Célébrons: La Semaine nationale de la francophonie!

Every year in Canada, les Rendez-vous de la francophonie (rvf.ca) provides opportunities for Canadians to celebrate the francophone communities throughout the country. Numerous events and activities allow community members to learn about the folklore, traditions, and culture of the Canada’s 9 million francophone people.  This  year,  les  Rendez-vous  de  la  francophonie  are  held  March  7–23.  To make this event even more relevant for Canadian students, l’Association Canadienne d’éducation de langue française (ACELF) organizes la Semaine nationale de la francophonie. By organizing numerous activities for students, the ACELF hopes to create an awareness of French culture in communities and give francophone students a sense of belonging to the French culture in Canada. The ACELF provides teachers with a resource document, Concours et activités pédagogiques pour le primaire et le secondaire, that contains suggestions for activities, including some blackline masters, on such topics as culture, music, tourism, and so on. This downloadable document can be accessed at acelf.ca. For teachers of French as a Second Language, la Semaine nationale de la francophonie is an opportunity for students to become involved in authentic communication situations. Through their participation, FSL students can enjoy some of the joie de vivre that these activities create. Why not have a Semaine de la francophonie  in your school? Une Semaine de la Francophonie à la hauteur de mon école! Monday – La bannière française de mon école Invite students to imagine and create a banner or a flag that represents some of the French features in their school and their community. Students could make a number of  smaller banners – one per class – or one large banner that represents all the classes. Suggestions for the banner:

• French names from the community
• examples of French characters in literature, cartoons, graphic novels
• logos from other flags that represent French culture.
• Ask students to present their class banner and explain it to other students.¹

  Tuesday – Je te raconte mon conte! French teachers often use well-known stories and tales as part of the regular French program or during read-aloud. Invite students to choose one of those stories and ask them to become an additional character. For example, Gabrielle, a grade 4 student, would become an additional character in the story Les trois petits cochons. To add variety, imagine that Gabrielle has a GPS navigation system that she uses to get to the three pigs’ houses: a traditional story becomes a tale with a modern twist. Let students’ imagination dictate how the story develops.² Adaptation of the activity: Provide students with partial dialogue from a well-known story. Ask them to present a completed dialogue with a partner, imagining and creating questions that match the provided script.³ This is a fun and non-threatening activity that allows students to put into practice their knowledge of the French language.   Wednesday – Le 400e  anniversaire  de la fondation de la ville de Québec This year’s celebration of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City is a milestone in the history of Canada. You can use this special occasion to provide students with some insight in the creation of Canada, its cultures. and their evolution. The Government of Canada official website, quebec400.gc.ca, provides information and numerous links to other sites that contain ideas, historical facts, and information about the many activities taking place to celebrate this major event.⁴   Thursday – Préparons  un mets traditionnel! This delicious activity will allow students to enjoy everything from a nutritious snack to a typical traditional meal. It is not necessary to be celebrating la fête de la Ste-Catherine to enjoy la tire, a treat that was (so the story goes) created by Saint  Marguerite Bourgeoys to entice young Aboriginal students to attend school. With the help of older students, French teachers can make some of this delicious toffee and share it with younger students afterwards.⁵   Friday – Une franco-foire La franco-foire, a display of numerous French activities done by students, would be the culminating event of a week of celebrating la Semaine nationale de la francophonie. In an appropriate location in the school, such as the gymnasium, the cafeteria or other large enough room, students set up their projects, a selection of snacks, and several tables with French games for students to play and enjoy. Why not set up a table where students can play Scrabble? Or use an area on the floor or on a large table where students write as many French words as possible in a crossword format? There should also be a performing area for students to present the play, skit, or dialogue they created earlier in the week. Invite  guests  from  the  school  community, parents,  trustees,  superintendents,  and  other students to join in this celebration. As teachers of French as a Second Language, let’s  use  la  Semaine  de  la  francophonie  as  a wonderful opportunity to increase our students’ knowledge of and respect for Canada’s culture and everything it has to offer to its diverse citizens. Amusez-vous bien  durant  la  Semaine  de  la francophonie! Notes: _{1.   « Concours et activités pédagogiques pour le primaire et le secondaire ».  Available at acelf.ca 2.  Adaptation from Banque d’activités pédagogiques, acelf.ca/c/bap 3.  Transformer sa pédagogie, Toronto: ETFO/FEEO, 2007. 4.  Debout! Guide national  d’animation  culturelle.  Ottawa: Canadian Teachers’ Federation, 2002;  Banque d’activités pédagogiques, acelf. ca/c/bap 5.  « Projets éducatifs, français langue seconde – Champ d’expérience: les francophones du Canada, niveau intermédiaire ». Ottawa: Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers, 2004; Banque d’activités pédagogiques, acelf.ca/c/bap}