Crecia C. Swaim
As a culminating project, students will create a self-portrait in the style of those found in the French Food Guide
La Santé Vient en Mangeant,
put out by the PNNS. Students will draw, paint, or collage a portrait made either out of food items that they eat often or food items they aspire to eat often. They must write a single-sentence summary or slogan that describes their chosen diet. Then students will write as many paragraphs as they can about why each item was chosen, and why it is important or questionable in a daily diet. Students will orally present their findings to the class, using the portrait (which has no language on it except the single summary phrase students create to represent their eating style). Students will be allowed one index card with relevant vocabulary but no sentences. Extra Credit may be given for including and referring to recipes in the self-portrait.
Assignment components are scaffolded to allow students to progress at their own pace. Student portraits will be scored according to comprehensiveness (40), creativity (30), relevance to the summary sentence (20), and completion (10). Once a satisfactory score (80+) has been achieved, students will move on to the writing section of the assignment. Writing will be scored according to the following criteria: Addresses all food items included in portrait (30), Correct conjugation/use of -er verbs (35), Health benefits and risks of foods properly identified (35). When students have achieved an 80+ on this assignment (which can be achieved through rewrites), they are then ready for the oral presentation and must create an approved index card to refer to during the presentation. Oral presentations will be scored according to comprehensibility (30), accuracy in vocabulary (30), accuracy in linguistic structures (30), and overall fluency (10).
As an interpersonal, conversational assessment, students will ask partners questions about their own self-portraits. They will be given a list of points to consider that reflect the unit's learning goals and activities. Here, students will be assessed according to ability to convey meaning and to form and respond to questions and answers appropriately. Alternatively, students could choose self-portraits out of a hat and assume those identities in order to have a conversation about the portraits.