I bought ‘Le Livre’ on my single visit to a book shop in France in the summer of 2021. I was looking for inspiration as I had just got a new role as “reading ambassador”. It jumped at me and is just great!
You can watch a short introductory video above on YouTube.
Le Livre
Learner Language of text: French.
Type of text: picture book.
Author or source: Stéphanie Ledu, Aurélie Grand, mes p’tits docs, Editions Milan.
Intended age of students: Key Stage 2/3.
Source reference: 9782408018719.
Approaches:
This book (Le Livre) is part of a great series of non-fiction books aimed at 4-7 year olds in France. However, I would only use it with learners of French over 7 year-old. As it is not a story, it may appear less accessible… so below are some ideas on how you may use it!
There is so much content in it I would preferably use it over a few lessons and cover 1 or 2 double pages each time.
I would read each double page and ask the children to use the visual clues and their deduction skills to tell me what it is about. I would highlight the key words (in a different colour in the text) and write them on the board. The pupils could then in pairs to work out what type of words they are and what they might mean. Then how they fit in with what the double-page is about. If you have access to dictionaries, these could be used too.
Rationale:
I have been wanting to use more non-fiction books, especially as am aware that some children will be reluctant to read stories but would be quite happy to have a look through this type of book.
Even though this one was written for native children, the key words in it are highlighted and most of them are cognates (words that are either identical or very similar in 2 languages), so it is just perfect for our learners! In addition, even though most of them are nouns, there are also adjectives and verbs, and we know the latter in particular are key to structure sentences. This is the main thing, alongside the illustrations, that makes this book attractive to and usable by our learners.
Outcomes:
The children will be learning about the history of the book, and also how books are made, advertised, shared and used these days. It will therefore appeal to young historians as well as those with little interest in the history of the book.
They will use their inference skills along the way.
This will lead to conversations about books in general. For instance you can ask the children if they have ever had a “coup de cœur” (like love at 1st sight but with things!) as mentioned page 24, if they go to the library etc, and get them to write in French some simple facts about them and books, eg ma bibliothèque locale est…
Topics or themes:
Perfect for World Book Day as it is all about books!
Grammar:
present tense of -er verbs, there are lots in the 3rd person
How much time required:
1 lesson or over up to 6 lessons / half a term
Are you looking for more suggestions of books about books, possibly for World book Day? Click here to see the ones I recommend!
You can buy the book from Amazon.co.uk by clicking here.
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Merci !
Nathalie
