Bon voyage! Level 1

Chapter 4: La famille et la maison

WebQuest

Un appartement ou une maison à Paris

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Objectives
  • Explore housing in Paris to find an apartment or house to rent or buy
  • Familiarize students with the Paris arrondissements
Notes

  • You may wish to brainstorm with students keywords in French that will help direct them to French-language Web sites to complete this WebQuest.
  • Tell students that each of the twenty arrondissements has its own individual character. The word arrondissement contains the word rond, which (in this context) means "around." Have them look at the map on their worksheets and point out that the arrondissements spiral around and around, from the 1er in the center of the city, to the 20ème in the outer loop.
  • Stress that students are not expected to know all of the vocabulary in the housing listings they explore. Have them concentrate on looking for the vocabulary they know (e.g. chambres, toilettes, etc.).
  • Tell students that when the French refer to a house or apartment as a trois pièces, they mean it has three rooms, not including the kitchen or bathrooms.
  • Additional vocabulary helpful for this activity:

     meublé

    furnished

     videunoccupied
     une cavea cellar
     une cheminéea fireplace
     une cuisine équipéea kitchen with appliances
     l'immobilier (m.)real estate
     à louerfor rent
     à vendrefor sale
     le loyerthe rent

  • Explain to students that in the United States we use square feet to measure the dimensions of living space, while in France they use mètres carrés, or square meters. Maison 300m2 indicates a house that is 300 square meters. (3.28 feet = 1 meter). To give students an idea of the approximate size of the apartments and houses being adverstised, tell them:

    40m2 = a small apartment
    70m2 = a medium-size apartment
    120m2 = a large apartment

Expansion

  • If students are able to print photos, display the photos of the apartments and houses on a large map of Paris in the classroom. Have students read their descriptions aloud and see if the others can match the apartments or houses to the descriptions.

 

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