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Parent guide · Grade 1 French · Unit 2

Lesson 2.1 La Maison

Written for the parent. The Read aloud parts are written to your child; read them as they are. Do this parts are for you. Answers for you are marked Listen for.

At a glance

Time
3 sessions of 15–20 minutes
Goal
Name the house, the door, the window, the kitchen and the garden in French. Label things in your house with French words. Say a verse about serving God at home.
You need
  • Sticky notes or paper and tape
  • A marker (for the parent)
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (2:50))

Steps

  1. Do this together: Walk to the front door. Open it and close it. Look out a window. What do you see? Today you learn the French names.

  2. Read aloud: The story. Long ago, Joshua led God’s people into the land God had promised them. When he was old, he called all the people together and said, Choose today whom you will serve. Then he said something brave and beautiful: As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Joshua meant his whole family, everyone who lived in his house. A house is more than walls and a door. It is a family living together, and a family can serve God together.

    Read aloud: How French sounds. In maison, the s between two vowels buzzes like z: may-ZOHN, and the on is hummed. In fenêtre, the little hat on the ê is called a circumflex; it often marks a letter s that dropped out long ago. Window in old French was fenestre, like the English word defenestrate.

    Read aloud: Say it and move. Draw a roof in the air: la maison! Knock: la porte! Make a frame with your fingers and peek: la fenêtre! Stir a pot: la cuisine! Plant a seed: le jardin!

  3. Do this: Say each word clearly; your child says it back twice. Point to a picture or the real thing when you can.

    • la maison [lah may-ZOHN]: house
    • la porte [lah PORT]: door
    • la fenêtre [lah fuh-NEH-truh]: window
    • la cuisine [lah kwee-ZEEN]: kitchen
    • le jardin [luh zhar-DAN]: garden; yard

  4. Show: What do you open to go outside? Say it in French.

    Say this: “We open the door.”

    Say this: “Door is la porte.”

    Answer: La porte.

    Show: Where do we cook?

    Say this: “We cook in the kitchen.”

    Say this: “Kitchen is la cuisine.”

    Answer: La cuisine.

  5. Do this: Ask out loud. Let your child try first; help only after a real try.

    Ask: Say house in French.

    Listen for: La maison.

    Ask: Point to a window and say it in French.

    Listen for: La fenêtre.

    Ask: Point to a door and say it in French.

    Listen for: La porte.

    3 more on the lesson page.

  6. Read aloud: Label your house in French with sticky notes.

    Steps:

    1. A parent writes la porte, la fenêtre, la cuisine and la maison on sticky notes.
    2. Trace each word, then stick it on the right place.
    3. Walk around and read each label out loud with a parent.
    4. Leave the labels up all week and say the words every time you pass.

    Tips for you:

    • Put la maison on the front door.
    • Add le jardin to a back door or window.

    Done when your child can say:

    • I labeled at least four things in my house.
    • I can say each word when I see it.

  7. Do this: Your child picks one or more; you write the date.

    1. Draw your house with its door and windows. A parent writes la maison, la porte and la fenêtre.
    2. Draw a pot in the kitchen and write la cuisine.

  8. Read aloud: Old French houses in the countryside often have wooden shutters, called volets, on every window. Families close them at night and open them in the morning to let in the sun.

    • Saying maison with an s sound. Between vowels it is z: may-ZOHN.
    • Saying the e at the end of porte. It is quiet: PORT.

  10. Play I Spy in French: Je vois… la porte! (I see… the door!) The others race to touch it. Take turns.

  11. Say this: “Tell me what you learned today.”

    Listen for: Name the house, the door, the window, the kitchen and the garden in French.; Label things in your house with French words.; Say a verse about serving God at home.

  12. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

    Joshua 24:15 (KJV)

    In the French Bible of Louis Segond (1910), this verse reads: <i lang="fr">Moi et ma maison, nous servirons l’Éternel.</i> Joshua said that he and his whole house would serve the LORD. In French, ma maison means my house. Our family can serve God together, at home.

Spread over the week

3 sessions of 15–20 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.

  1. Session 1. Warm-up, then read and teach the new idea and the new words. Show how.
  2. Session 2. Practice together, then start the project. Finish the project, then the sketchbook.
  3. Session 3. Narration, the game and the Scripture.