Madame Darcy

Franais I

Cultural Participation and Research

One of the benefits of acquiring a new language is learning about the people who speak it. Some of you
have already tried out your French in real situations; this is when the language starts to come alive!
Cultural Participation and Research (CPR) helps you earn credit for using French and experiencing
French culture outside the classroom. It is a chance to go out into the world and use your new language in
meaningful ways. Read the attached handout of over 100 ideas for CPR points, and/or come up with your own
ideas. Consider choosing those activities that would best use your talents; this is designed to be a FUN way to
practice what you're learning and get credit for it.

Two things are required:

video recording, a plate of food to share in class, a video

1. Proof : photos, a cassette
ticketape rental stub, a parent
t
signature, a drawing, a plot description, a scrapbook...
2. Interaction and Reflection : your commentary/write-up on the photos, the book, the film, the experience, or
an explanation of a drawing, an informal performance in class; in short, an explanation of what you learned.
What I am looking for: WHAT WAS FRENCH about the experience? Submit any information you
think would help in the evaluation (time spent, effort, estimated point value, etc.).
You are required to earn a semester total of 60
80 CPR points. You may choose to earn an extra 20 CPR
points toward your grade as extra credit. No same activity may be repeated for CPR credit in any per year. You
can work with a partner from this or another class on many activities. The higher the level of your French class,
the more I expect from your interaction. Don't be repetitious and do the same things you've done on previous
semesters. Branch out and try something new! Remember that the high end of the scale for points is awarded
for more effort put into a project.
For each undertaking, consider:
educational value (Did you try something new? Did you learn anything new?)
time (Did you throw something together in a minute or did you put some real time into it?)
effort (Did you care about what you experienced or did you pick the easiest things?)
life (Take time to reflect! Tell not only what you did and what you saw, but express your opinions on
the experience.)

60 CPR POINTS - DUE: END OF SEMESTER

80
"Language is to the mind more than light is to the eye."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"We have read and discussed the requirements for Cultural Participation and Research "

Student _________________________________ Parent: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___ _ Date: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

PERIOD: ______________
page 2

French I
Cultural Participation and Research
125 Ways to earn C.P.R. credit!
IDEAS
POINTS POSSIBLE
If you like music, thtre or spctacles :
Learn a song and sing it for the class (Alouette, Sur le pont, Frre Jacques...)
10-20
Attend a concert or performance of French origin or language
20
Learn to play a French song on your guitar, piano, or other instrument
15-20
Learn the French national anthem: "La Marseillaise" or play it on an instrument and record it
20
Write original music to accompany a poem
15-20
Listen to your favorite song from "Les Misrables" in the original version THEN...
...list 20 words you understood from it, AND/OR
15
...memorize it
20
Listen to Chopin, Bizet, Ravel or other French classical music, and describe
15
Learn a bit about the lives of a French composer and tell us what you learned
15-20
Listen to French songs, list bands you liked, and comment (you can do this on the Internet)
10
If you like to watch TV or movies:
Watch the news or any show in French (list date, describe news and get parent signature)
Describe some of it. What was diff/same?
Watch the news and list 20 words and phrases you understood.
Research the French actor of your choice and write a short bio on his/her work

10-15
20
15

Compare shows from a French TV Guide to ones here

15
Watch
...a dubbed or subtitled movie: Voici quelques classiques(Here are some classics): Au Revoir les Enfants,
Cyrano de Bergerac, La Boum,
La Gloire de mon Pre, Le chateau de ma Mre, Jean de Florette,
20 each
Manon des Sources, Les Compres *, Trois Hommes et un Couffin
(Three Men and a Cradle), Prt Porter, Cage aux Folles #1 & #2,
Indochine, Le Retour de Martin Guerre, Argent de Poche, Cocteau's version of La
Belle et la Bte, Tous les Matins du monde, Les Miserables, Bleu, Blanc,Rouge,
La Reine Margot, la Femme Nikita...
* due to lack of rating in France and different cultural standards, some of these movies may have bad language
or some nudity. Make sure you have your parent's permission to view them.
...any French video in the school or New York City Public Library
-- FOR ANY MOVIE, describe plot briefly (5-10 sentences), then tell what aspects of it
seemed FRENCH.
If you want, you may watch a movie you know in DVD on the French dubbed version, then list what words you
recognized. (You will still need parent signature as proof)
10-15

page 3

If you like to travel or go shopping:

Subscribe to the French Embassys list serve http://frenchculture.org and attend a cultural event

20-30

If you are lucky enough to take a trip to Tahiti, France, Qubec, or another French speaking country make a
scrapbook of your trip
20-30
Shop at the supermarket and list French products by brand and kind
10/15
Make a list of things you find at a local patisserie
15
Create a travel brochure from scratch
10-20
Exchange $$$ for Euros at a bank, and figure out the current American equivalents
5
Collect brochures, pamphlets, or anything with cognates on it, the more, the better
5-15

If you like photography or video :

Take pictures of cognates that you see (street signs, billboards, names of places...)
Have a friend videotape and narrate "A Day in the Life of ..."
Write a skit and act it out on vidoetape
Take us on a narrated tour of your bedroom, house, PCS, or a place that inspires you
Have someone take photos of you preparing & serving a French dish
Make a video of a "fashion show" with your narration, or use a clip from TV
and do your own narration.

