F3.11 Cinderella v25 2023

11. Cendrillon Cinderella

This section presents children with an extended text with a range of language and structures. It links with their Literacy work on genre, story structure, and fables. Language work will focus on learning more adjectives and revisiting simple agreements. Children can be given the opportunity to use the language creatively and to perform to an audience, boosting their confidence in spoken French.

Part A is based on children’s memory of the story. It starts by naming and describing the main characters in simple French.

Part B re-tells the story. It unpicks the plot and the characters’ motivation within the context of French life at the time of Louis XIV. We see that Charles Perrault wrote moral tales for sophisticated adults loosely adapted from popular traditional stories.

Films to see

Part A: Introducing the characters

A1. Lesson: Children list the characters, and draw them

A2. Children describe the characters

Part B: The story of Cinderella

B1. Scène 1- Chez Cendrillon

B2. Scène 2- L’invitation

B3. Scène 3- La bonne fée

B4. Scène 4- Le bal

B5. Scène 5- La pantoufle

B6. Scène 6- Le mariage

Part C: The complete story

[Repeat the films from part B] Find transcripts online

Part A: The characters

Activities

Warm up

Before showing the films, ask the class to list the main characters in ‘Cinderella’ and describe them (in English or your own language).

Watch film A1

Film A1: The class make a list of the characters in the story.

Planning your lessons

Films A1 and A2 show a class of French children list the characters in the story. They tell their teacher what they remember about what each is like and what they do. Your class can also start from what they remember of ‘Cinderella’. The French names offer scope to explore pronunciation, and you can work with your class to develop your own descriptions, building on previous work with adjectives.

❑ Watch film A1 which shows a French class having a similar lesson to your warm-upfollowed by children drawing a character. Get used to the sounds

❑ Echoing: Show the e-flashcards ‘Places and characters’, or show the activity sheet pictures.

NEW WORDS AND PHRASES

A1. The characters in ‘Cendrillon’ le conte (de fées)

l’histoire les personnages

- (fairy) tale - story - the characters

The main characters

Cendrillon le père (...de Cendrillon)

la belle-mère les demi-soeurs la marraine une fée le prince le roi

- Cinderella

- father (...Cinderella’s father)

- step-mother

- step-sisters

- godmother

- a fairy

- prince - king

Places

le château le palais

1

- castle/ grand house - palace

Show each picture, initially with sound on and text off. Pupils echo the words, e.g. “Cendrillon”, using the flashcards to practise the pronunciation of each character and explore some of the key sounds, e.g. “Cendrillon” (en /r / i / ll / on) Which letters correspond with which sounds? Repeat this several times until children are beginning to be familiar with the charactersand they key places that feature in the story.

NOTE this introduces ‘le palais’ which is not heard on-screen until film B4

HOW FRENCH WORKS:

Belonging - no apostrophe-’S’ 1

In Ch.3.6 we saw that the French equivalent of “Cinderella’s father” is:

“le père de Cendrillon”

“the father of Cinderella”

They say “X de Y” where in English you’d say, “Y’s X”. There is no apostrohe-‘S’ in French; “de” is used to show belonging.

KEY SOUNDS

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

as in Cendrillon (but NOT belle) heard before in fille, bien, oreille

as in...Cendrillon, père, marraine, prince, roi, horrible, cruelle heard before in restaurant, frites

as in...prince, heard before in intéressant, insecte, main

as in conte, Cendrillon heard before in attraction, saison, bon, combien

as in roi, histoire, heard before in balançoire, noir, oiseau, doigt

as in...château, charmant, heard before in chenille, chocolat, chien, chat

as in...horrible, gentil, charmant, palais

seen before in hiver, huit, histoire

Respond with understanding

❑ Give each pupil one of the pictures from the activity sheet.

You call out, e.g. “Cendrillon”; all the pupils with that card hold it up for all to see. Swap pictures occasionally for variety.

❑ Play “true or false?”

Show the e-flashcards again with sound and text off. (or use pictures from the activity sheets).

You say, e.g “le château”. Children respond, “Oui” if the picture shows the château. If it doesn’t, pupils say “Non”.

NEW WORDS AND PHRASES

A2: Describe the characters

Cendrillon est belle, elle est gentille Cinderella is beautiful, she is kind le père de Cendrillon est gentil aussi Cinderella’s father is also kind

beau (m)/belle (f)

gentil(le)

charmant(e)

horrible

désagréable

jaloux/jalouse

méchant(e)

cruel(le)

(très) riche

-handsome (m)/ beautiful (f)

- kind

- charming

- horrible

- unpleasant

- jealous

- nasty - cruel

- (very) rich

Film A1:Children are asked to draw one of the characters.

❑ Ask each child to choose one character from the story to draw, as Mme Antit’s class does in Film A1. They can research their character.

Warm up for film A2

❑ Adjective brainstorm

In film A2, Mme Antit’s class describe the characters from Cinderella; make a list of all the adjectives your class know already.

Watch film A2

❑ Watch film A2 in which French children describe the characters they have drawn. Ask pupils to look out for the adjectives.

