Unit Plan Template

A template based on Understanding by Design

Title of Unit

Reporting on the Weather

Grade

Level
Subject

Core French

Time

6 Lessons

Frame
Developed By

Kelly Thiessen

Stage 1 Desired Results

Communication

Thinking

Personal and Social

Big Idea:

What is this unit about? Why are you teaching it?

With basic French, we can describe ourselves and our interests.
Reciprocal communication is possible in French using simple, high-frequency words and patterns.

Essential Question:

What questions might spark student interest / engagement in the topic?

What provocative questions will foster inquiry into the content? (Think open-ended questions that stimulate thought and inquiry linked to the
content of the enduring understanding). What provocative questions will promote understanding and transfer of learning?

How can we communicate what day of the week it is? How can we communicate the weather outside? What ways
do people broadcast the weather? What months are in what seasons?

What students will be able to DO

What students will KNOW

expressing basic information about themselves and others

Curricular competency learning standards: and using common, high-frequency vocabulary sentence
Communication: Exchange information with fellow
classmates about what day it is

and structures for communicating meaning:

Content learning standards: How to say what day it is. They will also
be able to communicate the weather outside, what month it is, and
what season it is. The class will also have a better understanding on
how broadcasters present the weather.

Stage 2 Assessment Evidence

Formative Assessments
Participation in Musical Chairs
Clipboard assessment of
Memory Game, Participation in
Month Jumping, and
Crosswords/Word Search

Summative Assessments
Final Reporter Video where the
student states
The day, month, season, and
weather
Poster of Season
Poster board of Seasons

Self-Assessment / Peer
Assessment
Exit Slips on favorite days of the
week
/season/ weather

Stage 3 Learning Plan

Should be Differentiated
Potential Barriers to Success / Areas to Differentiate:
Might include: engagement, motivation, organization, language ability, exceptionalities, reading level, etc.
Children may be afraid to participate in Art, Music, or Technology.

Giving students voice and choice: how you will adjust for differentiation needs
Creating an environment of fun. There is lots of formative assessment in these lessons, even if a
kid does not feel comfortable with technology they may enjoy singing, art, or playing games with
friends. Lots of partner work and sharing because I believe it is a great way to build a safe
environment.
Integrating Aboriginal worldviews and perspectives:

Sequence of Lessons: The basics of what you plan to do in each lesson of the unit. The first one will be how
will you engage students at the beginning of the unit? (motivational set your hook it could be accessing their
background knowledge in some way)

Lesson
Title

Lesson Activities (Learning Experiences)

What
Day is
it?

2
Whats
the

Hook: Showing a 2 minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=FFVF5gOqgps
This is a weather girl that gets scared by a giant spider!
Inform the class that were going to be making individual weather
reports!
If you were broadcasting the weather in a different language what
types of things would you need to be able to say? Ill give you the
first one, You probably need to be able to say what day you are
talking about like Monday, Tuesday, etc.
Let the class get as many as they can of (Day, Month, Season, and
Weather) and then fill in the rest
Well today were going to conquer how to say what day it is
Get the children to tell me the days of the week and translate them
on the board
The children then think pair share the words to a friend to become
comfortable with saying the words before I teach them the days of
the week song that I composed for them (See attached file)
Set up the class for musical chairs, explain that we will be playing
along to the song and that you have to be singing along or else you
might get out!
After a couple rounds I bring them back to the carpet
Use breathing exercises to calm the class
Think pair share what could Aujourdhui cest mardi mean
Go over pronunciation and write down Ah-jour-dwe say mardi
Hand out Exit slips with if you were a French news reporter what day
would you report on?

Class Review: What did we learn last class about days of the week?
What does Aujourd'hui, c'est mercredi
Who can remember what the weather was like on Monday? Tuesday? Etc.

Assessm
ent and
Core
compete
ncy
Formativ
e
Assessm
ent
Children
singing,
assess
using a
clipboard
beside
piano
Always
encourage
and praise
children
who are
singing
loudly and
clearly
Self
Assessm
ent
Exit slip
on what
day they
would
report on
Formativ
e
Assessm

Resource
s

Classroom
Keyboard,
Projector

Cards with
Pictures
and French

weather What other types of weather are there?

like
Write these weather types on the board with their corresponding French
outside names. Included with those French names are pronunciation guides
Explanation of the Game memory, which I feel most kids will comfortable
with
Cards will have pictures and French names on them
Modelling: Grab a volunteer and play a quick game with them. Make sure
you emphasize speaking the words when you or the child picks up the card
Separate the children into pairs let them play the game
Keep definitions on the board for half but slowly erase them one by one to
get the kids to start storing it in long term memory
Assessment: Go around with a clipboard to formatively assess if children
are saying the words in French
Bring the class back to the carpet
Go over the pronunciation and possible meaning for Quel temps fait-il?
Does the word temps remind you of anything in English?
Kel temps fay il
Exit Slip
If you were a weather reporter what weather would you report on?

ent
Clipboard
walking
around
listening
to
different
partners
play their
games
are kids
able to
say the
names of
each
weather
system
Self
Assessm
ent
Exit Slip
what
would

words on
them
taped to
regular
playing
cards

Class Review
Who can tell me what day today is? Can you tell me in a complete
sentence without using any English? If you need a hint it starts with Ah!
Next Review Question Ok Class Quel temps fait il? Praise any student that
is brave enough to raise their hands
Finally Go over the weather that we know. Who can remember what it is
sunny out is etc.

