New
New
Year 8

Astronauts and French cuisine: writing an article

Learning outcomes

I can apply my knowledge of vocabulary and grammar from an extended text to write a related article or interview.

I know when the [o] sound in French is open or closed.

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New
New
Year 8

Astronauts and French cuisine: writing an article

Learning outcomes

I can apply my knowledge of vocabulary and grammar from an extended text to write a related article or interview.

I know when the [o] sound in French is open or closed.

Link copied to clipboard

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Lesson details

Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

Key learning points

  1. The French [o] sound can be open or closed. It is open when followed by any consonant sound other than a 'z'.
  2. The [o] is closed when it is the final sound in a word, when it is followed by a 'z' sound or when it has a circumflex.
  3. Studying the vocabulary and grammar in a model text helps us to prepare for a similar writing task.
  4. Using a content and language checklists helps us to plan, improve and check our drafted written work.

Keywords

  • Closed [o/ô] - sound-symbol correspondence (SSC) like the [o] in 'photo'

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

Common misconception

I don't need to plan my written work before I start writing in French.

Planning is essential for success in any written task. Using a content and language checklist helps us to plan, improve and check our drafted written work.


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

Students may wish to use reference resources for the written task in this lesson and therefore access to a computer or bilingual dictionary would be valuable.
Teacher tip

Equipment

A bilingual French/English dictionary.

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.
Which food is 'chicken and chips'?
les escargots
Correct answer: le poulet avec des frites
le steak-frites
le bœuf
les légumes
Q2.
Match the French and English.
Correct Answer:appartement (m),apartment, flat

apartment, flat

Correct Answer:banque (f),bank

bank

Correct Answer:marché (m),market

market

Correct Answer:magasin (m),shop

shop

Correct Answer:projet (m),plan

plan

Correct Answer:recette (f),recipe

recipe

Q3.
Match the French and English.
Correct Answer:aider,to help, helping

to help, helping

Correct Answer:apporter,to bring, bringing

to bring, bringing

Correct Answer:chercher,to look for, looking for

to look for, looking for

Correct Answer:envoyer,to send, sending

to send, sending

Correct Answer:partager,to share, sharing

to share, sharing

Correct Answer:utiliser,to use, using

to use, using

Q4.
Which words are past participles?
dire
Correct answer: dit
faire
Correct answer: fait
hier
Q5.
Write in English: 'Qu’est-ce que tu as mangé ?'
Correct Answer: What did you eat?, What have you eaten?
Q6.
Write in French: 'What do you like to eat?'
Correct Answer: Qu’est-ce que tu aimes manger?, Tu aimes manger quoi ?

6 Questions

Q1.
Which words include the closed [o] sound?
Correct answer: fantôme
lorsque
alors
Écosse
Correct answer: zéro
Q2.
Which words include the open [o] sound?
côte
Correct answer: sport
Correct answer: école
rose
trop
Q3.
Match the French and English.
Correct Answer:d'abord,first of all

first of all

Correct Answer:désolé,sorry

sorry

Correct Answer:maintenant,now

now

Correct Answer:peut-être,perhaps

perhaps

Correct Answer:puisque,as, because

as, because

Q4.
Order the words to say: 'the astronauts eat a selection of their favourite dishes'.
1 - les astronautes
2 - mangent
3 - une sélection
4 - de
5 - ses
6 - plats
7 - préférés
Q5.
Write in French: 'I love space'.
Correct Answer: J'adore l'espace.
Q6.
Write in French: 'the chef prepares the meal'.
Correct Answer: Le chef prépare le repas.

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