Grade by Grade
C. Reading / D. Writing · Reading and Writing in French: Stories, Opinions and the Francophone World

Les stratégies de lecture: Reading an Informational Article

C1 C2About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can preview a text (title, subtitles, pictures) to predict what it is about.
  • I can skim a text for the main idea and scan it for one detail.
  • I can use cognates, word families and context clues to work out new words, and watch out for faux amis.
  • I can find the main idea and supporting details in an informational article.

Words to know

un texte informatif
A text that gives facts about a real topic (an article, a fact sheet, an encyclopedia entry).
un intertitre
A subtitle (subheading) inside a text. It tells you what the next paragraph is about.
survoler / lire en diagonale
To skim: read quickly to get the general idea.
repérer
To scan for (find) a specific piece of information.
un mot apparenté
A cognate: a word that looks and means the same in French and English (protection, habitat).
un faux ami
A false friend: a word that looks like English but means something else (large = wide).
une famille de mots
A word family: words built on the same root (construire, construction, constructeur).
l'idée principale
The main idea of a text or paragraph.

How much French can you already read?

More than you think! In Grade 6 you used cognates (words like animal and important) and made inferences. This year the texts get a bit longer, so you need a good toolbox of reading strategies: things good readers do before, during and after reading.

Today you will read an informational article about an animal every Canadian knows: le castor (the beaver).

A beaver swims across a calm pond in front of its lodge of sticks and mud, with autumn trees behind.
Le castor au travail! Notice the flat, paddle-shaped tail and the lodge (la hutte) built from branches and mud. Keep this picture in mind as you read the article. AI-generated image
WhenStrategyWhat you do
BeforePreview (survoler)Read the title, subtitles and pictures. Ask: What is this about? What do I already know?
BeforePredictGuess what you will learn. Check your guess later.
DuringSkim / scanSkim for the main idea. Scan (repérer) for one fact, like a date or a number.
DuringWord strategiesCognates, word families, context clues, glossary. Skip a word and come back.
AfterSummarizeSay the main idea of each paragraph in a few words.
AfterReflectWhich strategy helped most? What will you try next time?
A reading-strategy toolbox. You don't need every strategy every time: choose the ones that help.
Worked example

Let's read an article together

Le castor : l'ingénieur de nos forêts

Le castor est le plus gros rongeur d'Amérique du Nord. Depuis 1975, c'est un symbole officiel du Canada. On le voit aussi sur la pièce de cinq cents.

Que mange le castor ? Le castor est herbivore : il mange de l'écorce, des feuilles et des plantes aquatiques. Ses dents de devant poussent toute sa vie. Quand il ronge des arbres, il use ses dents. Elles sont orange parce qu'elles contiennent du fer.

Un excellent nageur Ses pattes arrière sont palmées et sa queue est large et plate. Quand il sent un danger, il frappe l'eau avec sa queue pour avertir sa famille.

Un constructeur extraordinaire Le castor construit des barrages avec des branches, des pierres et de la boue. Derrière le barrage, l'eau forme un étang. Dans l'étang, la famille construit une hutte. L'entrée de la hutte est sous l'eau : c'est une bonne protection contre les prédateurs, comme le loup.

Les étangs des castors sont importants pour d'autres animaux. Les canards, les grenouilles et les poissons y trouvent un habitat.

Glossaire: le rongeur = rodent (an animal that gnaws, like a mouse or squirrel) · la pièce de cinq cents = the five-cent coin · l'écorce = bark · pousser = to grow · ronger = to gnaw · user = to wear down · le fer = iron · les pattes arrière palmées = webbed back feet · la queue = tail · frapper = to hit, slap · avertir = to warn · le barrage = dam · la boue = mud · l'étang = pond · la hutte = lodge · le loup = wolf · y = there

  1. Preview: the title says l'ingénieur de nos forêts (the engineer of our forests). Ingénieur is a cognate (engineer). Prediction: the beaver builds things.
  2. Subtitles (intertitres): Que mange le castor ? / Un excellent nageur / Un constructeur extraordinaire. They are like signposts: food, swimming, building.
  3. Scan for numbers: 1975 (when it became an official symbol) and cinq cents (the coin).
  4. Cognates: officiel, symbole, herbivore, plantes aquatiques, excellent, danger, famille, extraordinaire, protection, prédateurs, habitat, important.
  5. Faux ami: large does not mean large. It means wide: sa queue est large et plate = its tail is wide and flat. (Big = grand or gros.)
  6. Main idea of each paragraph: 1) the beaver is a big rodent and a Canadian symbol; 2) what it eats and its teeth; 3) how it swims and warns its family; 4) how it builds dams and lodges; 5) its pond helps other animals.

Main idea of the whole article: the beaver is a skilled builder whose dams and ponds shape its environment and help other animals.

huttebarrageétangentrée sous l'eauruisseau
A beaver pond. The barrage (dam) holds back the water and makes an étang (pond). The hutte (lodge) has its entrée sous l'eau (underwater entrance). Not to scale.