Get used to the sounds

❑ Echoing: Show the e-flashcards “describe the characters ”. Pupils echo the phrase describing each picture.

Film A2: “Cendrillon est belle. Elle est gentille.” They may be surprised at how many adjectives they know!

Now look at the new adjectives: many of them are ‘cognates’...

(cognates = words in different languages that have similar sound and meaning, and are derived from the same word in an older language)

Cognates like horrible, cruel, désagréable can help pupils to work out what each statement means, although you have to beware of ‘false friends’ - words which appear to be cognates, but have different meanings (like mille = a thousand not a million; la librairie = bookshop not library).

Drawing on previous work with adjectives, discuss the patterns you can spot in how an adjective is written and in what you hear: n how the adjective changes when the noun or pronoun is masculine or feminine;

n what happens with plurals, e.g.“les deux demi-soeurs sont cruelles”

Respond with understanding

❑ Play “Show me” 1

Show the e-flashcards “Portraits” , which presents groupings of 3, 4 and 7 characters - to be shown on the whiteboard.

Discuss beforehand what each character would wear and any physical characteristics they might draw (e.g. small/tall; long/short hair) so that they can later describe their picture in French.(Note: do not to spend the whole lesson drawing!) While the class is drawing, you could move around the room asking individual children:

“Tu dessines-qui?” (Who are you drawing?)

“Qu’est-ce qu’elle/il porte?” (What is s/he wearing?)

“Comment est-elle/il? (What is s/he like?)

Offer prompts to help less confident children, e.g. “Est-elle belle? ...gentille?...” etc.

n Ask each child in turn to show their completed drawing to the whole class, and describe that character in French, e.g.

“Voici la belle-mère.

Elle est cruelle et méchante.

Ask a volunteer to point to the right“portrait” when you say, e.g. “Montre-moi... (le prince)” (Show me... the prince). Alternatively you could say, “Où est... (le prince)?”

Repeat with other characters and other selections of portraits.

❑ Play “Who is what?”1

Display the “Portraits” again on the e-flashcards

This time focus on which characters you can apply a particular adjective to. You ask, for example, “Qui est charmant?”

Pupils reply “le prince”; “Qui est cruelle?”, etc

Sometimes it will apply to several people e.g.

Q -“Qui est gentil(le)?”;

A - “Cendrillon, la marraine, le père”

❑ Describe your character

Ask each child to draw one character from the story, as Mme Antit’s class do in Film A1.

wh HOW FRENCH WORKS:

Describe with an adjective 2

Children are quite used to this structure: “Cendrillon est belle”

<NOUN> is <ADJECTIVE>

...and that you can also say: “Elle est belle”

<PRONOUN> is <ADJECTIVE>

They know that in French, the adjective very often changes depending on whether the noun or pronoun is masculine or feminine. Because the feminine version is generally longer, in dictionaries it is shown like this: gentil(le)

which means that il est gentil and elle est gentille As in this case, you can often hear the difference.

Elle porte une robe rouge”.

You could bring in other children who have also drawn the same character, to compare how they have depicted them.

If a child has drawn the two step-sisters they could either describe:

n both (“Voici les deux demi-soeurs. Elles sont horribles...” (you don’t hear the extra “s” at the end of any of the adjectives);

n each individual - i.e. point to the first sister “Elle est horrible”, point to the second sister, “Elle est horrible aussi”

TEACHER QUESTIONS

A1: Drawing characters

Nous allons dessiner les personnages

We are going to draw the characters

Qui veut dessiner ... (le prince)?

Who wants to draw ... (the prince)?

Tu dessines qui?

Who are you drawing?

A2: Describing drawings

Est-ce que tu peux décrire ... (Cendrillon)?

Can you describe ... (Cinderella)?

Comment est-il? Comment est-elle?

What is he like? What is she like?

Montre-moi

Show me (to individual)

Part B: The story of Cinderella

Planning your lessons

Children explore this simplified version of the ‘Cendrillon’ story in six scenes, looking at how the narrative structure develops through ‘beginning’, ‘middle’ and ‘end’. They will not know all of the narrative, but there are plenty of familiar phrases - which, together with the pictures, make it possible to follow and enjoy the story. Activities are suggested to explore the language and themes of each scene.

Activities

Warm up

Before watching film B1, ask pupils to listen out for any words and phrases they recognise. Watch film B1: “Chez Cendrillon”

❑ Watch film B1 which starts with Clara in the Château d’Olhain imagining she is Cendrillon 300 years ago. She sees the step-sisters in Cendrillon ’s household; the relationships between them are the dynamic of the plot.

NEW WORDS AND PHRASES

les cendres la cheminée

- cinders

- chimney

Key phrases in scene 1

après le travail elle travail elle s’assoit elle se couche

- after work

- she works

- she sits

- she sleeps

tout en haut de la maison right up high in the house

Pupils echo the phrase describing the relationship between those characters, e.g. “le père de Cendrillon” where ‘père’ is arrowed.