10-20
20-30
20-30
20-30
15-20
20-30

If you like to read:

READ...
...an illustrated children's book in French (Babar, Madeleine,Ceindrillon...)
15
...a French horoscope and then note down what really happened!
10-15
...and comment on any poems by Franois Villon, Paul Valry, Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Malherbe,
Verlaine, Hugo
20
...The Three Musketeers, (in English) by Alexandre Dumas
20
...any book by Dumas: The Man in the Iron Mask, The Count of Monte Cristo
(both are challenging reading because so long)
40
...Les Misrables, by Victor Hugo (same as above)
40
...The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baroness Orczy ; The Tale of Two Cities, Candide 20
Comment on an article from a magazine or newpaper: Journal Franais
10-15
d'Amrique, Le Monde, Figaro, Elle, Marie Claire...
...Cyrano de Bergerac (in English)
30
...anything by Camus, Balzac, Proust
20-30
--FOR ANY BOOK, retell plot briefly (5-10 sentences), then list and explain what aspects are French, and
explain your reaction to it.
Scan a page of Elle, Vogue (franais), Paris Match, Marie-Claire etc. and highlight 20 + cognates 20
Cut out ads, labels or directions of products written in French, glue on paper and translate
10-20
Visit the NYCPL and make a list of the French books they have there
15

page 4

If you like to dance or play sports or games:

Choreograph a French song or ballad
15-25
Make and illlustrate a "Ballet steps" book with the correct terms
15-25
Watch a televised soccer game
10
Follow a French-Canadian hockey team's progress for several weeks and list major players and scores
15
Learn to play ptanque

If you like art:

Reproduce (sketch, draw, paint) artwork by Monet, Van Gogh, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec,
Delacroix, David, Ingres, Seurat, Cassat, Renoir...
20
Cut out the dialogue from a Sunday comic strip and write your own in French
15
Create an illustrated alphabet book for children using the dictionary
20-40
Create an illustrated vocabulary booklet on any topic you like: la plage, la maison, les vtements...
15-30
Visit an exhibition of French artists (Impressionists for instance) at the MET or any other museum in NYC
20-30
Illustrate a French proverb and color it

15

Create an impressionistic collage in the style of Seurat or Monet

15-20

Sew a Vogue pattern of an article of clothing, or a French flag...

Leaf through a French fashion magazine (Elle, Biba) and draw your favorite fashions
Read an art book on French artists and make a written or pictorial journal of your thoughts and reactions
30
Make a fashion booklet or collage of new styles by designers such as Cardin, Dior,
Yves St Laurent, Chanel, Lagerfeld, Jean-Paul Gauthier...
Look at a French cartoon magazine or book (Asterix, Lucky Luke, Tintin, Mickey Souris) and
draw & color your favorite character and /or friend.
Draw and color and label a food pyramid
Make a French gameboard based on any theme you would like (the Smurfs, Astrix or, an English
show, but with French moves...)
Make an original French children's book

30
15-20

20
10-20
15-20
20-30
20-30

If you like history or geography:

Research a world leader or celebrity of French origin (Napoleon, De Gaulle, Charlemagne)

15-20

Make a list of the many towns and cities in any state in the US with French names

15-20

Create an unusual map of the world ( in French)( a foam puzzle, for instance...)
Make list of the French-speaking nations of the world
Draw a map showing the routes of French explorers in North America
Research a scientist or inventor of French origin (Louis Pasteur, Les Freres Lumiere...)
Find out how to join the FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION, or its history and usefulness
Read about Alfred DREYFUS, and why he is significant
Make maps of a French town you invent, with shops and directions written at bottom
Make a map of Francophone countries, with Pop-up windows of their flags

15-20
5
15-20
15-20
15
15
15-20
30

page 5

If you like computers/Internet...

Go to findagrave.com and make a booklet of famous people's graves in Paris...
15
Go to http://fnac.com , http://voila.fr , http://www.excite.fr , or other French search engine, and look up:
Weather, Movies, trendy Music, Fashion, etc in the French world and:
- comment
15-25
- try specific keywords on French topics, print results and comment
10-20
Do a search on any French topic (wine, cheese, French Riviera...) and comment
10-20
CAUTION: Do not simply print out material and hand in. You MUST write about it too!

If you like to eat(!?) or cook:

Prepare clairs or mousse au chocolat for the class
15-20
Create a Soire en France for your family
15-25
Prepare some crpes for your family or for the class
15(fam)/ 25(class)
Learn how to make homemade French bread
Make pains au chocolat or madeleines for your family or for the class
15(fam)/ 25 (class)
Purchase croissants at a patisserie to share with the class
15
Purchase baguettes and cheeses for a class taste treat
20
Take your family to a French restaurant
20
Bring back a menu (ask first!) from a restaurant, then comment and translate
10
Make or eat an escargot recipe
20
Make and eat coq au vin
25
... boeuf bourguignon
25
... bouillabaise
30
... crme brule
20
Cook a Cajun recipe
20
--FOR ANY COOKING, please include recipe, and describe how it tasted, etc.

20

If you want to practice your French:

At a restaurant, order your meal in French (It's easy! "Je voudrais...") (get waiter to sign)
Tape record / videotape a conversation with a native or fluent speaker of French
Exchange two letters with a native speaker of French (show me: one from you, one from him/her)

10
20-30
20

Write two letters in French back and forth with a friend

20
Learn a poem or rhyme in French
Help lead the class when we have a sub (get sub to sign)
Teach elementary kids in your neighborhood some French words (counting to 20, Bonjour, etc.)

10-20
10
15-20

Read a French children's book to a sibling or babysittee, and record yourself and her/his responses

20

Create a French "Mad Libs" page

Learn and recite to me any French children's chant or nursery rhyme (equivalent to "Ashes, ashes...)

15-20
15-20

The possibilities for experiencing the language outside of this classroom are ENDLESS. You may use your
imagination and come up with your own projects...just ask me!
Keep looking for ways to use French!