Part B: Talking about body parts

KEY SOUNDS as in danse, jambe heard before in grand(e), France, vent as in... main heard before in lapin, moins as in... jambe, genou heard before in jaune, bonjour as in... doigt heard before in oui, oiseau,droit,voici [as in the English: wet ] as in... savez, planter, chez, touchez heard before in santé, épaule, ajouter as in... doigt, fais, bras, choux, nous seen before in salut, habite

Listen and enjoy copying these typical sounds: where have you heard them before?

(Listen to the native speakers - try to copy their typically French sounds.)

Planning your lessons

In this section, pupils hear the names for more parts of the body, and also hear normal French usage in talking “impersonally” about body parts, including when giving instructions. The contexts include a ballet class, playing ‘Twister’ and ‘Simon says’, and a traditional song.

Activities

Warm up

Ballet brainstorm: It is likely that there will be a number of children in the class who attend ballet lessons. These pupils will be used to hearing French words and phrases on a regular basis, although they may not be fully aware of this. Ask the class to think of as many ballet terms as they can. They may need some prompting and we have provided a list of well-known ballet terms as part of the ballet “Talking Point” at the end of this section. Ask pupils to demonstrate some of the movements if practical.

Part B: NEW WORDS

Dance/ ballet class la danse je fais de la danse

- dance/dancing

- I do dancing (I go to dance classes)

More parts of the body le bras / les bras la main / les mains le doigt / les doigts la jambe / les jambes

- arm(s)

- hand(s)

- finger(s)

- leg(s)

Teacher instructions touchez le nez! touch your nose!

❑ Film B1 starts with a cartoon ballet dancer, who illustrates more new words for parts of the body. We see Clara and Romane’s ballet class, and hear their teacher’s instructions - which

(of course) mention parts of the body. The class is at the Conservatoire Municipal de Danse in Bruay-La-Buissière , near Béthune You will see more of Béthune and its interesting history in Ch.3.9 and 3.10.

“Oui” . If you show your leg but ask, “C’est le bras?”, pupils respond by saying “Non”. As before, follow a deliberate mistake with a reminder of the correct word. Remember to use “Ce sont...” for plurals;“Ce sont les doigts”, compare “C’est la main .

❑ Play “True or false?” 2 (game)

Indicate the parts of the body again, but this time pupils only echo your phrase when it matches - otherwise they remain silent.

❑ Play “Touchez l’image!” (team game)

Divide the class into two teams. One child from each team faces the board; each in front of a picture of ‘parts of the body’.

Film B1: Ballet class - “les genoux”. Pupils who go to ballet classes will recognise many of the terms used by the ballet teacher.

Get used to the sounds

❑ Echoing: Show the “Ballet and Twister” section on the e-flashcards, (or make enlarged copies of the pictures on the activity sheets)

You call out a body part, e.g. “la bouche”; the first child to touch the mouth wins a point for their team.

Watch film B2: Song

Show each picture, start with sound ON and text OFF. Pupils echo the words , paying special attention to the “key sounds”. When children are familiar with the singular words, compare with the plural - ask children what differences they can HEAR (note silent letters).

❑ Echoing: Indicate a part of your own body and say the word in French, e.g. “le bras”. Pupils echo the words and point to that part of their own bodies.

Respond with understanding

❑ Play “True or false?” 1

Indicate parts of your body again. You point to your hand, say “C’est la main?” Children respond, “Oui, c’est la main” or just, n Once children are familiar with the song, they can adapt it by suggesting other “fashionable” ways to plant cabbages!

❑ SONG: ‘Savez-vous planter les choux?’: Join in as the children sing ‘Savez vous planter les choux?’ - another traditional action song. The class should be standing up, with room to make all the actions as they sing along with the French children. Copying the actions they see in film B2 helps make the words memorable. As well as being a fun way to remember vocabulary, the song is also a guide to normal French usagesee “How French works 1”.

When children choose the next body part, ask them whether it is ‘le’, ’la’, ’l’ ’ or ‘les’

SONG: “Savez-vous planter les choux?”

