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Parent guide · Grade 2 French · Unit 3

Lesson 3.2 Joyeux Noël

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 figures of the crèche in French. Say Joyeux Noël and sing or hum Douce nuit. Tell why Christmas is a feast: a Savior is born.
You need
  • Paper or card, crayons, scissors (a parent helps)
  • A shoebox for a stable (optional)
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (1:52))

Steps

  1. Do this together: What do you see in a nativity scene? Name everyone in English. Today you learn their French names.

  2. Read aloud: The story. On the night Jesus was born in Bethlehem, shepherds were watching their sheep in the fields. Suddenly an angel stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone all around. The angel said, Fear not! Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. The shepherds ran to Bethlehem and found Mary, Joseph and the baby lying in a manger. In France, families set up a crèche with little clay figures called santons: Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the angel, the ox and the donkey, and on Christmas Eve they place the baby Jesus in the manger.

    Read aloud: How French sounds. Noël has two dots on the e, which tell you to say the o and the e separately: noh-EL. In ange, an is hummed and ge says zh: LAHNZH. In Joyeux, oy says wah-y: zhwah-YUH.

    Read aloud: Say it and move. Spread your wings: l’ange! Hold a shepherd’s crook: le berger! Rock a baby: Jésus! Point up to a star: l’étoile! Throw your arms up: Joyeux Noël!

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

    • Noël [noh-EL]: Christmas
    • la crèche [lah KRESH]: nativity scene; manger
    • l’ange [LAHNZH]: angel
    • le berger [luh behr-ZHAY]: shepherd
    • l’étoile [lay-TWAHL]: star
    • Joyeux Noël! [zhwah-YUH noh-EL]: Merry Christmas!
  4. In a dark room, a young mother in a red dress holds a tightly wrapped newborn baby on her lap and gazes down at it, while an older woman beside her raises one hand to shield a candle, so that the light falls warm and bright on the baby’s face.
    The Newborn Child, Georges de La Tour, about 1645–1648. Image: Wikimedia Commons, public domain

    Do this: Look at the picture together for a quiet minute before anyone talks.

    Read aloud: Georges de La Tour was a French painter who loved to paint night scenes lit by a single candle. Here the candle is hidden behind the older woman’s hand, so the light seems to come from the baby. Many people believe the young mother is Mary and the baby is Jesus, with Mary’s mother, Saint Anne, beside her. There are no halos, only the light, and the quiet wonder of a mother looking at her child.

    Point and find:

    • Find the baby. How is the baby wrapped?
    • Where is the candle? Can you see the flame?
    • What color is the mother’s dress?
    • Is this picture noisy or still?

    Ask:

    • “Why do you think the painter made the baby the brightest thing?”
    • “What does the light make you think of at Christmas?”

  5. Show: Who told the shepherds the good news? Say it in French.

    Say this: “An angel told them.”

    Say this: “Angel is l’ange.”

    Answer: L’ange.

    Show: What do French families say on December 25?

    Say this: “Merry is joyeux; Christmas is Noël.”

    Answer: Joyeux Noël!

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

    Ask: Say Christmas in French.

    Listen for: Noël.

    Ask: Say angel in French.

    Listen for: L’ange.

    Ask: Say shepherd in French.

    Listen for: Le berger.

    3 more on the lesson page.

  7. Read aloud: Make a little paper crèche with figures labeled in French.

    Steps:

    1. Draw and cut out Marie, Joseph, le bébé Jésus, l’ange, un berger, un mouton and l’étoile.
    2. A parent writes the French name on each figure.
    3. Fold a strip at the bottom so each figure stands up.
    4. Set up the crèche, naming each one: Voici Marie!
    5. Place baby Jesus last and say Joyeux Noël!

    Tips for you:

    • Make an ox (le bœuf) and a donkey (l’âne) too.
    • Use this crèche for the unit show.

    Done when your child can say:

    • My crèche has at least six figures with French names.
    • I can tell the story of the first Christmas.

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

    1. Draw the crèche in your French notebook. Label Marie, Joseph, Jésus, l’ange and l’étoile. Write Joyeux Noël at the top.

  9. Read aloud: In Provence, in the south of France, families make or collect santons, little painted clay figures, for their Christmas crèche. Besides Mary, Joseph and the shepherds, there are bakers, fishermen and grandmothers from the village, all coming to see the baby.

    • Saying Noël as one sound (nole). The two dots split it: noh-EL.
    • Saying ange with a hard g. It is soft: LAHNZH.

  11. Hide the crèche figures around the room. A parent calls one in French: le berger! Find it and bring it to the crèche. Baby Jesus comes last of all.

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

    Listen for: Name the figures of the crèche in French.; Say Joyeux Noël and sing or hum Douce nuit.; Tell why Christmas is a feast: a Savior is born.

  13. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

    Luke 2:11 (KJV)

    In the French Bible of Louis Segond (1910), this verse reads: <i lang="fr">c’est qu’aujourd’hui, dans la ville de David, il vous est né un Sauveur, qui est le Christ, le Seigneur.</i> The angel told the shepherds the best news ever told: a Saviour is born, Christ the Lord. That is why Christmas is a feast.

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. Picture study and 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.