Our French Curriculum
Article 29: Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full
The Modern Foreign Language that we teach at Globe is French.
Our goal is for our children to become French speakers. French speakers must:
- Speak with increasing confidence; with good intonation and pronunciation
- Have the tools to develop their fluency in reading using their phonetic knowledge and understanding of word patterns.
- Have an ability to use the tools of grammar and understanding of vocabulary to begin to write independently.
- Have a strong awareness of the culture of the countries where the language is spoken
- Have a passion and enthusiasm to learn languages.
- Have the ability to use languages spontaneously and to communicate for practical purposes.
Fundamental Foundations
We believe that for children to secure greater depth, it is important that they first have solid fundamental foundations. Fundamental foundations should not be rushed and so the notion of ‘rapid progress’ must be dismissed. Instead the goal of repetition should be seen as both useful and necessary. This is why you will see us returning regularly to French knowledge and concepts.
- Cognitive Domains – Degrees of Understanding
- We refer to three degrees of understanding and thinking ‘Basic’, ‘Advancing’ and ‘Deep’.
- BASIC – Low level cognitive demand. Involves acquisition of fundamental foundations.
- ADVANCING – Higher level cognitive demands beyond recall. Requires application involving some degree of decision making in how to apply fundamental foundations.
- DEEP – Cognitive demand involves non-standard, non-routine, inter-connected, multi-step thinking in problems with more than one possible solution. Requires reasoning and justification for the inventive application of fundamental foundations.
Time Scales for Progression Through the Cognitive Domains
- Milestone 2 – Y3 & Y4
- Milestone 3 – Y5 & Y6
- Each milestone should be seen as containing two phases. In the first phase, pupils should repeat the content a sufficient number of times to secure fundamental foundations; in the second phase, they should apply the foundations in order to reach the ‘expected’ standard. If they reach this before the end of the second phase, they should move on to tasks that will secure greater depth. Thus, progress through the cognitive domains take two years.
Milestone 2 Y3 & Y4 |
Milestone 3 Y5 & Y6 |
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Beginning Y3 |
Advancing Y4 |
Deep Y4 |
Beginning Y5 |
Advancing Y6 |
Deep Y6 |
- Page 144 of the Primary National Curriculum 2014 states:
- ‘While it is important that pupils make progress, it is also vitally important that they develop secure understanding of each key block of knowledge and concepts in order to progress to the next stage. Insecure, superficial understanding will not allow genuine progress: pupils may struggle at key points of transition (such as between primary and secondary school), build up serious misconceptions, and/or have significant difficulties in understanding higher-order content.’
- We believe that it is therefore extremely important to secure the fundamental foundations before trying to secure greater depth.
Curriculum Content
Breadth of study
By the end of Key Stage 2 our goal is for children to use the French language confidently, having a sound understanding of the language and culture. We follow the National Curriculum programme of study. This can be accessed here.
There are four skills taught in Key Stage 2:
- Speaking
- Listening
- Reading
- Writing
To be a linguist you must: (disciplinary knowledge) |
Milestone 2 |
Milestone 3 |
Read fluently |
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Write imaginatively |
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Listen attentively |
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Speak confidently |
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Understand the culture of the countries in which the language is spoken |
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Building a French Schema at Glo
Our pupils will form a French schema* by:
- using concepts as the basis for schema. We call these threshold concepts; these are the big ideas which form the basis for the subject schema. In French there are four threshold concepts: read fluently, write imaginatively, speak confidently and understand the culture of countries where French is spoken .
- strengthening the schema with knowledge. The knowledge comes from our topics.
- Further deepening connections through tasks. This is what is developed though our planning.
The Big Ideas
The three Big Ideas are the three pillars of language learning:
Phonics
Grammar
Vocabulary
*Schema – A subject schema is a way of organising knowledge in a meaningful way; it is an appreciation of how facts are connected and they ways in which they are connected. A schema is distinct from information, which is just isolated facts that have no organisational basis or links.
Curriculum Breadth Maps
Key Stage 2 Curriculum Breadth Map
This link will take you to the the Globe Curriculum page where you will find the curriculum map for each year. These give an overview of what is taught in subject area, our curriculum intent.
How we Implement our Curriculum
French is taught weekly for 30 minutes by a specialist French teacher in Y3, Y4, Y5 and Y6. We do not block our subjects as we want children to return regularly to the subject knowledge and concepts in order that they are regularly retrieving the taught knowledge and concepts, embedding these in their long term memory. This enables them to make progress - know more and remember more.