Respond with understanding

❑ Give the class other examples of using “de” in French to indicate “belonging”, using examples to hand, e.g. children’s pictures:

“le chateau de Cendrillon”;

“le frère de (name of child in class)”;

“la soeur de ... ”;

“le chien de ... ”;

“le sandwich de ... ”, etc. “

You could do this with classroom objects, e.g. walk round the room “Qu’est -ce que c’est?”; “C’est le crayon de (Daniel)”; “C’est le stylo de (Daisy)”; etc.

❑ Disscuss “Who likes whom?”

Film B1:Clara at the château, imagines she is Cendrillon. Get

used to the sounds

❑ Echoing: Select “ Relationships ” on e-flashcards; each shows 2 characters

Remind the class of how to say like/dislike, e.g. with food: “J’aime les chips”, “Je n’aime pas le fromage” (see Pack 2, Ch.2.10).

Select “Relationships” on e-flashcards again; for each pair, ask the class if one character likes the other, e.g. “Cendrillon aime son père?”, “La belle-mère n’aime pas Cendrillon?”.

Suggest using other words, e.g. “X déteste Y”

CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

❑ History: Domestic chores and servants

Ask pupils what they noticed about household tasks at the château (see “Talking point 1”).

B1: Scène 1: Chez Cendrillon

Why were the pump and the oven needed? How did they work?

❑ History: Rich and poor

Show the presentation “B1. Rich and poor” ; use this presentation to show children the main ideas in “Talking point 1”.

Talking point 1

EVERYDAY LIFE IN France

Step-families, rich and poor Step-families

Why did Cendrillon have a step-mother?

Around the start of the 18th century, infectious diseases like smallpox spread to rich and poor alike - amongst adults as well as children. As a result, the situation of having a step-parent was very common.

n In what ways did rich people use the poor to make their lives better?

n What modern inventions might have made housework easier for Cinderella?

A baby’s average life expectancy in Cendrillon’s day was just 25 years. It rose to 37 years by 1810, partly thanks to smallpox vaccination, and continued to increase slowly during the 19th century, passing 45 years in 1900. French babies can now expect to live into their 80s, due to progress with heart diseases and cancer. Child and baby deaths are much rarer. Many women used to die in childbirth.

Charles Perrault’s own experience

The author of “Cendrillon” lived until age 75, but his younger wife died aged 25 after only 6 years of marriage, leaving Charles to bring up a girl and 3 boys; he did not re-marry.

Rich and poor

n Why were people less likely to live long in then? Why is vaccination so important?

❑ Literacy: Start making a ‘story board’ Ask the children to work in pairs: each pair re-tells each scene of the story in a French comic strip. Start with one picture with French speech bubble(s) to sum up this scene - possibly reusing drawings from work in Part A. They can create the story board on a large sheet of paper or on the interactive whiteboard; share with the whole class when complete.

What happens next?

❑ Before you show film B2, ask the class what they think of Cendrillon’s situation. It’s a bit sad and hopeless, isn’t it?

Unhappy home life, nobody to stand up for her - what hope has she got?

There was great inequality in France before the 1789 Revolution. The King had absolute power, and amassed huge wealth from taxes and rents on all his lands, which he squandered on the Palace of Versailles and on costly wars.

The aristocracy (including most bishops) lived in luxury compared with the grinding poverty of most other people. Aristocrats dressed in fine clothes adorned with lace, a fiddly trimming that took skilled workers long hours to make. They also had servants toiling for small wages to keep their clothes smart, clean their houses, groom their horses and make their food. Millions more peasants worked on the land producing food. In a bad winter there could be famines in the French countryside

Lace-making

One step-sister wears “la garniture d’Angleterre” (English lace) to the ball, but this probably came from Brussels or northern France (there was an English ban on lace imports in Stuart times, so Brussels lace was sold with a false description as “made in England”).

Watch film B2: “L’invitation”

❑ Film B2 opens with a family gathering in the living room of the Château d’Olhain. An invitation arrives from the royal palace.

In his story, when preparing for the ball, the sisters add accessories rather than buy new dresses. One will trim her red dress with lace (“garniture d’Angleterre”), and the other will add a “golden flowery coat” and diamonds. See presentation “B1. Step-families, rich and poor”, especially where it shows rich people’s clothes, poor lace-makers, and the jobs that servants did.

n How would you prepare for a party today?

CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

❑ Design an invitation

Children can design their own French invitation to an event; it could be a royal ball!

Film B2: The invitation to the ball; Cendrillon is not going.

❑ Talk about French author Charles Perrault’s version of the story (see “Talking point 3”). He adapted plots from familiar folk tales, rewrote them with literary style and a clear moral. He set the stories in his own time, around the beginning of the 18th century.

NEW WORDS AND PHRASES

Give date, time and place, and who to reply to. Explain ‘RSVP’ (‘répondez s’il vous plaît’=’ please reply’).

Choose fonts that add the right ‘royal’ style.

❑ Literacy: carry on making a ‘story board’ Children are working in pairs to re-tell the story in a French comic strip. They add Scene 2‘s picture with speech bubbles to their story board, to share with the class when complete.

What happens next?

