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Year 8

Astronauts and French cuisine: extended reading

Learning outcomes

I can apply my knowledge of vocabulary and grammar to understand an extended text.

I can recognise the difference between open and closed [o] sounds and pronounce them correctly.

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New
New
Year 8

Astronauts and French cuisine: extended reading

Learning outcomes

I can apply my knowledge of vocabulary and grammar to understand an extended text.

I can recognise the difference between open and closed [o] sounds and pronounce them correctly.

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. The French [o] sound can be open like in 'porte' or closed like in 'photo'.
  2. If the [o] is the final sound, is followed by a 'z' sound, or has a circumflex [ô], it is closed.
  3. Before reading an extended text, it is important to learn key vocabulary.
  4. Predicting the themes and key ideas of the text is also a useful strategy to help understanding.
  5. Applying vocabualry and grammar knowledge to understand the order of events is essential.

Keywords

  • Open [o] - sound-symbol correspondence like the [o] in ‘porte’ which means ‘door’

  • Closed [o/ô] - sound-symbol correspondence like the [o/ô] in 'photo' which means 'photo'

Common misconception

The [o] sound in French is only pronounced one way.

The [o] sound in French can be open, like the [o] in 'porte' and 'd'accord' or closed like the [o] in 'radio' or 'dos'.


To help you plan your year 8 french lesson on: Astronauts and French cuisine: extended reading, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

The extended text in this lesson features information about typical dishes served on Christmas Eve and how this would be adapted to the environment on the International Space Station. These are themes that you may wish to look into in more detail with your students.
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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.
Match the French and English.
Correct Answer:savoir,to know how to, knowing how to
tick

to know how to, knowing how to

Correct Answer:je sais,I know how to
tick

I know how to

Correct Answer:on sait,you (in general) know how to
tick

you (in general) know how to

Correct Answer:pouvoir,to be able to, can
tick

to be able to, can

Correct Answer:je peux,I can
tick

I can

Correct Answer:on peut,you (in general) can
tick

you (in general) can

Q2.
Match the French and English.
Correct Answer:porte (f),door
tick

door

Correct Answer:école (f),school
tick

school

Correct Answer:poste (f),post office
tick

post office

Correct Answer:contrôle (m),test, exam
tick

test, exam

Correct Answer:mot (m),word
tick

word

Correct Answer:hôpital (m),hospital
tick

hospital

Q3.
Order the months from earliest to latest.
1 - janvier
2 - février
3 - mai
4 - juin
5 - juillet
6 - novembre
7 - décembre
Q4.
Which number is the largest?
dix-sept
Correct answer: vingt-deux
vingt
deux
treize
Q5.
Write in English: 'Qui sont-ils ?'
Correct Answer: Who are they?
Q6.
Write in French: 'He celebrates his birthday'.
Correct Answer: Il célèbre son anniversaire.

6 Questions

Q1.
The French sound [o] is closed when it ...
is the first sound
Correct answer: is the final sound
Correct answer: is followed by a 'z' sound
is followed by a 't'
Correct answer: has a circumflex accent
Q2.
Which words in French have an open [o] sound?
hospital
Correct answer: school
Correct answer: to sleep, sleeping
word
back
Q3.
What does 'le réveillon' mean?
Correct answer: Christmas Eve
Christmas Day
Boxing Day
Correct answer: New Year's Eve
New Year's Day
Q4.
Match the French and English.
Correct Answer:espace (f),space
tick

space

Correct Answer:gout (m),taste
tick

taste

Correct Answer:langue (f),language, tongue
tick

language, tongue

Correct Answer:plat (m),dish
tick

dish

Correct Answer:recette (f),recipe
tick

recipe

Correct Answer:repas (m),meal
tick

meal

Q5.
Order the words to say: 'You can celebrate Christmas in space'.
1 - on
2 - peut
3 - célébrer
4 - Noël
5 - dans
6 - l'
7 - espace
Q6.
Write in French: 'I eat and then I sleep'.
Correct Answer: Je mange et puis je dors.

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