2.3 Toutes directions
3. Toutes directions Directions This section enables pupils to begin to ask for directions to particular places in town, and helps them towards understanding simple replies. Politeness (saying “please”) can be introduced. Children will also be able to give French people directions to places in their own school or neighbourhood.
VIDEO Road signs: The opening sequence shows graphics of road signs pointing “left”, “right” and “straight ahead”: à gauche, à droite, tout droit. We then see real French road signs: à gauche, à droite, tout droit; finishing with a view driving down a typical long, straight French country road lined with trees on either side: tout droit. At the theme park: The car arrives at Dennlys Parc, a lively scene of different rides on a hot summer’s day: the water bumper cars, the rollercoaster, the “vintage car” ride. We travel with one of the children as he drives his car: tout droit, à droite, à gauche, à gauche, à droite, à gauche.
NEW WORDS AND PHRASES à gauche à droite tout droit la rue Où est ...?
- on the left - on the right - straight ahead - the street - Where is ...?
Some French street names: rue de la Plage* Beach Street rue de la Gare* Station Street rue Napoléon Napoleon Street rue Jeanne d’Arc Joan of Arc Street rue Orange Orange Street rue du 11 Novembre* 11 November Street
Scene from video section 3: “...à gauche” at Dennlys Parc.
NOTE: The sand-yachting sequence is intended for “gisting” - pupils may not understand all that the instructor says. Do not translate, but help pupils pick out the key phrases: à gauche, à droite and tout droit. Talk about how you can understand what is happening from the pictures.
CD Track 15
Sand-yacht lessons on Boulogne beach: The instructor calls out to the children: “Très bien ... allez ... tout droit”. (Very good ... off you go ... straight ahead).
“Allez, c’est bien, tout droit toujours...” (Come on, that’s good, straight ahead all the time)
*NOTE
for teachers: with French street names, the name usually has capitals (even dates, where you would normally write “11 novembre”), but not “rue” or “avenue”.
Scene from video section 3: “...à gauche”.
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Early Start French Pack 2 “Tout droit, tout droit... voilà!”
KEY SOUNDS
(Straight ahead, straight ahead... there you are!)
Listen and enjoy copying these typical sounds: where have you heard them before?
“Toujours tout droit! Pas zig-zag!” (Straight ahead all the time! Don’t zig-zag!)
“Voilà! Très bien”. (There you are! Very good).
“ ” as in gauche
“Prends à droite ...à droite, à droite”
chat marché dimanche
(Take the right (turn), ...to the right, to the right).
Heard before in:
“Très bien ...à gauche après ...allez, c’est bien”. (Very good ...turn left afterwards ...there you are! That’s good).
(Listen to the native speakers try to copy their typically French sounds.)
“Tout droit ... voilà! C’est bon”.
NOTE: phonetic symbols are for teachers ONLY! See “Introduction” for how to use symbols)
(Straight ahead ... there you are! That’s good).
“A droit, à droit ... voilà! Très bien”.
CD Track 15
(Right, right ... there you are! Very good).
Planning your lessons
End of “gisting” sequence.
Young learners will most easily understand directions in French to “left”, “right” or “straight ahead” if you reinforce them with physical gestures. If you face in the same direction as the pupils, it will be easier for them to mirror your actions. Understanding and giving directions will use the words for places learnt in the last two chapters. Start with a little revision as a reminder. Many of the games involve moving around the room and so it is worth making sure that you have plenty of space from the start. Choose when to introduce saying “please.”
Introducing typical French street-names: We see cars driving through a street in the seaside town Berck-sur-Mer: la rue. On a road leading to the beach, the blue and white sign says: rue de la Plage. We see other streets in Berck-sur-Mer: rue de la Gare, rue Orange, rue Napoléon, rue Jeanne-d’Arc and rue du 11 Novembre*. (See “talking points”).
Activities 1. Warm up When asking simple directions, pupils will need to remember the names for places in the town. Your warm up could include one or two games from Chapter 2.2, and maybe also 2.1, to practise naming key places.
Scene from video section 3: “rue de la Plage”
Asking directions: A street map appears on screen (reproduced in the activity sheet), showing these streets and key places in the town. Voice 1: “Où est la plage?” Voice 2: “Tout droit ... rue de la Plage”. Voice 1: “Où est la gare?” Voice 2: “A droite ... rue de la Gare”. Voice 1: “Où est le café?”. Voice 2: “A gauche ... rue Jeanne d’Arc”. Voice 1: “Où est la rue Orange?”. voice 2: “Tout droit et à droite”.
2. Watch the video ❑ Watch video section 3: “Toutes directions” to introduce the new words.
3. Get used to the sounds ❑ Echoing: You say “à gauche”, pupils put out their left hand and echo the words. If you say “à droite”, pupils put out their right hand and echo the words. If you say “tout droit”, pupils take one step forward and echo the words.
*see note on previous page. 38
2.3 Toutes directions ❑ Give each pupil one of the road-signs from the activity sheet. You move around the room, asking pupils where different places are, e.g. “Où est la pâtisserie?” Add “s’il te plaît” if you wish (see “How French works” below). Pupils reply according to the road-sign they hold and point in a matching direction.
