2015 AP French

2015-2016 IB/AP/CE French 4/5 CONTACT INFORMATION E-mail: mloveless@dsdmail.net Office hours: 2nd and 6th period, after school from 2:20 to 2:45 COURSE DESCRIPTION The advanced French classes at Bountiful High engage students in using the language in activities that are embedded in real life contexts and make frequent use of authentic materials produced by and for native French speakers. Activities encompass all three communicative modes (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational) and provide practice in the skill areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. During this course you will learn to make suggestions, ask and answer increasingly complex questions about a variety of topics, relate orally and in writing a series of past, current, future, and hypothetical events, and express opinions and advice. You will read longer literary passages and write letters, journals, and extended responses to reading. You will also be posting onto our class blog. You will apply information gathered from authentic French sources for information, entertainment, and personal enrichment, and analyze and explain cultural and linguistic perspectives unique to francophone culture. Concurrent Enrollment with Weber State University is offered to juniors and seniors in these classes. Students must enroll in September, pay the registration fee, and pass the oral interview and the written assessment in the spring. IB students work towards success on all IB assessments. The AP French test is also offered in the spring to those students who wish to take it. The six themes of AP French form the basis of our class. PARTICIPATION GUIDELINES You are now in an advanced French class, so you will be expected to speak French for most of the class period. Don’t worry about what you do not know how to say. You have already learned a lot of French, so focus on what you DO know. We are all going to make mistakes, but if we commit to an all-French classroom, we are going to grow by leaps and bounds. TALK, TALK, TALK!!!! Just be sure it’s in French. Participate fully in all classroom activities. This includes bringing all materials and homework to class, as well as being an active member of the class. Participation will be a combination of self-assessment and teacher assessment through classroom discussions. REQUIRED MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES The textbook will be used mostly as a reference and practice tool during class. Resource materials are drawn from a wide variety of authentic sources, and you will receive many handouts. My blog also lists sources for you to obtain authentic French podcasts and other resources. Please bring a spiral notebook that will be dedicated to French, a small, chunky notebook for vocabulary, and writing utensils. GRADING SCALE Progress toward proficiency will be assessed frequently and by a variety of means: graded assignments and projects, quizzes (oral and written), tests (oral and written), informal class activities and presentations, performance based tasks, and use of portfolios and journals for reflection and self-assessment. Scoring guides describing grading criteria for projects and activities will be available. Our real goal is to learn to speak and understand French. 93-100 A 83-84 B 73-74 C 63-64 D 90-92 A- 80-82 B- 70-72 C- 60-62 D- 85-89 B+ 75-79 C+ 65-69 D+ 59-0 F CITIZENSHIP Everyone appreciates a student who is on time, dressed appropriately, prepared, eager to participate in class, positive, and friendly. These students will receive an H in citizenship. Students with one or two tardies may receive a G. Students with 2 tardies and/or one unexcused absence may receive an S or N. Students with 3 or more tardies and/or 2 unexcused absences will receive a U. Our advanced class is small. If you are tardy, it affects others. ABSENCE POLICY When a student is absent, ninety minutes of speaking, listening, reading, and writing have been missed. Regular class attendance is extremely important. To be eligible for CE credit, students must maintain at least a 90% attendance rate. However, if you are absent... It is YOUR responsibility to meet with me to discuss any homework assignments or material you missed. The minute or two before class starts is not usually the best time. Come before school, after school, or during SIR. If there is a minute or two at the end of class, that is often a good time as well. If you know ahead of time that you will be absent due to a field trip, vacation, appointment, please let me know, so I can give you any materials you need to stay on track with the class. Make-up work, including tests and quizzes, is to be completed outside of class time and must be done in a timely fashion: WEEK at a GLANCE: Monday: ½ page summary in French of the film you watched Tuesday: Carnet check (vocabulary) Wednesday: Blog, 200 words on current AP theme, including two responses to classmates Thursday: Podcast, ½ page summary/vocabulary Friday: Presentation (Be able to talk for three minutes about current AP theme.) OTHER POLICIES Cell phones MUST remain inside purses, pockets, or lockers. If they are out in class for any reason, the BHS cell phone policy will be followed. Credit will not be given for work that is not your own. This includes using online translators. I have thoroughly read the information contained in this disclosure statement and understand what is expected of me/my child by Mme Loveless. Student signature/date:_________________________________________________ Parent/Guardian signature/date: ___________________________________________