Formativ
e
Assessm
ent
Clipboard
on reading
how
people
react to
French
words
being
said.
Which

10 Pictures
posted on
the wall

3
Whats
the
Weathe
r like
Part 2!

Add 3 more Weather systems like Rainbow, and Tornado to the list. This
will give them a total of 10 Vocabulary words to describe the weather as
well as asking what is the weather like.
Explain the game of four corners (Or in this case ten corners!) Each area
will have a page that has a symbol of weather for it. I will close my eyes

4
Whats
the
season?

Whats
the
Month?

and kids have to run to individual corners. Once I say a weather system In
French those standing under that sign have to sit down. If I call a weather
system that nobody is standing under everyone that is sitting down gets to
rejoin the game.
The French words themselves will be written on the board and I will
eventually take a volunteer to go to the centre to yell out the French words.
This will free me up to use a clipboard to assess how will kids are reacting
to the game
This can go on till the end of class as I already have their exit slips from the
previous two
Hook: Show pictures of Australian Santa. Why is he surfing and wearing
shorts?
Think about Christmas Isnt it cold outside during then? What Season is
Christmas in? Did you know that different parts of the world get their
seasons at different times?
What are the Four main seasons?
Go over them and their pronunciations in class
Explain that we will be doing a quick art lesson
Model: Show an example of a previous classes artwork (Or my own if it is
the first time that I am doing this)
It will be a poster board in four sections where each section represents a
season
Using magazines and newspapers I cut out things that remind me of each
season and paste it in the different sections.
Explain my expectations that each section needs to have at least 5
different things for each season
Play the four seasons from Vivaldi while the children work on this
Children will be allowed to take these home if they would like to work on
this using a printer or magazines at home
Exit Slip: What Month is your Favourite?

Hook: Jumping Game

Very slowly start saying the months of the year, children jump when they
hear their birthday month, start going faster and faster and mixing up the
months to see when they jump

students
are
confident
enough to
go up to
the centre
to yell out
French
words
Summati
ve
Assessm
ent
Posterboar
d
Expectatio
ns are that
each
season
has at
least 5
different
points but
a really
awesome
poster is
going to
have more
Exit Slips:
What is
your
Favourite
month
Formativ
e
Assessm
ent

Poster
board for
all the
children

4X4 Bingo
sheets

Its
Reporti
ng time

Who Remembers the seasons of the year?

Where we live (because it might be different in other countries!) what
months of the year are in summer? Which are in Fall? Which are Winter and
which are Spring?
Start writing out the months of the year on the board
Get the children to think pair share these words with the children beside
them
Send the children back to the desk and explain the next activity which will
be BINGO!
Give children 4 X 4 Bingo Sheets get them to fill in their bingo sheets with
the ENGLISH names Kids are allowed to put their birthday month twice as
well as a free space
The other two spaces will be filled with
Le mois est (which we will go over with the class) and their choice
between
Aujourdhui cest and
Quel temps fait il
Preclass: Set up green screen
Hook/Model:Show a video of me reporting the news. My script
will be
Bonjour! je m'appelle Kelly et je suis rapports du temps.
Aujourdhui cest mardi
Le mois est aot
La saison est Et
Est Il fait soliel
It will show me reporting in a weatherman outfit in the middle
of the desert!
Explain that kids will be able to report in front of a rainstorm, tornado,
rainbow, desert, snow storm, etc. and be holding a fish, umbrella, snow
mitts etc. we can also have a fan blowing to indicate wind is hitting the
child
I will pull out all the kids exit slips and tell them they can use those as
their script or they can change it if they would like
Kids can sign their name up on the board when they feel they are confident
in their weather reporting script and can then grab worksheets (Crosswords
and word searches that involve the days of the week, months, seasons, and
weather)
We also need to go over the line et je suis rapports du temps.

What do you

Look at
the
childrens
bingo
sheets at
the end of
the day
Did they
cross off
the right
months?
Exit Slips
What
month is
your
favourite?
|

Phone,
Windows
Media
Maker
2012,
Green
Screen,
Props
including
umbrella,
fake fish,
microphon
e, parka,
reporters
vest etc.
I will also
need
worksheet
s for
working on
when they
have

think that means?

Once we go over it as a class I will give the class worksheets (crosswords
and word searches involving the months, days, seasons and weather) and pull
children one by one. I will let them create their script using the basic
layout I already presented with (and simply exchanging their months,
seasons, weather, etc.)
I will then ask them which background they want to
present in front of and which props they want to use.
I will explain that this piece will be used as a summative assessment and
will be either sent home to their parents or put in their freshgrade
portfolio

7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

completed
their script
for

15