CAH @ Spearfish

Written Final Exam: Final Pre-Cap

Final Exams take place Wednesday, May 22 through Friday, May 24:

Wed 5/22 Block 1: French 3, Maroon 1.
Wed 5/22 Block 2: French 2, Maroon 2.
Wed 5/22 Block 3: French 2, Maroon 3.
Wed 5/22 Block 4: free for students, orals for CAH.
Thu 5/23 Block 1: free for students, orals for CAH.
Thu 5/23 Block 2: students take White 1 exams, CAH grades exams.
Thu 5/23 Block 3: French 1, White 2.
Thu 5/23 Block 4: free for students, orals for CAH.
Fri 5/24 Block 1: French 1, White 3.
Fri 5/24 Block 2: French 1, White 4.

Written exams for French 1, 2, and 3 will consist of three sections:

Vocabulary (4 pages)
Verb conjugation (2 pages)
Translation (2 pages)

Vocabulary sections will include 120 words/phrases, with one third from first semester's vocab lists and two thirds from second semester's vocab lists. Students will translate 60 words/phrases from French to English, then 60 words from English to French.

Verb conjugation sections will test the following verb knowledge:

French 1: present and past tense conjugation (see pages R24–R27).
French 2: present, past, imperfective, and future conjugation (R38–R47)
French 3: present, past imperfective, future, conditional, and subjunctive conjugation (R40–R54).

Translation sections will offer the following challenges:

French 1: Translate 10 sentences from French to English, 10 sentences from English to French.
French 2: Translate 10 sentences from French to English, 10 sentences from English to French.
French 3: Translate 8 passages from assigned news articles from French to English.

Spelling, accent marks, articles, and gender count whenever students are answering in French.

Students must answer 4 out of 5 questions correctly on each page of the written exam to receive full credit for that page. In other words, students may skip 1 out of 5 questions... or guess wildly on 1 out of 5 questions with no penalty for an incorrect response. Students who answer more than 4 out of 5 questions correctly will receive bonus points. One exception: In the French 3 translation, students must translate 3 out of 4 passages on each page.

French 1, 2, 3: Monday, May 20 - Tuesday, May 21 2013 Final Lesson Plan

Finally, a movie!

Today we watch La belle verte (The Beautiful Green), 1996.

Coline Serreau wrote, directed, and starred in La belle verte.
Serreau also composed the original music for this film.
A decade earlier, Serreau wrote and directed Trois hommes et un couffin (1985), which was remade in America as Three Men and a Baby (1987).

Watch for images and symbols that come in pairs!

Extra Credit No, Bonus Points Yes

North Carolina Civics and Econ teacher Mrs. Cook offers in her syllabus this concise explanation of the difference between extra credit and bonus points and the rationale for offering the latter but not the former:

I DO NOT GIVE EXTRA CREDIT! You may be asking yourself “What’s the difference between extra-credit and bonus points?” I will try to clarify for you: Extra credit is more work for me because you chose not to do your part the first time. Bonus points are built in: I may ask an additional question on a quiz or test that can only help you, not count against you. Or we may do an in class activities that allow you or your group to receive some bonus points. The reasoning for my policy is that it is the student’s responsibility to keep up with their work and knowledge throughout the course and not rely on “extra –credit” to help them make it through. My job as an IB teacher is prepare them for college and real world experiences and, most likely, they will not encounter extra-credit after high school [R. Cook, MYP Civics and Economics syllabus, downloaded 2013.05.17].

I follow those principles in my class. Extra credit does not exist in my classroom. However, I set an 80% rule on my final exams: get 4 out of 5 right, and you get full credit. Get more than that right, and you get bonus points.

French 1: Friday May 17 2013 Lesson Plan

DUE: rien! We're reviewing for finals!

[30 minutes] Oral Exam Practice: focus on questions for CAH

[60 minutes] Grammar Review

First go over pages in textbook appendix for study.
Then go through as many chapter grids as possible, with practice sentences for students to write.

Les Devoirs: rien! Keep studying!

French 2: Thursday May 16 2013 Lesson Plan

DUE: rien!

[45 minutes] Oral Exam Review

[45 minutes] Grammar Review: highlight pages in textbook appendix for study

Les Devoirs: Just keep studying!

French 3: Thursday May 16 2013 Lesson Plan

DUE: rien!

Review, review, review...

[30 minutes] Oral Exam Practice

[30 minutes] Grammar Review for Written Exam

[30 minutes] Reading Practice for Written Exam

Les Devoirs: rien! Étudiez!

French 1: Wednesday May 15 2013 Lesson Plan

DUE: rien!

[60 minutes] Verb Practice! We cover every verb on the special verb list, present and past tense.

[30 minutes] Oral Exam Practice!

Les Devoirs: rien! Just keep studying!

