Canada: 'dans' and 'à' both meaning 'in' and 'to'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can use my knowledge of singular forms of 'aller' with the correct preposition to say where I and others are going 'to'.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- The verb 'aller' is irregular and means 'to go'. 'Je vais' is 'I go', 'il va' is 'he goes' and 'elle va' is 'she goes'.
- The 's' of 'je vais' is normally an SFC but if followed by a vowel like 'à', you pronounce it; this is called liaison.
- The word 'dans' means 'in'. After 'aller' it can mean 'into' or just 'to', e.g. 'je vais dans le parc'.
- Use 'à' to talk about going to or being in a town or city; use 'dans' to talk about going to a cardinal point.
- Use 'en' to talk about going to a feminine country, use 'au' (à + le) to talk about going to a masculine country/region.
Keywords
Dans - French preposition meaning 'in', 'into' 'inside' or 'to'
À - French preposition meaning 'at, 'to' or 'in'
Au - 'à' + 'le'
En - French preposition meaning 'in', 'by' or 'to'
Common misconception
I use 'à' for 'to' with cities and 'en' for countries.
We use 'en' to say 'to' for feminine countries, e.g. 'je vais en France'. If a country is masculine, however, we use 'au', e.g. 'je vais au Portugal'.
Teacher tip
This lesson mentions Canadian cities Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver. You may wish to explore these places in more detail with your students.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which phrase means 'she goes'?
Q2.What does 'Il va dans le Sud.' mean?
Q3.Match the weather expressions.
it is nice weather
it is cold
it is hot
it is bad weather
Q4.Order the words to form a sentence.
Q5.What does 'Est' mean?
Q6.Fill in the missing word: 'Il va l'Ouest.'
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.What is the capital of Canada?
Q2.Which sentences refer to a masculine country?
Q3.Order the words to form a sentence.
Q4.He is going to the museum.' - 'Il dans le musée.' Write the correct missing word.
Q5.Write in English: 'elle va à Ottawa'.
To help you plan your 6 French lesson on: Canada: 'dans' and 'à' both meaning 'in' and 'to', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 6 French lesson on: Canada: 'dans' and 'à' both meaning 'in' and 'to', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 French lessons from the Where I am going: 'aller' singular persons, où est-ce que unit, dive into the full primary French curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.