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Parent guide · Grade 3 French · Unit 4

Lesson 4.1 Ma Famille

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
Name ten family members in French.; Use mon, ma and mes (my).; Introduce family members: Voici ma mère. Elle s’appelle…
You need
  • A large sheet of paper
  • Photos or drawings of family members, glue, markers
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (7:13))

Steps

  1. Do this together: How many people are in your family, counting grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins? Today you learn to name them all in French.

  2. Read aloud: The family. le père (father), la mère (mother), le frère (brother), la sœur (sister), le grand-père and la grand-mère (grandparents), l’oncle (uncle), la tante (aunt), le cousin and la cousine (cousins), le fils (son), la fille (daughter). At home, children say papa, maman, papi and mamie.

    Read aloud: My. French has three words for my. Use mon with le words: mon père, mon frère. Use ma with la words: ma mère, ma sœur. Use mes for more than one: mes parents, mes cousins.

    Read aloud: Introducing. Voici mon frère. Il s’appelle Luc. (This is my brother. His name is Luc.) Voici ma grand-mère. Elle s’appelle Marie. God set us in families. The fifth commandment says Honor thy father and thy mother, and Paul writes, Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

  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 père [luh PEHR]: father
    • la mère [lah MEHR]: mother
    • le frère [luh FREHR]: brother
    • la sœur [lah SUHR]: sister
    • le grand-père [luh grahn-PEHR]: grandfather
    • la grand-mère [lah grahn-MEHR]: grandmother
    • l’oncle [LOHNKL]: uncle
    • la tante [lah TAHNT]: aunt
    • le cousin [luh koo-ZAN]: cousin (la cousine: girl cousin)
    • le fils [luh FEES]: son
    • la fille [lah FEE]: daughter; girl
    • mon / ma / mes [MOHN / MAH / MAY]: my

  4. Show: Say my sister.

    Say this: “Sister is la sœur, a la word.”

    Say this: “Use ma.”

    Answer: Ma sœur.

    Show: Introduce your grandfather, named Pierre.

    Say this: “Voici + mon grand-père.”

    Say this: “Il s’appelle Pierre.”

    Answer: Voici mon grand-père. Il s’appelle Pierre.

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

    Ask: Say uncle in French.

    Listen for: L’oncle.

    Ask: Say aunt in French.

    Listen for: La tante.

    Ask: Say my brother.

    Listen for: Mon frère.

    3 more on the lesson page.

  6. Read aloud: Draw your family tree and label it in French.

    Steps:

    1. Draw a big tree with branches.
    2. Put your grandparents at the top, then your parents, aunts and uncles, then you, your brothers, sisters and cousins.
    3. Under each person, write their French title with mon, ma or mes: mon grand-père, ma tante.
    4. Present it: Voici ma tante. Elle s’appelle…

    Tips for you:

    • Ask grandparents for old photos.
    • Add great-grandparents: arrière-grand-père.

    Done when your child can say:

    • My tree shows at least eight people.
    • I used mon, ma and mes correctly.

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

    1. Write five sentences in your French notebook introducing family members: Voici mon père. Il s’appelle…

  8. Read aloud: In many French families, Sunday lunch with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins can last for hours.

    • Using mon with a la word (mon mère). It is ma mère.
    • Saying the s in fils. Fils is said FEES.

  10. A parent describes a family member in French: C’est la mère de ma mère. You shout the answer: C’est ma grand-mère! Take turns making riddles.

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

    Listen for: Name ten family members in French.; Use mon, ma and mes (my).; Introduce family members: Voici ma mère. Elle s’appelle…

  12. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

    Colossians 3:20 (KJV)

    In the Louis Segond Bible (1910): <i lang="fr">Enfants, obéissez en toutes choses à vos parents</i> Paul tells children to obey their parents in all things, because it pleases the Lord.

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.