A Cajun Folktale And Zydeco - Learner

A Cajun Folktale andZydecoClassroom at a GlanceTeacher:Paris GranvilleLanguage:FrenchGrade:8School:Pleasant Hill Middle School,Pleasant Hill, CaliforniaLesson Date:January 13Class Size:22Schedule:80 minutes every other dayVideo SummaryIn this lesson, students learn about music and storytelling in the Cajunculture. They begin by comparing Louisiana and California life. Ms. Granvillethen introduces new vocabulary about agriculture while retelling atraditional Cajun folktale. Next, the students re-enact the story in groups,then use a story map to review elements of the folktale. Ms. Granvilleconcludes the lesson with an introduction to zydeco music, including anopportunity for students to play authentic instruments.Standards Addressed   Communication: Interpersonal, Interpretive   Cultures: Practices, Products   Connections: Making ConnectionsRead about these standards at the end of this lesson.Teaching Foreign Languages K–12: A Library of Classroom Practices1

Key Terms   backward planning   informal assessment   realia   story map   Venn diagramDefinitions for these terms can be found in the Glossary located in theAppendix.2Teaching Foreign Languages K–12: A Library of Classroom Practices

Class Context“In middle school, we have to constantly think about engaging andmotivating students. I could have just shown them pictures of themusical instruments, but I think it’s really important to bring in realinstruments that they can touch. Having the sound, the touch, thevisual, ties all those senses together, and the more senses that areinvolved in the lesson, the more they’re going to retain.” —ParisGranvilleSchool ProfileYear at a GlanceParis Granville teaches seventh- andeighth-grade French at Pleasant HillMiddle School in Pleasant Hill, California,asuburbofSanFrancisco.Approximately 850 students in grades6–8 attend the school. Students cantake French or Spanish as an elective insixth grade, which the majority ofstudents choose to do. Subsequentplacement in higher-level seventh- andeighth-grade French or Spanish is basedon teacher recommendations.Francophone VacationDestinations Focus on 10 countries on 6continents, and read afolktale or story from eachone Leisure activities; Food;Geography; Cultural orreligious traditionsSolving Mysteries Murder mystery simulation (Acrocodile is found dead;students try to learn who did itand how) Getting and obtaininginformation; Asking questionsGetting Around the City Directions; Places in the city;StoresParis Places to visit in Paris; MetrosystemClothing and Shopping Students present a fashion showand give impromptu descriptionsof what models are wearingTeaching Foreign Languages K–12: A Library of Classroom Practices3

Class Context, cont’d.Lesson DesignYear at a Glance, cont’d.Paris Granville refers to the Standards, Restaurant and Traditional Sixthe California State Frameworks, and the Course MealACTFL Performance Descriptors for Vocabulary and basic etiquettefor ordering and eating aLanguage Learners when designing hertraditional six-course meallessons (see Resources). For each unit,HandcraftedBookmakingshe begins with the district curriculum Students write and illustrate aobjectives and determines the students’children’s book, then read it tofinal performance or product and how ita young childwill be measured. She then worksbackward to plan the individual lessonsand make connections to the Standards. This ensures that the lessonobjectives mirror the assessment, and that individual activities lead to theintended outcomes. To prepare students for final assessments, Ms. Granvilleconducts multiple informal assessments throughout the unit, giving studentsa chance to practice the skills that will be examined later.The LessonIn this lesson, students learned about aspects of the Cajun culture inLouisiana. The lesson was part of the Francophone Vacation Destinationsunit, in which students learned about different cultures through traditionalfolktales or stories. They began by studying nearby French-speaking regions(in Canada and the U.S.), then moved to francophone countries in theCaribbean, the Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.When appropriate, Ms. Granville incorporates technology into her lessons.The animation feature allows her to introduce new action verbs entirely inFrench. Ms. Granville also gives her students the option to use PowerPoint intheir project presentations, and makes her animated presentation (withadded narration) available to students who were absent.4Teaching Foreign Languages K–12: A Library of Classroom Practices

Class Context, cont’d.Key Teaching Strategies   Creating Cultural Experiences: The teacher designs activities in whichstudents can see, hear, or touch a cultural artifact, create their owncultural artifact, and/or observe or engage in cultural practices in orbeyond the classroom. These direct or simulated experiences leadstudents to discover the perspectives of the culture being studied.   Storytelling: The teacher communicates the meaning of a story byparaphrasing the text in the target language and showing itsillustrations, while frequently checking for learner comprehension andreaction.   Student Grouping: The teacher designs activities that allow studentsto engage in multiple types of interactions, including working withpartners, in small groups, and as a whole class.Analyze the VideoAs you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discussthem as a group.Before You WatchRespond to the following questions:   What instructional advantages does the literary genre of folktalesoffer?   What are the benefits of teaching about a variety of cultures in whichthe target language is spoken?   What makes technology central to instruction rather than peripheral toit?Teaching Foreign Languages K–12: A Library of Classroom Practices5

