image from:  http://www.blanc.net/fr 

LES BRASSERIES DE PARIS

CLASS: FRENCH 5/6 (Third Year)
LEVEL: High Intermediate
MATERIALS: Student Task Sheet, Computer with WWW Access
TEACHER: Carla Huck

AIM:   Où mangeons-nous à Paris? (Where do we eat in Paris?)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE STANDARDS:
   
Communication Skills:  students can read and comprehend materials written for native speakers when the topic and language are familiar;  use cognates and contextual visual clues to derive meaning from texts that contain new words, expressions, and structures.
    Cultural Understanding:  students can use some key cultural traits of th societies in which the target language is spoken;  draw comparisons between societies.

INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES:
Students will be able to read ads for restaurants and answer written comprehension questions; identify subtleties of meaning through the use of learned vocabulary and structures; prepare a brasserie advertisement in the target language;  learn about  arrondissements, monuments and lay-out of Paris; learn and utilize more advanced vocabulary related to food and restaurants.

TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS:
Students use technology tools to prepare publications and produce other creative works; use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources;  use technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions.

COMPUTER APPLICATIONS:
Word processing program, such as Microsoft Word, and/or web design software such as Netscape Composer, DreamWeaver, or text editor within a personal web page.

RESOURCES:
Brasserie Task Sheet http://www.teachnet-lab.org/huck/brasse~2.htm
Student worksheet with reading comprehension questions
Itineraire Gourmand http://www.blanc.net/fr
Website featuring major brasseries in Paris, including photos, menus, and recipes
Yahoo France! http://fr.yahoo.com
French version of Yahoo! search engine
ARTFL French-English Dictionary http://humanities.uchicago.edu/forms_unrest/FR-ENG.html
Highly reliable online dictionary from University of Chicago

ACTIVITIES AND STRATEGIES:
1. Motivation:  Ask students to name different types of eating establishments in France; elicit information they would find in a restaurant guide, such as le nom du restaurant, l'arrondissement, l'adresse, le numero de téléphone.  Has anyone ever visited a brasserie in NYC?
2. Development:  Review vocabulary words about dining.  New words include:   les recettes, les specialités du chef, prix fixe, l'établissement, le décor.   Ask students to name types of food or dishes they expect to see on the menus.
3. Application:  Search for specific information on the task sheet using the above sites.  Use the on-line dictionary to look up unfamiliar words. After answering questions, review orally.  Students will describe the photos of the brasseries.  Oral comprehension questions:  

 (Which restaurant do you prefer; If you were there, what would you eat; If I live near l'Opera, where should I eat every day?)


4. Homework:  Using new information and vocabulary from the brasserie sites, design your own brasserie and write your own restaurant annonce (advertisement) for this guide.   Combine text, image, and photos and add to your class web-folio.  For further research on menus, or to find more photos, search from Yahoo France.

PRESENTATION OF STUDENT WORK:
Students take turns presenting their own brasserie to the class orally, using the LCD projector.

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:
Students could create a PowerPoint presentation on the brasseries of Paris, to present to other French classes in the school.  They could also create a list of questions based on their entries, and use as a scavenger hunt activity.

NOTES:  
After finishing this project, I brought the students to a French brasserie in New York City,  l'Express on Park Avenue South at 20th Street.  They enjoyed sampling many of the dishes learned in this unit. 

To see an English version of the student task sheet:  http://www.teachnet-lab.org/huck/brasse~2eng.htm