French at Hackham East Primary School
Bonjour à tous! Hello everyone!
Castle and Small Classes
Students enjoyed two weeks celebrating “all things books” in French at the beginning of the term. Each class explored English books with French themes, such as “Bon Appétit Bertie” and “A Present for Maman”; English books translated into French, such as Spot and Old McDonald; and a variety of French book characters, such as Babar, Madeline and Le Petit Prince.
In Week 3, classes were introduced to les magasins (French shops) and learnt six places you can buy food in France. After playing games to consolidate, students chose one shop name and designed their own French shopfronts/window displays. After this, students moved onto learning a variety of café food words and how to buy food from a café using language such as - bonjour, je voudrais, merci and beaucoup.
In the coming weeks all classes will be learning about Noël (Christmas in France) and learn the French Christmas song “Quand le Père Noël.
Years 3/4/5
During the first two Weeks of Term 4, classes explored French books in three categories – English books with French themes, English books translated to French and French book characters. They learnt that the character Tintin was created in 1929, the first Madeline book was written in 1939, and that Le Petit Prince (written in 1943) has been translated into 301 languages and dialects – incroyable!
After Book Week, students moved onto learning about French meal times. This begun with petit déjeuner (breakfast), followed by déjeuner (lunch) and then dîner (dinner). Did you know that the French see breakfast as the least important meal of the day and yet spend up to two hours preparing and eating lunch with various courses? Sometimes they even have cheese for dessert – c’est intéressant! To finish their unit on mealtimes, students will be tasting a variety of different French treats such as macarons, croissants, profiteroles and madeleines. They will be saying “Bon appétit!” (good appetite/enjoy your meal) at the beginning of each tasting and recording their feelings about each food.
To finish off our term, all students will be learning about Noël (Christmas in France) and learn the French Christmas song “Quand le Père Noël.
Years 6/7
As per the other year levels, the 6/7 students also celebrated Book Week with two weeks exploring French books and characters. They spent time reading Tintin and Asterix graphic novels with a partner and gave reasons for which series they preferred.
In Week 3, classes began to explore cuisine (cooking) and watched videos of a day in a boulangerie (bakery), tasting food around Paris, and a French chef cooking French toast. After writing out the ingredients and directions for cooking French toast, students will use these to make their own French toast in Week 6. Did you know that the name for French toast in France is “pain perdu” (lost bread) because traditionally you use stale bread to make it? The 6/7s will however be making theirs with yummy French brioche and will enjoy a little macaron treat for dessert – délicieux!
To end their year, these classes will do some fun activities related to Noël and make a French Christmas card for a loved one.
I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching all students this year and wish all of our graduating students bonne chance (good luck) for their new schools.
Merci, bonnes fêtes and joyeux Noël!
Madame Mawson