Activities - Early Start Languages

Early Start French Pack 3
4. Les petites bêtes
Mini-beasts
This section has strong cross-curricular
links with children’s work in their science
lessons on mini-beasts. We see French
children on a mini-beast hunt in a forest
with a nature warden. He shows how to
identify what creature you are looking at.
Children will focus on asking QUESTIONS
about various characteristics (and parts of
the body), e.g. ‘does it have wings?’ - and on ANSWERS such as ‘yes’, ‘no’ and
‘more than six’.
The hunt introduces extra French terms that
are used with mini-beasts and other animals.
They look at the whole eco-system of the
forest, including food chains and how the
forest’s life cycle is sustained. The language
introduced here with woodland creatures
is transferable to your work on other
habitats, e.g. pond-life or the seashore.
Films to see
Part A: Mini-beasts in the forest
e
A1. The forest floor habitat
the titl
A: use ”, on
R
T
X
E
là
A2. Naming mini-beasts
“Ici et oke
song,
ra
a
k
R
A3. Song 1: ‘Petit escargot’ film O hcards
e-flas
Part B: Identifying mini-beasts
B1. What is it? (Keys)
B2. Song: ‘L’araignée gypsy’
B3. Jokes 1 and 2
Part C: Who eats what?
C1. Food chains and the forest life-cycle
C2. Joke 3
Find transcripts on the disc
Part A: Mini-beasts in the forest
Planning your lessons
Watch film A1: the forest floor habitat
❑ Watch film A1, which starts with the title
song; children can sing along. It then introduces
the forest floor habitat, where the French
children are going on a mini-beast hunt to find
some of the creatures that live there.
Part A introduces the forest of le Parc
Départemental d’Olhain near Béthune,
where the children go on their mini-beast
hunt with an “éco-garde”. Film A1 shows the habitat of the forest floor
in autumn. Film A2 shows some of the teeming life to
be found amid the leaf debris on the forest
floor. Activities
Warm up
Before showing film A1, ask the class to
talk (in their own language) about what
happens to woodlands in autumn. If you haven’t taught this already, they
could speculate about:
n what happens to the leaves that
fall to the ground every year?
n what creatures might be found living on
the forest floor?
Film A1: The children hunt for mini-beasts in the forest.
Get used to the sounds
❑ Echoing: Select ‘A1.The forest’ on the
e-flashcards, and show initially with sound ON
and text OFF (or use the activity sheet).
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Les petites bêtes
A1: NEW WORDS
Forest floor habitat
la forêt
un arbre
une feuille
le sol
en automne
les feuilles...
...tombent
...restent
les feuilles mortes
un champignon
(ils) poussent
KEY SOUNDS
Listen and enjoy copying these
typical sounds: where have you
heard them before?
- forest
- tree
- leaf
- soil / earth
- in autumn
- the leaves...
- ...fall
- ...lie
- dead leaves
- mushroom
- (they) grow
champignon
heard before in piscine, ville, six
as in...
as in... champignon
heard before in
chat, chocolat,
champignon, tombent
heard before in jonglerie, crayon
as in...
as in... feuille
heard before in
Questions
oeil, yeux, bien
as in... mortes,
Qui habite ici?
Who lives here?
seen before in
e-flashcards A1
tombent
fais, doigt
(Listen to the native speakers - try to copy
their typically French sounds.)
Pupils echo the words, e.g. “une feuille morte”.
e-flashcards A1
❑ Play “jigsaw puzzle”
Show the “jigsaw” presented on the e-flashcards.
As each piece is taken away, pupils guess the
item that is being revealed.
Watch film A2: naming mini-beasts
Respond with understanding
❑ Film A2 shows and names the mini-beasts
that the girls find on the autumn forest floor.
❑ Give each pupil one of the pictures from
the activity sheet. You call out an item, e.g.
“une feuille morte”; all the pupils with that card
hold it up for everyone to see. Swap pictures every so often.
❑ Play “true or false?” 1
Show the e-flashcards with sound and text off.
Alternatively, use the activity sheet pictures.
You say, e.g. “un arbre”.
Children respond, “Oui” if it is the picture
showing a tree. If it isn’t, pupils say “Non”.
❑ Play “true or false?” 2 Show the pictures again, but this time pupils
only echo your phrase when it matches otherwise they remain silent.
Film A2: “Qu’est-ce que c’est?” “C’est un cloporte.”
Some small creatures are filmed close-up, others
are animated drawings.