French 3: Tuesday May 14 2013 Lesson Plan

DUE: Les Devoirs! Vocab and Grammar Review! Translate the following sentences. Pay close attention to verb tense! Hint:

sentences	verbs	chapters
#1-5	aller	9
#6-10	faire	5
#11-15	lire	5
#16-20	potpourri	4

I'm going to the art gallery.
Why didn't you go to the exhibit?
Ciera was going to the circus.
We will not go to the show.
Justice and Brianna would go to the movie, if they had (imparfait!) the money.
We are not doing our homework.
Did Lacey go hang-gliding?
Trevor used to go parachuting.
Abby and Shelbee will go mountain-climbing.
I would go kayaking, if I didn't have (imparfait!) fear of fish.
Rachel is reading about sharks.
Cody and Taylor didn't read about jellyfish.
I was reading about dolphins.
Katharine will read about bears.
We would read about foxes, if we had (imparfait!) the time.
Madisen is not falling ill.
Our friends adopted a child from China.
Abigail will find work in New York.
Kelby was applying for a job in Canada.
Kenzie would move to Hollywood, if she liked (imparfait!) earthquakes.

[20 minutes] Grammar/Vocab Review: Put today's 20 sentences au tableau!

[70 minutes] Oral Exam Practice!

French 1: Monday May 13 2013 Lesson Plan

DUE: Les Devoirs: Check out the complete Special Verb List. Copy all of those verbs into a table on Word. Expand that table to have nine columns in which you will write the following information:

definition
first-person singular present
second-person singular present
third-person singular present
first-person plural present
second-person plural present
third-person plural present
past tense helping verb (avoir or être)
past participle

[60 minutes] Oral Quiz Review!

First ten minutes: students ask each other questions; CAH checks homework during this time.
Then CAH drills all students on as many questions as possible.

[30 minutes] Grammar Review: Verbs!

Students put as many of today's 37 verbs au tableau comme possible.

Les Devoirs: rien! But keep studying Oral Exam questions, vocabulary lists, and grammar.

French 3: Friday May 10 2013 Lesson Plan

Alerte rouge! CAH is out today! That means it's up to you students to make the most of this review time. I may be able to get online during class (though I'm being Dad first today), so if you have questions, e-mail me, and I will try to respond during class.

DUE: rien! parce que vous avez beaucoup à étudier!

[45 minutes] Practice Oral Exam Questions!

Do not leave class today without signing up for an oral exam time!
Note that I have added the practice video. You should be able to access this video via the school's online video library.

[45 minutes] Work Time!

Les Devoirs: Vocab and Grammar Review! Translate the following sentences. Pay close attention to verb tense! Hint:

sentences	verbs	chapters
#1-5	aller	9
#6-10	faire	5
#11-15	lire	5
#16-20	potpourri	4

I'm going to the art gallery.
Why didn't you go to the exhibit?
Ciera was going to the circus.
We will not go to the show.
Justice and Brianna would go to the movie, if they had (imparfait!) the money.
We are not doing our homework.
Did Lacey go hang-gliding?
Trevor used to go parachuting.
Abby and Shelbee will go mountain-climbing.
I would go kayaking, if I didn't have (imparfait!) fear of fish.
Rachel is reading about sharks.
Cody and Taylor didn't read about jellyfish.
I was reading about dolphins.
Katharine will read about bears.
We would read about foxes, if we had (imparfait!) the time.
Madisen is not falling ill.
Our friends adopted a child from China.
Abigail will find work in New York.
Kelby was applying for a job in Canada.
Kenzie would move to Hollywood, if she liked (imparfait!) earthquakes.

French 1: Thursday May 9 Lesson Plan

Les Devoirs: encore, rien! parce que tout le monde a besoin d'étudier pour...

[30 minutes] Past Tense Verb Quiz!

Today's past tense quiz will include verbs that take avoir and verbs that take être in the past tense.
The quiz will include regular -er, -ir, and -re verbs.
The quiz will include verbs that have irregular past participles.
See p. R27, p. 238, 240, 262, and 274.

[30 minutes] Practice Oral Exam Questions!

[30 minutes] Work Time!

Les Devoirs: Check out the complete Special Verb List. Copy all of those verbs into a table on Word. Expand that table to have nine columns in which you will write the following information:

definition
first-person singular present
second-person singular present
third-person singular present
first-person plural present
second-person plural present
third-person plural present
past tense helping verb (avoir or être)
past participle

French 2: Friday May 10 Lesson Plan

DUE: rien! parce que vos cerveaux sont fatigués des examens, mes pauvres.

[45 minutes] Practice Oral Exam Questions!

Do not leave class today without signing up for an oral exam time!
Note that I have added the practice video. You should be able to access this video via the school's online video library.