Savez-vous planter les choux?

(Do you know how to plant cabbages?)

À la mode, à la mode. (the trendy way (x2) literally - fashionably/in fashion)

Savez-vous planter les choux, À la mode de chez nous? (the way we do it? literally- In the fashion at our house/home)

On les plante avec le pied (We plant them with our foot)

À la mode, à la mode.

On les plante avec le pied

À la mode de chez nous!

The song continues: each verse suggests another body part as the “fashionable” way to plant cabbages!

NOTE: listen to how “mode” is pronounced in the song. The final ‘e’ is usually silent, but in songs it is often sounded to improve the rhythm.

Watch film B3: Playing Twister

❑ Playing Twister

Clara and her friends are playing ‘Twister’ in the garden at Clara’s house.

The game needs a mat with rows of coloured spots; you could borrow someone’s English version, or improvise with coloured mats.

Film B3: “Aujourd’hui on va jouer au Twister.” CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

❑ PE -Twister:

Play the familiar party game in French, involving parts of the body with left and right (la main gauche, la main droite; le pied gauche, le pied droit), and colours (rouge, bleu, vert, jaune).

Play with 2, 3 or 4 children per mat. They take turns to spin the spinner that picks a colour and a right or left hand/foot; call out both in French.

The child must place the correct hand/foot on a spot of the right colour. If they lose their balance, they leave the game, which continues until only one child is left.

Film B3: the Twister spinner-“Le pied droit, bleu...”

❑ Art and Design (craft):

Pupils can design and make gruesome body parts at Hallowe’en. (You can also find them in the shops). They could make eyeballs, fingers, noses - even a skeleton!

They could use these to make 3D ghoulish pictures or mobiles.

Pupils can label the gruesome body parts in French.

Later, when working on part C of this chapter, they will be able to describe their Hallowe’en people in more detail.

Watch film B4: Magic trick

❑ Magic trick: Clara’s dad is a magician (‘le magicien’); he’s going to cut Clara in half! He points out parts of Clara that can be seen poking through the box.

Film B4: “Le papa de Clara est magicien”.

❑ Ask children to copy the actions with Clara as she demonstrates that she is still alive inside the box.

It’s a magic trick, ‘un numéro de magie’!

Watch film B5: ‘Simon says’

❑ Playing ‘Jacques a dit’.

Madame Antit’s class are in the playground.

Talking Point 1

Everyday Life In France

Ballet in France

The language of ballet is French. The terminology was originally developed in the royal court of King Louis XIV during the 17th century (see Ch.3.11 “Cendrillon” for more about Louis XIV) . Today, wherever in the world a ballet class is given, the names of the steps are given to students in their original French. Ballet originated in Italy during the Renaissance, but became very popular as spectacular court entertainments in France. The word ‘ballet’ is a French version of the Italian word ‘ballo’ meaning ‘ball’.

In the early ballets, there were no professional dancers; the dances were performed by courtiers and members of the royal families. Initially, there were no ballerinas - only men danced.

Film B5: Mme. Antit’s class play “Jacques a dit...”

Mme Antit: “Et nous allons jouer à ‘Jacques a dit’.

Jacques a dit, mains sur la tête.

Jacques a dit, mains sur les genoux. Sur les épaules.

Jacques a dit, touchez le nez.

Jacques a dit, mains sur la tête. Mains en l’air.”

❑ Play ‘Simon Says’ (‘Jacques a dit’)

The class stands up.

If you say, e.g. “Jacques a dit touchez... les pieds”, each now touches their feet.

If you just say “Touchez les pieds”, those children who do so sit down and are out.

Last one left standing wins!

Louis XIV dressed as the Sun King to perform in the ‘Ballet de la nuit’ in 1653.

Louis XIV enjoyed performing in ballets himself, and in 1653 played the role of ‘the Sun King’ in the ‘Ballet de la nuit’ at his new Palace of Versailles (see Ch.3.11).

