A2: Classifying animals

Planning your lessons

Use the films to introduce the class to working in French to classify zoo animals. They will return to this in Part C.

Activities

Warm up

Talk with the class in your own language about classifying animals; what do they know already?

Watch film A2: Classifying the animals

❑ Film A2 classifies the animals into groups: mammals, reptiles and birds. It introduces eight more animals the French children see on their Zoo visit (mainly reptiles and birds). In class afterwards, they discuss classification with their teacher, M. Charles.

Film A2: “Le zèbre est un mammifère ou un reptile?”

Get used to the sounds - animals

❑ Echoing: To work with the additional animal names, show both ‘A2’ and ‘A1 zoo animals’ on the e-flashcards, (or use the activity sheet pictures) - initially with sound on and text off. Pupils echo the name of each animal, e.g. “le singe”, “la tortue géante”...

A2: Classes of animal un mammifère un reptile un oiseau

- a mammal - a reptile - a bird

A2: Zoo animals

A2: NEW WORDS - monkey le singe l’iguane (m) le serpent la tortue géante les mammifères les reptiles les oiseaux la chouette le perroquet le pélican le kookaburra

- iguana - snake - giant tortoise

- owl - parrot - pelican - kookaburra

A2: Classifying animals (un zèbre) ... est ... (un mammifère) (a zebra) ... is ... (a mammal)

A quelle classe appartient cet animal? What class does this animal belong to?

Est-ce que c’est un reptile, un mammifère ou un oiseau?

Is it a reptile, a mammal or a bird?

C’est un mammifère. It’s a mammal

❑ Echoing: Ask children to guess what you would say for more than one animal (e.g.“les singes”), then click to show plurals and confirm.

❑ More activities: Repeat activities with animal names from A1.

Get used to the sounds - classes

Show the e-flashcards ‘Animal classes’. Pupils echo the names of each class mentioned, e.g. “les mammifères”. Pupils then echo the phrases, e.g. “Un zébre est un mammifère”.

❑ Prepare “Top Trumps” cards

Respond with understanding

❑ Play “which class?”

Click on the ‘tick’ symbol to show the e-flashcards jumbled, with sound and text OFF, Ask children to name the animal AND say what class it belongs to, making a sentence in French.

❑ Play “which class?” 2

Give out copies of the activity sheets to children working in pairs. Ask each pair to classify their cards into three groups.

❑ Play “Run to your class”

Give each child one picture from the activity sheets. You call out the name of a class, e.g. “les mammifères”. All the children holding the card of a mammal run to you - the rest stay in their places. Any child who moves incorrectly is “out”.

Research project: animal facts

Discuss with the class what animal attributes they would like to research, and for which animals.

You could add extra animals to those in the flashcards, e.g. ones you are studying already, or that you have seen on your own zoo visit.

You will need to research data for typical height, length and weight for each animal. You may want to add other categories or attributes of your own - anything quantifiable will work, e.g. longevity, number of offspring, number of legs, maximum speed...

Make copies of the activity sheets. Give each child an animal to research from your agreed list. Make sure they know which attributes to find out about - as well as weight, height and length. In this example, they decided to include ‘speed’, “vitesse”. In a class discussion, the pupils can report back and check the data collected - see “extra words”, e.g. “Quel animal est le plus lourd?”. This will also practice the language needed to play “Top Trumps”. Each child then creates a “Top Trumps” card by entering the relevant key facts for their particular animal. Collect the completed cards; the game will be played in groups of 2 or 4, so make enough copies to ensure that there is one complete set per group.

❑ Play “Top Trumps” card game

Children play in groups of 2 or 4. One child (selected by the teacher) shuffles and deals out all the zoo animal cards face down, so each child has an equal number. Place any leftover cards to one side. Each child holds their cards in a pile so only they can see what’s on their top card.

The first player (to the left of the dealer) selects their “best” category from their top card, e.g. “Poids - un rhinocéros pèse 3 tonnes”. Each other player in the group reads out the SAME statistic. Whoever has the best or highest wins, and places all the top cards to the bottom of their pile.

They then choose the category for the next round.

In any round, if there is a tie, or no data is available, then all the cards are placed to one side, and the same player chooses again from their next card. The winner of that round also takes all the cards that were placed to one side.

If a player loses all their cards, they leave the game. The winner is the player who collects all the cards.

You can use these “extra words” while playing “Top Trumps”.

A2: EXTRA WORDS

Playing ‘Top Trumps’

Quel animal est...

...le plus lourd?

...le plus grand?

...le plus petit?

...le plus léger?

...le plus long?

...le plus court?

- Which animal is...

- ...the heaviest?

...the biggest/tallest?

- ...the smallest?

- ...the lightest?

- ...the longest?

- ...the shortest?