This book is one of my go-to stories for having fun with a class, especially if I do not have too much time. If you have more time though, you can work on it for a couple of lessons!
Click here to look at the inside of the book and give you a good idea what it is about in a very short video on my YouTube channel!
Type of text: picture book
Author or source: Michaël Escoffier, Matthieu Maudet, published by l’école des loisirs
Intended age of students: Key Stage 1/2
Source reference: 9782211236461
This is the story of a mum who wants her son to eat some soup.. what strategy will she need to resort to in order to convince him to have it?
This is one of my favourite stories to share with children I meet for the 1st time because I know for a fact that they will love it – it never fails!
After looking at the cover (front then back) to try to guess what the story might be about, we choose a pupil to represent each one of the characters. The props I have are: a wig for the mum, a cap for the boy, wolf’s hands for the wolf, a cardboard (printed from the internet) mask for the ogre, a plastic bowl and a spoon; you could have all cardboard masks on lollipop sticks to hold them up. As I read the story for the 1st time, the characters have to pay attention and act out what happens, e.g. pass the soup and spoon around. Straight away the children will join in with the counting (1,2,3) every time the mum does it.
You can either gradually build up to what the children can join in with, or even read each phrase in the story, one at a time, for the children to repeat. The book is so short and repetitive that the children love this choral repetition. Once they are confident enough, they can just read the whole story at the same time as you.
Rationale:
I love this story because it is a lot of fun, and also because the mum finds a way to get the child to eat the soup – parents seem to have magic powers like that! When you ask the children who wins at the end though they often think that the little boy does – it is worth asking the question and getting them to realise that no, the boy loses, his mum wins as he does eat the soup!
The story is fun but also very repetitive (j’aime pas, j’ai pas faim, je suis fatigué), thus making it easy for the children to join in with. The content is simple and the writing big, therefore the children can see it even from a distance and join in by reading it.
Outcomes:
The 3 main phrases will be memorised for ever (j’aime pas, j’ai pas faim, je suis fatigué); also the ever so important phrase in France: à table !
The children could easily write their own version of the story. The main character could be male, they could be the child in the story and choose some food that they do not like; they could also choose some characters that they may find scary to replace the wolf and the ogre.
Topics or themes:
when doing the negative form or the imperative; for fun
Grammar:
the negative form (je n’aime pas/j’aime pas; je n’ai pas faim/j’ai pas faim); the imperative
How much time required:
1-2 lessons
Bonus: why not make some soup? Here is a recipe in French, as suggested by l’école des loisirs to go with this story! cestpourqui
You can buy this book here at Amazon.co.uk.
Please share below in the comments any story that you just love to share with your child(ren)!
