Y5/6 (A): Lesson 1: My French brothers and sisters

Organise the children into pairs or table groups and give them the following quick exercises:

1. Name two language detective skills.

2. Conjugate the verb avoir - to have.
3. Conjugate the verb être - to be.

4. Explain how you make a verb negative.

5. Say, 'I have' and 'I do not have' in French.

6. Count from 1 to 20 in French.

As the children work through these exercises, circulate to prompt where necessary and assess understanding. After each, take answers from selected groups to share with the class.

Answers are as follows:

1. Language detective skills might include:

• Cognates and near cognates - does a French word look like or very similar to an English word?

• Context.

• Prior knowledge of a word or a similar word.

• What kind of word it is - a verb, an adjective or a noun.

• Clues on gender.

• Clues with number words.

2. Avoir - to have

J'ai - I have Nous avons - we have

Tu as - you have Vous avez - you have

Il a - he/it has Ils ont - they have

Elle a - she/it has Elles ont - they have

3. Être - to be

Je suis - I am Nous sommes - we are

Tu es - you are Vous êtes - you are

Il est - he/it is Ils sont - they are

Elle est - she/it is Elles sont - they are

4. Negative verbs

To make a verb negative, put ne and pas around the verb: je ne mange pas - I do not eat.

5. I have, I do not have

J'ai - I have

Je n'ai pas - I do not have

6. Numbers 1-20 in French

un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix, onze, douze, treize, quatorze, quinze, seize, dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf, vingt