New to French

This tab is for families who are switching from learning in English to learning in French in Grade 2 or 3. It would also be appropriate for Grade 2 students who struggled with reading in Grade 1.  Please remember that most students begin in Kindergarten, a few begin French in Grade 1 and only a very few begin French in Grade 2 or later.  If you are making this choice for your child, your child needs to get caught up.  We have had many students be very successful by following this chart.  Your support at home is essential to your child settling into French immersion.

This tab is where you will go each evening for your homework.  It is really important that parents sit down each evening to do about 30 minutes of French with their children.  Your child is going to need to learn many words in French as well as the sounds in French that will enable them to be excellent readers.  Your help at home will provide what we won’t have time to provide at school.

You will need:  the “New to French Homework Chart”, a pencil, your child’s Workbook (there will be a second one after the first is finished), a copy of La Roue, Picto sheets and some type of internet device – computer, tablet, phone.  There is a video below that you can watch that explains what you will do each homework sessions.  

Your child’s teacher may ask you to send their chart to school weekly to touch base or they may message to discuss how it is going.  This communication is really important.  If you have concerns, don’t wait – talk to your child’s teacher right away.

It is really important that an adult sits with the child for this homework.  The adult does not need to know any French.  Please do 5 days of homework per week.  I suggest Mon, Tues, Wed and Thurs and then once on the weekend.  If you don’t do it on weekdays and try to just catch up on the weekend, it will not be effective.  It really needs to be a daily thing that you make part of your schedule if you want your child to succeed.  I also suggest that you don’t try to multi-task during this time.  If you take the time to do this with your child, your child will quickly learn that this is a priority for you.  If you are distracted, scrolling on your phone, or watching TV, your child won’t focus the way the way they need to.  Being in French immersion takes a big commitment on the part of parents and starting two years into the program takes even more of a commitment!

If you follow this chart, your child will be caught up to their classmates by December/January.  

Here is our Homework chart which is printed on yellow paper in your child’s agenda.  5 days per week, please look at the chart and do the activities listed for that day.  I have put all the video links below under each day’s homework.  There are even more videos on this website on the different tabs.  Feel free to explore but the following are the homework items that will get your child caught up to their peers in Grade 2.

There are several parts:

  1. Vocabulary video which focus on two sounds that we are working on.
  2. Livre Phonétique workbook page.  There is a video to guide your child through this page each evening.
  3. La Roue Songs.  Some letters blends in French create an entire new sound so your child will be learning some short and fun songs to teach them these essential sounds.  There are 13 songs in the video but you will be stopping the video after the sound indicated.  For example for the first 5 homework days, you will listen to the -un and -in songs and then stop the video.  The next week you will listen to the -un, -in and on songs and then stop the video.
  4. La Roue videos with images.  Once your child is sounding out French words and not just blending letter sounds together, there will be a video or two to watch that has a picture of the word plus an image so that your child will know what they are reading before working on sounding out these words.  Note that the first two weeks there are no La Roue videos with images because we are working on reading letter sounds.
  5.  La Roue reading homework from the La Roue book.  This is a two step item.  There is a video of me reading the assignment and pointing to what I am reading.  Please watch this video (eg. Homework 1) and then open your copy of La Roue at home and have your child read the same thing out loud.  Please work on this until it feel easy for your child.  Also, please have your child point to the letter/words they are reading.  Watch the video again if needed.
  6. Pictos are flashcards with basic vocabulary that make up a huge number of the words your child will find in stories this year.  If your child can read these words, reading will be much easier.  At first just look at the picture and try to say the word.  Once this is easy, look at just the word and try to say it.  Notice if there are sound blends in the word.  There is a video to teach these words.  Cut out the flashcards as we learn them and add them to your child’s pile.  Work on these words daily.  The first of each week there is a video where I explain the new words and then the rest of the days you use the paper flashcards to practice.
  7. If there is extra time (some days there will be time, other days there won’t be) then log into Lecture Enfant and watch as many reading videos as you have time to watch.  The level Ananas (A) is the easiest level.  Watch the books in order as the person reading reads very slowly at first and this will help your child to feel successful.  Check off the books in the homework duotang as you watch them.  Your child can try to read along or simply listen.
  8. Parent initials – please initial when your child has done the day’s homework.

