhibit and loved going with the smaller group .

Evaluation

I will know that this lesson was successful by the amount of interesting information the students give during their presentations.   I will also know that I explained all required parts clearly if they are included in every project.  These parts are listed under task (and through the scoring guide (see below.)  I will also ask follow up questions after the day's presentations to see how many people remember different aspects of the presentations and important facts about the famous people.  

This scoring guide includes the points given for each part of the paper and the presentation.  All the parts were outlined in the task.

Credits & References

Thanks to my Ed555 Technology-Enhanced Learning Environment class at Pacific University.  And to the instructor Mike Charles who answered all my questions to the best of his knowledge.

This page idea is from The WebQuest Page and the Design Patterns page has the latest version of this template and training materials.

"We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuest. On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new URL."