Encourage primary school pupils to become independent French readers with this anthology collection of 6 short, highly-illustrated French information readers.
The Brilliant French Information Books are ideal for Key Stage 2 (KS2) children who don't like reading stories. Specially written by Danièle Bourdais and Sue Finnie to support young French learners, these carefully graded non-fiction books consolidate core vocabulary and reinforce language patterns, while being packed full of information and photos of the French-speaking world which will broaden pupils' perceptions and develop their intercultural understanding.
The level 1 books are ideal for children in Years 3 and 4 who have just started to study French.
The anthology, which is published by Brilliant Publications, comes with free downloadable files containing a pdf copy of the teaching guide and pdf copies of the books for display on interactive whiteboards as well as audio recordings of the texts, making them ideal for use by non-specialist teachers.
These colourful photographic books:
- Consolidate core vocabulary
- Introduce unfamiliar language in a controlled way, to enable children to start reading French straight away, without being daunted
- Include repetition to reinforce language patterns
- Contain in-built progression and differentiation
- Introduce pupils to life in France and other French-speaking countries
- Contain fun memory quizzes to check understanding
- Have in-built progression
To ensure progression and differentiation, there are three easily identifiable levels of difficulty:
- Level 1 books typically have a single short sentence per page and are ideal for children in Years 3 and 4 just starting to learn French
- Level 2 books usually have have 1-3 short to medium sentences per page, making them perfect for children in Years 4 and 5 who have been learning French for 1-2 years.
- Level 3 books typically have 3-4 sentences of varying length per page, making them ideal for pupils in Years 5 and 6 who have been studying French for a number of years.
Teacher support
In this collection you will find 6 information books together with free downloadable files for the teaching guide and texts along with audio files of the texts being read by a native French speaker.
The teaching guide contain notes for getting the most from the resource, background information on each topic and language focus, English translations of the books and answers to the quizzes.
The free downloadable files contain:
- audio files of the each of the Brilliant French Information Books, to enable children to hear correct pronunciation and make correct sound-spelling links
- pdf versions of the texts to enable them to be displayed on an interactive whiteboard for whole class/group guided reading sessions.
- pdf file for the teaching guide
Danièle Bourdais has extensive experience of writing, consulting and editing French materials for learners of all ages and abilities. In 1987, she started writing magazines for Mary Glasgow Publications, which kickstarted a career in educational publishing for the UK and International markets.
She has written a variety of materials, picture books, plays, readers, apps and digital resources (BBC Bitesize), non-fiction trade books and award-winning course books for UK and International examinations published by, among others, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Pearson, Scholastic, the BBC, Hachette, Elemi International Schools Publisher and Brilliant Publications. She also tutors online, specialising in preparing students for UK and International public examinations as well as scholarships to top independent schools.
Sue Finnie co-authored the French Information Book series and12 Mini French Plays with Danièle Bourdais. They have also written books for many other UK educational publishers.
Sue has many years of experience in the fields of education and publishing, particularly devising language learning resources. She has always been a keen language learner and lived in England, Scotland, France and Italy. This has made her feel that cultural awareness is an integral part of speaking a language well and she tries to reflect this in all the work she does.
Over the years she has worked for many large and not so large organisations including the BBC, Oxford University Press and Nelson Thornes. As well as traditional course books and printed resources for all age-groups, she has worked as an author and consultant on TV and radio series, on interactive whiteboard resources, online games and apps.
Her aim as a resource writer is always to make language learning memorable.
