Family Vocabulary in French

Curriculum Area

Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) – French
Key Stage 2 (Year 5) – Understanding and Using Family Vocabulary

This lesson follows the UK National Curriculum for MFL, which encourages pupils to develop their ability to communicate in another language through speaking, listening, reading, and writing. By the end of the lesson, students should be able to name family members in French and construct simple sentences describing their family.

---

Lesson Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will:

• Recognise and say the names of family members in French.
• Read and write simple sentences using family vocabulary.
• Engage in interactive activities to reinforce learning.

---

Lesson Structure (50 Minutes)

1. Starter Activity (10 Minutes) – “Family Guess Who?”

Objective: Introduce key vocabulary in a fun, engaging way.

• Begin by greeting the class in French: Bonjour, classe!
• Display a series of cartoon-style family pictures on the board.
• Ask students to guess how each family member might be called in French, prompting discussion.
• Introduce the French words with clear pronunciation:
  • La mère (mother)
  • Le père (father)
  • Le frère (brother)
  • La sœur (sister)
  • Les grands-parents (grandparents)
  • Le grand-père (grandfather)
  • La grand-mère (grandmother)
  • L’oncle (uncle)
  • La tante (aunt)
  • Les cousins (cousins)

2. Main Activity 1 (15 Minutes) – “Familial Snap”

Objective: Strengthen recognition of family vocabulary through an interactive game.

• Hand out flashcards to pairs of students, each card having either a French word or a corresponding picture.
• Students play "Snap" – when they see a matching pair (French word + image), they must shout out the correct French term.

3. Main Activity 2 (15 Minutes) – “My Family Mini-Book”

Objective: Practise writing and constructing simple sentences about their own families.

• Give each student a small fold-out booklet template.
• They must write sentences about their family, e.g., "C’est ma mère. Elle s’appelle Sophie."
• Encourage students to illustrate their booklets and share them with a partner.

4. Plenary (10 Minutes) – “Meet My Family”

Objective: Reinforce learning through peer interaction.

• Students each introduce one member of their family using a full sentence in French.
• Peers respond with simple follow-up questions such as “Comment s’appelle-t-elle/il?”

---

Assessment Opportunities

• Listening: Check pronunciation during the starter activity.
• Speaking: Observe students introducing their family members in the plenary.
• Reading/Writing: Assess sentence construction in the mini-books.

---

Differentiation and Support

• For lower ability students: Provide sentence starters and a word bank.
• For higher ability students: Encourage them to write extended sentences, adding details (e.g., "Mon frère s’appelle Tom. Il aime le football.")

---

Resources Needed

• Interactive whiteboard for displaying images.
• Flashcards with family vocabulary.
• Fold-out mini-book templates.
• Colouring pencils for illustrations.

---

Reflection and Follow-up

• Recap family vocabulary in next lesson with a quick quiz.
• Encourage students to create a family tree in French as homework.