- invitation

- ball

- my English trimmings refers to lace collars and cuffs from England* (see talking point 1)

- golden flowers

- diamonds

B2: Scene 2: The invitation une invitation un bal ma garniture d’Angleterre fleurs d’or diamants impossible

- impossible

Key phrases in scene 2

le prince envoie une invitation the prince sends an invitation

je vais porter ... (ma robe rouge)

I will wear ... (my red dress)

... dit une des demi-soeurs

...says one of the step-sisters

Cendrillon veut aller au bal Cinderella wants to go to the ball tu ne vas pas au bal you are not going to the ball

❑ Before you show film B3, ask the class why they think the young women are so keen to go to the ball? What is so special about the chance to meet and marry the Prince?

KEY SOUNDS

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

as in invitation, impossible heard before in prince, insecte as in invitation, impossible, cheminée, garniture, diamants heard before in Cendrillon, famille

as in...invitation, heard before in Cendrillon, fille, pied

as in invitation

heard before in Cendrillon, attraction

Watch film B3: “La bonne fée”

❑ Film B3 starts with the darkest point of the story. Cendrillon’s spirits are very low; ...

NEW WORDS AND PHRASES

B3: Scene 3: The fairy godmother

(la citrouille)...se change en...(un carrosse) (the pumpkin)...changes into...(a coach)

une citrouille un carrosse une souris (revision)

un cheval le rat

un cocher des lézards

- pumpkin

- coach

- mouse

- horse

- rat

- coachman

- lizards

The intervention of the fairy godmother brings about the possibility of change. Magic gives Cendrillon the basic equipment so she appears to be a well-born lady, making it possible to go to the ball and meet the Prince after all.

Get used to the sounds

❑ Echoing: Show the e-flashcards

“B3. Transformations”, starting with the first set. Pupils echo the word(s) for each object and creature Cinderella brings from the kitchen garden. They then echo the words for what Cendrillon needs to be a grand lady.

des serviteurs

une robe...(revision)

...d’argent une pantoufle de verre la magie

la baguette magique il est minuit (revision)

Click on wand to transform

Now select the second set of transformation flascards. Ask children to predict what each garden object will change into, e.g. “la citrouille se change en...?”

Offer suggestions, e.g. “un carrosse ou un cocher?”.

Then click on the magic wand and see if th eguess is correct.

n Add adjectives: switch OFF sound and text; ask children to add commentary to what they see, describing the objects as in film B3, e.g.:

une grande citrouille un beau carrosse

six beaux chevaux un gros rat

un gros cocher la bonne fée

une magnifique* robe d’or et d’argent

- servants

- dress...

- (made of) silver

- slipper

- (made of) glass

- magic - magic wand

- it’s midnight

Key phrases in scene 3

Cendrillon est triste

Cinderella is sad elle pleure she cries

(sa marraine) apparaît (her godmother) appears

apporte-moi ... (une citrouille) bring me ... (a pumpkin)

Cendrillon trouve ...(un gros rat)

Cinderella finds ...(a big rat)

elle agite sa baguette magique she waves her magic wand

*NOTE:if “magnifique” were the only adjective, you would say “une robe magnifique”)

You could also ask children to choose between alternatives relating to the adjective used e.g. “Cendrillon cherche une grande citrouille ou une petite citrouille? Un gros rat ou un petit rat?”

Film B3: “Cendrillon est triste...”.

KEY SOUNDS

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

as in magique, magie, argent, agite, heard before in jalouse, gentille, janvier

as in pantoufle, argent, heard before in Cendrillon, balançoir, panda-roux, France

as in pantoufle, citrouille, trouve heard before in couscous, genou, tous, nous

as in citrouille heard before in Cendrillon, vanille

as in...souris, rat, lézard, argent, minuit seen before in bras, serpent

❑ Using “de” meaning “made of”: Give the class examples of using “de” in French to mean “made of” rather than “belonging to”: “le pantoufle de verre” (glass slipper); “la robe d’or et d’argent ” (gold and silver dress); “mon manteau à fleurs d’or” (gold flowery coat); You could do this with other objects, e.g. “chemin de fer” (railway - LITERALLY: “way of iron”).

n Add objects: ask children to draw some more flashcards on paper of other objects Cendrillon could find useful at the ball, e.g. a mobile phone, watch, handbag, hankie...; together with things she might find in the garden for the Fairy Godmother to change into these things. They could perform their suggestion to the class, who select the best addition to the story, e.g. “la feuille (leaf) se change en un mouchoir (hankie)” .

❑ Literacy: carry on making a ‘story board’ Children are working in pairs to re-tell the story in a French comic strip. Now they add Scene 3‘s picture with French

HOW FRENCH WORKS 2: French adjectives 3

Children know that French adjectives change to match the noun they describe e.g.:

“Je vais porter ma petite robe noire.”

(I’m going to wear my little black dress.) Children know most French adjectives come AFTER the noun (not before as in English) but that a few come BEFORE, like grand/ petit, beau/belle.

They also hear another type of description: “Cendrillon porte des pantoufles de verre”, (“Cinderella wears glass slippers”) (LITERALLY “slippers of glass )

speech bubbles to their story board, to share with the class when complete.

What happens next?

❑ By the end of Scene 3, a previously hopeless situation for Cendrillon has been transformed. Ask children what they think could happen at the ball?

