French III Syllabus

 

Grammar

 

Course will review and refine grammar previously learned with emphasis on the present, passé composé, imperfect and near future verb tenses; and the use of pronouns.  We will then add the future, conditional and subjunctive to our cadre of verb tenses.

 

Pronunciation

 

We will focus on a group of pronunciation characteristics that are unique to French, through the reading and reciting of simple poetry.  These elements are essential not only to the mastery of spoken French, but to listening comprehension as well.

 

Comprehension

 

We will continue to hone our written and oral comprehension skills using a combination of written and video materials.  We will do a study of French history from Gaule to the present through a series of short readings, including a look at the extended Francophone world.  These readings are largely written in the verb tenses that we have studied in detail in French I and II and will serve as the first step in reading and understanding more complex materials.  We will focus on a systematic, reasoning approach to comprehension using skills that we have learned, rather than word for word translation.  We will read “Le Petit Prince”, a French classic written in 1943.  At first glance this work would appear to be a children’s fable, but upon closer inspection there is a lot of adult and sometimes complex wisdom buried in the story.  Our final reading will be an abridged version of a French classic novel, yet to be determined.  Class discussions and printed instructions will include less English as the year progresses.

 

Materials

 

French Dictionary – from prior years, Harper-Collins version recommended

501 French Verbs

Lisons Comme Ça – anthology

Le Petit Prince – will be distributed in class from material fee

Breaking the Barrier, Level II - workbook

 

Grading

 

Grades will be composed of homework, classwork, projects and tests/quizzes.  It is expected that homework will be completed if at all possible regardless of whether the student is present in class.  Homework assignments are posted daily on teacherweb.com.  My personal website on teacherweb can now be accessed directly from the school website by selecting “Creeknet” and following the prompts.