Mixed-age Year 3/4
Lower Key Stage 2 French lessons tailored to the needs of a mixed-age setting. The lessons follow a 'Cycle A and Cycle B' format to ensure progression of skills and knowledge across the age range. Please see our mixed-age long-term plan for the advised unit order delivery.
Mixed-age scheme guidance
The French mixed-age scheme is taught as a two-year cycle (Cycle A and Cycle B). Pupils can start with either cycle as both cycles reflect the same key knowledge and skills to ensure progression.
Pupils in Year 5 can start the Year 5/6 cycle even if they have only completed one year of the Year 3/4 cycle. The first unit of both cycles has been created to allow children to revisit cognates, create simple statements and explore word order, numbers and opinions. This supports all children, but especially if they haven’t completed the Year 3/4 cycle.
The topic vocabulary identified in blue text on the standard version of the Progression of knowledge and skills document are words the children may not have learned if units don’t appear in the cycle they completed.
See the Mixed-age long-term plan for more information about teaching French to mixed-age classes.
Choose your unit
Y3/4 Cycle A
Using puppets to practise a variety of French greetings and learning how to introduce themselves. Choosing the correct greeting based on the time of day and asking someone how they are.
Describing shapes using adjectives of colour and size, learning the position of adjectives relative to the noun; noting cognates, practising language skills and developing confidence through games and creating animal and Christmas artworks inspired by the cut-outs of French artist, Henri Matisse.
Counting in French from one to twelve, recognising the written number words, talking about ages, comparing sentence structures in French and English and practising vocabulary by playing counting and traditional French games.
Responding to common classroom instructions through games. Learning vocabulary for classroom items. Understanding that every French noun is either ‘masculine’ or ‘feminine.’
Learning about French food and exploring different cultural customs; using language detective skills to spot cognates and near cognates; expressing opinions and using their knowledge to role-play a visit to a French market.
Exploring different ways to say ‘the’ when talking about shopping; applying new vocabulary and sentence structures to tell their own simple story about a trip to the shops.
Y3/4 Cycle B
Learning how to exchange greetings and share personal information such as names and feelings.
Learning how to use definite and indefinite articles and school-related vocabulary to build descriptive spoken and written sentences; comparing similarities and differences between a school day in England and France, listening and reading to analyse key information.
Using numbers and dates to exchange information; comparing similarities and differences between birthday celebrations in France and in England; adapting a model to write a birthday wish list using indefinite articles and nouns.
Learning the vocabulary for adjectives of size and colour; using noun gender agreement and considering how it impacts the article and adjectives; creating their own animal portraits, producing a short description.
Learning how to eat out in France; ordering and paying the bill at a restaurant; asking and answering questions and making requests; exploring articles using food-related vocabulary.
Asking and answering a question about food preferences; learning about famous regional French dishes; giving opinions about regional French dishes; performing a short story using words and actions; learning how to use the partitive article for food nouns; using language detective skills to decode a French recipe.
