School Launch

Parent guide · Grade 3 French · Unit 1

Lesson 1.2 Les Mots Magiques

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 20–30 minutes
Goal
Introduce yourself and ask someone’s name in French. Use s’il vous plaît, s’il te plaît, merci, de rien, pardon and excusez-moi. Know when to use tu and when to use vous.
You need
  • Two paper bags
  • Markers, yarn, glue
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (9:54))

Steps

  1. Do this together: What are the magic words in English? Please, thank you, you’re welcome, excuse me, sorry. French has its own magic words, and French people care very much about using them.

  2. Read aloud: Introducing yourself. To tell your name, say Je m’appelle Paul (literally, I call myself Paul). To ask a child, say Comment t’appelles-tu? To ask a grown-up, say Comment vous appelez-vous? When you meet someone, add Enchanté! (a boy) or Enchantée! (a girl): Delighted to meet you!

    Read aloud: Tu or vous? French has two words for you. Tu is for a friend, a child, a family member or a pet. Vous is for a grown-up you don’t know well, a teacher, or more than one person. So please is s’il te plaît to a friend, but s’il vous plaît to a grown-up. Using vous is a way of showing respect.

    Read aloud: The magic words. Merci (thank you), merci beaucoup (thank you very much), de rien (you’re welcome), pardon (sorry; pardon me) and excusez-moi (excuse me). The Bible tells us, Be ye kind one to another. Good manners are a way of being kind: they show that other people matter.

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

    • je m’appelle [zhuh mah-PEL]: my name is
    • tu t’appelles [tü tah-PEL]: you are called (tu): Comment t’appelles-tu? What is your name?
    • vous vous appelez [voo voo-zah-PLAY]: you are called (vous): Comment vous appelez-vous? What is your name?
    • enchanté [ahn-shahn-TAY]: pleased to meet you
    • s’il te plaît [seel tuh PLEH]: please (tu)
    • s’il vous plaît [seel voo PLEH]: please (vous)
    • merci beaucoup [mehr-SEE boh-KOO]: thank you very much
    • de rien [duh RYAN]: you’re welcome
    • pardon [par-DOHN]: sorry; pardon
    • excusez-moi [ex-kü-zay-MWAH]: excuse me
    • Madame [mah-DAHM]: Mrs.; ma’am
    • Monsieur [muh-SYUH]: Mr.; sir

  4. Show: You want to ask a new friend her name.

    Say this: “A child gets tu.”

    Say this: “Comment t’appelles-tu?”

    Answer: Comment t’appelles-tu?

    Show: You bump into a lady at the market. What do you say?

    Say this: “She is a grown-up you don’t know.”

    Say this: “Use excusez-moi or pardon, Madame.”

    Answer: Pardon, Madame! (or Excusez-moi, Madame!)

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

    Ask: Say My name is… in French with your name.

    Listen for: Je m’appelle…

    Ask: What does de rien mean?

    Listen for: You’re welcome.

    Ask: How do you say thank you very much?

    Listen for: Merci beaucoup.

    3 more on the lesson page.

  6. Read aloud: Make two paper-bag puppets, a child and a grown-up, and use them to practice tu and vous.

    Steps:

    1. Make one puppet a child and the other a grown-up (a teacher, a baker or a grandmother).
    2. Have the child puppet meet the grown-up: Bonjour, Madame! Je m’appelle… Comment vous appelez-vous?
    3. Have the child puppet ask for bread: Une baguette, s’il vous plaît. Merci beaucoup! De rien!
    4. Now have two child puppets meet and use tu and s’il te plaît.

    Tips for you:

    • Put on a puppet show for the family.
    • Keep the puppets for the unit skit.

    Done when your child can say:

    • My puppets used tu and vous correctly.
    • I used at least five polite words.

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

    1. Make a two-column chart in your French notebook: TU (friends, family) and VOUS (grown-ups, more than one). Write s’il te plaît and Comment t’appelles-tu? on one side and s’il vous plaît and Comment vous appelez-vous? on the other.

  8. Read aloud: In France, children in school stand up when an adult enters the classroom and greet the teacher with Bonjour, Madame or Bonjour, Monsieur.

    • Saying Je suis appelle. It is simply Je m’appelle.
    • Using tu with a teacher. Use vous to show respect.

  10. A parent names a person: your sister, the mayor, your dog, your grandmother, two teachers. Shout TU! or VOUS! and then say please the right way.

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

    Listen for: Introduce yourself and ask someone’s name in French.; Use s’il vous plaît, s’il te plaît, merci, de rien, pardon and excusez-moi.; Know when to use tu and when to use vous.

  12. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

    Ephesians 4:32 (KJV)

    In the Louis Segond Bible (1910): <i lang="fr">Soyez bons les uns envers les autres</i> Paul tells us to be kind to one another. Polite words are small acts of kindness every day.

Spread over the week

3 sessions of 20–30 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.