Three ways to crack an unknown word

  1. Cognates. Does it look like an English word? protection = protection. Careful: say it in your head with a French accent and it may sound even more like English.
  2. Word families. Do you know a cousin of this word? rongeur looks like ronger (to gnaw), so a rongeur is a gnawer: a rodent. Nageur comes from nager (to swim): a swimmer.
  3. Context clues. Read the whole sentence, plus the one before and after. What word would make sense here?
VerbPerson who does itThing / action
construire (to build)un constructeur, une constructricela construction
nager (to swim)un nageur, une nageusela natation (swimming)
protéger (to protect)un protecteur, une protectricela protection
ronger (to gnaw)un rongeur (rodent)—
chanter (to sing)un chanteur, une chanteusela chanson (song)
Word families. Endings like -eur/-euse and -teur/-trice often mean «a person or animal who does this»; -tion often means «the action».
construireto buildun constructeur / une constructricea builderla constructionbuilding (the action)whothe actionnagerto swimun nageur / une nageusea swimmerla natationswimmingwhothe actionKnow the verb, and you can often guess its whole family.
Two word families. From one verb you can often guess the person who does it (-eur, -euse, -teur, -trice) and the action (-tion).

Watch out for faux amis

Most look-alike words are true friends, but a few trick you:

  • large = wide (not large)
  • une librairie = a bookstore (a library is une bibliothèque)
  • attendre = to wait (to attend is assister à)
  • rester = to stay (to rest is se reposer)
  • avertir = to warn (to advertise is faire de la publicité)

If a cognate makes the sentence sound strange, check it in a dictionary.

Worked example

Let's figure out a mystery word

Sentence: Ses pattes arrière sont palmées et sa queue est large et plate. Imagine there is no glossary. What could palmées mean?

  1. Look at the word: palm- reminds us of the English word palm (the flat part of your hand).
  2. Context: the paragraph title is Un excellent nageur, and the sentence is about the beaver's back feet (pattes arrière).
  3. What I know: ducks and beavers have skin between their toes to push the water.
  4. Guess: palmées = with skin between the toes, like a flat hand: webbed.
  5. Check: «Its back feet are webbed and its tail is wide and flat.» That makes sense for a swimmer!

palmées = webbed. Cognate idea + context + what I know.

Just for fun

Funny but true: a beaver's front teeth are orange because they contain iron, and they never stop growing. Built-in metal tools that never wear out: every builder's dream!

Hands-on activity

Word detective with a bilingual booklet

You need: an instruction booklet, warranty card or game rules from home that has a French section (many products sold in Canada have English and French), a pencil, paper.

  1. Read the French part only first. Preview: what is this booklet for?
  2. Make three columns: Mots apparentés, Familles de mots, Mots mystères.
  3. Find at least 5 cognates, 2 word-family words (for example utiliser / utilisation) and 3 mystery words.
  4. For each mystery word, write your guess from context.
  5. Now check your guesses with the English section. How many did you get?
  6. Write one sentence of reflection: The strategy that helped me most was ...

Your turn

1

What are the three subtitles (intertitres) of the article, and what does each paragraph tell us about?

2

Scan the article: since what year has the beaver been an official symbol of Canada?

3

Why are the beaver's teeth orange?

4

What does the beaver do when it senses danger?

5

Why is the lodge entrance under water?

6

Find 3 cognates in the last paragraph of the article.

7

Large is a faux ami. What does une queue large mean?

More practice: warm-up

1

What is a rongeur?

2

Translate: un étang.

3

Skimming or scanning? You look for a date in a text.

4

Is protection a cognate or a faux ami?

5

What does une bibliothèque mean?

More practice: on your own

1

Use the word family: if construire = to build, what is un constructeur?

2

Give the main idea of this paragraph in one English sentence: Le castor construit des barrages avec des branches, des pierres et de la boue. Derrière le barrage, l'eau forme un étang.

3

Context clue: Le castor est herbivore : il mange de l'écorce, des feuilles et des plantes aquatiques. What does herbivore mean, and which words prove it?

4

True or false? Correct if false: Les étangs des castors aident seulement les castors.

5

Faux ami check: J'attends l'autobus. What does it mean?

Challenge

1

The title calls the beaver l'ingénieur de nos forêts. Explain why this title fits, using two details from the article.

2

Write a 2-sentence French summary of the article. Use the words castor, barrage and animaux.

3

Make an inference: Ses dents de devant poussent toute sa vie. Quand il ronge des arbres, il use ses dents. What would happen if a beaver could not gnaw on wood? Explain.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Before reading, you look at the title, subtitles and pictures. This strategy is called...

2.

What does large mean in une queue large?

3.

Nageur belongs to the same word family as...

4.

You need to find one number in a long text. You should...

5.

In the article, where is the entrance of the lodge?

6.

Which word is a faux ami?

7.

Which sentence is the main idea of the article?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: This lesson builds a toolbox of reading strategies (C1: previewing, predicting, skimming, scanning, word-solving, summarizing, reflecting) and looks at the features of an informational text: title, subtitles, glossary, diagram (C2).

How to help:

  • You don't need to speak French. Ask your child to explain the article to you in English, paragraph by paragraph.
  • Ask How did you figure out that word? Praise the strategy, not just the right answer.
  • Look at French packaging or booklets together and race to find cognates.

Common difficulties:

  • Stopping at every unknown word. Encourage reading the whole sentence first and coming back.
  • Trusting every look-alike word. Keep a short list of faux amis on the fridge (large, librairie, attendre, rester).
  • Summaries that are too long. A main idea is one sentence; details support it.

Facts used: the beaver is the largest rodent in North America and has been an official symbol of Canada since 1975; it appears on the five-cent coin.