Ideas for Technology Use in the Québec Unit

Research:

Students may use the world wide web to research topics they have chosen. Some websites are given in this packet, but many more are available. Many sites provide links to others dealing with the same topic. Choose a bibliographic format which students should use to document sources.

Resources are also available on CDRom. Check your school's media center and catalogs for information on geography, history, Canada, etc. Electronic encyclopedias provide useful data.

Desktop Publishing:

Business card or advertisement: Provide students with examples of ads for Québec restaurants, hotels, stores, and museums. Students will imagine they are the proprietors of a business in Québec. They must design a card or advertisment with their own name listed as propriétaire. The card or ad must have a graphic, a real street address in Québec city, a phone number and something descriptive to lure customers, such as "Cuisine traditionelle"; "Vue du Saint Laurent", etc. Cards or ads are prepared on a computer. Graphics may be from a clip art collection, downloaded from the world wide web, or scanned.

Brochure: Students design and produce a brochure which showcases various aspects of Québec city. A good format is an 8½ by 11 inch sheet of paper folded to make a tri-fold brochure. The front may say, "Bienvenue à Québec". The last panel might say "Je me souviens!" (the Québec motto - you will see it on license plates - the French Canadians will not forget their heritage). The inside panels might feature sites the students find interesting. Pictures or symbols may be downloaded from a website.

The brochure may also be used for practice of a grammatical structure. For example, each panel might have an exclamation starting with a form of "Quel" (Quel bel hôtel!) and a response beginning with "ce, cet, cette, ces" (Cet hôtel est le Château Frontenac). Practice of command forms of verbs also works well with brochures: Visitez....! Voyez....!, etc.

Multimedia Presentation:

After returning home, the class can put together a multimedia presentation to remember the Québec trip. Students could work in pairs, with each pair responsible for one "card". For graphics, students might scan photos they have taken, postcards, brochures or pictures downloaded from the world wide web. Students write captions in French and record themselves reading the text. Music and other sounds can be added.

Students will improve technology and language skills while working on this project. Invite other classes, parents and administrators to view this "electronic journal" which celebrates your VISIT CANADA trip to Québec!