Analyze the Video, cont’d.Watch the VideoAs you watch “A Cajun Folktale and Zydeco,” take notes on Ms. Granville’sinstructional strategies, particularly how she groups students for activitiesand integrates technology into her lesson. Write down what you findinteresting, surprising, or especially important about the teaching andlearning in this lesson.Reflect on the VideoReview your notes, and then respond to the following questions:   How does Ms. Granville balance full-class, group, and partner work?   What routines has Ms. Granville established for a smooth transitionfrom group work to whole-class discussions?   What products and practices of Cajun culture are integrated into thelesson? How does Ms. Granville lead students to think about thecultural perspectives?   How does playing zydeco instruments contribute to students’understanding of the music?   What student habits are promoted through Ms. Granville’s closingroutine?   How does Ms. Granville assess students during the lesson? Why is thisimportant to do? (For a sample inter-personal assessment from Ms.Granville’s class, see the Assessment Strategies materials in theAppendix.)6Teaching Foreign Languages K–12: A Library of Classroom Practices

Analyze the Video, cont’d.Look CloserTake a second look at Ms. Granville’s class to focus on specific teachingstrategies. Use the video images below to locate where to begin viewing.Video Segment: Telling the StoryYou’ll find this segment approximately 9 minutesand 30 seconds after the video starts. Watch forabout 4 minutes and 30 seconds.After some preparatory activities, Ms. Granville tells the students a Cajunfolktale.   What story elements does Ms. Granville establish through herretelling? What language elements (vocabulary or grammar) does sheestablish?   What tools and strategies does Ms. Granville use to make the storycomprehensible?   What enables Ms. Granville to use words such as tubercule andmangeable and maintain student comprehension?   How does Ms. Granville verify that students are following the story?Teaching Foreign Languages K–12: A Library of Classroom Practices7

Analyze the Video, cont’d.Video Segment: Mapping the StoryYou’ll find this segment approximately 16 minutesand 30 seconds after the video starts. Watch forabout 4 minutes.In groups of six, students organize the story’s main elements andvocabulary on a story map, then share their work in a class discussion.   How does the story map lead to interpretive communication?   How does the story map help students develop written language?   How does Ms. Granville focus on a grammatical concept withoutdetracting from the story?   What observations can you make about student interactions duringgroup work? About Ms. Granville’s interactions with students duringthe full-class discussion?Connect to Your TeachingReflect on Your PracticeAs you reflect on these questions, write down your responses or discussthem as a group.   What technology do you routinely use in your classroom? What specialunits have you designed that rely on technological support? Whatopportunities are there in your school for finding support for andcollaborating on technological presentations?8Teaching Foreign Languages K–12: A Library of Classroom Practices

Connect to Your Teaching,cont’d.   How do you engage students with art forms from other cultures?   What opportunities do you present to students to learn about thevariety of cultures in which your target language is spoken?Watch Other VideosWatch other videos in the Teaching Foreign Languages K–12 library formore examples of teaching methodologies like those you’ve just seen. Note:All videos in this series are subtitled in English.“Russian Cities, Russian Stories” (Russian) illustrates a reading-to-writingstrategy used with folktales, and “Routes to Culture” (Spanish) showsstudents experiencing culture through authentic musical instruments andtraditional music.Put It Into PracticeTry these ideas in your classroom.   Collaborate with language arts teachers at your school to developgraphic organizers that can be used in both languages. This will helpstudents see that interpreting texts is the same regardless of thelanguage. Ms. Granville used the popular language arts strategy ofstory mapping (problem/action/resolution) to focus on key vocabularyand spelling and to push students’ language and thinking skills to ahigher level. For more advanced students, work with English literatureteachers to create more sophisticated organizers that focus on storyelements such as plot, conflict, and dénouement.Teaching Foreign Languages K–12: A Library of Classroom Practices9

Connect to Your Teaching,cont’d.   Share folktales with students to give them cultural perspectives whileteaching new vocabulary and reinforcing key grammatical structures.Ms. Granville’s story contained references to agriculture (often a topicin folktales), colloquial language (patate), a realistic situation usingpast-tense actions, and a moral that reflected on the charactersvalued or mocked in Cajun culture. Because many folktales are writtenin a traditional language style that can be hard for students to read,you might need to retell them, as Ms. Granville did, in ways that makethem comprehensible to students. (This is perfectly appropriate, sincefolktales began as an oral genre.) Save the presentation elements asa set so that you can reuse them in subsequent years or with studentsat other levels.10Teaching Foreign Languages K–12: A Library of Classroom Practices