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Early Start French Pack 3
A2: NEW WORDS
Names of mini-beasts
- mini-beasts
- woodlouse
- ant
- spider
- beetle
- a millipede
or centipede
une mouche - a fly
un ver de terre - (earth)worm
un escargot - snail
les petites bêtes
un cloporte
une fourmi
une araignée
un scarabée
un mille-pattes
Film A2: “Un scarabée” - animation.
More getting used to the sounds
❑ Echoing: Select ‘A2. Naming mini-beasts
(in films)’ on the e-flashcards (or use activity
sheet) - start with sound ON and text OFF.
other mini-beasts (not in film A2)
une chenille - caterpillar
un papillon - butterfly
une coccinelle - ladybird
une abeille - bee
une guêpe - wasp
un pou (de tête) - (head) louse
KEY SOUNDS
Listen and enjoy copying these
typical sounds: where have you
heard them before?
Identifying
Qu’est-ce que c’est?
What is it?
as in fourmi, mille-pattes, chenille
heard before in diabolo,
facile, six
e-flashcards A2
scarabée, araignée
heard before in assez, ajouter
Pupils echo the name of each creature, paying
attention to “key sounds” e.g. “un escargot”.
as in...
Respond with understanding
as in... chenille,
heard before in
mouche
chat, chinois
❑ Repeat all the activities suggested for A1,
using the activity sheet and the e-flashcards.
❑ You can introduce some additional minibeasts that the children will know, using the
e-flashcards. This will widen the scope of
children’s later activities. Select ‘A2. Naming mini-beasts (others)' with
sound and text ON. Ask children to echo as
they see each creature, e.g. “un pou de tête” (a
headlouse features in this unit’s joke - see
later).
❑ Repeat all the activities suggested for A1,
using the activity sheet and the e-flashcards.
as in...chenille but not mille-pattes
heard before in
NEW
feuille, oeil
as in... araignée
heard before in
campagne
as in... escargot
seen before in
tombent, bras
e-flashcards A2
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Les petites bêtes
It is easier to join in with the karaoke version
of the song, which is on the e-flashcards.
❑ Show the e-flashcards for ‘A2 minibeasts’
with ‘jumbled’ ON, but sound and text OFF.
The song lends itself to actions - make up your
own with your class as you sing it!
SONG 1: ‘Petit escargot’
Petit escargot (little snail)
porte sur son dos (carries on his back)
sa maisonnette. (his little house)
Aussitôt qu’il pleut (as soon as it rains)
il se sent heureux (he feels happy)
il sort sa tête!
(He puts is head out!)
❑ Play “jigsaw puzzle”
Show the “jigsaw” presented on the e-flashcards.
As each piece is taken away, pupils guess the
creature that is being revealed.
Watch film A3- SONG 1
❑ Film A3 shows a class of French children
singing the traditional song, “Petit escargot”
about a snail and its shell that likes the rain (see
box, ‘Song 1’); children can sing along.
e-flashcards A3 Song 1 | karaoke
Film A3: French children sing “Petit escargot”.
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3.4
Les petites bêtes
Part B: Identifying mini-beasts
Planning your lessons
B1: NEW WORDS
Part B is about the next stage in a mini-beast
hunt: when you’ve caught a mini-beast,
what questions will help you identify which
creature you are looking at?
Animal body-parts
des pattes (f) - legs (of animals)
des ailes (f) - wings
des antennes (f) - antennae
une coquille - a shell (e.g. snail)
You can review all the questions
children already know in French, and
look at how questions can be phrased.
Identification questions...
Est-ce qu’il a... (des pattes)?
Does it have... (legs)?
...des ailes? - ...wings?
...des antennes? - ...antennae?
...une coquille? - ...a shell?
Activities
1. Warm up
Ask children what questions they can ask
in French, e.g. “Quel âge as-tu?”, “Comment
t’appelles-tu?”, “Quelle heure est-il?”, “Où habitestu?”, “Qu’est-ce que c’est?”, “C’est combien?”...
There are quite a lot! If you haven’t already
done so, you could look for patterns in
how questions are phrased in French, and
how to turn a statement into a question 1
(see “how French works 1”).
1
..and answers
il a... (des pattes)
it has... (legs)
il n’a pas de... (pattes)
it doesn’t have... (legs)
il n’a pas d’ailes
it doesn’t have wings
il n’a pas de coquille
it doesn’t have a shell
Watch film B1
❑ Film B1 introduces four features of minibeasts: the number of legs*, and whether it has
wings, antennae or a shell. 2
3
Other questions
Combien de ... (pattes) a-t-il?
