Mr. Lafayette6th Grade Social StudiesSamoset Middle School

June 19, 2014

Spotlight on France: Learning About America’s Oldest Ally

Essential Question

• What is France in 2014?

Goals/Objectives

• Students will be able to locate France on a map of Europe.

• Students will be able to recognize famous buildings and items associated with France.

• Students will be able to generally appreciate French culture.

• Students will recognize/understand significant symbols of friendship between the United States and France.

Location: Western Europe, bordered by Atlantic Ocean (West) ; English Channel and Belgium (North) ; Luxembourg Germany, Switzerland and Italy (East) and, Spain and Mediterranean Sea (South). Approximately 8 hours flight from Boston.

Notre Dame Cathedral (Right) located in Paris is among the most famous churches in the world. Detail above the main door shows the workmanship that went into building this national treasure. Ground was broken for its construction in 1163, it was completed in 1345.

• France supported the American Colonists during the Revolutionary War.

• The key person who bridged the two nations was a French nobleman, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette.

• Lafayette paid his way to America and was appointed a Major General by the Continental Congress.

• Lafayette was the first honorary citizen of the United States.

Arc d’ Triomphe. Paris, site of France’s Unknown Soldier of World War I was dedicated in 1836.

The Eiffel Tower, Paris 1889

Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is a centerpiece of the priceless artifacts on display at the Lourve Museum in Paris.

The 1998 film Saving Private Ryan opened and closed with scenes filmed at the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy, France. It is a lasting, solemn tribute to the friendship between our two nations.

Traditional French foods, from over 300 types of cheese; to delicately flavored macarons to buttery croissants. Tradit

June 17, 1885 Lady Liberty arrived dismantled in NY Harbor, a gift from France.