4. Respond with understanding ❑ When pupils are confident with “à gauche”, “à droite” and “tout droit”, turn the previous activity into a game. Call out the phrases at random, gradually increasing speed. This time, pupils do not echo the words, but either put out their left or right hand or take a step forward as appropriate.
❑ Play “I’m lost!” Make 2 sets of picture-cards of the places in town from chapter 2.2. Mark out a simple floor map, with a straight road, three streets branching off to the left and three streets to the right.
❑ Play “Robot” Direct pupils around the room by calling out “tout droit”, “à gauche” and “à droite”.
To practice numbers as well as directions, tell pupils how many steps to take in each direction: “Tout droit ... 3” - take three steps straight ahead; “à gauche ... 5” - pupils take 5 steps to the left; “à droite ... 7”- pupils take 7 steps to the right.
Ask seven children to place themselves on the side-streets, each holding one of the pictures. Select a “lost” child, who blindly picks a card
This may be a good point to introduce saying “please” - see “How French works” below.
HOW FRENCH WORKS: Asking the way politely When asking directions, a polite French child would say “please” like this: ◆ to an adult: “s’il vous plaît” ◆ to a child, or a member of their family:“s’il te plaît” They might attract attention with: ”Excusez-moi! ...”, but saying “please” first works just as well. Pupils already know how to say “thankyou” in French from Pack 1. You’ll use “please” and “thank-you” later for other things, too -see Ch.2.5 and Ch.2.11.
S’il vous plaît! - où est le marché? Where is the market, please? (asking an adult not in your family)
S’il te plaît! ... ? (asking a child, close friend, or a member of your family)
Please! Being polite in French
Excusez-moi! - Excuse me!
REMINDER
Merci! (Madame / Monsieur) Thankyou! CD Track 15 39
QUICK HINT: Just say the name of the place and “please” in a questioning tone: “Le marché, s’il vous plaît?”
Early Start French Pack 2 from the second set to be their destination e.g. the station. Standing at the edge of the map, s/he asks “Où est la gare, s”il te plaît?” The rest of the class point to the correct picture, and offer directions, e.g. “tout droit”. The lost child moves slowly, and changes direction on further commands, e.g. “à gauche” or “à droite”. Every so often, ask pupils to swap pictures.
The other pupil selects a card from his/her pile and says “à gauche”, “à droite” or “tout droit” as appropriate. At a given signal, pupils swap cards so each has practice at asking the question and giving the reply.
6. Watch the video again ❑ Show video section 3: “Toutes directions” again for reinforcement. If pupils are familiar with hearing and saying the new vocabulary, you may like to show the final sequence of video section 3:“Toutes directions”, in which each of the key words and phrases are repeated with text superimposed on the pictures.
7. Look again at sounds ❑ Play “Find the sound” For this game (described in Ch.2.2) choose typical French sounds that you feel able to pronounce accurately. This is a variation. Place a selection of picture-cards on the floor. (e.g. pets, places, colours and one or two street names introduced in this chapter). The children stand in a circle around the cards.
Scene from video section 3: “Tout droit”.
❑ Play “draw the route” Each child has a sheet of paper, on which they follow your instructions to draw a route, e.g. from the school to the swimming pool. Beginning at the bottom of the page, they draw a school symbol at the bottom of the page. If you call out “tout droit”, pupils draw a straight line slowly up the page. If you then say “à gauche et tout droit”, they turn their line off to the left and then carry it on in the same direction. For “à droite”, they draw a line turning right, and so on. An alternative is to ask the children to dictate a route for you to draw on the blackboard. You could add places that you pass as the journey progresses, e.g. le marché, l’école.
Call out a particular sound, e.g. “ (ch) as in gauche”. Pupils take it in turns to run to the cards and find a picture of a word containing the same sound - possibilities for “ ” might be chat, chien, marché. This activity encourages children to listen carefully and discriminate between sounds; they process lots of information as they think through all the possibilities for a correct response.
5. Working in pairs
Introducing the written word French street names
❑ Make multiple copies of the picture cards from ch.2. 2. It is worth sticking these to card if they are going to be used regularly. One pupil has a set of the places, (ideally two of each ); the other has a set of the “left”, “right” and “straight ahead” road-signs cut from the activity sheet. Each pupil shuffles his/her set of cards and places them face-down in front of them. The first pupil selects a card from the top of the pile. If s/he selects “le supermarché”, s/he asks, “Où est le supermarché, s’il te plaît?”.
❑ Talk with pupils about French street names (see this chapter’s “talking points”). ❑ Make flashcards for the street names shown in the video. If possible, colour them blue and white for an authentic look. As you show each street sign, say the name e.g. “rue Napoléon”. Pupils echo the words.
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2.3 Toutes directions ❑ Drama: Pupils can use their puppets to practise asking directions and giving replies. Encourage them to use greetings and to say thank you and goodbye at the end of the conversation.
