Year 4 - French
At the zoo: writing from a word list for reference
People, places, things: adjective agreement, subject pronouns 'it'
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils use prior knowledge of 'avoir' and 'être' in cultural contexts: Mother's Day in Francophonie, the cartoon Tintin, and also the context of a trip to the zoo. New knowledge includes the subject pronouns for 'it', 'il' and 'elle''. Silent Final e, ç/c, -ien, and qu are introduced.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to use reference materials to determine the gender of nouns when writing descriptions in French.
Key Notes
- The SSCs [ien], [(a)in] and [on] make nasal sounds. Air passes through both the nose and the mouth.
- In French all nouns are either masculine or feminine. This is grammatical gender. It is not the same as male or female.
- We can use reference materials such a dictionaries to help us determine the type of a word and the gender of a noun.
- All dictionaries have symbols to give information about word type and noun gender. For example 'nm' is a masculine noun.
- When saying your favourite animal in French, use the article the (le, la, l'): mon animal préféré est le chien.
Vocabulary To Learn
- nasal sound: a sound in which the air passes through both one's nose and mouth
- [ien]: pronounced as in 'chien'
- [(a)in]: pronounced as in 'train'
- [on]: pronounced as in 'non'
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- When saying your favourite animal in French, use the article 'an/an' as in English: my favourite animal is a dog.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain what you can now say or understand in this lesson.
The SSCs [ien], [(a)in] and [on] make nasal sounds. Air passes through both the nose and the mouth. In French all nouns are either masculine or feminine. This is grammatical gender. It is not the same as male or female.
2. Define this key language word and use it in context. 'nasal sound'
a sound in which the air passes through both one's nose and mouth. Say or write it in a short sentence so you use the word actively.
3. Correct this common language-learning mistake.
Mistake: When saying your favourite animal in French, use the article 'an/an' as in English: my favourite animal is a dog. Correction: When saying your favourite animal in French, we in fact use the article 'the': mon animal préféré est le chien.
More Lessons In This Unit
- At the zoo: 'il, elle' (it) and adjective agreement Study Guide
- Describe what you have: adjectives after the noun Study Guide
- Describe what you have: speaking in sentences Study Guide
- Mother's day in 'la Francophonie': 'il' and 'elle' meaning 'it' Study Guide
- Mother's day in 'la Francophonie': 'mon', 'ma' and 'ton', 'ta' Study Guide
- Tintin: person nouns, 'avoir', 'être' Study Guide
- What do you have? 'J'ai' and 'tu as' Study Guide
- What it is like: adjectives after the noun Study Guide
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