TEACHER GUIDELINES

A block of approximately ten to twelve lessons is ideal for the undertaking of this project. However, the project is divided into several units, mainly for the purpose of providing more able students with extension tasks, so can be easily adapted to suit the conditions and time that is available. See the project submitted by Lyn Chalk, also of St. Gregory’s School, for details of video-editing. This is a very worthwhile extension activity, designed for use in conjunction with the Making Videos project by Lyn Chalk.

Lesson 1 – Classroom-based

The project is introduced by the teacher, referring where appropriate to previous units of work that will be consolidated, i.e. transport, directions, phrasing questions, description and presentation. Teachers can refer to the sheet Project Overview.

Using the OHT of Paris monuments, the teacher should initiate a class discussion (in English) of Paris and the famous landmarks of the city. Students should be given the opportunity to talk about their experiences, possibly referring to visits to the capital. A brief description of each monument should be provided by the teacher.

Students to be put into groups (ideally groups of 4-5), and asked to choose a monument. Each group chooses one of the following:

• Le Sacré-Coeur
• L’Arc de Triomphe
• La Tour Eiffel
• Le Musée du Louvre
• La Cathédrale Notre Dame
• Le Centre Pompidou

A possible homework activity could be to research the monument and collect pictures, postcards, etc.

Resources: OHT of Paris Monuments

Lessons 2 & 3 – ICT room

Prior to this lesson, teachers should refer to each of the websites on the Paris Websites sheet, in order to check that they are still running, etc.

Students should each be given a copy of the sheet ‘Paris Websites’. The sheet contains details of websites that can be consulted for general information of Paris and more specific sites concerning the individual monuments.

Students research their chosen monument in their groups. Ideally each member of the group will be responsible for researching a certain aspect of the monument, e.g. historical information, transport details, opening times, etc.

Teachers may find it helpful to distribute the sheet Researching Your Monument. This provides students with detailed information on what details to look for when conducting their research.

Resources: Computer with Internet access
Researching monumnets
Paris websites worksheet

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Lesson 4 – Classroom

Now that students have a greater knowledge of their chosen monument, they are provided with the opportunity to learn about the other monuments in Paris. Using the sheet C’est Quel Monument?, students take it in turns to read the information in French and work out which of the monuments each paragraph is describing. The activity can take place either as a whole-class task, or as a pair or group assignment. Dictionaries may be necessary.

A possible homework activity could be to summarise each text in English, making a note of any key vocabulary.

Resources: C’est Quel Monument? Worksheet

Lesson 5 – Classroom

In order to allow students to discuss their chosen monument in the target language, it will be necessary to introduce them to certain key vocabulary. Each student should be given a copy of the worksheet Paris, featuring a large wordsearch. Each of the words in the grid is provided at the foot of the sheet, representing all the key vocabulary required by the project. Teachers should explain each word to the class, in French where possible, before allowing students to complete the wordsearch activity. Students should make notes, writing the English translation beside each item.

As an extension or homework activity, students write a selection of sentences in French. For each of the words in the wordsearch, they should write a sentence that contains that word. e.g. ‘hauteur’ – La Tour Eiffel a une hauteur de 320,76 mètres’.

Resources: Paris Wordsearch

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Lesson 6 – Classroom

Students begin to plan their dialogues, in groups, in French. Each student should be given a copy of the sheet Dialogue Support, to assist with target language questions and answers. The dialogue should begin with the tour guide giving a brief presentation of the monument. The tourists will then ask questions to find out more about the site, including details such as entry fees, opening hours and how to get to the monument by public transport. Students will therefore need to refer to the Map of the Paris Metro Network.

Depending on the ability of the students, the teacher will need to assist where necessary.

As a homework activity each student should write and prepare one question and answer for their group’s dialogue.

Resources: Dialogue support worksheet
Map of the Paris Metro Network
Dictionaries

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Lessons 7 & 8 – Classroom

Students continue to write their dialogues. As a rough guide, each script should be approximately one to two sides of A4. The teacher would be well advised to collect the scripts after Lesson 8 to check grammar, vocabulary, etc.

Lesson 9 – Classroom

Students practise their dialogues and prepare cue cards. Ideally the cue cards should be on A5 white card, written in black felt pen. The students should be able to read them from a distance of approx. 2-3 metres.

The teacher should assist students with pronunciation where necessary, and should hear each of the dialogues before the final performance.

Students should practise their lines for homework.

Lesson 10 – Classroom

The teacher should choose an area of the classroom that is most attractive as a back-drop for the performances. Furniture will probably have to be moved in preparation.

Each dialogue is performed. For each dialogue, one member of the class (or the teacher) should hold the cue cards.

Note: The performance is designed to be filmed, and the person holding the cue-cards should stand behind the person holding the camera. For more information on filming and video-editing of the dialogues, see the project Making Videos submitted by Lyn Chalk, also of St. Gregory’s School.

Lesson 11 – ICT room

Students produce an ICT presentation on their monument, using Microsoft Powerpoint. This will require approximately 2 lessons. Link to Year 8 Powerpoint Project

Resources: Computer with Powerpoint and Internet access.

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