How many... (legs) does it have?
Il a ... (six pattes)
It has ... (6 legs)
Qu’est-ce que c’est? C’est... (un scarabée)
What is it? It’s... (a beetle)
*Note that humans have “jambes” but animals have “pattes”.
e-flashcards B1
Film B1 Identification - “Combien de pattes a-t-il?”
The children learn how to identify which
creature they are looking at by observing these
features and answering key questions (see “B1:
new words”).
Get used to the sounds
❑ Echoing: Select ‘B1. Minibeast body parts’ on the
e-flashcards, and show with sound and text
ON. Children echo what they hear.
The four body parts mentioned are wings,
legs/feet, antennae and a shell; pupils will use
these characteristics to identify mini-beasts.
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Early Start French Pack 3
KEY SOUNDS
1
Listen and enjoy copying these
typical sounds: where have you
heard them before?
When you turn“il a six pattes” (it has 6
legs) into a question, you don’t just turn
it round (“a il..”), you also add a “t”:
“a-t-il six pattes?”
does it have six legs?
Adding the“-t-” helps make the phrase easier
to say. Try saying “a il..” - you’ll see how
awkward it is without an extra “-t-” between
the two vowels. Another useful way to make a question is
to add “est-ce que...” before a statement:
“est-ce qu’il a six pattes?”
(LITERALLY: is it that it has 6 legs?)
Note how the “est-ce qu’...” slides into
“il a” - that’s another way to make it easier
to say.
as in coquille
heard before in diabolo,
mille-pattes
as in... antenne
heard before in
lancez, jambe
as in...coquille
heard before in
chenille not mille-pattes
as in... pattes,
seen before in
ailes
escargot, c’est
(Listen to the native speakers - try to copy
their typically French sounds.)
e-flashcards B1
Respond with understanding
❑ Q-and-A with the e-flashcards:
Show the e-flashcards again: display the
question, then switch OFF text and sound.
Ask children to answer the question without a
prompt - pay particular attention to negative
answers, e.g.“A-t-il des pattes?” about a worm.
❑ Echoing: When pupils are ready, select
‘B1. identifying minibeasts’ and show the next set
of e-flashcards. Each shows a question about
the creature portrayed, followed by the answer
- initially with sound and text ON.
Click to move
from Question
to Answer
Children could suggest other questions to ask
about the current mini-beast, e.g. “Quelle couleur
est-il?”; and answer them, e.g. “Il est rose”
- see “Extra words” for possibilities.
❑ Play “Identification Game”:
Use this on your interactive whiteboard with
the whole class. Select the game from the
chapter’s on-screen menu. It starts by displaying an “unknown” minibeast, e.g. a snail, randomly-selected from those
in the films. The class have to identify this
creature by answering questions, e.g. it asks
“Est-ce qu’il a des antennes?”. The children then
choose their answer and click on “oui” - which
is confirmed: “Il a des antennes”.
Pupils echo the question, e.g. “Combien de pattes a-t-il?”. NOTE 1: point out the extra ‘-t-’ sound.
Ask children to guess why it’s there
- see “How French works 1”. NOTE 2: see if children can spot that an unknown creature is always referred to as
“he” (“il”) - see “How French works 2”. How to make a question
1
2
The question is followed by the answer, which
they also echo, e.g. “un scarabée a 6 pattes”.
NOTE 3: When you hear a negative statement, e.g.
“il n’a pas de pattes”, ask children to look for
3
the pattern : see “How French works 3”.
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Les petites bêtes
It does NOT have ANY....
2
HOW FRENCH WORKS:
Referring to “it” (genders)
HOW FRENCH WORKS:
“It does NOT have ANY....”
Children are used to making a statement
NEGATIVE by adding “ne...pas” around
the verb:
A-t-il des pattes? Il n’a pas de pattes.
3
In French,you refer to an unknown
mini-beast as “he” - “il”:
Combien de pattes a-t-il? Il a 8 pattes.
(How many legs does it have? It has 8 legs)
(Does it have legs? It does not have any legs)
Once “it” is identified, you use “il” or “elle”
as usual, depending on whether it’s a
masculine or feminine noun:
C’est un escargot. Il a une coquille.
(It’s a snail. It has a shell)
C’est une araignée. Elle a 8 pattes.
(It’s a spider. It has 8 legs)
So when children ask questions about
something they are trying to identify, it’s
always masculine while it’s unknown.
