This book was kindly donated to me by Fred at www.artsetcultures.org , and it is just perfect for Chandeleur on 2nd February! As it happens… The recipe I have been using for as long as I have been making pancakes is the same as Trotro’s… except I put oil in instead of butter! Here is the recipe my mum passed on to me: she used to use it with her own pupils.
Do you want to see inside the book? Then click here for a short video introduction to it!
Language of text: French
Type of text: picture book
Author or source: Bénédicte Guettier, published by Gallimard Jeunesse
Intended age of students: Key Stage 1/2
Source reference: 9782070664108
This is the story of Trotro making crêpes. It is an illustrated recipe!
This book can be read to introduce the ingredients to a pancake batter, or to reinforce them.
It is very simple and the illustrations are clear, so you could just read it to a class and ask them what it was about and what the ingredients were without any prior learning. You could then look more closely at the quantities of each of the ingredients.
Rationale:
I want to use this story because it is important for our children to know about Chandeleur in France and this book shows it in a very simple way. It will make the children want to go and make some crêpes and they will remember it.
I also love that the person tossing the crêpes at the end is the dad, and not the mum as it can still be in many stories full of gender stereotypes.
Outcomes:
By the end of the story, the children will have a recipe in French which would be lovely for them to be able to take home and to make with an adult.
This books lends itself to introducing the 3rd person singular or -er verbs in the present tense, which is important for our children to be aware of, so it is not just a cultural story: they can learn a lot from it.
Topics or themes:
Chandeleur (Candlemas, 2nd February), Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday)
Grammar:
3rd person of -er verbs
How much time required:
1 lesson
More resources about Chandeleur and Mardi Gras can be found by clicking here (including a video of me making pancakes!).
You can buy this book on Amazon.co.uk by clicking here.
What is your favourite story or text to use to tell your children about pancakes? Please share it in the comments below!
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Merci !
Nathalie