They know the story, but what would happen if...?

...Cendrillon couldn’t dance?

...the Prince thought she was boring?

❑ Before you show film B4, ask the class what skills do they think the young women will need to be successful at the ball?

Dancing? Interesting conversation? Attractive dress and appearance? What about the young men?

Watch film B4: “Le bal”

❑ Film B4 moves the action to the King’s Palace, which we’ve based on the Palais de Versailles. Cinderella arrives at the ball as a ‘mystery lady’, having been miraculously enabled to go to the ball against the wishes of her step-mother.

B4: The ball

tout le monde content(e) - everyone - happy (m/f)

Key phrases in scene 4

il tombe amoureux he falls in love

elle tombe amoureuse she falls in love

elle oublie l’heure she forgets the time

Film B4: Cendrillon has to flee at 12 midnight.

Respond with understanding

❑ Play “I went to the ball and ate...”

The children sit in a circle. You begin by saying, for example, “Je suis allé(e) au grand bal et j’ai mangé... (une glace)”.

The next person repeats your sentence and adds another food item and so on (refer to Ch.3.1).

The children can name any food item they like regardless of whether or not it is really suitable for fine dining at a ball!

n You could also try this with other phrases: Je suis allé(e) au grand bal et j’ai bu ...

J’ai vu ...(le Prince, Cendrillon, un beau carrosse, Mickey Mouse)

J’ai entendu ... (la musique; minuit)

❑ Talk about the past:

The story is told in the present tense but it provides a great opportunity to practise talking about the past using language learnt in chapters 3.9 and 3.10.

Ask pupils to describe the ball after the event:

Le grand bal était... (super)

Cendrillon était... (belle)

Le prince était... (beau)

Le dîner était... (bon)

La robe de Cendrillon était... (magnifique)

CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

❑ History: Palaces and castles

Show the presentation “ B4. Palaces and castles”, and talk about grand palaces and old medieval castles - see “Talking point 2”.

je dois partir I must leave elle court she runs elle perd un pantoufle she loses a slipper

KEY SOUNDS

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

as in monde, content(e), tombe, heard before in Cendrillon, crayon, combien,

as in...amoureux, court, tout heard before in pantoufle, genou, mauvais

as in...amoureux, trop, marie, heard before in Cendrillon, rouge, reptile, présent

as in...amoureux, heard before in euro, yeux, bleu

as in...amoureux, chez, trop seen before in dangereux, nez, beaucoup

n Ask children what other palaces and castles they know, e.g. Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London... What are they used for today?

n Challenge children to model a 4-wheeled coach with 6 horses that can turn corners, using Lego or similar construction kit.

❑ Literacy: carry on making a ‘story board’ Children are working in pairs to re-tell the story in a French comic strip.

Now they add Scene 4‘s picture with French speech bubbles to their story board, to share with the class when complete. What happens next?

❑ The Ball has created a new problem situation: the Prince is in love with the mystery lady, (and Cendrillon with him) - how can he find her?

Before you show film B5, ask children what they think the Prince could do if this situation arose today? ...are there other ways to identify who wore a shoe? Is there anything Cinderella can do?

n Could Cinderella “google” the Prince and send him an email?

n Could he post a message on Twitter or Facebook?

Talking point 2

EVERYDAY LIFE IN France

The old castle and the grand palace

In this version of ‘Cinderella’, her family lives in an old medieval castle, like the Château d’Olhain where it was filmed.

In Perrault ’s lifetime the Château was still involved in fighting; French forces captured it from the Spanish in 1641 as Louis XIV brought this border area into France; in 1710 the castle and nearby towns were briefly captured by the Dutch.

Palace of Versailles

Far from the Château d’Olhain and the northern borders of France, King Louis XIV was building an extravagent palace at Versailles, just outside Paris. This was not a defensive fort, but to show off the power and wealth of the King. It was new when ’Cendrillon’ was published.

Palace of Versailles: interior courtyard today

Here the Royal Family lived, held court and could accommodate hundreds of guests. Louis made his Palace a centre of culture, and lavished money on entertainments like ballet, opera, music and literature as well as painting. sculpture and architecture.

The stone walls and moat of the Château d’Olhain. Castles like this were built with high stone walls surrounded by a flooded moat, to withstand attack by medieval weapons and fighting tactics. In the Hundred Years’ War (1337 to 1453) castles were places of safety where people could seek shelter from marauding armies such as the English.

Balls were held in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

Charles Perrault, author of ‘Cendrillon’, was one of the officials in charge of the royal building works. He helped choose artworks to decorate the Palace and Gardens, where he suggested having a Maze based in Aesop’s Fables

Grand events (like Cendrillon’s fictional ball) would be held in the newly-built Hall of Mirrors, or (in summer) out in the Gardens.

Perrault would have seen the Queen and important guests arrive in gilded, decorated covered coaches, like Cendrillon’s.

Watch film B5: “La pantoufle”

❑ In Film B5 the slipper becomes the key to finding the mystery lady, as the Prince scours the country looking for a woman it fits.

