Big Ideas
Big Ideas
Listening and viewing with intent helps us understand French.
Using various strategies helps us understand and acquire language.
With simple French, we can describe others and their interests.
Reciprocal
involving back-and-forth participation
communication in French is possible using high-frequency vocabulary and sentence structures.
Stories
Stories are narrative texts that can be oral, written, or visual. Stories can be simple or complex and may be derived from real or imagined experiences. They can be used to seek and impart knowledge, entertain, share history, and strengthen a sense of identity. Examples are indigenous oral histories, personal stories, skits, series of pictures, songs, student-created stories.
help us to acquire language and understand the world exploring, for example, thoughts, feelings, knowledge, culture, and identity
around us.
Learning about Francophone communities helps us develop cultural awareness.
Content
Learning Standards
Content
French phonemes
- individual sounds for consonants and vowels, including diphthongs (e.g., au, eu, oi, ou, ui) and nasal vowels (e.g., an, ain, en, im, on, un)
- distinguishing similar phonemes (e.g., u versus ou, e versus eu, s versus z)
French letter patterns
such as groupings of letters that make the same sound (e.g., au, aux, eau, ô, os), rhyming words, and letter patterns that have consistent pronunciations (e.g., ai, -ille, -ment, -tion)
common, high-frequency vocabulary and sentence structures for communicating meaning:
- common questionsfor example, Est-ce que…?; Où…?; Quand…?; Quel…?; Qu’est-ce que…?; Qui…?
- descriptionsdescribing, for example, family, pets, friends, community members; objects in the classroom or in their backpack, desk, locker, home (e.g., Il/Elle/On est…; Il/Elle/On a…; Il/Elle/On aime…)of people and items
- hobbies and topics of interestfor example, Je joue au/à la…; J’aime…
- reasons for likes, dislikes, and preferencesfor example, J’aime…parce que…; J’adore…parce que…; Je n’aime pas…parce que…; Je déteste…parce que…; Je préfère…parce que…
- common emotions and physical statesfor example, Je suis triste; Je suis contente; J’ai mal à la tête; J’ai mal au dos
- basic information about eventsfor example, in the form of posters or invitations, including information such as what the event is and where and when it will take place
- cultural aspectsfor example, activities, celebrations, clothing, First Peoples regalia, festivals, food, land, music, practices, protocol, traditionsof communities
communities where French is spoken across Canada
- for example, les Acadiens, les Franco-Albertains, les Franco-Colombiens, les Fransaskois, les Québécois;Métis communities in Baie St. Paul, MB, Fort Nelson, BC, and Île-à-la-Crosse, SK
- could include information about celebrations, festivals, food, geography, history, population, territory, traditions
a Francophone cultural festival or celebration in Canada
- for example, le Carnaval de Québec, le Festival Acadien de Caraquet, le Festival de la francophonie de Victoria, le Festival du Voyageur, le Festival du Bois, Métis Fest
- could include information about activities, clothing, dance, decorations, First Peoples regalia, food, music, parades, sports
ethics of cultural appropriation
use of a cultural motif, theme, “voice,” image, knowledge, story, song, or drama, shared without permission or without appropriate context or in a way that may misrepresent the real experience of the people from whose culture it is drawn
and plagiarism
Curricular Competency
Learning Standards
Curricular Competency
Thinking and communicating
Begin to recognize the relationships between French letter patterns and pronunciation
Begin to identify groupings of letters that make the same sound (e.g., au, aux, eau, ô, os), rhyming words, and letter patterns that have consistent pronunciations (e.g., ai, -ille, -ment, -tion).
Comprehend key information and some details
for example, answers to questions such as qui, qu’est-ce que, où, quand, pourquoi
in slow, clear speech and other simple texts “Text” refers to all forms of oral, written, visual, and digital communication, including authentic or adapted texts (e.g., advertisements, articles, biographies, blogs, brochures, cartoons, charts, conversations, diagrams, emails, essays, films, forms, graphs, indigenous oral histories, instructions, interviews, invitations, letters, narratives, news reports, novels, nursery rhymes, online profiles, paintings, photographs, picture books, poems, presentations, songs, speeches, stories, surveys, text messages).
Comprehend
understand key information and events in stories
simple stories
Use various strategies to support communication
- include strategies to comprehend and express meaning
- will vary depending on the context and the individual student
- for example, interpreting body language; listening to intonation and expression; paraphrasing, reformulating, reiterating, and repeating; substituting words; using cognates, context, images, parts of speech, prior knowledge, reference tools, similar words in first language, and text features
Seek clarification
using common statements and questions, as well as gestures (e.g., Je ne comprends pas; Répétez, s’il vous plaît; Répète, s’il te plaît; Comment dit-on…?)
of meaning
Recognize the relationships between intonation and meaning
for example, recognizing whether someone is making a statement or asking a question and how it relates to their message; noticing and practising cadence of spoken French
Respond to questions, simple commands, and instructions
Exchange ideas and information using complete sentences, both orally and in writing
Express themselves and comprehend others through various modes of presentation
making use of those best suited to their own and others’ diverse abilities (e.g., digital, visual, and verbal modes; students may make use of aids such as charts, graphics, illustrations, music, organizers, photographs, tables, and videos)
Personal and social awareness
Explore Francophone communities across Canada
Explore connections between First Peoples communities and the French language
for example, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities in Canada where French is spoken (e.g., Huron Wendake Nation, Innu Nation, Micmac Nation, and Mohawk Nation in Quebec; Métis communities in Baie St. Paul, MB, Fort Nelson, BC, and Île-à-la-Crosse, SK)
Explore a Francophone cultural festival or celebration in Canada