Students will develop their television program guide based on their personal preferences. (PSVS) The students will classify the programs according to the different genre or categories and will become aware of the different types of programs available for viewing. (CCT) If possible, students should have the opportunity to examine authentic French television guides. (PSVS)
Ensure that students who express preferences, interests and hobbies that are not traditionally associated with their gender are not subjected to ridicule or negative comments from other students. Help students to realize that the full range of interests and activities is open to all people regardless of gender.
The following vocabulary and linguistic content is included throughout the unit. The teacher and the students should decide what elements will be included in the experiential goal.
Activities
| 1.1 | 6.2 Annex 1 Survey the students and ask them to rate the importance of television in their lives. Use the rating, "très important", "important", "pas important". Have the students note the answer on Annex 1. |
| 1.2 | 6.2 Annex 1 Survey students to determine from memory what programs are scheduled to be televised for the coming evening. Have the students note the answer on Annex 1. |
| 1.3 | 6.2 Annex 1 Survey students to determine one change in programming that they would make for the present evening's television shows. Have the students note the answer on Annex 1. |
| 1.4 | 6.2 Annex 1 Survey students to determine how many use a television program guide. Have the students note the answer on Annex 1. |
| 1.5 | 6.2 Annex 1 Have students each survey two other people and answer the questions in Annex 1. Report back to the main group. |
2. Discuss the experiential goal and the possible steps to achieve the goal.
Activities
| 2.1 | Discuss what could be included in the television guide. Will the students try to make a guide complete with cover page and cover story, will they be responsible for a week of programming, 24 hours, etc. What are some of the components thatall of the student guides will include. |
3. Discuss the usefulness of a TV guide.
Activities
| 3.1 | 6.2 Annex 2 Working in the main group, have the students look at a number of possible reasons why people might use a television programming guide. Have the students individually note whether these reasons apply to them. |
OR
| 3.1 | 6.2 Annex 2 Have the students give their opinions by rating the possible reasons for using a television guide as "très important", "important", "pas important". |
| 3.2 | 6.2 Annex 2 In pairs, have the students interview each other to determine the three most important reasons that their partner uses a television guide. The students then report back to the rest of the group. |
4. Examine a number of television guides.
Activities
| 4.1 | 6.2 Annex 3 Discuss the contents of the various guides and have the students rate the usefulness of each of the components. Students can decide if each component is "très utile", "utile" or "pas utile". Working in pairs, have the students share their opinions and determine how many of the components received the same rating. |
| 4.2 | 6.2 Annex 3 Working in pairs, have the students look at the components and decide if they would omit anything from the guides. |
| 4.3 | 6.2 Annex 4 Working in pairs, have the students use the "Battleship" game format and try to determine what program their partner has chosen by asking about the day of the week and the time of the broadcast. (In "Battleship" both partners have the same basic information. Secretly, they each choose something from that information and then try to guess what their partner has chosen. The partner who is first to guess the information wins the game.) |
5. Determine program preferences of the students.
Activities
| 5.1 | Survey students to determine their three favourite and least favourite television shows. List the television shows as they are mentioned and put a check beside each one as it is repeated. |
| 5.2 | Have the students look at the list of favourite television shows and determine the most popular and least popular television show in the class. |
| 5.3 | Survey the students to determine their favourite television shows of all time. |
| 5.4 | Advanced students could do a mini-dialogue between two favourite characters with the rest of the class trying to determine the identity of the characters. |
6. Determine television preferences and habits of different age groups.
Activities
| 6.1 | 6.2 Annex 5 Have the students survey parents to determine if they watch more or less TV than they did as adolescents. Determine their favourite TV shows both past and present. Identify their favourite actors. |
| 6.2 | 6.2 Annex 6 Have the students survey other age groups in the school (e.g. Grades 1, 4 and 8) and compare the favourite shows and actors of the students. |
| 6.3 | 6.2 Annex 7 In pairs, have the students interview each other regarding their television habits. (This could first be done in the main group with the teacher asking the questions. As the questions are discussed, each student would give his/her own answers. Then they could interview their partner.) |
7. Determine the genres of different television shows.
Activities
| 7.1 | 6.2 Annex 8 Categorize television shows according to genre. Put genre headings on chart paper and have the students circulate throughout the room listing any television shows that pertain to each genre. Then have them complete Annex 8. |
| 7.2 | 6.2 Annex 9 Examine a number of programs andpredict what genre or category they might belong to. Note the key words in each title. |
8. Describe various television shows.
Activities
| 8.1 | Use descriptive adjectives or phrases to describe the shows. Divide students into groups of 4-6. Give the name of a popular TV show and the students must give an adjective or phrase describing the show. The turn moves from group to group until the students can no longer think of other adjectives or phrases. e.g. L'émission Family Ties. "deux fils", "deux filles", "drôle", "amusant" "deux parents", "Alex est intelligent". "Alex est petit." etc. (This could also be done with students using sentences such as "Il y a deux filles". "C'est drôle.") |
| 8.2 | 6.2 Annex 10 Have the students match the appropriate adjectives with the programs. Be sure to look for clues in the titles. |
| 8.3 | 6.2 Annex 11 Have the students list a number of television shows and match an emotion that they might feel when watching the program. |
| 8.4 | Working in pairs, choose a television program. Write a short description of the program including the category, the main characters, the time and the day that it is scheduled, and one adjective describing the show. Have the other students try to guess the title of the program. |
Activities
| 9.1 | Look at a number of TV guide covers and brainstorm the kinds of things that students could put on their covers. Advanced students could also include a written description of their cover. |
10. Prepare and present TV guide.
| 10.1 | Look at a model TV guide to determine all of the information that should be included. |
11. Reflect on the unit. Are the students more aware of the TV Guide? How does their guide differ from the conventional guides? What would happen if programming was only suited to the adolescent? What French did the students learn?