Duration:
One 40-minute class period, plus an optional lunch period.
Objectives:
Students will be able to identify key words in French, deliver key phrases with appropriate tone and stress, put story parts in order, apply that knowledge in an expedient manner through game participation, discuss what they would do in Mariam's position, recognize and state the moral of the tale.
Materials:
Vocabulary, enough copies of the
conte
(or tale), enough index cards so that everyone has one (before class write one of the following names on each card, in equal numbers: Le papayer, Mariam, Maman, Koffi, Papa); tape, overhead transparency of game phrases, a papaya, a baggie, props for storytelling (like clothing to demonstrate doing laundry), poster cards depicting actions from story.
Materials for Optional Lunch:
Pre-made spaghetti with sauce, homemade ginger beer, already-made African-style fruit salad, tablecloths, napkins, paper plates, plastic cups, several finger bowls with water, student smocks/old t-shirts, African music CD, paring knife, ginger root, mortar and pestle, bowl, water, paper towel, recipe for ginger beer.
Do Now! / Faites Maintenant!:
Supply the English meaning of the following French words/phrases
.30 Here is a sample of the vocabulary I would select; each class has different vocabulary knowledge and ways of learning it. I do suggest the addition of antonyms and other supplemental words whenever possible, and to focus on language practicality, or how the words are generally heard or used - in phrases or individual words. For instance, laver le linge-
to wash laundry
, sur le chemin-
on the way
, elle aperçut-
she saw/caught site of
, un papayer/une papaye-
a papaya salesman/a papaya
, m—r(e)-
ripe,
vert(e)-
unripe
, etc.
Initiation and Activities:
Simply begin reading the tale, in French, slowly, dramatically, using body language/TPR techniques, facial expression. Be sure to stress words they know and should recognize, accompanying them with movements and gestures.31 Use props! After the first 2 paragraphs, recommence the story; check for understanding by having students select story poster cards to depict words, as you pause after each sentence. Next use choral repetition, sentence by sentence, holding up appropriate story cards. After, ask "easy" questions like
Qui aperçut un papayer? (Mariam aperçut un papayer),
to get the students speaking about the story. Ask questions that require students to give negative responses, like
Est-ce que le papayer porte un orange? (Non, le papayer ne porte pas d'orange; il porte une papaye.)
Go over sequence of papaya-giving (Le papayer, Mariam, Maman, Koffi, Papa, Mariam). Next, initiate the following game; I call it
Passez la papaye!
Take an index card that says Le papayer; give one card to each student to tape on his or her shirtfront. Show overhead transparency of model sentences and sequence: Le papayer donne la papaye à Mariam./Mariam donne la papaye à Maman./Maman donne la papaye à Koffi./Koffi donne la papaye à Papa./Papa donne la papaye à Mariam./Mariam recommence (and passes to le papayer.) Get in as close a circle as possible. Put papaya in a sandwich bag, as, despite trying, it will inevitably be dropped, and get mushy. Model game play. Students must pass to someone with the correct name card, and may not pass to anyone more than once. When the papaya gets back to Mariam, she will say that she begins again, and will pass it to the papaya salesman. Begin. Pass the papaya, focusing on proper diction and sequence. Students should focus on quality and accurate tosses, NOT on speed. The goal is to speak well and keep the papaya from smooshing! Have students sit after they are chosen; the remaining students may move in to recreate their circle as it dwindles. Play as time permits.
Closure:
Ask students to discuss the idea of generosity portrayed, to tell whether they would or would not have made the same choices as Mariam, and why.
Optional Activity:
At the end of the
conte
, everyone gets a little bit of the papaya. In this spirit, it would be nice to plan a special lunch of
sapakti,
homemade ginger drink, and African- style fruit salad.32 Although everything will be made ahead of time, the basics of how to make the ginger drink should be demonstrated, including an introduction to the mortar and pestle; do this before eating. Everyone should eat their sapakti the way Djeliba eats his,
with his hands!
Be sure to go over the process of using the finger bowl (but have them wash with soap and water immediately before anyway, when students change into smocks), and practice the shovel-shape of the hand. Focus on efficiently getting food from plate to mouth, using the hand as a tool, not on making a mess (although that will happen too!) During the meal, listen to an African music CD and engage in discussion. Contrast the experience of eating different foods with hands.
