Bon-Journey

A WebQuest for 7th-8th Grade Social Studies

Introduction:

Bon jour! You are about to take a journey to Paris, France. You will discover some of the marvelous and world famous landmarks in Paris. Why not take a stroll down the Champs Elysees to the Seine River and maybe to the Eiffel Tower? Where will your journey take you? Parlais vous Francais? Don't worry, you will learn some basic French phrases to help you speak to the Parisians, too. Get ready for a trip that you will never forget. Au revoir!

The Tasks:

As you do your WebQuest here are some things that you will learn and accomplish:

translate simple English phrases to French,
French customs on food and the three meals a day,
weather conditions in Paris and appropriate clothing for those conditions,
develop an itinerary of landmarks in Paris,
create a picture that resembles a painting in the Musee d'Orsay, or
send a postcard from your favorite landmark or scene in Paris.

The Process:

As mentioned earlier, you will be taking a trip to Paris, France. Here are some websites that will allow you to accomplish your tasks.

1. Do You Speak French?- This site gives basic French phrases with the English translations. It allows you to read the phrase and hear it pronounced correctly in French. Choose four French phrases that you think will be most useful on your trip to Paris. Write the phrases both in English and French in a Microsoft Word file. Go to quia.com and play a game of Hangman using the French terms. There are several from the list of French phrases above used in the game. Be prepared!!!
2. What's the Weather Going to Be?- This website allows you to find any city in the world to see what the weather forecast will be. You can find the forecast for the day or the seven day forecast. It also gives you humidity levels, barometric readings, and other information concerning the weather. There are also link to other sites about the city you have selected. You need to see what the forecast and relative humidity is going to be for Paris, France. Once you have determined what the weather will be for your trip you need to pack a virtual suitcase for your trip. Males need to click here to find four items of clothing that will be appropriate for your trip according to the weather forecast. If you are a female click here to find your four items of clothing. You then need to cut and paste these four items of clothing into a Microsoft Word file titled My Suitcase. Print the final product with your items of clothing and the weather conditions.
3. Let's Go to the Musee d'Orsay- This site gives links to the Musee d'Orsay. It allows you to see various paintings that are displayed in the museum. We are going to take a trip to the Musee d'Orsay to see the famous painting Poppies. You need to make note of the year it was painted and the artist. Minimize the picture for reference and recreate this masterpiece as your own. Print a copy of your painting once you have completed it. Be sure to include the artist's name (your name) at the top of the page. The class will vote on the best one and the winner will receive a chocolate eclair!
4. Are You Hungry?- This website gives examples of a French breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It gives the typical time of day the meals are served. It also gives examples of what food and drink are served at each one. While you are in Paris you will need to eat! Let's follow the Parisian custom for eating. Create an Excel Spreadsheet in which you outline a schedule of the three main meals on any given day. In your spreadsheet include the time of the meal, title of the meal written in both French and English, and two or three examples of what might be served at each meal written in French and English. (DO NOT INCLUDE ALCOHOL IN YOUR EXAMPLES!).
5. Paris, France World Sites Atlas- This site gives you a "tour" of many famous landmarks in Paris. It gives you options of different itineraries to choose. The site displays pictures, facts and figures, and other links to excursions, maps, and other websites relating to Paris and France. Develop an itinerary of at least 10 landmarks you must visit on your trip to Paris in a Microsoft Word file. Include a picture of each landmark and at least a 2 sentence description of each landmark. In your 10 landmarks you must include the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, and Opera Garnier and then five landmarks of your own choosing.
6. You've Got Mail- Send electronic postcards from the City of Light to your friends around the world. These postcards are categorized from urban scenes, culture, monuments, to cafes and other attractions. Each postcard is named for the specific place it represents. You must choose a postcard with your favorite Paris scene from one of the many categories on the Postcards' page. Email me your favorite postcard with a 5-6 sentence summary of your activities and your thoughts and feelings about the trip.

The Evaluation:

You will be graded according to the guidelines below. Please read this carefully to know the criteria that is expected in your tasks.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4
Translated French Phrases	Ability to translate the phrases.	Provided at least 1 phrase, only written in English or French, not both	Provided at least 3 phrases, only written in English or French, not both	Provided 4 phrases, written in both French and English, and written in the appropriate document
Find current weather conditions and pack a virtual suitcase for the trip	Provided little or no weather information and did not pack a suitcase	Provided most weather facts and 1-3 articles of clothing	Provided most weather facts and 4 articles of clothing	Included a title as My Suitcase, all weather facts, and a complete outfit according to the weather conditions
Create a painting resembling a famous artist's version	Included either 1 or no required facts and did not paint personal version of Poppies	Included both required facts and painted a non- color painting	Included all facts and a best effort color painting	Included all facts and created a painting with a strong resemblance to the original painting
Develop an itinerary of landmarks with a picture and description of each	Included 0-4 landmarks with few or no pictures or sentence description	Included at least 6 landmarks, pictures, and 2 sentence descriptions	Included at least 9 landmarks, corresponding pictures, and 2 sentence descriptions	Included 10 landmarks (5 required, 5 self chosen), corresponding pictures, and detailed 2 sentence descriptions of each
Create a spreadsheet about French meals	Data presented in wrong format or did not complete	Missing 2 or more requirements (such as no times or no food examples), only written in 1 language (French or English)	Data presented in spreadsheet, missing 1 requirement, written in both languages (French and English)	Spreadsheet presented in well organized form, all requirements given, written in both languages (French and English)

Conclusion:

By now you should have discovered places to visit in Paris, France. You will not have seen all of the amazing landmarks in Paris by just visiting this website. I encourage you to visit many other websites dealing with Paris, France and its culture. Hopefully one day you can travel to Paris to see all the sites you have visited here and see this amazing city in person! If you do go there for a visit, don't forget to check out the weather forecast before you leave! Au revoir!

Credits & References:

Thanks to Bellsnwhistles.com for some of the graphics used on this page.

Thanks to Google.com for use of their search engine to find pictures, links, etc. for this page.

Thanks to gap.com for the use of their website to pack our suitcase.

Teacher Advice:

This website is designed to be used for 7th and 8th grade social studies' students. This lesson could be extended to grades 6 and also high school grades. The lesson is designed to help students develop an insight and interest about the city of Paris, France.

Students will need to know how to use Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Paint, and how to use email. They should be familiar with using the Internet as well. The teacher should give the students some history about Paris, France before beginning their assignment. There might want to be a discussion of the city and ask the students what interesting facts they know about it before beginning the tasks. You may even want to ask the students if anyone has ever traveled there.

This lesson is organized for students to work individually. It can also be taught over an entire week, or more if needed. The number of days can be determined according to students' progress and can also be done according to tasks (i.e. taking one task per day). The computer that the student is working on may not be configured to send email; therefore, the email links may not work properly.

This lesson is fairly easy for the teacher to organize and determine the evaluation for the students. The teacher should also know how to work in Microsoft Excel and Word to better organize the lesson. One teacher should be able to help the students with this assignment. Parents can help students with this assignment at home if they have access to a computer.

***If students want more helpful information on planning a trip to Paris, click here.***

Created by Betsy Little for EDU 506 @ FHU School of Education by Dr. Bruce Lewis on November 10, 2001.