French
We hope this page offers you a wealth of information about French at Headfield. If you require any further information or support with French please contact our subject leader Mrs Mahmood in Year 4.
The aim of the French curriculum at Headfield is to inspire in our children a love for learning languages. There are already over 20 languages spoken at Headfield and our children enjoy sharing their own with others. Learning another language enables children to make links between them. It also gives them a solid foundation for learning languages at secondary level. French at Headfield is fun, it is taught through songs and games and interactive learning skills.
We help our pupils develop and demonstrate substantial progress in the 5 key language skills necessary for learning French:
- Speaking
- Listening
- Reading
- Writing
- Grammar
These 5 key skills are evident in all French lessons throughout Year 3 to Year 6.
Our French Curriculum
An outline of the topics covered in each year group:
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Autumn Term |
Year 3 |
Year 4 |
Year 5 |
Year 6
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Half Term 1 |
I am learning French J’apprends le Francais
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Presenting Myself Je me presente |
Do you have a pet A tu un animal?
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At school A l’ecole
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Half Term 2 |
Instruments Les Instruments
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My family Ma Famille
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The date La Date |
The Weekend Le Week End
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Spring Term |
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Half Term 1 |
Ice-cream Les Glaces
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In the classroom En classe
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Clothes Les Vetements
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Me in the world Moi Dans Le Monde
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Half Term 2 |
Colours and Numbers Les Couleurs et les nombres |
At the tea room En salon de the
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My home Chez moi
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WW2 La Seconde Guerre Mondiale
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Summer Term |
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Half Term 1 |
Colours and numbers Les couleurs et les nombres |
Seasons Les Saisons |
Planets Les Planetes |
Healthy lifestyle Manger et Bouger |
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Half Term 2 |
Fruits Les Fruits |
Animals Les Animaux |
What is the weather? Quel temps fait il? |
Habitats Les Habitats |
What do our children learn in each year group?
Year 3
- Understand numbers 1-10 and be able to say, read and write them.
- Be familiar with the days of the week and be able to say them and recognise them in written form.
- Use simple greetings (e.g. saying hello and goodbye, saying how they are).
- Ask and answer simple questions about name and age.
- Understand and communicate familiar nouns (e.g. animals, musical instruments) including the correct article (dependent on gender).
- Use simple adjectives (e.g. colours).
- Use some simple verbs in the first person “I” form (e.g. I am and I play).
- Understand the sounds of individual letters and groups of letters and speak them aloud individually and in chorus.
Year 4
- Understand numbers 1-100 (in multiples of 10) and be able to say, read and write them (e.g. in dates and other numeracy activities).
- Use a wider range of vocabulary to ask and understand questions in the classroom (e.g. asking for help, asking the time, simple classroom commands etc.)
- Understand and communicate using a wider range of familiar nouns (including the correct article) (e.g. classroom items, animals, musical instruments, food and drink).
- Understand and use adjectives to describe people, places, things and themselves (e.g. characters in a story or their family members, their age, nationality, where they live).
- Understand and use verbs in the first person “I” form.
- Write slightly longer phrases and basic sentences using a verb in the first person “I” form and a noun including the correct article.
Year 5
- Understand and use the alphabet to assist in correct spelling and pronunciation.
- Follow and give simple instructions and descriptions (e.g. the date, the weather, what they are wearing).
- Be able to say, read and write the date including the day, number and month of the year. All numbers from 1-100 in multiples of 10 as well as all numbers from 1-31 should be familiar.
- Take part in conversations and be able to make simple statements and present information (e.g. weather, playing an instrument, the date, what they wear at different times of the year or on different occasions).
- Understand and communicate simple descriptions orally and in writing (e.g. of a scene, a person, a place, the weather).
- Be able to read longer passages of text and answer questions (orally or in writing about the passage they have read (e.g. reading a short and simple story or completing a reading exercise about what different people are wearing on different days of the week for different occasions).
- Be able to listen to longer passages of text and answer questions (orally or in writing) about the passage they have heard (e.g. about what the weather is like on different days or in different areas of a country.