In 1661, Louis established the Académie Royale de Musique et de Danse, the world’s first ballet school. Gradually, professional dancers began to replace courtiers, and in 1681 the first ballerinas performed.

The Académie also formalised the steps of ballet - this is why today ballet dancers all over the world use French terms to describe their dances.

Useful words and phrases for your “ballet brainstorm”: le corps de ballet - “the body of the ballet”: the group of dancers who are not soloists. pirouette - “spin”: a controlled turn on one leg. arabesque - “Arabic”: the dancer stretches one leg straight out at the back. The upper body is straight and lifted. en pointe - “on the tips of the toes”- literally - in blocked “point” shoes. plié - “bent”: knee bend executed with the legs turned out from the hips. demi plié - half bend the knees. battement - “beat”: the leg is extended and then returned. grand battement - “big beat”: a leg lift where the leg is raised as high as possible. petit battement - “little beat”: the leg beats front to back really quickly. jeté - “thrown”: a jump from one foot to the other “throwing” one leg out. (Also grand jeté and petit jeté) tendu - “stretched”: the leg points outwards right through to the toes. relevé - “raised”: the heels are raised off the floor. un pas - “a step” e.g. pas de chat (“step of the cat”) - a basic jump that most children learn early on. le port de bras - literally, “carriage of arms”: every ballet class will have a section where graceful arm movements are practised. These are just a few of the many ballet terms your pupils may know.

The five ballet positions: In ballet there are five key positions of the feet and arms.

Most KS2 children who attend ballet classes should be able to demonstrate these positions as they are a central part of a traditional ballet class. You can use this as a good way to practise ordinal numbers with the rest of the class. Ask the dancers to demonstrate as you call out the positions in sequence. Ask the ‘non dancers’ to echo. If your dancers are confident, you could ask different children from the class to call out a name and position for that person to take. e.g.

“Olivia, deuxìeme position, s’il te plaît”; “Sam et Daisy, quatrième position, s’il vous plaît”.

Phrases usually done in English:

(la) première position - first position: deuxième position - second position: troisième position - third position: quatrième position - fourth position: cinquième position - fifth position:

- heels and knees are together with the feet forming a straight-line. The arms are held in front of the body.

- the legs are still turned out, but now they are apart. The arms are outstretched.

- one foot is now in front of the other. One arm is placed above the head and the other held to the side.

- the feet are now about 40 cm apart and the outstretched arm moves to the front of the body.

- the legs squeeze together and the heel of the front foot touches the big toe of the back foot. Both arms are curved above the head. This is known in France as “la couronne” (crown).

Part C: Describing people and monsters

Planning your lessons

In this section, pupils learn more ways to describe a person, with hair- and eye-colour and style. This builds on previous work from (Early Start French 2, Ch.2.15) describing the clothes someone is wearing - re-visiting what they know about using adjectives in French, such as colours.

They also describe “monsters” with varied body parts.

Activities

Warm up

❑ First briefly remind children of the French colours they know; point to coloured clothes and ask, “C’est quelle couleur?”

Anticipation: Present the class with words they are about to use: cheveux, grand, petit. Remind them of French words they know that may be helpful (see “Key sounds”): les cheveu x - chat, yeux, salut peti t - voici, salut gran d - France or vent, salut

Watch film C1: describing people

❑ Show film C1, which introduces the word for ‘hair’, and shows describing people by their hair- and eye-colour, and hairstyle.

Describing someone’s appearance: Romane shows the different features of her face: “Les yeux, les oreilles, le nez et la bouche.”

