Imparfait: Learning how to talk about the past

Lesson Plan Template Grade/Content

Area7th,8th grade/French

Lesson Title Imparfait: Your Guide to Speaking about the Past

State standards: NOT REQUIRED FOR EDC 312 Lesson Plan!

Context of the Lesson

Describe the location of the school, class size, and when this lesson

takes place (beginning of unit, middle, end…). Be sure to anticipate a

diverse group of learners and describe

them briefly.

Location: Kingstown, Rhode Island. Rural area, with median household income at $70,939. It is a predominantly white town with 82.2% white population, 6% hispanic, and 5% black. I expect there to be slightly more girls than boys in the class (57.1% vs 42.9%). (http://www.city-data.com/city/Kingston-Rhode-Island.html) Size: There are about 15 students in the class. This lesson will take place during the middle of the unit, as students will need a basic understanding of french conjugation, and it will get more complex from here (hopefully they will have learned basics of the language in 6th grade). Some of the students have special needs, and require special one on one assistance out of and during class, whereas others excel at the language. Most of the students fall somewhere in between. I will be grouping students with similar capabilities together so they can boost each other, and not make anyone feel bad about their progress.

Objectives Objectives include a

measurable verb, conditions and criteria

for student success. May use cognitive,

affective or psychomotor domain from Bloom’s

taxonomy

At the completion of this lesson, students should be able to identify and conjugate verbs in the "imparfait" by choosing which tense to use and using the proper endings to the verbs.

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Imparfait: Learning how to talk about the past

Assessment Describe how you will

assess each of your objectives and state

which types of assessment you will use:

informal/formal (Ch. 10)

I will know each of my students learned the lesson objective by correctly completing that task for at least one reading and exercise (in their books). I will get the reading from their textbooks which offers short stories in the appropriate tenses for each unit. I will assess it based on how well they were able to identify the imparfait verbs and conjugate them. I expect them to be able to find all the usages of the verbs, however it is fine if they missed one or two.

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Imparfait: Learning how to talk about the past

Differentiating Instruction &

Materials Needed

1. Cultural differences you anticipate in a diverse classroom and what you will do to support these differences: (Ch. 2-7)

I could expect that different students have different pressures at home to succeed, different worldviews, and inconsistencies between home and school cultures, not to mention the socioeconomic and cultural differences between students. To support these differences, I would be sure to offer content from different ethnic groups, especially French culture which they would be studying and which might produce some culture shock. I’d also be sure to organize group projects in a way that promotes diversity.

2. Cognitive differences and learning needs for this specific age learner: (Ch. 4 & 5) According to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, this learner would be in the formal operations stage. This age learner has the ability to plan ahead, and use some self-regulated learning strategies, however they are still developing these strategies. Therefore, this age group should receive homework that allows independent learning. They should still be given guidance about strategies to stay on task and remembering assignments, as well as the best ways to study. In the case of my lesson, I would assign them exercises to practice what they have learned. I would also urge them to use comprehension monitoring in order to make sure they are actually learning what they are studying.

3. How will you use Motivation and Affect theories to inform your lesson plan ideas for different needs of learners?: (Ch. 5) First, I could use the clinical method to understand where a student is developmentally. This would allow me to gauge which students need special instruction. I would create in-class groups that would put students with similar abilities in the same groups, so they can grow and push each other. I could assign some exercises to the students that excel, while continuing to work with students that show signs of struggles. I would work with them through the exercises until they show an ability to do it on their own. Motivators could include if a student wishes to visit France, or study abroad there. Another motivator is if they have family members which they could communicate with in French.

Materials needed: List materials, include MLA format of all materials and sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C0Uv2M5pwc

Valette, Jean Paul and Rebecca M Valette. Discovering French Today!. Orlando, Fla.: Holt McDougal, 2013. Print.

Bescherelle, Louis-Nicolas. Complete Guide To Conjugating 12.000 French Verbs. Paris: Hatier, 1998. Print.

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Imparfait: Learning how to talk about the past

Instructional Procedures

Opening must have a ‘hook’ and include development of declarative knowledge (what students will learn)

Engagement must include building students’ procedural knowledge’(how to do something) and must actively engage learners. Be sure to list one specific instructional strategy from Ch. 8 (such as cooperative learning, direct instruction, etc).

Closing must include development of students’ ‘conditional knowledge’ or transfer of what they’ve learned. Review objective(s) and seek student application of material learned (when again)

Opening:

I will show students the “imparfait" song (attached above), which will be a fun and silly introduction to the rules of imparfait. I will then explain that today they will be learning to conjugate and identify when to use the imparfait.

Engagement: I will first use expository instruction in order to introduce the specific conditions under which one would use the imparfait, and how to conjugate simple verbs into the imparfait. I will explain these conditions and then move into direct instruction where I would give sample sentences, and ask students whether we should use the imparfait or not, and then ask them how to conjugate it (with the help of their books and what will be written on the board they should be able to complete this task). This way they have the ability to work on it with me, and I can address any misunderstandings. Students will then have the opportunity to work on this in groups, and then individually (using their textbook exercises). They will hand in their work so I can assess their progress and make sure they understand. They will be quizzed on the imparfait at the end of the unit.

Closure: We will go around the class, each stating something we did as a child using the imparfait. I will then let them know that we will be using this tense in future essays, and announce that we will continue to work on it over the next few days along with another past tense the “passé composé”.

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