Glastonbury Foreign Language Program
Curricular Unit: Self identity in pre-colonial Africa (French)
Grade: 11
Subject/Topic Area(s): French culture, African culture
Key Words: colony, identity, immigration, emigration
Standards:
Major standards— 1.1, 1.2. 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.2
Supporting standards—
Brief Summary of Unit (including curricular context and unit goals):
Students discuss how they identify themselves and compare it to how Africans identify themselves. Students will read short stories and legends to discover what life was like in pre-colonial Africa and how people saw themselves before the arrival of the colonists. Students will compare the occurrences in Africa to those in the US .
note: because the indigenous African peoples had a very strong oral tradition, most stories are written in French which would indicate that although they may take place in pre-colonial Africa, they are written in the colonial language (some translated from the native language, others directly into French), and therefore are not presented from a purely pre-colonial viewpoint. This is a problem we encounter in the US as most history texts are written from the colonists' viewpoint rather than the native Americans'. [And Cortes? who forced the Aztecs to burn all their written works which contained their traditions]
Number of days for activity:
Materials and resources (including technology and multimedia):
• Movies: Indochine, Chocolat, Rue Casse Nègre (excerpts), le Ballon d'or (hope to buy)
• Videos: Keita, the Heritage of the Griot, 1994 California Newsreel, 94 minutes (in Jula and French with English subtitles), Burkina Faso
• Books : Contes et Légendes du monde francophone , Légendes africaines , le Ballon d'or (hope to buy), Voix francaises du monde noir
• short stories : la Légende Baoulé, le lion et la jeune fille, les Deux Guélas ou la Création, la Lanterne magique, l'oeuf du serpent
• Les Griots de la Francophonie (a literature-based curriculum unit with Internet connections)
• Internet articles
• Poems, short stories, art
Identifying Desired Results
• What essential questions will guide this unit and focus teaching/learning?
How do you identify yourself?
What determines who you are?
What defines ethnic identity?
If you moved to another country, would your identity change? Why? How? (How do you keep your ethnic identity during the process of assimilation?)
Is it possible to be a French/African/U.S. citizen and maintain your ethnic identity?
What was an African before the colonists arrived? What is/was a Frenchman/American/Arab? What did Africans (Americans/French/Arabs) have in common with each other? How did they differ? (Caribbean, Indochine, North Africa )
Politique, economie, cultures, traditions, langues, contes, poèmes
• What enduring understandings are desired?
Student will understand...
how life and self-identity of Africans changes over time, how French colonization and decolonization affected the African peoples (their identities, lifestyles, attitudes, movements, ...)
• What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?
Students will know…
what daily life was like for Africans before/during/after French colonization
how African history fits in to world history (esp. w/r/t French & American)
the locations and names former French colonies, their capitals, their peoples, languages, religions, traditions,
how to compare African tribal experiences to those of other conquered peoples (ie American Indians, Aztecs,...)Students will be able to…
narrate in the past/present/future
describe self/others (physical, personality)
compare people/things
Vocabulary:
Grammar:
• What do they already know that will help them learn new information? Where and when did they learn it?
In grade 10 Students studied Caribbean and Canadian peoples who have origins in Africa and therefore share much culture (languages, religions, etc.)
Determining acceptable evidence
• What evidence will show that students understand?
Performance Tasks:
Students will label a map identifying former French colonies in French.
Students will read various African legends, answer comprehension questions, and discuss how characters identify themselves in the stories.
Students will narrate in the past, using passé composé and imparfait, appropriate vocabulary (conquérir, découvrir, ...)
Quizzes, Tests, Prompts, Work Samples:
Students will name the people of each nation.
Unprompted Evidence (observations, dialogues):
Student Self-Assessment:
Lessons:
• Students will break into groups to discuss the issue of self-identity (How do you identify yourself?) The class will come together to compare findings and then address the questions, would this change if you lived in Africa ? (adjust list as necessary)
• Students will read La Légende Baoulé , answer comprehension questions, discuss how the naming of a tribe is tied to its identity.
• Students will read les Deux Guélas ou la Création , answer comprehension questions, discuss how this creation story is tied to the African identity.
• Students will read le Lion et la jeune fille , answer comprehension questions, discuss the identities of men, women and girls, and the role mariage, violence, animals in African literature and society.
• students may read more contes/légendes...
Links to Relevant Web Sites:
Assessment Blueprint (Performance Tasks)
Task Title:
Approximate Time Frame:
Standards:
Purpose: check those that apply Formative – Summative –
Description of Task:
Evidence of desired understanding:Criteria of judgment:
Evaluative Tools: check those that apply
Analytic Rubric –
Holistic Rubric –
Criterion (performance) list –
Checklist –
Assessment Blueprint (Other Evidence)
• What is being assessed?
• Describe the assessment.
• What is the purpose of the assessment?
• Criteria of judgment/evaluative tools: