California Foreign Language ProjectSAILN Level III

ACTFL Reading Proficiency Unit

FrenchAndrea HakalaLe petit prince

The Little PrinceApril 2016

Le petit princeNotes for the teacher

• Goal: The students will have a familiarity with the French modern classic novel The Little Prince, and will gain an introductory understanding of the literary and philosophical symbolism of some of the key characters and events in the story.

• Objectives: • - Students will learn new vocabulary. • - Students will develop proficiency with use of verb tenses.• - Students will examine the life of the author, Antoine de Saint Exupéry.• - Students will explain the importance of the Baobob tree in Africa.• - Students will identify and demonstrate understanding of the significance of

key quotations, characters and events.• Time Frame: The unit can last from 21 one hour class sessions to up to seven

weeks.• Rubric: Teacher-created.• Standards: (ACTFL)

ACTFL Reading Proficiency Guidelines

• This reading unit is geared to students who are at an intermediate low or higher level, although students who are at novice high level will be well-supported by the daily activities.

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ACTFL Standards• Communication

Standard 1.2: Interpretive CommunicationStandard 1.3: Presentational Communication

• CulturesStandard 2.1: Practices of Culture

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ConnectionsStandard 3.1: Making ConnectionsStandard 3.2: Acquiring Information

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ComparisonsStandard 4.2: Cultural Comparisons

• CommunitiesStandard 5.2: Lifelong Learning

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ACTFL Reading Proficiency Guidelines

Notes for the teacher• I. Before Reading (Into) • Activity 1: Life of Saint-Exupéry –

video and cloze activity.• Activity 2: Key vocabulary – Guess

game.• Activity 3: Baobab trees – BKWL chart.

• Standards: 2.1, 3.1, 3.2

SynopsisLe petit prince

• A pilot ends up in the Sahara due to engine problems. Here he meets a young boy, who is a prince from a tiny asteroid, which is home to the prince’s beloved rose, three small volcanoes, and Baobob trees. The prince tells the pilot about various planets he has visited and the array of characters he meets in his travels, including a king, a geographer, a drunk, a lamplighter, a vain man, and a business man. While on planet earth, the little prince met a fox, who he tamed and learned about major life truths. The prince and the pilot are beginning to die of thirst but eventually find a well. The prince meets a snake who promises the prince he will help him return to his home and his beloved rose. The prince tells the pilot he will be leaving soon. He disappears after being bitten by the snake.

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ACTFL Reading Proficiency Guidelines

Notes for the teacher• II. Global Activities (Through)• Activity 1: Verb scavenger hunt.• Activity 2: Story boards and

sequencing of significant events.• Activity 3: Main themes - Scattergories

game.

• Standards: 1.2, 3.1, 4.2

ACTFL Reading Proficiency Guidelines

Notes for the teacher• III. Detail Activities (Through)• Activity 1: Letters from/to characters

in the story.• Activity 2: Character identification – 5

x 5.• Activity 3: Symbols identification –

Match-up, line-up.

• Standards: 1.3, 3.1, 3.2

ACTFL Reading Proficiency Guidelines

Notes for the teacher• IV. Linguistic Activities (Through)• Activity 1: Verb usage – rewrite a

passage with an alternative verb tense.• Activity 2: Vocabulary talk around.• Activity 3: Sequence of events –

pictionary game.

• Standards: 2.1, 3.1, 3.2

ACTFL Reading Proficiency Guidelines

Notes for the teacher• V. Post-Reading Activities (Beyond)• Activity 1: Design a new

planet/asteroid.• Activity 2: Quotations – double entry

journal.• Activity 3: Favorite take-away from the

story – acrostic poem using adjectives.

• Standards: 1.2, 1.3, 5.2

I. Before Reading (Into) • Activity 1: Life of Saint-Exupéry – video and cloze activity.• Students will view a video on the life of Saint-Exupéry and complete a

cloze activity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RBMRNcmxfo

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I. Before Reading (Into) • Activity 2: Key vocabulary – Guess

game.• Working in pairs, students are given a list of vocabulary words and a

list of definitions in the L2. They guess which definition matches which word. After a set interval, the entire class shares guesses and is debriefed by the teacher. This activity can occur at the beginning of each of the 27 chapters.