Parent video explaining the homework

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

Day 16

Day 17

Day 18

Day 19

Day 20

Day 21

Day 22

Day 23

Day 24

Day 25

Day 26

Day 27

Day 28

Day 29

Day 30

Day 31

Day 32

Day 33

Day 34

Day 35

Day 36

Day 37

Day 38

Day 39

Day 40

Day 41

Day 42

Day 43

Day 44

Day 45

Day 46

Day 47

Day 48

Day 49

Day 50

Day 51

Day 52

Day 53

Day 54

Day 55

Day 56

Day 57

Day 58

Day 59

Day 60

Day 61

Day 62

Day 63

Day 64

Day 65

Day 66

Day 67

Day 68

Day 69

Day 70

Day 71

Day 72

Day 73

Day 74

Day 75

Day 76

Day 77

Day 78

Day 79

Day 80

Day 81

Day 82

Day 83

Congratulations!  Your child has now finished La Roue, the La Roue songs and the first half of the Livre Phonétique!

For the rest of the year, here is what I suggest:

Vocabulaire and Livre Phonétique

I will put the second half of Livre Phonétique in their duotangs and move the completed sheets to their portfolio binders.  There are videos to accompany the pages just like for the first half.  There are also vocabulary videos.  It is up to you but I suggest you have your child work through them – watch the vocabulary video, then do the page.  The vocabulary videos are really important – watch them before doing the pages as there will be words your child has not yet learned.  If they want to do more than one page an evening, that’s great.  If your child doesn’t need to watch the video of me doing the page, it’s fine if they do it without watching.  You can always click on it, go to the end of the video and check their answers.

Je lis bien

The Je Lis bien videos continue as well up to #12 and give your child a chance to consolidate the words they have worked so hard to memorize.  Once your child is able to read along with me, go on to the next video.  We will practice these at school as well.

La Roue

You can return the La Roue book to me unless you want your child to continue to practice using it.  It is excellent practice but not nearly as interesting as reading actual books!

Levelled Reading Books

Each week at school I assign each student reading books at their reading level.  We will use them at school daily and it would be great if your child could spend 5-10 minutes an evening reading some of them out loud to you.  As each student’s reading develops, I will choose slightly more challenging books.  At this point I have been giving your children levels 1-2 so that they have an opportunity to practice the same words in many situations and so they don’t feel frustrated.  By the end of grade 2, we would like the children to be comfortable reading level 11.  Many children will be above this level but there is no hurry to push them to do more as they will continue in grades 3-6.  By the end of grade 6 we want them to be at level 30.  If your child does not reach level 11 by the end of grade 2, please don’t worry – they will pick up from where they left off when they start grade 3.

Lecture Enfant

As always, Lecture Enfant is a great resource for reading outloud in French.  If you have time, have your child do some – you can work through it in order or skip around.  Just be aware that the later levels are much more difficult.

Links for Je lis bien

Je lis bien #5 (5 short stories)

Je lis bien #6 (5 short stories)

Je lis bien #7 (5 short stories)

Je lis bien #8 (5 short stories)

Je lis bien #9 (5 short stories)

Je lis bien #10 (5 short stories)

Je lis bien #11 (5 short stories)

Je lis bien #12 (5 short stories)

Links for Vocabulaire and Livre Phonétique

Vocabulaire c-g doux (pages 81-87)
Vocabulaire in-on (pages 88-93)
Vocabulaire ch-ou (pages 94-100)
Vocabulaire eu-oi (pages 101-107)

Vocabulaire eau-ien (pages 108-116)
Vocabulaire an-ai  (pages 117-125)
Vocabulaire en-ei (pages 126-134)
Vocabulaire gn-ph (pages 135-141)
Vocabulaire ill-ouill (pages 142-150)
Vocabulaire ail-aill, eil, eil-eill, euil-euille (pages 151-163)

Other ways to expose your child to French

If you have Apple TV, Disney +, Prime TV, Netflix, etc. you can switch the language to French and also put French subtitles on.  Often the subtitles aren’t exactly the same as the dialogue but the meaning is the same.  Watching the French version of a movie/program that your child loves is a great way to practice French.

We have a French Catholic parish here in Saskatoon – it’s in City Park – you might find attending Mass there is an interesting experience!  Sunday Mass at 11 AM.  Saints Martyrs Canadiens, 1007 Windsor St. 306-665-1829 http://smc.saskatooncatholic.ca

Apple Music has many excellent French language artists.  Will Strout, Carmen Campagne, Charlotte Diamond, Alain Le Lait, Henri Dès and for religious music search Emmanuel Music, Soeur Agathe, Communauté du Chemin Neuf, Glorious.