Collection d’articles

Students collect articles from magazines/newspapers throughout the semester (from francophone sources). During the project, each student takes on a specific role for the production of a virtual magazine, a collection of interesting information articles and opinion pieces that come from various sources. The roles are: leader, artistic designer, content specialist, and proofreader. Each student in the group ideally comes from a different academic background.

The first activity requires the students to craft a cover page for a mock-magazine, using material provided by the teacher. The 2nd activity is to write collaboratively a reaction to an article of their choice. These preliminary tasks allow the students to get to know each other and divide the different roles among themselves.

The bulk of the project is then to research articles and organize them with coherence on an online platform. Each student has to bring a minimum of four relevant, well-sourced articles to submit as a biography list. All together students then write an editorial of 500-600 words and begin to put together their magazine. Using an interface like Mad Magz students create the visual product, with each of the articles, the editorial, the critique, and their cover page.

In front of the class, students present their magazines in 5-10 minutes. Then, each student completes both a reflection and an evaluation of the other members of their group.

• This task fosters a habit of reading in French, especially relating to current events in their field of study
• It opens up a discussion into ways of finding, evaluating, and using reliable sources
• It helps students develop the vocabulary linked with their field of study