Grade 4 French Immersion: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 4 french immersion in the Ontario Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- In immersion, French is the language we learn in, so listening and speaking grow every day.
- Reading French texts of many kinds builds comprehension and the habit of reading for meaning.
- Writing in French for a purpose and an audience uses the conventions of the language.
- Understanding how French works helps us choose the right words, tenses and sentence structures.
- Learning in French connects us with Francophone communities in 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
- Level 1
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Level 2
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Level 3
- Has it! Level 3 is the provincial standard. Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Level 4
- 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 Ontario report card guide.
Common questions
How can I help my Grade 4 child with french immersion?
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.
What does my child learn in Grade 4 french immersion in Ontario?
The Ontario 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.