Learn how to say "fireflies" in French

Learn how to say "fireflies" in French

Goal: Learn how to say "fireflies" in French

**Recommended club documents:

Étiquettes-mots-Insectes

Jeu d'images-Insectes

**To use the documents mentioned above, you must have access to Club Educatout. Educatall Club members can join the French club at a low price.

Suggested activities:

Print the document "Étiquettes-mots-Insectes". Keep only the word "lucioles". Purchase several colourful and/or glow-in-the-dark plastic insects. Set them in a container that has a lid and stick the word flashcard on it. Set a large black blanket or piece of fabric on the floor, in your circle time area. When children gather for circle time, invite them to sit on your blanket. Talk about different types of insects we see during summer. Ask them if they know which insects appear to be luminous in the dark: fireflies. Ask children if they have ever captured fireflies in a jar, for example when they were camping or sitting by a fire in their backyard. Let children tell you about their experiences. After a while, tell them that in French, fireflies are called "lucioles". Show them the word flashcard and repeat the new word together as a group several times.

You may click on the following link to hear this new word:

https://forvo.com/word/luciole/.

Invite children to pick an insect out of your container and deposit it on your black blanket as they say "lucioles". Repeat until your container is empty. You may choose to leave your blanket in your circle time area and repeat this simple activity a few times to help children integrate the new word and practice its pronunciation.

Just for fun, give each child a flashlight. Turn the lights off and close the curtains in your daycare to make it as dark as possible. Encourage children to stand close to you. Every time you say "lucioles", they can turn their flashlight on and wave it in the air to represent fireflies. Let each child lead the game to provide them with the opportunity to say the new word several times.

Print the document "Jeu d'images-Insectes" in the format you prefer for each child. Ask children to identify the "lucioles" and cut out the corresponding picture. Hang a large black banner on a wall and let children stick their firefly picture on it, once again repeating "lucioles".

Collect several plastic containers (peanut butter, mayonnaise, etc.). Wash them and let them dry completely. Cut tiny firefly shapes out of phosphorescent cardboard. Older children may help you with this task. Set one container on a shelf for each child. Explain to your group how every time you catch them being good (actively participating, doing a good job at cleanup time, etc.), you will hand them a "luciole" to add to their jar. You may also choose to reward children individually for helping, sharing, etc. Tell them they must say "lucioles" if they want to add the firefly you hand them to their container. Children will love showing their parents how many "lucioles" they collected at the end of each day. This gratifying activity will provide children with the opportunity to repeat the new word daily

Print the document "Étiquettes-mots-Insectes" for each child and ask them to identify and cut out the word "lucioles". Give each child a piece of black construction paper and have them glue their word flashcard at the top. Once this is done, have them press their finger in yellow poster paint (or yellow glow-in-the-dark paint) and then on the paper to represent "lucioles". Children will love taking this project home and using it to decorate their room. It will represent a great reminder of the latest addition to their French vocabulary.

Patricia-Ann Morrison