• Example (chapter 5):

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I. Before Reading (Into) • Activity 3: Baobab trees – BKWL chart.• Pre-teach background information and share images of

Baobab trees. Optional, prepare and serve Baobab tea.

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II. Global Activities (Through)• Activity 1: Verb scavenger hunt.• In this activity, a specific verb tense which occurs

with some frequency is to be sought and identified by students in specific chapters. Assign small groups one chapter. For example, small groups are assigned one each of chapters 8, 9, and 10. Each group must locate examples of the use of the passé composé verb tense.

• After a set time, groups share the verbs they found and the class discusses why that tense was used and not the imparfait tense.

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II. Global Activities (Through)• Activity 2: Story boards and

sequencing of significant events.• Small groups or individuals are assigned to illustrate a

character, place, or event from a given chapter. After an accumulation of 5 chapters worth, the products are displayed and put into correct sequence. Students retell events while sequencing the images.

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II. Global Activities (Through)• Activity 3: Main themes - Scattergories

game.• For each chapter, the teacher prepares a list of 10 key vocabulary

words. In pairs, students create their own list of 10 key words. Pairs win a point for each word of theirs that is found on the teacher’s list.

• Example: (chapter 14)• un réverbère Un métier• un allumeur fidèle• naître mépriser• éteindre bénir• la cosigne un soupir

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III. Detail Activities (Through)• Activity 1: Letters from/to characters

in the story.• Students chose from a list of characters. They will select one to be

and one to write to from the perspective of their character.• They must include a greeting, tell what they have been doing, and tell

why they are writing. They do not need to know each other in the story.

• Characters:• Le pilote, le petit prince, la rose, le roi, le vaniteux, le buveur, le

businessman, l’allumeur de réverbères, le géographe, le renard, le serpent.

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III. Detail Activities (Through)• Activity 2: Character identification – 5

x 5.• 6x6 grids are distributed to students. Write the names of 5 characters along

the top. Along the left hand side, write 5 random letters. Working in groups or as a whole class project, fill in the grid with descriptions of the characters beginning with the letter. Words/descriptions may be in L2 or English.

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III. Detail Activities (Through)• Activity 3: Symbols identification –

Match-up, line-up.• Students are given visual or written clues on cards and they must match

themselves up logically with another student according to their card.

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IV. Linguistic Activities (Through)

• Activity 1: Verb usage – rewrite a passage with an alternative verb tense.

• Students are assigned a short (one paragraph) passage which they will rewrite using a different verb tense.

• Vous êtes belles, mais vous êtes vides, leur dit-il encore.• Vous êtiez belles, mais vous êtiez vides, leur disait-il encore.

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IV. Linguistic Activities (Through)

• Activity 2: Vocabulary talk around.• Small groups of 4-6. The teacher puts a list of 6-8 words on the board or on

paper to small groups. The students have 1-2 minutes to tell how each word relates to the story. One student at a time talks and checks off a word after it

is used. Once a student falters, another takes over.• Un chapeau• Un avion• Une planète• Un astéroïde• Une rose• Apprivoiser• Le puit

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IV. Linguistic Activities (Through)

• Activity 3: Sequence of events –pictionary game.

• The class is divided into two teams. A student from one team comes to the front and draws a picture on large paper from a card given to them from the teacher. The other team tries to guess what it is. If the team can not guess correctly, the artist’s own team gets to try. After 8 rounds, the teams divide up the art work and write a small description of the significance of the image. Finally, the images are placed in sequential order.

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V. Post-Reading Activities

• Activity 1: Design a new planet/asteroid.

• Students can select from one of the planets from the story, or design their own unique planet.

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V. Post-Reading Activities

• Activity 2: Quotations – double entry journal.

• Students select their favorite of the many beautiful quotations in this story. They write the quotation on one side of a piece of paper, and on the other side they respond to a list of questions about the quotation.

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V. Post-Reading Activities

• Favorite take-away from the story –acrostic poem using adjectives.

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References• Video on the life of author Saint-

Exupéry produced by Association Belfortaine de Vol Moteur (http://abvm90.free.fr)

• Gassaway Brown, A. (1996), À la découverte du PETIT PRINCE, New York NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

• Saint-Exupéry, A. (1943), Le petit prince, New York, NY: Harcourt Brace & Company 26