NEW WORDS AND PHRASES

B5: The slipper chez Cendrillon

trop petit(e)

c’est parfait(e)

- Cinderella’s house - too small - it’s perfect

Key phrases in scene 5

il cherche la belle fille he looks for the beautiful girl je me marie avec elle I marry her

elle essaye (de mettre) la pantoufle she tries (to put on) the slipper

Children may be interested in looking at old folk-tale versions of the story (which Perrault “borrowed” and adapted), which also feature the slipper plot.

Respond with understanding

❑ Interviews

Do “interviews” as if they are the characters

e.g. an interview with the prince: Prepare them beforehand in pairs. e.g.

Bonjour, ça va?

Oui ça va bien merci.

Comment t’appelles-tu?

Je m’appelle /je suis le Prince

Ou habites-tu?

J’habite dans le palais

Quel âge as-tu?

J’ai 25 ans

Qu’est-ce que tu aimes faire?

J’aime faire de la danse au grand bal.

J’aime l’equitation aussi.

Est-ce que tu as un animal?

Oui, j’ai un cheval.

Qu’est-ce que tu aimes manger?

J’aime les glaces.

Qui est ton père?

Le roi.

Est-ce que tu aimes Cendrillon?

Oui!

Merci Prince....

You could put some key questions on the board or give them some suggestions as a framework for the interviews. Ask them to take on the personality of their character.

elle perd une pantoufle she loses a slipper

n You could do this as multiple choice. Present pupils with two contrasting choices

e.g. “Le grand bal était ‘super’ ou ‘horrible’?”

❑ Literacy: carry on making a ‘story board’ Children are working in pairs to re-tell the story in a French comic strip.

Now they add Scene 5‘s picture with French speech bubbles to their story board, to share with the class when complete.

What happens next?

❑ The proper end of the story is the moral, (and the marriage)...

Before you show film B6, ask children what they think the happy couple will do about Cinderella’s step-sisters, who have been rather cruel to her up until now?

Film B5: One of the step-sisters tries the slipper

NEW WORDS AND PHRASES

B6: The wedding le palais

heureux / heureuse - palace - happy

Key phrases in scene 6

Cendrillon épouse son prince

Cinderella marries her prince

je me marie (avec elle)

LiterallyI’m getting married (with her) la fin de l’histoire the end of the story

Watch film B6: “Le mariage”

❑ In Film B6 the Prince marries Cendrillon and they live happily ever after...

KEY SOUNDS

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

as in heureux heard before in amoureux, bleu, queue, euro

as in... épouse heard before in lézard, fée, vélo, est né(e)

as in...f in, heard before in prince, train, insecte

as in... heureux, palais, seen before in train, amoureux, Calais, souris

CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

❑ Literacy: the “Moral” of the story

Film B6: The couple are married in the Royal Palace Film B6 doesn’t say what happens to the stepsisters when Cendrillon goes off with the rich and powerful Prince.

n Pupils may like to discuss what they thought might (or should) have happened to the stepsisters after all they had done. Perrault ’s Cinderella is very forgiving; she invites them to live in the palace and finds “great lords” to be their husbands. In other versions, the outcome for the step-sisters is not so fortunate. (Your class could read Angela Carter’s English version of the Perrault tale).

n Compare with Roald Dahl’s “Revolting Rhyme” version of “Cinderella”. Dahl suggests a modern moral; this might prompt more ideas on how an updated version of the story might end.

The audience for Perrault’s stories expected a moral. Show presentation “B6. Charles Perrault”; use this presentation to show children about the man who wrote “Cinderella” and who he wrote for (see “Talking point 3”). What is the moral of the story? Charles Perrault draws two morals:

n Beauty is a blessing but graciousness is priceless; without it nothing is possible, with it we can do anything. (Note that Perrault had Cendrillon be nice and generous to her step-sisters when her luck turned, not spiteful).

n You need luck or magic to succeed; whilst it’s a great advantage to have intelligence, courage, good breeding and common-sense, these may not bring you success unless you have a fairy godmother.

❑ Literacy: Aesop’s Fables

Well-read aristocrats in the court of Louis XIV enjoyed short stories with moral messages. The presentation tells howPerrault, as an expert in classical literature, inspired a Maze with statues and fountains based on Aesop’s Fables in the Gardens of Versailles.

The Fox and the Stork

Talking point 3

EVERYDAY LIFE IN France

Charles Perrault and Louis XIV

Use the e-flshcards to re-tell Aesop’s fable of the Fox and the Stork; ask children what is the moral of the story?

One statue showed the fable where the Fox plays a mean trick on the Stork. Fox invited Stork to eat a supper of soup, but served it in a flat dish so it just slipped out of Stork’s long bill. A second statue showed Stork getting his own back, by serving supper in a long narrow jug that Fox couldn’t get into. The improving moral?

“Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.”

Discuss with the class:

n Was the Fox being a bad host? Why do you think that he was doing this?

n How should a good host behave?

n Was the Stork’s behaviour acceptable?

n What does the moral ‘Do as you would be done by’ mean?

n Invite pupils to think of other morals or proverbs that could apply to this story, e.g.

‘An eye for an eye’;

‘Turn the other cheek’;

‘Two wrongs don’t make a right’;

‘As you sow, so shall you reap’. Children could also make up their own, e.g.

