General Information Project Overview Curriculum Connections Learning Outcomes Resource Connections Evaluation

  General Information

  Project Overview

The project will be based on the study of the novel Aller-Retour. Throughout the course of the project, students will have the opportunity to communicate their comprehension and appreciation of this novel with other students in francophone and immersion classes across the province and the country. In addition, students will research aspects of the novel's setting (Montréal), as well as organizations whose mandate includes issues relating to one of the novel's main theme (abuse and violence against youths). This project will, above all else, provide opportunities to communicate with other students - especially francophones -in meaningful situations, which is the fundamental premise upon which French Immersion operates. In an anglophone community, with little chance for interaction in French, this venture will open a myriad of windows of opportunity for communication in French.

  Curriculum Connections

The Grade IX French Immersion includes the study of two novels, one of which is Aller-Retour. The project will develop skills in reading comprehension, online and oral communication, writing (vocabulary development, precise use of language conventions, register of language, summaries of information) and information literacy skills. The project will also touch on social and moral questions of abuse, violence and solitude, as well as interpersonal relationships. Students will have the opportunity to study the novel's setting, using maps of Montréal's downtown and subway system to pinpoint the novel's action.

  Learning Outcomes

The majority of the learning outcomes associated with this project are related to Language Arts of Français. Students will:

1. Read and demonstrate understanding of the novel through a variety of activities.
2. Write for different purposes and audiences (asking for info, summarizing...).
3. Use of combination of cueing systems and strategies to understand texts.
4. Evaluate critically and with sensitivity different points of view.
5. Demonstrate skills of comprehension (recall, analysis, synthesizing of information).
6. Use speaking skills, with appropriate and precise vocabulary and grammar, for a variety of functions.
7. Use online research and e-mail communications for research and exchange of information, ideas and opinions.
8. Demonstrate skills in effective group-work and group dynamics.
9. Demonstrate skills in problem-solving techniques.
10. Interpret of maps of a city (Montréal) to pinpoint locations key to the novel's plot.
11. Learn about French-Canadian communities.
12. Develop an appreciation for the socio-cultural differences and similarities between anglophone and francophone communities.
13. Demonstrate an understanding of factors which may influence self-concept.
14. Demonstrate an understanding of factors which may affect interpersonal relationships.

  Resource Connections

The Stellar Schools connection will broaden access of computers to students. Being part of the Stellar Schools connection will enable all students to work individually and in small groups. In order to access the social organizations and information on Montréal, the Stellar Schools connection will be a vital tool. Finally, the Stellar Schools connection is necessary in order to provide students with meaningful communicative opportunities with other students and francophones in a variety of contexts.

Other Resources:
Dictionaries

  Evaluation

Students will be evaluated according to the Learning Outcomes listed above. Various methods of evaluation will be employed: observation, personal interview, projects and communicative activities (content and quality of language), written and oral presentation of material gleaned from research (e.g. online), critique and personal evaluation of book, as well as group work (processes, decision-making techniques, product).

This project will, above all else, validate our students' experiences in French Immersion and consolidate their knowledge and abilities. It will move our students from their anglophone environment to francophone communities across the country and, eventually, around the world.