Click for next
Question
NOTE: ‘not...any’ is always “de” (or d’ if
before vowel), not “des”, “du” or “de la”:
A-t-il une coquille? Il n’a pas de coquille.
(Does it have a shell? It doesn’t have a shell)
A-t-il des ailes? Il n’a pas d’ ailes.
(Does it have wings? It doesn’t have any wings)
As-tu un animal? Je n’ai pas d’animal.
(Do you have a pet? I do not have a pet).
Carry on asking questions until only one card
is left.
Encourage diverse and imaginative questions;
they should range over the number of legs,
whether it has wings, antennae or a shell;
its colour and size, etc.
❑ When they are ready, children can also play
this game in pairs. One child thinks of a creature;
the other asks questions until they have guessed
what it is. Change roles depending on children’s
confidence. Winners are the chooser who holds
out for most questions, and the guesser who
guesses in the fewest. Click to hear
Answer
The game continues asking questions until it
has eliminated all possibilities except one, then
asks; "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" - giving children the
opportunity to say what it is before it is
confirmed: "C'est un escargot".
❑ “Guess who?”
Lay out all the mini-beast flashcards face up,
so all the children can see. You secretly think
of a creature, e.g. “un escargot”; the class find
out what it is, by asking questions.
If they ask, “Est-ce qu’il a des ailes?”, you say
“non” and remove all those cards where the
animal does not have wings. B1: EXTRA WORDS
More identification questions
est-ce qu’il a plus de 6 pattes?
does it have more than 6 legs?
qui a quatorze pattes?
who has 14 legs?
qui habite ici?
who lives here?
quelle couleur est-il?
what colour is it?
il est noir
it’s black (masculine or unknown noun)
elle est noire
it’s black (feminine noun)
1
2
est-ce que c’est un scarabée ou un cloporte?
is it a beetle or a woodlouse?
e-flashcards B1
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Early Start French Pack 3
❑ Play “Beetle Drive” (‘Brico-scarabée’ - DIY
Beetle): Seat the class in groups of four, each with a
dice. Cut up copies of the “Beetle Drive”
Activity Sheet (1 per group) but don’t give
them out.
When you start the game, the children in each
group throw the dice in turn. When a child
throws a “6”, they raise a hand and ask you for
a body: “six; un ventre/un corps, s’il vous plaît”.
They can then add to their group’s body by
throwing: 5=head (“une tête”), 3=one leg (“une patte”) (they need 6 legs, so to save time you could give
them all the legs for throwing one three!). Each time they ask you, in French, for the body
part they need.
Once they have a head, they can throw: 2=an eye (x2), 1=a mouth, and 4=an antenna (x2). First group to complete a whole “beetle” wins.
SONG 2: ‘L’araignée Gypsy’
L’araignée Gypsy monte à la gouttière
(Gypsy, the spider, climbs up the pipe)
Tiens voilà la pluie,
(Hey, here’s the rain),
Gypsy tombe par terre,
(Gypsy falls to the ground)
Mais le soleil a chassé la pluie...
(But the sun has chased away the rain)
L’araignée Gypsy monte à la gouttière
Tiens voilà la pluie,
Gypsy tombe par terre,
Mais le soleil a chassé la pluie...
L’araignée Gypsy monte à la gouttière.
NOTE: some versions end with this last line:
L’araignée Gypsy s’est endormie.
(Gypsy, the spider, fell asleep)
*NOTE: this version is made up: the British ‘Beetle Drive’ game
is not well-known in France.
e-flashcards B2 Song 2 | karaoke
B1: EXTRA WORDS
a group, you have succeeded! You have a “key”
to identify that animal. Otherwise, apply
another question to each group, e.g. “est-ce qu’il
a une coquille?”, and sort those animals according
to the answer, and so on...
When a group has completed a key, they can
try it out to see whether another child can use
it to play “Guess who” (see earlier).
Games like ‘Beetle Drive’
On va jouer au Brico-scarabée
Let’s play DIY Beetle
Qui a fini son scarabée?
Who has finished their beetle?
lance le dé/les dés - throw the die/dice
j’ai gagné - I’ve won
tu as gagné - you’ve won
à toi/vous de jouer - it’s your turn (SING/PL)
Watch film B2: Song 2
❑ In film B2 a class of French children sing
the traditional song, “L’araignée Gypsy” - a
version of “Incy Wincy spider” which is washed
down the pipe (‘spout’) every time it rains (see
box, ‘Song 2’); children can sing along.
e-flashcards B1
CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
❑ Science: Make an identication key
This can be a teacher-led whole class activity,
or children can work on it in groups. It is similar
to the ‘Identification game’ described earlier.
