The past two years I have added an extensive reading component to my French 1-IB French 5 curriculum. More importantly, perhaps, is my goal to expand the focus more toward global education and on building cultural competency.
One step in building this curriculum is choosing books that feature cultures outside of l’Hexagone. This school year, I added Les yeux de Carmen, Le voyage de sa vie, Un papillon dans la cité, and Au revoir l’Acadie.
Au revoir l’Acadie: background
The student reader Au revoir l’Acadie is a captivating example of historical fiction. While the story is fictional, author Kimberly R. Anderson expertly weaves in historical context from the Great Expulsion of 1755, when British troops forcibly removed the French-speaking Acadians from their homeland in what is now Canada. An estimated one in three Acadians died during the war and deportation, and it is partially due to this horror that we have francophone roots and Cajun culture in Louisiana.
Au revoir l’Acadie: in the classroom
I used Au revoir l’Acadie in French 3 this year, and the students really got into it! French 3 focuses on building writing proficiency, particularly in the past tense, so I used the reader as a means to discuss and write about past events. The story is primarily written in the past, and it includes clear examples of passé composé vs. imparfait usage, including with reflexive verbs.
Au revoir l’Acadie: global connections
When the British forced the Acadians out of Acadia many died of malnutrition, disease, cold, and unsanitary conditions. Furthermore, families were separated, never to reunite. As adults, we know that this still happens on a daily basis, but how do we show that to kids? How do we make history come alive for kids in a way that is educational, historical, relevant, and personal?
To do this, I enlisted the help of a colleague who spearheads the Newcomer program at my school. (For reference, I live in a mid-size city of ~160,000. My school is 30-35% non-white, and that group largely consists of immigrants and first-generation Americans.) My colleague spoke with one of her newcomers who consequently agreed to share her story with my class.
Zahra* told her story of leaving her home country in Africa, on foot, and in the middle of the night. She didn’t tell her mother, and she made the dangerous journey with her friend across the border to seek refugee status. They risked sexual assault, violence, and sheer exhaustion on that journey. In their minds, it was that or be condemned to a life of military service with no way out.
Zahra spoke of waiting in refugee camps for paperwork to go through, of what it was like leave her mother, and of ultimately being sponsored by an American family and coming to the United States. She told my students what her first day at school here was like, not knowing a single word of English. My students laughed that even now, two years later, she still hates all American food. Zahra was able to answer some questions from my students, but with others, she had no answers. For some, she had only tear-filled eyes and a simple, “I don’t know”.
*name changed to protect privacy
Au revoir l’Acadie: the curricular tie-in
Listening to Zahra speak changed something in my students. I watched as they asked questions, incredulous upon hearing the answers. The students’ eyes widened hearing the story of a girl their age who had already endured more than they would in their lifetimes. I felt their shock of learning that this girl walked the same halls, but that they never knew the story she carried. And what did this do?
It opened eyes and ears.
It opened hearts and minds.
Above all, it created empathy.
The unit culminated in a writing assignment. My students wrote a 3-part student profile, and they could choose to write it alone or with a partner. In the first part, they wrote a summary of Zahra’s story, in the past tense. The second and third sections, respectively, required comparing and contrasting Zahra’s story to that of Marie, the main character in Au revoir l’Acadie.
This reader was new for me this year, but it will become part of my permanent French 3 curriculum. Student writing has improved, as well as their knowledge of history. Above all, my students are making global connections both with content and with people. I couldn’t ask for more!
Click here to download questions I prepared to accompany the reader.
