Lesson Overview:

Title: Personal Pronoun Popcorn

Author: Kathryn Heryla
Subject: Foreign Languages
Grade Levels: 6–8
Duration: 50 min.

Unit Description:
Students will be engaging in a sentence structure unit. In this unit they will be learning basic
sentence structure and grammar.

Lesson Description for Day:

In this lesson students will be learning the personal pronouns which are the base of sentence
formation. The English equivalent of these pronouns are I, You, He, She, It, We, You all, and
They. The lesson will incorporate multiple different perspectives and stages to engage all
different learning styles.

State Standards:
This lesson is related to all three of the State's communication content standards. I feel it is
most imperative to the first standard which states "Students engage in conversation, provide
and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.

Source: http://montanateach.org/resources/montana-world-languages-content-standards/

Goals:
Unit Goals:
The goal of this unit is to get students comprehending and forming basic sentences in French so
they will be able to continue on to more complex formations.
Lesson Goals:
The goals of the lesson are to make connections between what the students already know in
English to what they are learning in French. Once this goal is accomplished I also hope for
students to be able to label others and themselves using the pronouns they learn.

Methods:
Anticipatory Set:
- I will ask students to type sentences about me, themselves, and their classmates in a class
google doc
-I will ask them to share their sentences with their neighbors through the google platform
-I will ask them to identify the subjects of the sentences (aka personal pronouns) on smart
board
-I will provide them with any missing pronouns using questions, examples, online games,
videos, or quizlet

The beginning of this method will engage student’s previous knowledge as well as cause them
to reflect on their peers. The second step will include social aspects by asking students to
interact. These steps appeal to the verbal and writing learners. Then, by collaborating students
will be working on their interpersonal skills and learning. In these first four steps the
information is presented in a visual, auditory, and written format. Students will also be
presenting the information they know in interpersonal, intra-personal, written and visual ways.

Introduce and Model New Knowledge:

-Type corresponding French pronouns
-Speak and record corresponding French pronouns
-Model and ask for a few practice examples to write and draw on smartboard

Students will be presented with the information in digital, written, and spoken forms. Since this
is completely new information student engagement will come after the initial presentation.
However, I will ask them to work amongst themselves then with me to associate the new and
previous knowledge. This way it will be engaged logically and personally. Then they will be able
to express the knowledge they have obtained by tying it to the old information. They will also
make logical connections with their classmates and the information.
Provide Guided Practice:
-Have students enter online chat rooms that correspond with each pronoun
-Have students identify the corresponding pronouns for each group
-Chat in the rooms using French pronouns and English for the rest of the sentence.

This step will represent the information logically and visually. Students will use the information
and deduction skills they have to incorporate the new information into their minds. Then the
application of the knowledge will grow as students inter-personally and kinetically engage with
the info. They will connect the initial presentation of the knowledge to practical usage. Finally,
they will be able to express the pronouns they use socially and typed or verbally as they feel
most comfortable.

Provide Independent Practice:

-Have students identify the pronouns they use in English on a normal evening
-Have them record ten of these usages they observe in their homes
-Have them then record or type the French equivalent
-Then students will share the recording or document in class the next day

This method will do two main things. Firstly, it allows the students to make connections
between their native language and the new knowledge. Then, it allows them to practice
applying the knowledge they have learned in an everyday setting. This is a personal activity that
represents the information in such a setting. The presentation to the class will engage social
intelligence. They will be engaging the information in tandem with English. Then in class they
will be working both individually and socially to compartmentalize the information they have
gained and how it is applicable logically to their lives.

Wrap-Up:
-Review connections
-Record sentences in both English and French
-Ask or research for clarification, extension, or explanation
-Ask for school examples like the home examples to create a class note sheet online and a class
podcast
Assessment:
Summative/End Of Lesson Assessment:
At the end of the lesson I will use a matching exercise using smart board tech to formatively
asses the comprehension of my students. This will be matching English to French and a few
short examples. Then at the end of the sentence unit they will take a summative assessment
that will test their knowledge of pronouns and other basic sentence structure. This will be a
mixture of writing, translation, and digital presentation (video, podcast, screen casting, prezi,
etc.) in order to gauge oral and written ability and comprehension.

Materials:
Books & Articles
https://www.amazon.com/Contrastes-Grammaire-fran%C3%A7ais-courant-
2nd/dp/0205646999
Students will be using their text books as references such as
Contrasts: Grammaire du Francais courant

Two technical components:

Podcasting/digital recording- The recording technology such as garage band and audacity are
very useful in a language lesson. They can provide auditory pronunciation confirmation as well
as verbal practice, repletion, and perfection.
Video/screencasting- When watched, videos present the information in a different way but
when created they allow for a deeper level of expression and engagement.
Narrative:
This lesson was one that I have created to fit the Universal Design for Learning model.
Now I have modified it further to incorporate helpful technology that enhances student
learning. The four pieces I feel will be most influential are the final multimedia projects, chat
rooms, translation software, and the recordings. I will begin by explaining the recording
because they are simplistic yet brilliant. A key part of learning a language is hearing that
language and mimicking the sounds. I feel that by recording and editing students will get much
more repetition than they possibly could in a normal lesson. They will also can listen to the
recordings as many times as possible. This is vital because many times student will go home and
practice the pronunciation they believe they heard but which may not actually be correct. This
would be impossible without recording technology.
The final multimedia project fits with my teaching policy in that it is a form of project-
based learning. Rather than having students learn by memorization or sentence mapping they
are learning by using the language. Projects could be done without technology, but they would
lose adaptability. I feel it is important to allow every student to complete projects in whatever
format they feel most comfortable with and learn with the best.
Chatrooms are a unique opportunity for students to interact with native speakers and
gain a new understanding for the culture and language they are learning. Safe online chats are
being incorporated by teachers across the world because they provide this new platform.
Before the internet it would’ve been impossible to have immediate conversations across the
world. I would personally incorporate these opportunities in two ways. First that I have already
mentioned I would connect my students internationally to improve their cultural competence.
Secondly, I would have they interact with each other in a way that is less intimidating that face
to face communication. This can be a stepping stone between initial connections and face to
face utilization. Speaking from experience, it is very difficult to have confidence in what you are
saying and remember it correctly when you are talking to someone face to face.
Finally, translation software is a slippery snake that students aren’t currently being
taught how to use correctly. Many students will put in an entire essay without realizing Google
translate is going to use verb tenses they have never learned before or it is going to confuse
masculine and feminine. Therefore, instead of discouraging the use of translation software, I
want to teach my students how to use it correctly. They should be taught that there is certain
software that are better than others, that they should look at the examples and identify the
context, that they need to combine what they know with what they need to translate. All in all,
translation software is an irreplaceable technology in today’s language classrooms, but it need
to be used properly and like any other technology it requires training. As a last remark I would
say that all of these elements are key to efficient language learning which is imperative because
learning a language is such a time-consuming art.

Sources-
Learn French subject pronouns. (2010, March 12). Retrieved April 16, 2018, from
https://youtu.be/Uov2-kHp7kI
Montana World Languages Content Standards No Rating. (1999). Retrieved April 16, 2018, from
http://montanateach.org/resources/montana-world-languages-content-standards/
Tomaszewski, J. (2012). Online Chat: Ideas for Classroom Use. Retrieved April 16, 2018, from
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/chat-room-get-new-life-in-classrooms.shtml