[ Home ] [ Listings Page ] [ Teachers Notes ]

France

Where would you rather live;

 in the region of Paris or in the Massif Central?

Look at the pictures above

Where would you rather live; in the region of Paris or in the Massif Central?

Your task: Find out what these two parts of France are like and decide which region you would rather live in. Produce a display to clearly show what you have found out. Much of your research will be using the Internet, but there are other resources, which can help you.

What sort of information do you need?

  • Where are the two regions? 
  • What is the climate like in the two regions? 
  • What is the landscape like? 
  • What is the population density? 
  • What are the transport facilities? 
  • How well connected are the regions to other places? 
  • What is it like to live there? 
  • What kinds of jobs are there in the region? 
  • How are the two regions changing? 
  • What is being done to make the two regions better places to live?

Your work will be judged on;

  • How clear is the picture you present about what the two regions are like.
  • The quality of the factual information which you will then interpret to say whether you think it is good place to live or not. 
  • The clarity of your comparison of the two regions 
  • The variety of the pictures, maps and diagrams you use.

Also

  • Part of your display could be a letter or e-mail, written in French, which will ask for information on one or both of the two regions.

Completing the task

When you are in the computer room;

Open a new word processor document

Type in the title and the questions you have to answer

When you find useful information, cut and paste it under the relevant question

The main questions you have to answer are;

Where are the two regions?
http://www.mapblast.com (Enter Clermont-Ferrand, Vichy and Limoges for the City or State for Massif Central)

http://www.globalfest.com/English/Auvergne_en.htm
(This is a tour of part of the Massif Central region)

http://www.yourfrenchconnexion.com/regions.html
(Look for Limousin and Auvergne for Massif Central)

http://www.ceefrance.com/regions.html

http://www.class.csupomona.edu/efl/french103/france_geography.html
(This French site contains some simple but clear maps)

What is the climate like in the two regions?
http://www.class.csupomona.edu/efl/french103/france_geography.html
(There is a small section on climate at the bottom of this site, look for Le climat)

http://www.worldclimate.com
(Enter Paris, Clermont-Ferrand, Vichy or Limoges for city or town name)

http://cnn.com/WEATHER/cities/europe.html
(Data for Paris and Limoges available here)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/worldweather/europe/index.shtml
(Five-day forecast for Paris is available here)

What is the landscape like?
http://www.franceway.com/regions/massif-c/intro.htm
(A description of the Massif Central Region)

http://www.yourfrenchconnexion.com/regions.html
(Look for Auvergne, Ile-de-France and Limousin)

What is the population density?
http://www.class.csupomona.edu/efl/french103/france_geography.html
(look for La population)

What are the transport facilities? How well connected are the regions to other places?
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe.html

What is it like to live there? What kinds of jobs are there in the regions?

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/ontheline/explore/journey/france/frindex.htm 

http://www.yourfrenchconnexion.com/regions.html

http://www.francetourism.com/regions.asp 

The Auvergne

http://www.globalfest.com/tour_en/tour_en_Auvergne.htm#Cantal