ISBN 1-872365-26-4

'France File'

Edited by Simon Thorp with assistance from Madeleine Bounasser.

The book is printed on 100% recycled paper, costs £12.95 and is available on approval. A 10% discount is available to subscribers who will be sent the next edition on approval. For teachers who would prefer to buy a set, 15 or more copies are available for £4.99 each. Postage and packing is free.

 

Whilst not aimed at the geography market France File could well prove a useful resource, especially as France is one of the most popular countries chosen for study at Key Stage 3.

The book is fully photocopiable resource book of facts about France presented in accessible charts, tables, graphs together with questions in the target language. This could provide the opportunity for some cross curricular work. Students could translate material, and answer some of the questions during French lessons, then discuss some of the issues raised and analyse the geographical content during geography lessons.

Whilst not all the statistics in France File would be relevant to geography the following certainly would be:

  • Facts about the Country
  • Regions and largest towns
  • Age and life expectancy
  • Unemployment in France and Europe
  • Professional categories and sectors of employment
  • Employment by sector in the regions
  • Nuclear power in France and the world
  • Marriage trends
  • Births in France and around Europe
  • Divorce and 'non-marriage'
  • France and Europe's ageing population
  • France's biggest companies.

Given this information the book would certainly prove valuable as a teacher resource from which to gather up to date information. If you do study France at Key Stage 3 then it would be useful to purchase this book, (especially if you can share the cost with the French department).

My thanks to Chas White at Carel Press for providing a review copy of France File.

(Reviewed February 21st 1998)