[45 minutes] Verb work time!

Les Devoirs: The following table includes a variety of irregular verbs of pp. R38–R47 (the Verb section of our textbook's grammatical appendix). Copy this table into Word or another suitable program. Give the definition of each verb. Then complete each remaining cell with the form of the verb that agrees with the given subject.

French 2 Irregulars (R38-R47)
infinitive	definition	passé composé	imperfective	future
aller		ils	elle	je
arriver		elles	nous	tu
avoir		tu	ils	il
boire		nous	je	nous
connaître		tu	elles	vous
courir		je	vous	elles
descendre		il	vous	je
devoir		elle	elle	tu
dire		elle	je	elle
dormir		nous	nous	nous
écrire		ils	il	vous
entrer		je	nous	ils
envoyer		nous	je	je
être		nous	nous	tu
faire		elles	tu	il
lire		tu	je	nous
mettre		je	tu	vous
monter		tu	elles	elles
mourir		vous	il	je
naître		il	nous	elle
offrir		vous	je	tu
ouvrir		je	je	nous
partir		je	vous	vous
pleuvoir		il	il	il
pouvoir		vous	elle	je
prendre		nous	tu	tu
recevoir		vous	tu	ils
rester		tu	vous	nous
retourner		nous	tu	vous
savoir		tu	vous	elles
sortir		elles	nous	je
suivre		je	elles	tu
tomber		elle	tu	elle
venir		ils	ils	nous
voir		vous	vous	vous
vouloir		vous	ils	ils

French 1: Special Verb List

Here are the 37 verbs we covered in our four special verb lists second semester. For the final exam, you need to know their definitions, present tense conjugations, and past tense formation (helping verb and past participle).

Here's the full list in the order in which we covered them:

1	2	3		4
devoir	donner	dire	rire	partir	tuer
voir	prendre	interdire	sourire	dormir	mourir
vouloir	suivre	lire	cuire	sortir	aider
pouvoir	laisser	relire	produire	mettre	essayer
savoir	penser	écrire	conduire	rester	revenir
	croire	décrire	construire	arrêter	tenir
			boire	connaître

Here's the list in alphabetical order, suitable for copying into Excel and creating your own study spreadsheet of definitions, conjugations, and participles:

French 1 verbs	List
aider	8
arrêter	8
boire	7
conduire	7
connaître	8
construire	7
croire	6
cuire	7
décrire	7
devoir	5
dire	7
donner	6
dormir	8
écrire	7
essayer	8
interdire	7
laisser	6
lire	7
mettre	8
mourir	8
partir	8
penser	6
pouvoir	5
prendre	6
produire	7
relire	7
rester	8
revenir	8
rire	7
savoir	5
sortir	8
sourire	7
suivre	6
tenir	8
tuer	8
voir	5
vouloir	5

French 2: Wednesday May 8 2013 Lesson Plan

DUE: rien! parce que vous avez étudié comme fou pour...

[45 minutes] Vocab Quiz 8.1 Body Parts pp. 270–273 and R20. Two parts:

CAH will show you drawings of the body. You will write the proper French name for the indicated body parts.
CAH will then give the standard listening vocab quiz: he says 30 vocab words/phrases in French, you write accurate English translations.

[5 minutes] Make-up Doctor Skits!

[40 minutes] Practice Oral Exam Questions!

Les Devoirs: rien! Mais continuer à étudier le vocabulaire de chapitres 1–5, 7, 9, et 10; les questions orales; et la grammaire, spécialement les formes des verbes (R38–R47).

French 3: Wednesday May 8 2013 Lesson Plan

DUE: rien!

[60 minutes] Oral Exam Practice!

[30 minutes] Written Exam Practice: Students begin reading and translating these eight French news articles.

One section of the written final will include passages from each of these articles.
On the exam, students will need to write English translations of these French passages.

Les Devoirs: rien d'officiel, mais je vous recommande d'étudier tous les huit articles et pratiquer la traduction!

French 3: Readings for Final Written Exam

CAH will place selections from the following articles from RIA Novosti's French edition on the final written exam, which you will take on Wednesday, May 22, during Block 1. On the exam, you will need to write workable English translations of those selections. Read and study these articles.

If for some reason you are unable to access these articles online, let me know, and I will help you get the texts.

French 1: Tuesday May 7 2013 Lesson Plan

DUE: rien! parce que vous avez passé tout le temps en étudiant pour...

[30 minutes] Last Special Verb Quiz! Know definitions, present conjugations, and past participles of these 13 verbs:

partir	arrêter	aider
dormir	connaître	essayer
sortir	tuer	revenir
mettre	mourir	tenir
rester

[30 minutes] Practice Oral Exam Questions!

[30 minutes] Practice Past Tense!

