Grade 07: French

In this unit, 'Describing my town', you learn to describe a town. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Describing my town' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: describe a town, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Describe the town in general. Ma ville est petite et calme. [My town is small and quiet.] Elle est au bord de la mer. [It is by the sea.] Il y a une place, un marché, un parc et une gare. [There is a square, a market, a park and a station.]
2. Step 2, Say where things are with prepositions. Le marché est en face de la mairie. [The market is opposite the town hall.] Le parc est à côté de l'école. [The park is next to the school.] La gare est près du centre mais loin de la plage. [The station is near the centre but far from the beach.]
3. Step 3, Give directions. Pour aller à la gare, allez tout droit. [To go to the station, go straight on.] Tournez à gauche, puis à droite. [Turn left, then right.] C'est à cinq minutes à pied. [It is five minutes on foot.] Use the vous form to be polite.
4. Step 4, Dialogue with a visitor. Touriste : Excusez-moi, où est la mairie ? [Excuse me, where is the town hall?] Vous : Elle est en face du marché. [It is opposite the market.] Touriste : Merci beaucoup ! [Thank you very much!] Vous : De rien. [You are welcome.]
5. Step 5, Fix errors. A student says à côté la gare. Correction: à côté de la gare. Another says Il y a beaucoup des magasins. Correction: Il y a beaucoup de magasins. Also de + le becomes du: près du parc, not près de le parc.
6. Step 6, Your turn: describe your town with two places and one direction. Model answer: Ma ville est animée. Il y a un marché en face de la gare. Pour aller à l'école, tournez à droite. [My town is lively. There is a market opposite the station. To go to school, turn right.]

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Describe a town: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

In this unit, 'Adjective agreement and cause', you learn to use adjective agreement and express cause. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Adjective agreement and cause' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: use adjective agreement and express cause, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Adjectives agree with the noun. grand, grande, grands, grandes [tall or big]. Le parc est grand. La place est grande. Les parcs sont grands. Les places sont grandes. Add e for feminine and s for plural.
2. Step 2, Learn an irregular adjective. beau [beautiful, masculine], belle [feminine], beaux [masculine plural], belles [feminine plural]. Un beau jardin. Une belle maison. De beaux arbres. De belles fleurs. Say each phrase aloud.
3. Step 3, Express cause with parce que. J'aime ma ville parce qu'elle est calme. [I like my town because it is quiet.] Before a vowel, que becomes qu'. Also use car [for, because]: Je reste ici, car j'aime la mer. [I stay here, as I love the sea.]
4. Step 4, Use à cause de with a noun. Nous restons à la maison à cause de la pluie. [We stay at home because of the rain.] Combine: Les rues sont belles parce que les habitants plantent des fleurs. [The streets are beautiful because the inhabitants plant flowers.]
5. Step 5, Fix errors. A student says Les maisons sont beau. Correction: Les maisons sont belles. Another says à cause que. Correction: parce que before a clause, à cause de before a noun. A third says parce que elle; use parce qu'elle.
6. Step 6, Your turn: write one sentence about the beautiful gardens and one with because of the wind. Model answer: Les jardins sont beaux parce que les gens les aiment. Nous ne sortons pas à cause du vent. [The gardens are beautiful because people love them. We do not go out because of the wind.]

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Use adjective agreement and express cause: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

In this unit, 'Reading comprehension', you learn to answer in full. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Reading comprehension' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: answer in full, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Read the text once, then again. Hier, Clara est allée à la piscine avec sa cousine. Elles ont nagé pendant une heure, puis elles ont mangé une glace. Clara n'a pas pris son bonnet, alors le maître nageur lui a prêté un bonnet. [Yesterday Clara went to the pool with her cousin. They swam for an hour, then ate an ice cream. Clara did not take her cap, so the lifeguard lent her one.]
2. Step 2, Spot the tense and the helper verb. Aller uses être: Clara est allée. Nager and manger use avoir: elles ont nagé, elles ont mangé. These are the passé composé, for finished past actions. Underline each helper verb and its past participle before you answer.
3. Step 3, Turn the question into the start of your answer. Où est allée Clara ? becomes Clara est allée à la piscine. Qu'est-ce qu'elles ont mangé ? becomes Elles ont mangé une glace. Reuse the same helper verb and past participle as the question.
4. Step 4, Give reasons in full. Pourquoi le maître nageur a-t-il prêté un bonnet à Clara ? [Why did the lifeguard lend Clara a cap?] Answer in a full sentence: Le maître nageur a prêté un bonnet à Clara parce qu'elle n'a pas pris le sien. Do not answer with only Parce que.
5. Step 5, Fix errors. A child writes Clara est allé. Correction: allée, because être verbs agree with the subject and Clara is feminine. Another writes Elles ont allé. Correction: Elles sont allées. Another writes Clara a pas pris. Correction: Clara n'a pas pris, with ne and pas around a.
6. Step 6, Your turn: answer Combien de temps ont-elles nagé ? [How long did they swim?] Answer: Elles ont nagé pendant une heure. [They swam for an hour.]