Part C: NEW WORDS les cheveux (m. plural) - hair *

*NOTE:French people talk about “the hairs”

C1: Describing people

J’ai les cheveux... (blonds / bruns*)

My hair is... (blond / brown)

*NOTE: brown hair is ‘bruns’ not ‘marrons’

J’ai les cheveux... (longs / courts)

My hair is... long / short)

J’ai les yeux... (bleus / marrons)

My eyes are... (blue / brown)

Il a les yeux... (bleus / marrons)

His eyes are... (blue / brown)

Elle a les cheveux... (longs / courts)

She has long / short hair

Je suis... (grand / petit )

I am... (tall / short)

Je suis... (grande / petite )

I am... (tall / short)

C2: Describing “monsters” le monstre - monster le ventre - tummy

Ce monstre est... (grand / petit )

This monster is... (big / small)

Ce monstre a... (trois yeux )

This monster has... (three eyes)

Get used to the sounds

❑ Echoing: Show the ‘Describing people’ e-flashcards which have C1 at the bottom of the screen. Show “first person” descriptions first, i.e. where the person describes themselves, using “J’ai...”

Film C1: “J’ai les yeux bleus”.

We point out features of cartoon children:

- their eyes (brown-“marron” or blue);

- their hair colour (brown-“brun”, or blond), and style (long, short).

Click to switch between ‘I’, ‘He’ and ‘She’

HOW FRENCH WORKS 2: French adjectives 2

French people talk about their bodies impersonally: they say “I have (the) long hair”, rather than “My hair is long”:

“J’ai les cheveux longs...” (I have long hair...)

“...et les yeux marrons...” (...and brown eyes.)

Here ‘eyes’ and ‘hair’ are both masculine and plural nouns, so the adjectives are masculine and plural too.

Children know about describing clothes from Pack 2, Ch.2.15, e.g.

“Je porte une grande veste bleue...”

(I’m wearing a big blue jacket...)

Most French adjectives come after the noun (not before as in English) but there are a few very common exceptions, like grand/petit. You can also describe people like this:

“Je suis grand”, “Elle est grande”

(I am tall ) (She is tall )

Show each picture, initially with sound on and text off. Pupils echo the words , paying special attention to the “key sounds”.

❑ Echoing, third person: Click on the icon indicated to change to describing the same people with “il / elle a...” or “il / elle est...”.

Children respond, “Oui, elle a les cheveux blonds” or just, “Oui” - but if you wrongly describe the ‘model’, pupils simply say“Non”.

As before, follow such a deliberate mistake with a reminder of the correct phrase.

❑ Play “True or false?” 2 (game)

Indicate a child’s hair or eyes again, but this time the class only echo your phrase when it matches - otherwise they remain silent.

Working in pairs

❑ Play “Describe your classmate”

Give each child a piece of folded paper with the name of a classmate hidden inside.

Key Sounds

Listen and enjoy copying these typical sounds: where have you heard them before?

as in grand(e), jambe heard before in France, vent as in... monstre, blond, long heard before in marron, pantalon as in... cheveux heard before in chat, gauche, bouche as in... je, j’ai, jambe, genou heard before in jaune, bonjour

Click to switch between ‘I’, ‘He’ and ‘She’

Pupils echo and get used to “il” and “elle”.

Respond with understanding 1

❑ Describe each other as in... cheveux heard before in yeux, euro, neuf, bleu as in... genou, bouche, court(e) heard before in boules, tous, où est [as in the English: to eat ] as in...il, petit heard before in voici as in... blond, court, grand, cheveux, petit seen before in salut, habite

Ask a series of children to face the class, selecting ones who won’t be embarassed being a (nonspeaking) ‘model’.

For each one, you point to his/her hair, say “il/elle a les cheveux blonds?”. Use a rising tone to indicate you’re asking a question.

Each child describes their named-person’s hair and eye colour, e.g. “Il a les cheveux blonds..” Their partner then has to guess who in the class has been described. Then the two swap roles.

❑ Play “Describe yourself” Working in pairs or small groups, children tell each other their hair and eye colour.

Watch film C2: describing monsters

❑ Show film C2, in which various rather unusual monsters are described. First it describes boys and girls as tall (‘grand(e)’) or short (‘petit(e)’); then, two monsters, one big and one small.

Repeat with ears, eyes and arms.

❑ Echoing: Children colour-in pictures of the monsters from the activity sheet, with their own choice of colours.