The three pillars of language are Phonics, Grammar and Vocabulary. Learning these tools enables pupils to speak with confidence and read and write French with increasing accuracy and independence.
There is an emphasis on French phonics and constant engagement with syntax and vocabulary. Reading is the way that we introduce all new knowledge. We use knowledge grids, which mean that pupils are able to see the meaning of the French words and the key sounds in the words highlighted in bold.
We begin by reading them aloud in lessons. The teacher reads and pupils follow, sheets flat, reading with fingers pointed to the words. This opens up three teaching opportunities. Firstly they hear excellent pronunciation modelled. They then read out loud. We draw attention to particular phonics, patterns and meanings. The language and its embedded sounds are introduced simultaneously so that children learn the sound-spelling link. We repeat this process regularly.
The aim is for the children to learn to read French familiar and unfamiliar vocabulary with a high degree of confidence and accuracy and not just repeat words. We believe that more able learners will be able to learn more independently if they are able to sound correctly any new word they come across. For all learners, self-confidence grows if they can be reasonably sure at least of sounding right. We believe that students must first see how the word is written, hear how it isspoken, and learn the meaning of that word. But we also use pictures and gestures in our French lessons as we believe they add to the pupil’s understanding of the word or concept and remembering information.
Secondly, the knowledge grid allows pupils to see at a glance the differences in French and English syntax (particularly around the order of nouns and adjectives) and for us to discuss that and give multiple examples to embed the principle. E.g. J’ai un stylo vert = I have a pen green.
When children precisely understand every word, they can break language down and build it up again. E.g. Je m’appelle Isabelle = I myself call Isabelle (my name is Isabelle) From that structure, children can break down the language and build up a new sentence with different meaning: J’appelle Isabelle = I call Isabelle
An example of a milestone 2 lesson
An example of a milestone 2 vocabulary list (Year 3)
An example of a milestone 3 lesson
An example of a milestone 2 vocabulary list (Year 6)
Cultural Capital, Trips and Experiences
Cultural capital is the essential knowledge that children need to prepare them for their future success. We want to ensure that children at Globe have a wide and varied range of experiences as they progress through our school. We want them to know about their world; to build a schema of knowledge and to do this through first hand experiences. We intend to provide our children with opportunities to develop not just their knowledge but their interests and talents. Our aim is to prepare them for a successful future.
Our school is in an area of high socio-economic deprivation. We are focused on addressing this disadvantage. Our curriculum is the main provider of cultural capital however there are other aspects of school life which provide essential cultural capital and should not be overlooked. We have planned the cultural provision that goes beyond the curriculum and this plan can be found below. This plan is to capture, illustrate and to strategically plan for the breadth and range of cultural capital experiences we will provide for our children as they move through the school. We are not leaving such an essential element of our school’s provision to chance or individual teacher interest. When a child leaves Globe in Year 6, we will be certain of what they have learnt and experienced and know that they will be prepared for the next step in their learning and personal development.
Globe's Whole School Cultural Capital, Trips and Experiences Plan
We celebrate French Day at Globe which is a valuable enrichment opportunity. Pupils immerse themselves in French culture; learning French traditions, singing French songs, enjoying French food and learning all about different parts of the world where French is spoken, We believe that at Globe we motivate and engage pupils whilst providing the foundation for learning further languages, equipping pupils to study and work in other countries.
Curriculum and Expectation Booklets for Parents
These booklets give an overview of our Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 curriculum. They explain what is taught in each subject area as well as outlining some of the expectations we have for children. Parents are given these booklets at the start of each year and they are sent electronically with each term's newsletter.
2024/2025 Curriculum Booklets (Cycle 1)
Year 1 Curriculum and Expectations Booklet for Parents
Year 2 Curriculum and Expectations Booklet for Parents
Year 3 Curriculum and Expectations Booklet for Parents
Year 4 Curriculum and Expectations Booklet for Parents
Year 5 Curriculum and Expectations Booklet for Parents
Year 6 Curriculum and Expectations Booklet for Parents
2023/2024 Curriculum Booklets (Cycle 2)
Year 1 Curriculum and Expectations Booklet for Parents
Year 2 Curriculum and Expectations Booklet for Parents
Year 3 Curriculum and Expectations Booklet for Parents
Year 4 Curriculum and Expectations Booklet for Parents