- Start to examine and understand what each of the personal pronouns are so they can use them in speaking, listening, reading and writing activities (e.g. the first- person form “I” but also third person forms “he”, “she”, “you” and plural forms “we” and “they”. This can be done using familiar verbs such as “to wear” regarding clothes and they can then build sentences about what they and their friends are wearing).
Year 6
- Understand numbers 1-100 and be able to use them in context (e.g. the date, age, prices).
- Be able to identify and tell the time (in speaking, listening, reading and writing exercises). This includes all full hour times plus quarter past the hour, half past the hour, quarter to the hour.
- Understand, express and be able to justify opinions orally and in writing (e.g. school subjects they like and don’t like, leisure activities they like, foods they don’t like etc.)
- Be able to express a statement in the positive (e.g. I like cheese) and the negative (I do not like cheese).
- Understand and use transactional language (e.g. in a café role play “I would like”, “how much” etc.)
- Use adjectives (e.g. colour or size etc.) to make their sentences more descriptive. They must make sure the adjectives agree (where relevant) with the noun they are describing. Where agreement is necessary gender and plurality of the noun will determine the correct use, spelling and pronunciation of the adjective.
- Use connectives to make sentences more descriptive and fluent (e.g. “after”, “also”, “and”, “later on”, “finally” etc.)
- Be able to read or listen to longer passages of text and answer more detailed questions (orally or in writing) about the passage they have read (e.g. a reading exercise about what people eat to stay healthy, or a listening exercise about planets in the solar system stating what colour they are and how big or small they are).
- Study cross-curricular topics (e.g. habitats, planets or Romans) and use their subject knowledge to allow themselves to be challenged by longer passages of unknown text or language in the foreign language. They should now be able to use the language learning skills they have developed to help them decode meaning and gist from more complex passages.
- Understand what a fully conjugated verb looks like and understand what each of the personal pronouns are so they can use them in speaking, listening, reading and writing activities (e.g. the first-person form “I” but also third person forms “he”, “she”, “you” and plural forms “we” and “they”). They should also be able to identify what is the stem of a verb, the ending of the verb in its infinitive form and how this enables the verb to be categorised and the impact this will have on the pattern of changes to the endings of the verb for each personal pronoun.
ENRICHMENT
Languages Day
In November we had a whole school languages day to celebrate the wealth of languages that we have in school. The aim was to develop pupils' awareness of other cultures, teach transferable language or skills and possible pathways learning a different language has to offer. We wanted to give the children a real thirst for new experience and knowledge of the world. There was a strong emphasis on celebrating diversity and learning different cultural values and traditions which in turn encourages tolerance and mutual respect of others. At Headfield we strive to ensure all children feel a sense of belonging so all feel the 'togetherness' of our school family.
Take a look at the gallery below to see some of the fun activities we got up to.
French Day
The aim of the day was to get children passionate and enthusiastic about learning French! It was also a great way to fire up children's passion for language learning and their curiosity about the French language and culture. The children and staff had a really fun day and completed some wonderful work. Take a look at the photos below to see what we got up to!
Our French Literature
There is a selection of French (and dual language) books in the library available for children to take home and enjoy at their leisure. We have also purchased some more traditional fairy tale stories which the children are excited to loan out and take home.
Reading competition
We held a French reading competition which was a huge success! Each time a child loaned out a French book they received a sticker on their French passport...once they had collected 10 stickers they won a prize! :) It is lovely to see children develop a love for reading and accessing books that they would not always necessarily first go for.
Learning Environment
Displays have been created around school to support the development of key vocabulary. By immersing our children with vocabulary in the school environment it enables them to continue to practice and recap vocabulary learnt during lesson time.
French TV
Watching French TV is an excellent way to help children improve at listening and understanding French! Have a go at watching some French animations. Tivi 5 Monde has a variety of different episodes for you to watch! Click on the link to watch.
Useful websites and learning tools
Here are some websites that you can use at home too to help you improve your understanding of French.