Grade: 3, French Immersion

Subject: Writing

Length of Lesson: 3 lessons, 1hour/ day

Topic/Theme: Personal description

Purpose:

The children will learn how to interact with their classmates. I want the children to know more about their classroom companions. I also want children to learn how to write effectively, using a draft and a final copy. Peer evaluation is another thing that would be covered. Children will learn how to read their classmates’ autobiographies and give their feedback on what they would and would not do.

Materials and Resources:

Children will need a questionnaire, some paper to write their drafts, some construction paper to make a frame, and different color crayons.

Background Knowledge:

At this point, children should know how to write basic paragraphs with complete sentences. They should know different french words like “passe-temps” (hobbies), famille, and all the french words that symbolize all the members in a family like : soeur, frère, cousin, cousine, etc.

Body of Lesson:

At the beginning of the lesson, I will ask the children to tell me what is an autobiography. After, I will ask them to tell me what is a hobby. I will also ask them to tell me the different words used in french to name family members (mère, père, soeur, demi-soeur, etc.) Even if they give me the french words for stepfather and stepsister, I will take them into consideration because not all children have nuclear families. I will explain to them that some families consist of only a mother and a child. I will also give them a clear explanation that all the people we live with is what we consider our family. I will also tell them that as a class we could also be called a family... We could be called the Grade 3 Family.

After this discussion, I will explain to them what an autobiography is and thus tell them to make one of their own. I will hand them out a questionnaire (who is in their family, what is their favorite meal, and so on), which they will answer all the questions. This will act as a facilitator when it comes time to write their own autobiography. Once the questionnaire is done, I will ask them to write down this information in a form of a paragraph. After the paragraph is done, I will ask the students to go in their assigned groups and share their autobiographies with their group mates. I will ask the children to write down or to tell the person with whom they shared their autobiography with, what should be corrected and what they liked about their partner’s autobiography.

Closure of Lesson:

After all of this is done, I will collect the autobiographies, correct them myself, and give them feedback on their work. I will give them back their written work to make a final copy. They will write their final copy onto a sheet where there is space for drawing. In the space for drawing I will ask them to draw a picture of themselves. I will then ask them to glue it on a sheet of construction paper to give us the impression that it is in a frame. I will then post all of the frames on the wall. There will be space reserved for the Grade 3 Family autobiography (this will be written on the wall).

Assessment:

I will see signs of improvement and signs of poor writing when I pick up the drafts. This will give me enough feedback to figure out who needs help and who does not. I will not give them a mark on this particular assignment but I will eventually take the pictures off the wall and put them in their portfolios. The only mark I will give them will be on their overall work, which will be all the assignments they have in their portfolios.