Grade 10 french Reading – Reading for Vocabulary Notes
Reading for Vocabulary — French (Subtopic)
Topic: Reading | Subject: French | Target age: 15 (Kenyan context)
Specific learning outcomes
- a) Derive meaning of words from simple texts using grammatical cues.
- b) Read simple texts to pick out vocabulary and show understanding.
- c) Use short grammar-based tasks to develop interest in reading simple texts.
- d) Identify and use vocabulary related to greetings, family members, and friends in context.
Quick grammar summary (tools for reading)
1. Articles and gender — French nouns are masculine (m) or feminine (f). Articles help: le / un (m), la / une (f). Plural: les / des.
2. Subject pronouns & the verb être — Pronouns: je, tu, il/elle, nous, vous, ils/elles. Être (to be): je suis, tu es, il/elle est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils/elles sont.
3. Verbs used for names and age — s'appeler (to be called): Je m'appelle Amina. Avoir (to have) for age: J'ai quinze ans.
4. Possessive adjectives — Show ownership and agree with the noun:
mon / ma / mes (my), ton / ta / tes (your - tu), son / sa / ses (his/her), notre / nos (our), votre / vos (your - vous), leur / leurs (their).
5. Agreement of adjectives — Adjectives change: masculine singular (no ending), feminine add -e, plural add -s. Example: un ami sympathique / une amie sympathique / des amis sympathiques.
6. Plurals — Most nouns add -s in plural. Watch for irregulars (not covered here). Articles change to les or des.
Useful vocabulary (focus: greetings, family, friends)
Greetings
- Bonjour — Hello / Good morning
- Bonsoir — Good evening
- Salut — Hi (informal)
- Au revoir — Goodbye
- Merci — Thank you
- Comment ça va ? / Ça va ? — How are you?
- Très bien / Bien / Pas mal — Very well / fine / not bad
Formality: use tu with friends/younger, vous for adults/teachers/strangers.
Family
- le père (m) — father
- la mère (f) — mother
- le frère (m) — brother
- la sœur (f) — sister
- le grand-père / la grand-mère — grandfather / grandmother
- l'oncle (m) / la tante (f) — uncle / aunt
- le fils / la fille — son / daughter
Friends
- un ami / une amie — a friend (male / female)
- un copain / une copine — friend / buddy
- le camarade / la camarade — classmate
- sympathique — nice
- drôle — funny
- gentil / gentille — kind
How to derive meaning from a simple text (grammar-focused)
- Look at the articles (le, la, un, une). They show gender and help match possessive adjectives (ex: ma sœur — sister is feminine).
- Find verbs and pronouns. The subject pronoun + verb gives clues: Je m'appelle signals a name; J'ai signals age.
- Identify possessive adjectives to see relationships: mon frère (my brother), sa mère (his/her mother).
- Adjectives and agreement: an adjective ending in -e often marks feminine; plural -s marks more than one person.
- Use word order: subject → verb → object: Ma mère s'appelle Amina means "My mother is called Amina".
- Cognates and familiar words: some words are similar in English or Kiswahili (e.g., famille ~ family, sport ~ sport).
Short reading texts with grammar tasks
Text A — Greetings and name (dialogue)
A: Bonjour! Comment tu t'appelles ? B: Salut! Je m'appelle Kevin. Et toi ? A: Je m'appelle Amina. Enchantée! B: Enchanté. Ça va ? A: Ça va bien, merci.
Tasks (grammar focus)
- Pick out all verbs and give their infinitives. (Hint: m'appelle → s'appeler.)
- Identify which pronouns are used and whether the conversation is formal or informal. Explain why.
- Find the greetings and label them as formal/informal.
Answers (click to view)
1. Verbs: t'appelles (s'appeler), m'appelle (s'appeler), est/être not used directly here, ça va (aller).
2. Pronouns: tu (informal singular), je. The conversation is informal because they use tu and salut.
3. Greetings: Bonjour (neutral/formal or informal morning greeting), Salut (informal), Enchanté(e) (polite greeting).
Text B — Family description
Je m'appelle Aisha. J'ai quinze ans. Ma famille est petite. Mon père s'appelle Paul. Ma mère s'appelle Grace. J'ai un frère et une sœur. Mon frère est drôle. Ma sœur est gentille.
Tasks
- Under each noun write its gender using the article: ex: père — le père (m).
- Find all possessive adjectives and say who they refer to in English: mon, ma.
- Change the text so family becomes plural: "My family members are many" — convert relevant nouns and adjectives to plural (show two sentence examples).
Answers (click to view)
1. père — le père (m), mère — la mère (f), frère — le frère (m), sœur — la sœur (f).
2. Possessives: Ma famille = my family; Mon père = my father; Ma mère = my mother; Mon frère = my brother; Ma sœur = my sister.
3. Example plural sentences:
Mes parents s'appellent Paul et Grace.
J'ai des frères et des sœurs. Mes frères sont drôles. Mes sœurs sont gentilles.
Text C — Friend description (short)
Paul est mon ami. Il est sympa et drôle. Nous sommes camarades à l'école. Sa sœur s'appelle Neema.
Tasks
- Identify the possessive mon and sa. What do they show in each sentence?
- Find the adjective that describes Paul and make it feminine (for Neema).
- Rewrite the second sentence using nous and a different verb for "to be friends": use être amis (they are friends).
Answers (click to view)
1. mon ami = my friend (male) — shows ownership/relationship. sa sœur = his/her sister — shows possession (Paul's sister).
2. Adjective sympa is invariable in form; drôle → feminine: drôle (same). For an adjective that changes: gentil → feminine gentille.
3. Example: Nous sommes amis et nous nous entendons bien.
Practice activities (class/home)
- Fill blanks — use correct possessive: "_____ mère s'appelle Zuri." (Answer: Ma)
- Convert singular to plural — change: "Mon ami est gentil" → "Mes amis sont gentils". Pay attention to articles and adjective agreement.
- Match greetings to formality: (Bonjour, Salut, Monsieur, Madame) — pair with formal/informal.
- Short writing: Write 4 short sentences (in French) describing one family member and one friend using possessives and one adjective (use gender agreement).
Hints for teachers (grammar-focused)
- Encourage students to look for articles and possessives first — they tell gender and relationships quickly.
- Use short dialogues to practise tu / vous contrast and highlight verb forms of être and s'appeler.
- Ask learners to extract vocabulary lists from texts and sort by grammatical category: nouns (m/f), verbs, adjectives.
Assessment ideas (aligned to outcomes)
- Give a 6-line French passage about a family; learners must underline all possessives and write translations for the nouns (shows outcome a & b).
- Short oral reading: students read a greeting dialogue and answer: Who says tu? Are they formal? (outcome c and d)
- Write 3 sentences in French using vocabulary for greetings, family, and friends and correct possessive adjectives (outcome d).
Simple visual cue: 👋 = greetings, 👪 = family, 🧑🤝🧑 = friends. Use these emojis beside texts to guide learners quickly.