Kathleen M. Ryerson
The approach I will use to introduce students to France is to have them read an excerpt from one of the works of Victor Hugo. Through television many students are familiar with Quasimodo the famous hunchback and know his home adorned with gargoyles in the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. Some have even seen the film version of
Les Miserables
. Introducing Hugo is, therefore, quite simple. Students will read excerpts from the chapters on Quasimodo and Esmeralda taken from the
Hunchback of Notre Dame
. They are amazed at the descriptions of two people living in this cathedral—one an ugly monster, the other beautiful.
The people living in this cathedral are imaginary but the cathedral is real. (Give class an introduction to Paris, through slides of the city and the cathedral and gargoyles.)
The story is set in 1480 during the Middle Ages. (Introduce Gothic architecture—dark and mysterious with beautiful and elegant columns and portals.) The central theme of this novel is the magic of alchemy, a theme that still holds the interest of most of us. Some of the class does research on this topic.
I introduce Hugo by introducing the geography of his country. I have students research France’s location, borders, climate, rivers and major cities. We discuss and review these subjects in class orally and through projects. Some of the projects students enjoy doing are topographical maps, projects depicting natural resources and a re-creation of the Eiffel Tower.
Victor Hugo holds an appeal not only because of the great masterpieces he has given us but because of his own fascinating life and the time in French history during which he lived. Students do a report on the biography of Victor Hugo. In order to understand fully his life and works, students must have a true understanding of French history during his lifetime. (At the back of this unit I have listed a summary of the history.) Students make a time line of French history from 1789 through 1852. We spend time comparing the French Revolution with the American Revolution. At the end of this study, students should have a fairly complete understanding of French Revolution and therefore have increased their knowledge of European history generally.
I give students a lesson on the government today, explaining and comparing it to our own. Students will have already understood by now how much the French people had to go through to live in a democracy and whey they are so proud of their motto: “Liberty, equality and fraternity”.