This French video introduces teachers to a lesson that links directly with science, using the theme of the solar system. The aim is to encourage children to use their language detective skills by predicting context and making connections with prior knowledge before working with longer texts. The lesson begins with brainstorming English vocabulary related to space, which is then developed into a glossary or vocabulary mat. Pupils watch a short European Space Agency video, listening for familiar cognates and topic words, and gradually build up their French word bank with the planet names and other key terms.

This video is part of Kapow Primary’s French scheme – vocabulary. It is designed to model how language learning can connect with other curriculum areas such as science. The focus is not on translating word-for-word but on developing strategies for understanding context, recognising cognates, and making educated guesses about meaning. By creating their own bilingual vocabulary mats and returning to the video throughout the unit, children gain confidence with longer texts and new sentence structures, while also reinforcing knowledge of planets and space.

French, Upper key stage 2, Year 5, Unit 2: Space exploration – in French, Lesson 1: The Solar System in French