I bought this book from the Little Linguist stand at the Northern Primary Languages Show in York in November 2017. I just love it! It is so simple and easy to use, yet it can lead to some really deep and meaningful learning, as you can read below.
You can watch a 2-minute video introducing the book here! Then please come back to this blog!
Language of text: French
Type of text: picture book
Author or source: Antonin Louchard, Moreno
Intended age of students: Key Stages 1/2/3
Source reference: 9782364748064
This book is asking what there might be in a “galette” (what we make in France to celebrate Epiphany on 6th January). Whether your children know the answer already or not, this story will be fun, as it is making lots of bizarre suggestions, all rhyming with the word “galette”!
You can read the book to the children and have them just listen to it and take in the illustrations and their meanings; then you can get the children to ask, on each double page, “Qu’y a-t-il dans la galette?”; when you read it again, the children could also say, after each suggestions: “Non!”; lastly I suggest you get the children to repeat each word or phrase ending in “-ette” so they can really hear and say the sound.
Rationale:
I want to use it because it will teach the word “galette” to the children in a fun and unforgettable way; it will get them listening, joining in and therefore practising their French pronunciation. It also tell them about the tradition around Epiphany in France.
Outcomes:
The main outcome may be a cultural one.
However, as well as everything mentioned above, this story lends itself to doing work on the different graphemes which lead to the same sound as “-ette”: -ête, -ète.
You may choose another sound and another word, for instance “gâteau”, and get the children to come up with all the words they know ending in that same sound. There are many of them! The twist at the end could be… “Il y a du chocolat!”. You can all let your imaginations run wild!
Topics or themes:
Epiphany in January; work on phonics.
Grammar:
Different ways of asking questions: Qu’y a t-t-il? Qu’est-ce qu’il y a? Il y a quoi?
How much time required:
1-2 lessons
If you like this story, click here for more recommendations by the same author.
Also please click here for more stories about the “galette des rois”. Which is YOUR favourite? Please tell me in the comments below!
Or click here for lots of free resources and ideas around celebrating Epiphany in French!
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Merci !
Nathalie