If you are looking to have a giggle with your children… look no further! This is guaranteed to make everyone smile!
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: Élise Gravel, published by La Courte Echelle
Intended age of students: Key Stage 1/2
Source reference: 9782897740160
This story is actually a list of silly things that do not exist… or is it?
You can teach the children the response “non, ça ne se peut pas!” (and also “oui, ça se peut!”) then read the story: they will love looking at the pictures, having a giggle and telling you that (nearly) all the things are impossible!
You can then write the 2 main phrases on the board and get the children to come up with the rule on how to make a sentence negative in French. If they can work it out for themsleves (it is hard) then they are more likely to remember it.
Rationale:
This story can be used a treat, for a laugh, at the end of a lesson. The children will enjoy joining in as the pictures are very clear and understanding the words in French is not necessary. However, if you want to, there is so much you can do with the language in the book: see grammar points below for instance.
Outcomes:
The children will find this story really entertaining and will therefore want you to read it more than once. They will learn a lot about the French language if you highlight the grammar points below. For instance, with 7-8 year olds, read a page and ask them to say if the main noun at the beginning of the sentence on that page is masculine or feminine; if they are good at this, you could look at other nouns in the story too!
You could then show them the text and ask them to pick out the verbs, then try to guess what they actually mean and make links with words in English (loads can be made, eg conduit – conductor). There are many key verbs that can later be recycled.
Lastly, the children could use those verbs but different nouns to come up with their own silly sentences in French – which they will love doing! They can even make it into their own mini-book. So much to do with such a simple story!
Topics or themes:
past times, hobbies; when working on the grammar points below
Grammar:
negative form; common verbs (especially -er ones) in the present tense, 3rd person; masculine and feminine nouns (un/une)
How much time required:
1-2 lessons
You can buy this book here at Amazon.co.uk.
Have you got a story that you love because it always makes everyone smile? If so, please share it in the comments below! Merci!
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