‘One bad turn deserves another’.

You might have a debate between those who favour the moral ‘Do as you would be done by’ and those that prefer ‘The trickster must expect trickery in return’.

n What sort of character is the Fox? Compare with foxes in other fables you know.

❑ Literacy: Complete the ‘story board’ Children are working in pairs to re-tell the story in a French comic strip.

Now they add Scene 6‘s picture with French speech bubbles to complete their story board. In Part C they will share their work with the rest of the class as they look at the whole story.

Charles Perrault lived from 1628 to 1703. He made a career as a civil servant, working for Louis XIV, in the office of a leading minister, in charge of works on “the King’s buildings”. The King wanted to build a maze in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles that would be educational for his young son. As an expert on ancient literature, Perrault suggested a series of statues with fountains, each representing one of Aesop’s Fables.

man” could find the right way. At the entrance, there were statues of Aesop (Greek story-teller) and Cupid (Greek god of Love).

Perrault advised Louis XIV on designs for a maze with 39 fountains representing Aesop’s fables, e.g. Fox and the Stork The maze (called the ‘Labyrinth’) was said to represent the problems of life, where “only an honest

Cupid and Aesop at the entrance to the Maze at Versailles.

Cupid carries a ball of string; Aesop warns not to rely on the “flimsy thread” to find their way - “it could break”. A plaque bears the moral, “There is no secret in getting out (of the maze) as long as Love is accompanied by Wisdom, of which Aesop’s Fables teach the path.”.

King Louis XIV

Louis XIV lived from 1638 to 1715. He was the longest reigning king in European history, ruling France for over 72 years, starting when he was five (but he took over power in 1661). During his long reign he fought several wars which extended the boundaries of France to the north and west, bringing Lille and most of Nord Pas-de-Calais into France that were previously part of the Netherlands and ruled by Spain. During this period, Britain was weakened by the effects of civil war between cavaliers and roundheads.

Perrault’s books

As an author and leading intellectual, Perrault published some books and essays which were much talked about. In 1671, he was elected to the prestigious Academie français

In 1695, when he was 67, Perrault lost his government jobs and decided to do more writing. In 1697 he published a slim volume of short stories supposedly for children but really read by adults: “Tales and Stories of the Past with Morals” (Histoires ou Contes du Temps passé) subtitled ‘Tales of Mother Goose’.

Perrault helped design Latin inscriptions for medals to flatter the King; this celebrated towns siezed from Spain. He consolidated France’s position as the largest, strongest and richest country in Europe; building the magnificent Palace and Gardens of Versailles as a symbol of French power and culture.

He was a patron of ballet, opera, music and literature as well as painting, sculpture and architecture, all of which flourished at his court which was a centre of fashion across Europe (see also Ch.3.8 about French cooking, and 3.2 about ballet).

Based on some well-known folk tales handed down by oral tradition, and some stories from older authors, Perrault re-wrote them in modern literary form, adding poetic descriptions and transformed them to present morals about the behaviour of aristocrats facing the thorny issues of the day.

Its publication made him suddenly widelyknown beyond his own circles and marked the beginnings of a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with many of the most well-known tales, such as Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood.

Part C: The complete story

Planning your lessons

Having worked through the 6 scenes of the ‘Cendrillon’ story, you can return to looking at the significance of the whole story and what it means.

Pupils can enjoy preparing and performing their own production of “Cendrillon”. This is suggested as an ‘end-of-unit’ activity to celebrate all the progress they have made, and to help with transition to the next phase of the language education.

Activities

Warm up

Before watching the films straight through, tell pupils they are going to develop their own production of the Cinderella story.

Watch film B1: “Chez Cendrillon”

❑ Watch each scene of the Cinderella films in sequence without a break. Then talk with pupils in English (or your own language) about what they would like to have in their production. As a starting point for developing their own production, pupils can re-examine the characters in the story. This can be used to consolidate pupils’ understanding of how adjectives work in French.

❑ Play

“Who am I?”1

Give each pupil a picture of one of the characters. Pupils take it in turns to describe their character using at least one adjective e.g. “Je suis belle”. The rest of the class identifies who is being described. NOTE: for pupils holding the picture of “les soeurs”, you could explain beforehand that it is fine to describe just one sister. Some pupils may be able to say “Nous sommes désagréables”, but it is probably best to keep things simple at this stage.

❑ Play “Who am I?”2

This is a variation of a well-known party game. Attach a picture of one of the characters to each pupil’s back. They move around the room while music plays. When the music stops, they stop and ask a partner a question, , e.g. “Je suis gentille?”. The partner replies “oui” or “non”. The easiest way to ask a question is via intonation (with a raised tone at the end to

show that this is a question); alternatively pupils can say “Est-ce que je suis gentille?” or “Suis-je gentille?”. When they think they know who they are they say “Je suis Cendrillon”).

CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

❑ Drama: “Who am I? What am I doing?”

Children work in pairs. They choose two characters from the story and plan a short scene to represent an everyday activity which they can describe in French. This could be anything they like, e.g. “Je mange une glace”; “Je vais au supermarché”; “J’aime le football”

The rest of the class has to guess who is being represented and what the phrase is.

