By: Mya Keay

Course Overview:

The topic I decided to create a lesson plan for was the basic introduction to French conjugation, starting with the verb to be or être. In this lesson, learners will develop an understanding of French phrasing as well as how to properly use être while in conversation, be it talking about a personal experience or discussing others. The reason in which I decided on être is because it is one of the most commonly used verbs in the French language. It is used when discussing people, places or even describing where you or someone else is located. The reason in which French was the route I decided to go is because growing up I learned French from a very young age with my grandmother as she was born in Quebec and thought it important I knew the language. Because of this, the basics of the language have been engraved in my mind for as long as I can remember and I felt it would be useful to not only understand how to go about teaching others but in turn help myself have a better understanding of not just how to use the language but to be able to understand it enough to teach it. At the end of the lesson, learners should be able to properly and confidently conjugate être, proving so by taking a fill-in-the-blank quiz at the end of the lesson. Through the lesson there will also be a “game” in which one must drag the correct conjugation to the proper subject, this will help learners understand the connections.

Lesson Outline

Applied Learning

Using the concept of constructive alignment, all learning outcomes, assignments and activities I create must all align with what I want learner to take away with them by the end of the lesson. I achieve this by ensuring that all activities or teachings done for this lesson are all on the topic of proper conjugation of the term être. Therefore by the time of the final quiz, everything that the learner had learned through the lesson will apply to the final quiz. I made sure also to use the theory of active learning, as active learning aids to create a deeper understanding of the topic being discussed, it was important to ensure there were activities along the way that allowed learners to put their knowledge to the test. This was accomplished by creating the matching quiz. Allowing people to actively engage with the lesson.

Reflection Question

How have you found the balance of passive and active learning in this course for your learning? How does it compare to your experience in other courses?

I have found that in this course I have been able to absorb the information faster than I have in previous courses that I’ve taken. This is because I can demonstrate my learnings using active learning by creating a blog post. The passive and active learning of this course allows me to not only understand on a surface level what it is I’m learning but also gives me the chance to showcase that learning. I have found that I learn better by being able to demonstrate what it is I’ve learned by creating posts rather than having to study textbooks and then do a final exam. I belive that at least for myself, this mode of learning is far superior.