You show a few pictures to the class. Say something about each in French, emphasizing the colour, e.g. “Ce monstre (m) est vert (m)” or “Ce monstre a une tête (f) verte (f)” . NOTE the adjective agrees with the noun it describes. Pupils echo the words n Still using the coloured-in pictures, now ask some children to describe their picture in French to the class.

❑ Play “Design a Monster”

Film C2: “Ce monstre est grand”. Next, monsters are described by colour and the number of body parts:

- one has three eyes, a red nose, red ears and arms and brown legs;

- the next monster has a purple head, blue legs and yellow hair;

- the last monster has three legs. It is green. Its ears are pink and its arms are blue.

More get used to the sounds

❑ Echoing: Show the ‘Describing monsters’ e-flashcards - initially with sound on and text off. Pupils echo each phrase they hear.

Respond with understanding 2

❑ Describing ‘how many...’: Show the ‘Monsters’ e-flashcards - this time with sound and text OFF. Ask the class to try adapting the phrase “Ce monstre a trois yeux” for each picture, to say together how many eyes that monster has. Now count legs: you say e.g., “Ce monstre a deux jambes”. For each monster, ask the class to chant how many legs it has.

This activity can link with your class Art and craft work. Ask them to design their own monster that they will then describe in French (see “Extra words and phrases”).

When they’ve finished, ask questions about children’s designs to encourage them to develop their own descriptions.

❑ Play “picture dictation”

In this activity, ask children to describe a monster to you in French, which you then try to draw on the whiteboard.

You follow just what children tell you , e.g. “Le monstre a trois jambes.” Some children may need prompting, e.g. “Il a un ventre...?”

❑ Play “Guess the celebrity”

Pin magazine pictures of people children might knowaround the room, with the person’s name under each photo. One child picks a photo, and describes the person to the rest of the class, e.g. “Il a les cheveux blonds.” n Extend this activity by encouraging children also to describe what the celebrity is wearing.

The rest of the class try to guess who is being described. The first to guess correctly picks the next photo.

❑ Play “Picture Consequences”

Each pupil folds a sheet of paper in three, anddraws and colours the head(s) and face of a monster on the top part; folds it over to hide the head(s), and passes it to their neighbour.

❑ Play “Jumbled Words”

Display jumbled text cards on the board. You say the sentence with a colour, e.g. “J’ai les cheveux bruns.” Ask a child to re-arrange the text cards to make this sentence.

Everyone now draws and colours a body, folds the paper again, and passes it on. The next go adds a pair of legs with feet. The sheets are then passed on to the next pupil, who opens it up to see the character that has been drawn by three different people.

Pupils take it in turns to show the class their monster and describe it, e.g. “Ce monstre a trois jambes et quatre yeux. Il a une tête bleue et un ventre rouge.” Some pictures may of course be quite silly, but that all adds to the fun!

HOW FRENCH WORKS 3: He and his...; she and her...

“J’ai les cheveux longs...”

(I have long hair...)

Children know from Pack 2 how to describe other people as well as themselves, e.g.

“Elle porte une veste rouge...”

(She is wearing a red jacket...)

“Il porte une veste violette...”

(He is wearing a purple jacket...)

Note that the adjective agrees with the noun it describes, e.g. with ‘les cheveux’:

“Il a les cheveux longs...”

(He has long hair...)

“Elle a les cheveux longs...”

(She has long hair...) ...or if it describes the whole person:

“Il est grand et vert...”

“Elle est petite et verte ...”

Give further examples, varying the colour, and the parts of the body. Gradually add more colours, then other adjectives, and leave them to make any sentence with the words. You could also give children individual cards, and ask them to make a ‘Human Sentence’ by sorting themselves into a row that makes a correctly-ordered sentence.

CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

❑ Survey - ICT: Pupils can find out from each other what are their hair and eye colour.

Children can record the results of their survey on a spreadsheet and display it as a graph. You could ask a French school to do a similar survey, swap results, and talk about and compare the two sets of results.

❑ Art and design/ ICT: Portraits

Children draw portraits using each other as subjects. They describe their subject’s hair and eyes to the class in French, also clothes, size and any other features they can manage.