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Answer in full: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

In this unit, 'Writing practice', you learn to write a short text. You work with notes, a worked line and a self-mark. You see it, say it, then do it alone.

• Listen first: your teacher or a recording says the new words or sentences from 'Writing practice' twice. You repeat them aloud.
• Notice the pattern: find where the new sound, word form or sentence rule appears in a short text and mark it.
• Use it: write a short text, first with help, then alone.
• Check and fix: read your work aloud once more; fix one thing you hear is wrong.

Step by step.

1. Step 1, Plan a short letter in four parts: greeting, about me, last weekend, a question. Open with Chère Zoé, for a girl or Cher Zoé, for a boy. Close with À bientôt or Amitiés. Write the plan as four bullets before you start the full text.
2. Step 2, Write the opening and the present tense. Chère Zoé, merci pour ta lettre. Je m'appelle Ibrahim et j'ai douze ans. J'habite dans un appartement près d'un parc. [Dear Zoé, thank you for your letter. My name is Ibrahim and I am twelve. I live in a flat near a park.]
3. Step 3, Add the past with the passé composé. Le week-end dernier, j'ai joué au basket et j'ai visité un musée avec mon père. [Last weekend I played basketball and visited a museum with my father.] Both verbs use avoir plus the past participle: joué, visité.
4. Step 4, Close with a question and a sign-off. Et toi, qu'est-ce que tu aimes faire ? Écris-moi vite ! [And you, what do you like to do? Write to me soon!] Amitiés, Ibrahim. Count about 55 words. Read the letter aloud and check each verb.
5. Step 5, Fix errors. A child writes J'ai allé au musée. Correction: Je suis allé au musée, because aller takes être. Another writes Cher Zoé to a girl. Correction: Chère Zoé. A third writes j'ai joue. Correction: j'ai joué, with the é ending.
6. Step 6, Your turn: write three sentences about last weekend using the passé composé. Model answer: Samedi dernier, j'ai regardé un film. Dimanche, je suis allée chez ma grand-mère. J'ai mangé un bon gâteau. [Last Saturday I watched a film. On Sunday I went to my grandmother's. I ate a good cake.]

Activity. About 30 to 40 minutes of class work, then one short practice task for home. Keep evidence: a worked task and a corrected copy.

Standard to meet. Write a short text: at least 8 of 10 marks on a short task, with one line of reasoning for each answer.

On the slide: L1 Basic · First words and greetings

Notes: Greet someone, give your name and count to ten in French. Notes: teach Bonjour (hello) and Je m'appelle... (my name is...) with a smile and gesture; learners greet five classmates and say their own name, with no reading or writing needed yet.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Sounds, spelling and simple phrases

Notes: Pronounce common French sounds and read short phrases about family, colours and food. Notes: show that final consonants are often silent, as in petit (small); learners read ten word cards aloud, then match each to a picture.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Present tense and simple sentences

Notes: Write and say ten sentences about yourself using regular verbs and the verbs être (to be) and avoir (to have). Notes: give a gap-fill on Je suis... and J'ai...; learners complete it with their own details and swap with a partner to check agreement.

This course: Grade 07 French is at this level. Its units include Describing my town; Adjective agreement and cause; Reading comprehension; Writing practice.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Past and future in conversation

Notes: Talk about yesterday and next week using the passé composé and the near future. Notes: model J'ai mangé (I ate) and Je vais manger (I am going to eat); learners interview a partner for three minutes, then write six sentences in the past and the future.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Argument, texts and accuracy

Notes: Write a 250-word opinion piece and summarise an authentic article, using the subjunctive where needed. Notes: practise Il faut que je parte (I must leave); learners mark every verb in their draft, fix agreement errors, and defend one opinion in a spoken minute.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Literature, linguistics and style

Notes: Analyse a literary or media text for style, register and historical context, and write a critical essay in French. Notes: choose one page of prose; learners find three stylistic choices, compare them with a modern translation, and argue in 600 words which reading is stronger.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Research, translation and teaching

Notes: Plan and carry out an original piece of French-language research or translation with a documented method. Notes: choose a narrow question, such as how one word's meaning has shifted; collect twenty sources, code them, write up findings in French, and submit them for peer review.