Grade 4 French Immersion: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 4 french immersion in the Nova Scotia Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- French Immersion is first and foremost a language program: French is both the language students learn in and the language they learn.
- Early French Immersion begins in Primary and Late French Immersion in Grade 7, and both follow Français arts langagiers.
- Students listen, speak, read and write in French for real purposes and audiences.
- Reading a range of French texts, including texts from Acadian and other francophone communities, builds comprehension and a love of reading.
- Learning in French builds a proud, confident, plurilingual identity and a connection to francophone communities in Nova Scotia, Canada and around the world.
Easy ways to practise french immersion at home
- Read a short French book or comic together a few times a week, and talk about it in either language.
- Ask your child to teach you one new French word or grammar rule a day.
- Watch a French show with the French subtitles on, then retell the story.
- Keep a short French journal: one or two sentences a day.
What each unit covers
Tu ou vous?
Choosing between “tu” and “vous” depending on who is being spoken to, an important courtesy in French.
Poser des questions
Question words (qui, où, quand, pourquoi, comment, combien) and questions formed by inverting the subject and verb.
Synonymes et contraires
Building vocabulary with synonyms (similar meaning) and antonyms (opposite meaning).
Les adverbes en -ment
Forming adverbs from the feminine form of an adjective plus -ment.
Comparer
Comparing with plus… que, moins… que and aussi… que, with adjectives and adverbs.
Le passé composé
The passé composé of first-group (-er) verbs, formed with avoir and the past participle.
L'imparfait
The imparfait, the tense used to describe and to set the scene in stories and tales.
Comprendre un texte
Reading a short text, finding the main idea and making inferences from clues.
La structure du récit
The five parts of a narrative: initial situation, inciting incident, rising action, resolution and final situation.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Limited
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Basic
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Good
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Thorough
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Nova Scotia report card guide.
Common questions
Read a short French book or comic together a few times a week, and talk about it in either language. Ask your child to teach you one new French word or grammar rule a day. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The Nova Scotia Curriculum Grade 4 french immersion units include tu ou vous?, poser des questions, synonymes et contraires, les adverbes en -ment, comparer, le passé composé.
Free printable Grade 4 french immersion practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.