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      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can form the date in French to express when people celebrate.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. The SSCs [aim] and [im] sound identical in French.
      2. 'Préférer' is a regular -er verb but the 2nd -é in the stem changes to an -è in all forms apart from 'nous' and 'vous'.
      3. In French we add 'le' before a number to make it into a date. 'Of' in English is not translated, e.g. 'le deux mai'.
      4. We only use an ordinal number to express the first of the month in French, e.g. 'le premier janvier.'

      Keywords

      • [aim/im] - sound-symbol correspondence like the [aim] in 'faim'

      • Préférer - French verb meaning 'to prefer, preferring'

      • Ordinal numbers - numbers that indicate the position of something in a series, e.g. 'first', 'second', 'third'

      Common misconception

      To express the date I use 'de' for 'of' so 2nd January would be 'le deux de janvier'.

      There is no need to translate 'of' into French to express the date. For example 2nd January would be 'le deux janvier'.

      Teacher tip

      There are several interesting cultural references in this lesson which could be explored further, such as Epiphany, Feast of the Kings, April Fools and Candlemas.

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), 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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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Put the first six months of year in order in French.

      1 - janvier
      2 - février
      3 - mars
      4 - avril
      5 - mai
      6 - juin

      Q2.
      Match the French to the English.

      Correct Answer:l'événement,the event
      Correct Answer:la date,the date
      Correct Answer:la tradition,the tradition
      Correct Answer:célébrer,to celebrate, celebrating

      Q3.
      Select the three highest numbers.

      Correct answer: vingt-et-un
      quinze
      Correct answer: trente
      dix-sept
      Correct answer: dix-neuf

      Q4.
      Solve the equations.

      Correct Answer:dix + trois =,treize
      Correct Answer:vingt-trois - cinq =,dix-huit
      Correct Answer:dix-sept + six =,vingt-trois
      Correct Answer:seize + treize =,vingt-neuf
      Correct Answer:dix + vingt =,trente
      Correct Answer:trente-trois - deux =,trente-et-un

      Q5.
      Match the forms of 'célébrer' with the correct pronoun.

      Correct Answer:célébrons,nous
      Correct Answer:célèbres,tu
      Correct Answer:célèbre,je, il, elle
      Correct Answer:célébrez,vous
      Correct Answer:célèbrent,ils, elles

      Q6.
      Match the word to the correct category.

      Correct Answer:aimer,verb
      Correct Answer:vingt-trois,number
      Correct Answer:la chose,noun
      Correct Answer:devant,preposition
      Correct Answer:avril,month
      Correct Answer:amusant,adjective

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Match the word to the missing sound-symbol correspondence.

      Correct Answer:m_____ (May),[ai]
      Correct Answer:f_____ (hunger),[aim]
      Correct Answer:_____primer (to print),[im]
      Correct Answer:tim_____de (shy),[i]

      Q2.
      Put the following numbers in ascending order (lowest to highest).

      1 - premier
      2 - cinq
      3 - douze
      4 - dix-sept
      5 - vingt-deux
      6 - trente
      7 - trente-et-un

      Q3.
      In French, we add before a number to make it into a date.

      Correct Answer: le

      Q4.
      Match the English to the French.

      Correct Answer:le trois janvier,3rd January
      Correct Answer:le premier avril,1st April
      Correct Answer:le seize mars,16th March
      Correct Answer:le vingt-neuf février,29th February
      Correct Answer:le dix juin,10th June
      Correct Answer:le dix-neuf mai,19th May

      Q5.
      Translate into English: 'Nous préférons.'

      Correct Answer: We prefer.

      Q6.
      Translate into French: 'I prefer.'

      Correct Answer: Je préfère.

      To help you plan your 8 French lesson on: When people celebrate: dates, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...