❑ Play “where’s the street?” Mark out the same floor map as for the previous game “I’m lost!” Again place children on the side streets, each holding a street sign. Pupils take it in turns to reply to the question “Où est la rue Napoléon?”, etc. They point to the correct street sign and say whether the street is “à gauche”, “tout droit” or “à droite”. ❑ Play “I’m lost! 2” Give the children standing on the side streets a picture card of a place (e.g. la gare) as well as a street sign (e.g. rue Napoléon). This time the question relates to a place, e.g. “Où est la gare?” The reply includes both a direction and a street name following the examples given on the video, e.g. “Tout droit et à gauche ... rue Napoléon”.
Town Guide project
❑ Copy activity sheets “Plan de ville” 1 and 2 for the OHP/ interactive whiteboard; or draw it on the blackboard. Arrange the pictures of places, and choose your starting point on the map. Then ask pupils to direct you to different streets e.g. “Où est la rue du 11 Novembre?” Pupils answer initially as a group, e.g. “tout droit et à gauche”. You can then move on to ask individuals; pupils could also play in pairs.
❑ Geography: Pupils could prepare a map/ plan of your locality (or the French town where your partner school is), and use this for asking and giving directions. (See “extra words and phrases” at the end of this chapter).
“Imaginary Town” project If you have been making a model of an imaginary French town, you can use it for asking and giving directions in French.
❑ You can also ask where key places are, following the examples shown on the video, e.g. “Où est le café?” “A gauche ... rue Jeanne d’Arc”.
Talking point
CROSS CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES ❑ PE: the “Robot” game: You can adapt the game in a variety of ways: (i) If you are in the playground or on the field with plenty of space, ask pupils to run in the direction you call out, e.g. “Tout droit” - straight ahead as fast as they can. “...à droite” - turn and run to the right. “...à gauche” - turn and run to the left. (ii) Agree a particular physical activity for each word (e.g. running, jumping, hopping). Pupils follow the directions you call out, using the appropriate physical movement, e.g. “Tout droit, 20” - run 20 steps straight ahead. “...à droite, 5” - take 5 hops to the right. “...à gauche, 7” - take 7 jumps to the left.
EVERYDAY LIFE IN FRANCE Street names and addresses Many streets in French towns are named after famous people. For example, in Berck-sur-Mer there is a rue Napoléon and also a rue Jeanne d’Arc. (Both characters from French history are described in Early Start French 1: “Salut! Ça va?” chapter 1.4). Some French street names commemorate well known historical dates: the rue du 11 Novembre in Berck-sur-Mer is named after the date of the Armistice at the end of World War 1 in 1918. They celebrated it because millions of French people died in the fighting; a large part of northern France was occupied.
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3. Toutes directions EXTENSION ACTIVITY “Second street on the left...” Pupils already know “first” In Pack 1, pupils met the ordinal number “first”,as in “le premier avril” - 1st of April. If pupils are confident with this section’s new words, you might like to teach them how to say the French for “first, second or third ” in giving directions.
EXTRA WORDS AND PHRASES
When French people write addresses, they often use abbreviations. M. Bernard Duval 45 rue du 11 Novembre * 62601 Berck-sur-Mer M. is an abbreviation of Monsieur which is used to address a man in a formal letter. A woman is Madame, abbreviated to Mme; a young girl is Mademoiselle, shortened to Mlle. ■ Children could word-process a real French address e.g. your partner school. Select one to attach to a postcard of your town, and post.
Directions: (all feminine, to go with “rue”)
1 er - la première (rue) à droite first (street) on the right 2 e - la deuxième (rue) à gauche second on the left 3 e - la troisième (rue) à gauche third on the left “First”,“second”,“third” with streets You can hear the difference between “La première rue” and “le premier avril” (see the audio CD for teachers). Children can use the phrases without knowing the reason, which is that French adjectives often change to agree with the noun they describe. La rue is a feminine noun, whereas le jour (first [day] of April) is masculine. NOTE: remember that you say “le deux avril”, etc; not “le deuxième avril”.
*NOTE for teachers: some children may find it easier to write their French addresses in capitals, following the style of the street-name signs seen in the video.
Cultural awareness ■ You could talk with children about streetnames in your town or district. and where these names come from. Some are named after people who were famous or important locally when the street was built. Others are named after a place along the road, or where it leads to: “Station Road”, “Church Street”, “London Road”) You could swap information about street names with your partner school.
EXTRA WORDS AND PHRASES Maps (le) Plan de Berck - Berck street map
RECORDING & ASSESSMENT Children can record their achievements to date on “can-do statements” sheet 1:
NOTE: “un plan” - a town map with street names. A map of an area or country is “une carte”.
1.TALKING ABOUT WHERE I LIVE to 3.GIVING DIRECTIONS.
The pronunciation of these additional phrases can be heard on the audio CD for teachers.
(Find them after chapter 2.16.) Each child could add his or her completed sheets to their European Languages Portfolio.
CD Track 15
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Toutes directions à gauche
Je m’appelle ...........................
tout droit
This page may be photocopied for classroom use
à droite
© 2004 Early Start Languages
Plan de Ville 1
Je m’appelle ...........................
This page may be photocopied for classroom use
© 2004 Early Start Languages
Plan de Ville 2
Je m’appelle ...........................
This page may be photocopied for classroom use
© 2004 Early Start Languages
