French - Mrs Blackett

Click the + sign next to each month, below,  to see our fabulous French learning journey across 2024-25 - we hope you enjoy it as it unfolds - Bon Voyage!

December

The festive season brings such a lot of interesting cultural traditions for the children to discover. In German club, we are celebrating by visiting a virtual Christmas market. Delicious Lebkuchen and Stollen add an authentic touch to the experience. Years 1 and 2 have enjoyed finding out that children in France leave their shoes out instead of stockings to receive small gifts. Year 3 have learned that nativity scenes are very popular in homes in France. They have made a card using the key figures in the Christmas story. In year 4, our children have used their knowledge of describing animals to design a garden at Christmas with light-up animals. Year 5 and 6 have practised their reading skills to follow a description of a Christmas tree in French and to draw it correctly. Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année!

November

We start every French lesson with a song, story or rhyme. This helps to embed the language they are learning for any topic. Y1 have been learning a simple song called ‘Bonjour, Salut’ which introduces greetings. Y2 have been introduced to Berthe the witch in the story ‘Bonjour Berthe’, they are very good at repeating the story using the correct actions. Y3 are amazing at singing the song ‘Lulu la Tortue’ about a tortoise who travels to Space. Y4 have been enjoying the song ‘Le Chat en Chocolat’,which ties in beautifully with our animal theme. The Proclaimers song ‘500 Miles’ provides the melody for an alternative version which is helping Y5 to tell the time in French. Finally, Y6 have been practising new vocabulary by learning a rap about what is in your backpack. Listening to these stories and songs and joining in with them improves pronunciation and the ability to remember new words. The best part is that our children are having great fun at the same time!

October

We have been working hard and having lots of fun in French this month. Year 2 have been learning about different ways to travel to France from Sunderland. We have learned the names of types of transport and played lots of games to help us remember the new vocabulary, we even had some help from a former pupil. In Key Stage 2, all of our children have been learning how to use the Duolingo app. This is a wonderful tool to enhance their language learning both in school and at home if they would like to do so. Year 3 have also been learning actions to go with the names of places to visit in Paris. Year 4 have been working on learning the names of animals with incredible pronunciation. Year 5 can now describe the time difference between a city in the U.K and France and year 6 have been practising conversations using opinions and asking each other questions. 

September 

Every year, in September, we embrace the European Day of Languages. This year, our children in year two have learnt how to say hello in other languages with the help of a catchy song. In Key Stage Two, children have discovered that words which we use in English, can originate from different languages. Using their language detective skills, our children have solved puzzles and learnt about links between words in a variety of European languages such as German, French Spanish and Italian. These activities have given our children who speak an additional language outside school a lovely opportunity to share their languages with others. The children have approached the tasks with enthusiasm and great interest.