If you love Trotro… well you will love this book! If you do not know him yet, it is a lovely book to learn about him and his playful nature which never fails to make you smile!
Click here to see what the book looks like inside in a very short video on my YouTube channel!
Language of text: French
Author or source: Bénédicte Guettier, published by Gallimard Jeuness Giboulées
Intended age of students: Key Stage 1/2
Source reference: 9782070695676
You can look at the cover of the book with your children and work out what the title might mean. The word order, compared to English, must be pointed out – this can be done by asking for instance which word they think mean Christmas, and which one means fir tree.
As you read the story for the 1st time, you can ask the children to keep a tally of how many times they can hear the word “sapin” – they will never forget it afterwards! It will keep them engaged and listening. If you think your children can cope, you can also ask them to count how many times they can hear the word “Noël”.
You can then challenge the children to listen to the story again and try to pick out any French Christmas traditions which, if they are old enough, they can write on their small white boards.
Rationale:
This is a board book, so it is will last for ever and you can use it with younger children too. Everyone will love the fact that it is in the shape of a Christmas tree and has glitter on the cover as well as inside it. It is a very attractive book for children and adults alike!
It introduces French Christmas traditions: papillotes, petits souliers.
Outcomes:
After you have extracted further vocabulary from the story (whether it is new to your children or you are revisiting it), you can ask your pupils to draw and decorate a Christmas tree, then label it with things like guirlande etc. If your children are older, you can ask them to write a detailed description of what is on their tree, e.g. Dans mon sapin de Noël il y a une guirlande dorée, deux guirlandes vertes et une étoile rouge qui scintille.
Topics or themes:
Christmas-related but meaningful activities
Grammar:
the use and position of the adjectives “petit” and “grand”, as well as their agreements
How much time required:
1 lesson
You can buy it here at Amazon.co.uk.
It is in my top 5 stories to use around Christmas – click here to check out the other 4, and more!
What is your favourite?
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