You may prefer to give each pair pictures of their characters and a picture of the activity to be described.

You could use pictures from Early Start French 2 of places; hobbies; school subjects; food etc.

The aim is to really “act” the characters:

n the stepsisters could be very disdainful as they buy things in the supermarket;

n the King could be very regal;

n Cinderella could be sad; etc.

The funnier the better!

Preparing for your performance

Preparing for a live performance of “Cendrillon”, or devising a multimedia presentation of the story, is a great way to bring together all the skills pupils have developed during the time they have been learning French - speaking, listening, reading and writing. It can also be a truly cross curricular project.

It is worth taking plenty of time to devise, develop and rehearse your pupils’ version of the tale to make the process of creating the performance as memorable as the event itself.

❑ Literacy: Sharing the ‘story boards’

Use pupils comic strip storyboards as a starting point for discussion in English (or your own language) about the essential parts of the Cendrillon story that will need to be included in your performance. In choosing a key image and one or two essential phrases to sum up each scene, pupils will have pin-pointed pivotal moments in the narrative.

You can then talk about how you want your production to develop:

n Do the children want to be true to the well-known story?

n Would they like to make up a different ending?

n Would they like to set their version in the past or the present?

❑ Drama; art/design; technology

Pupils can decide upon the medium they wish to use for their production. Will it be:

n a stage show?

n a puppet show?

n a multimedia presentation?

What are the pros and cons of each medium?

Your class may wish to work in smaller groups, each producing a different version of the story in their choice of medium.

❑ Drama; Literacy - improvisation

Before preparing their script for the production, you could encourage the children to improvise scenes using as much familiar language as possible. You could make it a challenge to see how many phrases from Early Start French 1, 2 and 3 can be incorporated into the script.

❑ Literacy : Pupils can prepare their own versions of the script for their productions, using key phrases from the films as a starting point. Some pupils may want to include improvised scenes as part of the whole show.

❑ Art/design; technology - props and costumes

Whichever form of presentation they choose, pupils will need to design and make essential props and costumes. Try to make opportunities to talk in French while the children are engaged in these tasks, e.g. ask pupils what they are making or drawing; talk about size, measurements and colour.

If they have prepared models or drawings, prior to making finished versions, ask them to label them in French. How will they tackle the transformations?

❑ Art/design; technology - tickets, posters, programmes, credits

Pupils can prepare tickets, posters and programmes for their production. If they are making a multimedia presentation they can add their cast and production list to the credits

at the end of their movie or slideshow. You can look at the closing of TV programmes and films to see how many different styles there are. If possible look at the closing of French children’s TV programmes.

❑ Art/design; technology: puppets and scenery

If your pupils are producing a puppet show, they can design and make their own puppets and scenery.

They may choose, for example, to make glove puppets, finger puppets, string puppets, or cardboard cut-out characters.

They may want to design backgrounds for each scene - possibly even a complete puppet theatre.

❑ Music and sound effects.

Pupils can be involved in choosing music for their production to add interest and atmosphere. Perhaps they want to use classical music for the ball scene by composers such as Lully

Alternatively, they may want the ball to be a disco. Some children may be able to play their own instruments. What sound effects might be needed? Fanfares? Horses hooves galloping? Midnight striking? How could these be produced? Will they be performed “live”? Will they be pre-recorded? Will you need specific editing software to add music and sound effects to a multimedia presentation?

❑ Music

Some pupils may like to compose a song for their production. It could have very simple lyrics based on key phrases from your show. It doesn’t necessarily have to rhyme as long as the children devise a good tune and rhythm.

❑ Personal and social: Teamwork

Devising a successful production is dependent on teamwork, not star performances. Everyone in the class can be involved in many different ways. It is a good idea to develop “crowd scenes” so that a large number of children can have a significant amount to do as part of the action. Shy children can enjoy “cameo” roles which do not require them to learn lots of words in French. For example, the role of the King and Queen at the ball could be developed; servants and other guests at the ball could comment on how beautiful Cinderella is. The ball scene offers scope for “entertainment”: there could be a jester who tells some of the jokes from from earlier sections of Early Start

French 3; there could be musicians, dancers or singers. You could also include narrators and scene announcers.

Your backstage team or camera and sound team will all need to work together to make everything run smoothly. There can be a role for everyone. If some jobs are more popular than others, pupils can share roles both on stage and behind the scenes.

Rehearsals can be great fun if everyone is involved and happy with the contribution they are making.

It is worth remembering that the best French speakers are not necessarily the most confident actors or actresses. Some pupils will relish the

chance to perform in public in a live show; others will prefer the anonymity of being the “voice” of a puppet, or the multimedia approach which enables their performance to take place without the immediate, sometimes intimidating, presence of an audience.

❑ Personal and social: Relate to your audience

On the day of performance or viewing of a multimedia presentation, pupils can use their French to meet and greet the audience. They can take tickets and direct people to their seats. Afterwards, there may be opportunities to serve drinks and snacks. Pupils could offer visitors or other classes their choice of snacks in French.