French Syllabus

KMCCHS French Level 4/AP

INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS

This fourth level, honors course is designed to fine-tune French skills while students explore the
inner workings of French culture through literature, current events and cultural habits. Students will
develop advanced proficiency in the four modalities of language learning: listening, speaking,
reading, and writing. In highly structured and contextualized situations, students will learn to
elaborate on a more personal level in French, finding their voice in more advanced conversations and
journal-keeping. There is a strong emphasis on writing and speaking at this level, with higher
emphasis on French culture and literature. Students will be exposed to authentic material and
various media sources in the target language. French will be used almost exclusively during
classroom instruction. It is highly encouraged that students in this course take the AP exam as much
of our work will be in direct correlation to the exam.

At the end of this course, you will:
Be able to communicate almost exclusively in French on personal topics including world
events, literature, and expressing and defending personal opinions.


NEEDS AND RESOURCES

Required Background
It is understood that you have completed levels one, two and three of French. To
successfully complete this course, you must have an open mind and a willingness to
learn, as well as some patience and lots of time to commit to practicing this
wonderful language!

Texts
Renaud, van Hooff, Dominique. En Bonne Forme 8
th
edition, Houghton Mifflin : Boston 2007
Ravise, J. Suzanne, Tableaux Culturels de la France. 3
rd
ed., National Textbook Company:
Lincolnwood, Illinois 1994.
Bragger, Rice. Quant Moi, 3
rd
edition, Heinle : Boston 2005.

Required Materials
To successfully complete this course, you will need
A 1 3-ring binder dedicated to your French work with 3 dividers
Loose-leaf paper, college-ruled
A French-English dictionary, of your choice. I highly recommend Larousse
A composition notebook that will stay in the classroom
A red, blue and green pen for color-coding notes!
Notebook setup: Note to parents and students: Your support and help in maintaining an organized
and user friendly notebook will be of tremendous value as students prepare for tests and quizzes,
try to make up missed work, and prepare for their final exams.
Divider 1: Notes this section will keep the notes you take daily from our lessons which
will be invaluable to you as you study and complete HW assignments
Divider 2: Handouts you will receive many important handouts as reference materials
Divider 3: Graded work as you complete assignments both in and outside of class,
you will turn it in and receive a grade. It is highly advisable you keep these graded
assignments for your records
** IMPORTANT** STAMP Fees:
At Kapaun Mt. Carmel, the standardized foreign language test for all Spanish and
French students is called the STAMP. It is required for every student enrolled in
Spanish or French classes and assesses four content areas: reading, writing, listening,
and speaking. It is used as a means for documenting student growth within the foreign
language department, as well as is used as a reference for meeting current state
curriculum standards. The fee is $20 per student. Please send a check made out to
KMC during the month of January. In the memo, please write STAMP and the students
name. Parent initials ________

Online Resources
Below is a list of helpful website resources:
www.wordreference.com (dictionary and verb conjugator)
www.kapaunfrench.weebly.com (our class website to see assignments and access HW)
www.frenchmusicblog.com (fun website that features new French music videos!)
www.tv5.fr (one of Frances premier TV channels with lots of fun stuff)


POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

General Rules:
1. Be on time! This is a school-wide policy and obviously helps students to achieve in the
classroom
2. Be prepared! This includes bringing all materials to class, including but not limited to your
binder, your composition notebook, pens and pencils, and your school agenda/planner.
3. Be polite! We are all learning a new language together. Be respectful and model your
behavior as explained in our schools handbook.
4. Participate! Learning is 50% participation. You have to be willing to speak in the language to
learn the language.
5. Be honest! Cheating and plagiarism are serious offenses and we will follow our schools
policy for both infractions. Your work should be your own, and this includes the use of
online translators as a violation of our plagiarism/cheating policy!

Grading Policies:
French will use the following weighted grades:
Homework: 30%
Tests: 20%
Participation: 30%
Projects: 20%

Grading Scale:
As per our KMCCHS Handbook:
92 100 A
83 91 B
74 82 C
65 73 D
0 64 F


CLASSWORK EXPECTATIONS & MAKE-UP PROCEDURES

It is expected that you will be responsible for any work missed due to an absence. You must come to
me to make up work; I cannot be responsible for every students missed work. Please do not
interrupt me during class, but come before or after class, or find an appropriate time to speak to me
one-on-one.
Missed tests: You have TEN CLASS DAYS to make up a missing test due to an absence. After the one
week point, you will receive a zero for the assignment.
It is also highly recommended that you check our class website (kapaunfrench.weebly.com) and get
notes from a classmate.

French is a lot like taking a shower if you miss ONE DAY, YOU START TO STINK!!!

I am so happy to see you pursue your interest in French to this fourth year advanced
level! Clearly we all share a love for the French language and culture, and we will
have an excellent year further discussing and exploring both.