Start with a selection of creatures, each
represented by a flashcard. The aim of the
activity is to make a framework of questions
(known as a “knowledge key”) to enable
someone to identify any of those creatures.
You also need a collection of questions which
require a “yes/no” answer, e.g. “est-ce qu’il a
des ailes?” On the board sort the animals into
those two groups. If there’s ony one animal in
Film B2: Singing the “Incy Wincy spider” song in French.
It is easier to join in with the karaoke version
of the song, which is on the e-flashcards.
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Beetle Drive
Je m’appelle .............................
4
2
4
5
1
2
3
6
3
3
This page may be photocopied for classroom use
© 2012 Early Start Languages
Early Start French Pack 3
Par t B extra: Jokes
CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
❑ Literacy:
Use the jokes as a starting point for discussion
in English about jokes and what makes them
funny. Look at examples of English jokes.
Pupils can collect simple jokes in English that
they think pupils in their French partner school
should understand. If you are holding a video
conference, pupils can tell each other jokes in
their native tongue.
Film B3: “Quel animal marche sur la tête?”
Watch B3: two mini-beast jokes
❑ Watch the two jokes which are separate
films in B3:
Joke 1 is a play on French grammar: children
know (from ch.3.2, “Les parties du corps”) that
French people generally refer to parts of their
bodies impersonally, e.g. “A head-louse walks
on the head” not “...your head”.
Hence it is possible to confuse that sentence
with “A head-louse walks on its head”.
Joke 2 depends on a similar double-entendre: as
in English, ‘cricket’ (the sport) sounds the same
as ‘criquet’ (the insect).
Film B3: “Quel est le sport preferé des insectes?”
JOKE 1:
Antoine: “Quel animal a six pattes et marche
sur la tête?” (Which animal has six legs and
walks in its head?)
Voice: Je ne sais pas. Quel animal a six pattes et
marche sur la tête?
Antoine: “Un pou!” (A headlouse!)
❑ Literacy:
Help pupils work out the meaning of the French
jokes.
JOKE 2:
Léo: “Quel est le sport préféré des insectes?”
(What is the insects’ favourite sport?)
Voice: Je ne sais pas. Quel est le sport préfére des
insectes?
Léo: “Le criquet!” (Cricket!)
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Les petites bêtes
Part C: Who eats what?
Planning your lessons
KEY SOUNDS
Listen and enjoy copying these
typical sounds: where have you
heard them before?
Part C fits the pieces together: the children
see how mini-beasts are a vital part of the
forest’s LIFE CYCLE. By helping old leaves
and wood to decompose, they create richer
soil for new young trees to grow in.
insecte
heard before in main, lapin, moins
as in...
They are part of FOOD CHAINS in which
mini-beasts eat debris of dead leaves and
wood on the forest floor, and in turn attract
other creatures that want to eat them - and
of course, some mini-beasts eat others.
The key question is, “who eats what?”
as in... je
heard before in
mange
jonglerie, orange
quoi
heard before in moins, oiseau
as in...
Activities
mangent, poussent
seen before in mat, fais, doigt, bras
as in...
1. Warm up
Before showing the film, discuss in English (or
your own language) what there might be for a
mini-beast to eat if it lived on the forest floor?
If you were a worm, a spider, a woodlouse or
a bird, what would you eat?
e-flashcards C1,C2
Get used to the sounds
❑ Echoing: Show the ‘C1. Who eats what?’
e-flashcards, with sound and text ON. Children
echo as they hear phrases from film C1,
e.g.“Je suis un oiseau et je mange des insectes”.
2. Watch film C1: Food chains
❑ Show film C1 to introduce the idea of ‘who
eats whom’ in the forest floor habitat, and how
this forms part of a sustainable forest life-cycle
(see “talking point”). The film is narrated in
the first person, e.g.“Je suis un oiseau et...”
C1: NEW WORDS
Who eats what?
Qui mange quoi?
Who eats what?
je suis... (un scarabée)...
et je mange... (des feuilles mortes)
I am (a beetle)...and I eat...(dead leaves)
(les oiseaux) ...mangent... (des insectes)
(birds) ...eats... (insects)
Click to move
from “I eat...” to
“it eats...”
