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Parent guide · Grade 2 French · Unit 5

Lesson 5.1 Le Soleil, la Lune et les Étoiles

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 sun, moon, stars, sky and clouds in French. Sing part of Brille brille petite étoile. Hear that the heavens declare the glory of God.
You need
  • A sheet of paper folded in half
  • Crayons, star stickers if you have them
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (1:55))

Steps

  1. Do this together: Go to a window. What do you see in the sky? Today you learn to name it all in French.

  2. Read aloud: The story. Very early one summer morning, a young girl walked barefoot to the wheat field with her sickle to begin the harvest. The sun was just rising, big and red, over the village. Suddenly, high above her, a little bird called a lark began to sing. She stopped and stood still to listen. The painter Jules Breton, who grew up among the farm families of northern France, painted her at that very moment. King David wrote, The heavens declare the glory of God. The sun, the sky and the singing bird all praise their Maker.

    Read aloud: How French sounds. In soleil, eil says ay: soh-LAY. In lune, the u is the round French ü: LÜN. In étoile, oi says wah: ay-TWAHL. The word ciel means both sky and heaven.

    Read aloud: Say it and move. Make a big circle with your arms: le soleil! Make a little curve: la lune! Twinkle your fingers: les étoiles! Float your hands like un nuage! Reach up high: le ciel!

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

    • le ciel [luh SYEL]: sky; heaven
    • le soleil [luh soh-LAY]: sun
    • la lune [lah LÜN]: moon
    • l’étoile [lay-TWAHL]: star
    • le nuage [luh nü-AHZH]: cloud
    • la nuit [lah NWEE]: night
  4. A barefoot young farm girl in a white blouse and dark skirt stands in a wide field holding a sickle, her face lifted as she listens; behind her a big red sun sits on the horizon beside the dark roofs of a village.
    The Song of the Lark, Jules Breton, 1884. Image: Wikimedia Commons, public domain

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

    Read aloud: Jules Breton painted the farm families of his village in northern France all his life. This girl has come out at dawn to cut the wheat, but she has stopped to listen to a lark singing high above. We cannot see the bird. We only see her face, lifted up, listening. Many people have loved this painting because it shows how beauty can stop us in the middle of our work.

    Point and find:

    • Find the sun. Is it rising or setting?
    • What is the girl holding?
    • Is she wearing shoes?
    • Where do you think the bird is?

    Ask:

    • “What sounds do you hear early in the morning?”
    • “What would make you stop and listen?”

  5. Show: What shines at night and changes shape? Say it in French.

    Say this: “The moon changes shape.”

    Say this: “Moon is la lune.”

    Answer: La lune.

    Show: Name what twinkles in the song.

    Say this: “A little star twinkles.”

    Say this: “Star is étoile.”

    Answer: Petite étoile.

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

    Ask: Say sun in French.

    Listen for: Le soleil.

    Ask: Say moon in French.

    Listen for: La lune.

    Ask: Say star in French.

    Listen for: L’étoile.

    3 more on the lesson page.

  7. Read aloud: Make a picture with a day sky on one side and a night sky on the other.

    Steps:

    1. On the left, draw a blue sky with le soleil and des nuages.
    2. On the right, color the sky dark and draw la lune and les étoiles.
    3. A parent writes the French names; trace them.
    4. Write le jour (day) on the left and la nuit (night) on the right.
    5. Show your picture and name everything in French.

    Tips for you:

    • Count the stars in French.
    • Hang it near your bed.

    Done when your child can say:

    • My picture shows five sky words in French.
    • I can name them.

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

    1. Draw the sky in your French notebook and label le ciel, le soleil, la lune, une étoile and un nuage. Copy one line of the song.

  9. Read aloud: The lark sings while flying straight up into the sky, sometimes so high that people can hear it but cannot see it. That may be why we cannot see the bird in Breton’s painting.

    • Saying the l in soleil hard. eil says ay: soh-LAY.
    • Saying lune like loon. Round your lips and say ee: LÜN.

  11. When a parent says le soleil! stand up tall and bright. When they say la lune! curl up and pretend to sleep. Les étoiles! twinkle your fingers. Go faster and faster!

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

    Listen for: Name the sun, moon, stars, sky and clouds in French.; Sing part of Brille brille petite étoile.; Hear that the heavens declare the glory of God.

  13. To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

    Psalm 19:1 (KJV)

    In the French Bible of Louis Segond (1910), this verse reads: <i lang="fr">Les cieux racontent la gloire de Dieu, Et l’étendue manifeste l’œuvre de ses mains.</i> The sun, the moon and the stars tell everyone how great and good God is.

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.