First, CAH asks "Qu'est-ce que tu as fait hier?" Students respond in past tense, write down answers after they give them.
Then review the practice sentences we put up last time, focusing on past forms:

1	They are holding the cards.	They held the cards.
2	Are you coming back?	Have you come back?
3	We are trying on the swim fins.	We tried on the swim fins.
4	Are you helping Papa?	Did you help Papa?
5	The cat is not dying.	The cat did not die.
6	I am not killing the computer.	I did not kill the computer
7	The students do not know the teacher well.	The students did not know the teacher well.
8	Why aren't you staying in Paris?	Why didn't you stay in Paris?
9	We're putting the flowers here.	We put [past] the flowers here.
10	Juliette isn't going out tonight.	Juliette didn't go out last night.
11	I am stopping the car.	I stopped the car.
12	Are you leaving Marseille?	Have you left Marseille?
13	We aren't sleeping much.	We didn't sleep much.

Then drill with improv sentences on p. R27.

Les Devoirs: encore, rien! parce que tout le monde a besoin d'étudier pour un examen, cette fois du passé composé!

Thursday's past tense quiz will include verbs that take avoir and verbs that take être in the past tense.
The quiz will include regular -er, -ir, and -re verbs.
The quiz will include verbs that have irregular past participles.
See p. R27, p. 238, 240, 262, and 274.

Put Down the Phone: You Can't Multitask

If you're checking Facebook, you're not studying:

...[E]vidence from psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience suggests that when students multitask while doing schoolwork, their learning is far spottier and shallower than if the work had their full attention. They understand and remember less, and they have greater difficulty transferring their learning to new contexts. So detrimental is this practice that some researchers are proposing that a new prerequisite for academic and even professional success—the new marshmallow test of self-discipline—is the ability to resist a blinking inbox or a buzzing phone [Annie Murphy Paul, "You'll Never Learn!" Slate, 2013.05.03].

You may think you're good at multitasking, but you're wrong:

David Meyer, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan who’s studied the effects of divided attention on learning, takes a firm line on the brain’s ability to multitask: “Under most conditions, the brain simply cannot do two complex tasks at the same time. It can happen only when the two tasks are both very simple and when they don’t compete with each other for the same mental resources. An example would be folding laundry and listening to the weather report on the radio. That’s fine. But listening to a lecture while texting, or doing homework and being on Facebook—each of these tasks is very demanding, and each of them uses the same area of the brain, the prefrontal cortex.”

Young people think they can perform two challenging tasks at once, Meyer acknowledges, but “they are deluded,” he declares. It’s difficult for anyone to properly evaluate how well his or her own mental processes are operating, he points out, because most of these processes are unconscious. And, Meyer adds, “there’s nothing magical about the brains of so-called ‘digital natives’ that keeps them from suffering the inefficiencies of multitasking. They may like to do it, they may even be addicted to it, but there’s no getting around the fact that it’s far better to focus on one task from start to finish” [Paul, 2013.05.03].

I find it as hard as my students to resist the urge to check my e-mail and Twitter and run down various info-rabbit holes on Wikipedia and Le Monde and the local news when I have a live computer screen and all those tempting buttons right in front of me. But we mustn't rationalize giving in to our urges under the guise of multitasking. If you're engaging with people on the phone or Facebook, you're not engaging with the people in your classroom or with the book you're supposed to be reading.

Giving someone or something your undivided attention is a valuable and necessary skill. Some things can't be learned in two-minute bursts.

Besides, most calls and texts you receive do not demand your immediate attention. Respect the task at hand or the person you're with by shutting off your phone and other inputs and focusing on that task or that person.

French 2: Monday May 6 2013 Lesson Plan

DUE: Les Devoirs: Doctor Skit!

Groups of 2, 3, or 4 prepare skit about sickness and/or injury.
Each person must say at least five sentences.
Script must include 10 different Vocab 8.1 words/phrases.
Students must say each Vocab 8.1 word/phrase with emphasis.
Students must hold up a sign showing each Vocab 8.1 word/phrase as it is said!

[20 minutes] Doctor skits!

[15 minutes] Vocab 8.1 Practice!

[70 minutes] Oral Exam Practice!

Les Devoirs: rien! Mais préparez-vous pour un examen massive de vocabulaire corporel!

French 3: Monday May 6 2013 Lesson Plan

DUE: Les Devoirs: rien (incroyable!)... mais commencer à pratiquer les questions de l'examen orale!

[30 minutes] Last two environment/natural resource vocab news presentations: Rachel et Lacey!

[20 minutes] Verb Review! Practice conjugation of irregular future verbs on p. R50: do present, past, imperfect, future, conditional, and subjunctive.

[40 minutes] Practice Oral Exam Questions!

Les Devoirs: rien! Mais pratiquez les questions orales!

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