As the children go through the e-flashcards,
switch sound OFF and see if they can read the
words aloud. Switch text OFF ; for each picture,
can they say who they are and what they eat?
Children may prefer to talk about creatures as
‘scientific observers’ rather than as if they were
one themselves, e.g. “un oiseau mange des
insectes”. On the e-flashcards, click to show the
‘it eats...’ text rather than ‘I eat...’, as above.
Then switch text OFF; for each picture, can
children say the creature and what it eats?
Forest food chain
un insecte - insect
les feuilles se décomposent
the leaves decompose
les arbres poussent
the trees grow
e-flashcards C1
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They could equally well phrase it in the first
person: “Je suis un oiseau; je mange le ver de terre;
le ver de terre mange le feuille morte.”
Ask other children to make different food chain
diagrams; see who can make the longest!
Introduce the word for “seed” (see “extra
words”) to bring in the role of birds in helping
new trees and other plants to grow.
You could let children introduce additional
creatures, based on their own research and on
the topics they are studying in science lessons,
e.g. to show food chains amongst pond life.
Their research should include dictionary work,
finding the French names for their additional
creatures, and working out how to pronounce
them.
Respond with understanding
❑ Play “What do you eat?” Give each child one of the creature cards (just
those included in the e-flashcards). Switch
sound and text OFF. When a child sees “their” creature displayed,
they say who they are: “Je suis un scarabée”. You then ask them what they eat: “Que mange
le scarabée?” or “Qu’est-ce que tu manges?” - see
“C1: extra words”.
CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
❑ Science: Play “Food chains” Display pictures of creatures on the board (or
OHP/whiteboard), along with some arrows.
Talking point 1
EVERYDAY LIFE IN FRANCE
Life cycle of the forest
Decay and decomposition are all part of the
forest’s life-cycle, in which mini-beasts play a
vital role.
They help old leaves and wood to decompose,
and so create richer soil on the forest floor for
new young trees to grow in.
Predators and Prey
Birds are attracted to the woodland to eat the
insects and other mini-beasts that thrive there
- and also to eat the seeds of plants and trees,
so helping to distribute the seeds, so they too
play a part in the life cycle.
In this situation, the bird is an example of a
predator, the animal that is eating, while the
insects and seeds are its prey, i.e. what it
eats.
The food chain
A food chain explains how food energy is
transferred between living things in an
environment. At one end of a food chain is a
producer, such as plants or trees, that obtains
energy from non-living sources.
Consumers get their energy by consuming
other living things, as a predator - and will
probably also be something else’s prey. Many
mini-beasts will both eat some creatures, and
in turn be eaten by others - or spend their lives
trying to avoid being eaten!
Ask a child to arrange some of the cards into a
“food chain” diagram, with arrows pointing
from predators to prey, showing “who eats
whom”. Ask the child to explain in French
what their diagram shows, e.g. “L’oiseau mange
des vers de terre; le ver de terre mange des feuilles
mortes.”
C1: EXTRA WORDS
Food chain questions
Que mange... (le scarabée)?
What does... (the beetle) eat?
Il mange des feuilles mortes
It eats dead leaves
Forest life cycle
une graine - seed
(EXTRA WORD)
L’oiseau mange des graines
Birds eat seeds
e-flashcards C1
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3.4
Les petites bêtes
Par t C extra: Joke
JOKE:
Voice: Et maintenant une blague...
Leah: “Une petite araignée demande à sa mère,
‘Maman, qu’est-ce qu’on mange comme dessert ce
soir?’
(A little spider asks its mother, “Mummy, what
are we eating for pudding tonight?)
Une mouche au chocolat!”
(A chocolate ‘fly’ - the French word ‘mouche’
sounds like ‘mousse’)
CROSS-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
❑ Literacy:
Use the jokes as a starting point for discussion
in English about jokes and what makes them
funny. Look at examples of English jokes.
Pupils can collect simple jokes in English that
they think pupils in their French partner school
should understand. If you are holding a video
conference, pupils can tell each other jokes in
their native tongue.
Watch film C2: spider joke
❑ Watch film C2 in which Leah tells a a joke
about what spiders eat.
❑ Literacy:
Help pupils work out the meaning of the French
joke.
This joke is a play on words, i.e. two similarsounding French words: “une mouche” - a fly,
and the dessert “une mousse” as in ‘a chocolate
mousse’.
Since spiders eat flies, it’s quite amusing to
think that little spiders might like their flies
served up as a children’s dessert!
Film C2: Punchline - “Une mouche (mousse) au chocolat!”
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