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New
New
Year 3

Story: Lulu, la tortue

Learning outcomes

I can read and understand a story with mostly familiar and individual unfamiliar words.

I can distinguish the key sounds [u] and [ou] when reading aloud.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 3

Story: Lulu, la tortue

Learning outcomes

I can read and understand a story with mostly familiar and individual unfamiliar words.

I can distinguish the key sounds [u] and [ou] when reading aloud.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. The sound-symbol correspondence [u] sounds like the 'u' in 'tu' which means 'you'.
  2. The sound-symbol correspondence [ou] sounds like the 'ou' in 'nous' which means 'we'.
  3. These two SSCs sound similar but they are different, so it is important to practise their pronunciation.
  4. Reading a French story may seem challenging; focus first on all the words you know, using these to work out other words.

Keywords

  • [u] - pronounced as in 'tu', meaning you.

  • [ou] - pronounced as in 'nous', meaning we.

Common misconception

I have to know every word in a story in order to understand it.

To understand a story which contains a few unfamiliar words, you can use the surrounding words that you do know to work out the probable meanings of unfamiliar words. There may be other visual cues as well.

The SSCs [u] and [ou] are tricky to pronounce. Don't hesitate to (over)exaggerate both, maybe sticking your chin out for [u] and pouting for [ou]. Children will enjoy trying out these sounds with facial gestures!
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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Tick the words which contain the SSC [u].
Correct answer: suis
Correct answer: salut
bouche
faux
cadeau
Q2.
Match the English to the French.
Correct Answer:Monday,lundi
tick

lundi

Correct Answer:Tuesday,mardi
tick

mardi

Correct Answer:Wednesday,mercredi
tick

mercredi

Correct Answer:Thursday,jeudi
tick

jeudi

Correct Answer:Friday,vendredi
tick

vendredi

Correct Answer:Saturday,samedi
tick

samedi

Q3.
Match the singular forms of 'avoir' to the English.
Correct Answer:j'ai,I have
tick

I have

Correct Answer:tu as,you have
tick

you have

Correct Answer:il a,he has
tick

he has

Correct Answer:elle a,she has
tick

she has

Q4.
What does 'aujourd'hui c'est' mean?
today
it is
Correct answer: today it is
Q5.
Fill in the missing pronoun. 'C'est lundi aujourd'hui. as un cahier et un stylo ?'
Correct Answer: Tu, TU
Q6.
Match the present with the name. 'Un chat pour moi, un chien pour toi, un gâteau pour Beau, un livre pour Geneviève, un crayon pour Léon et une gomme pour Guillaume.'
Correct Answer:a cat,for me
tick

for me

Correct Answer:a dog,for you
tick

for you

Correct Answer:a cake ,for Beau
tick

for Beau

Correct Answer:a book,for Genevieve
tick

for Genevieve

Correct Answer:a pencil,for Léon
tick

for Léon

Correct Answer:a rubber,for Guillaume
tick

for Guillaume

6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? The SSCs [u] and [ou] sound the same.
Correct Answer: False, FALSE
Q2.
Read this sentence aloud: 'Un univers est amusant.' How many times do you hear the SSC [u]?
once
twice
Correct answer: three times
four times
Q3.
Which of the following words contain the SSC [ou]?
Correct answer: bonjour
salut
Correct answer: douze
uniforme
tortue
Q4.
What does 'chaque jour' mean?
Correct answer: every day
one day
today
Q5.
Match the English to the French.
Correct Answer:Aujourd'hui c'est lundi.,Today it's Monday.
tick

Today it's Monday.

Correct Answer:C'est mercredi ?,Is it Wednesday?
tick

Is it Wednesday?

Correct Answer:Aujourd'hui c'est mercredi.,Today it's Wednesday.
tick

Today it's Wednesday.

Correct Answer:Aujourd'hui c'est jeudi.,Today it's Thursday.
tick

Today it's Thursday.

Correct Answer:C'est vendredi.,It's Friday.
tick

It's Friday.

Correct Answer:Aujourd'hui c'est samedi ?,Is it Saturday today?
tick

Is it Saturday today?

Q6.
Understanding a story in French can seem difficult at first so it's a good idea to use the as clues to help you de-code unfamiliar words.
Correct Answer: pictures, PICTURES, IMAGES, images, illustrations

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