French in Key Stage Two
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Over the past two weeks, we have been exploring direction in French while consolidating our vocabulary for naming places in the town. The children have enjoyed a range of oral games and songs to support their learning, including a movement game where they listened to an instruction in French and moved in the corresponding direction.
The children also enjoyed using the grid maps they created, using directional phrases to guide a little person around the map and recording the places they landed on using grid references. They then swapped maps with a partner to continue orally rehearsing the phrases, supporting further consolidation. This week, the children created 3D maps of a town using large paper, wooden blocks and pens to draw roads, paths and label buildings. They again practised using directional phrases, to guide a person around their 3D town to reach different places. The children then swapped their maps with a peer to continue rehearsing the language orally and deepen their understanding.
Key Stage 2 French
Pupils in Key Stage 2 are using a new language programme to study both spoken and written French. Early Start French incorporates a range of videos which use native French speakers, allowing the children to hear authentic accents and intonation of the French language.
In French, we have begun exploring the theme of 'where we live'. Today, the children were introduced to simple phrases to support the development of oral conversations before moving on to written practice. Working with a talk partner, they asked the question “Où habites-tu?” and responded using the sentence stem “J’habite…”.
The children also learned how to explain whether they live in the countryside (à la campagne) or in a town/city (en ville), watching a video clip featuring French children describing where they live. This required careful listening and supported comprehension of spoken French. The children were encouraged to repeat and translate key phrases to deepen their understanding. Later, the children split into two groups for a globe-trotting activity using a large map of France. One group practised the question “Où habites-tu?” orally with a peer, responding with “J’habite…” and choosing a location in France before placing a mini house and character on the map. The second group completed the activity in written form, composing sentences around the map of FRANCE to show where their mini person lived, before reading their sentence aloud!
