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

Les textes médiatiques: Reading an Infographic and Writing a Survey Report

C1 C2 D1About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can identify the features of a media text (an infographic) and explain how they get the reader's attention.
  • I can ask critical questions about a media text: Who made it? Why? For whom? What is missing?
  • I can read and write percentages and numbers with French conventions (40 %, 1,5 heure).
  • I can use expressions like la plupart des élèves, la moitié, deux élèves sur cinq to report results.
  • I can write a short survey report and design my own mini infographic.

Words to know

un texte médiatique
A media text: an ad, a poster, a website, a video, an infographic...
une infographie
An infographic: a poster that presents information with numbers, pictures and short text.
un sondage
A survey.
un pourcentage
A percentage: 40 % (in French there is a space before %).
la plupart (de)
Most (of).
la moitié / le quart
Half / a quarter.
la source
Where the information comes from.

Numbers that grab your attention

Infographics are everywhere: on school walls, in magazines, on websites and social media. They mix big numbers, pictures and short sentences so you understand quickly.

But a media text is always made by someone, for a reason. Today you will read an infographic made by a Grade 7 class about screen time, think critically about it, and then make your own. (The survey and its numbers are invented for this lesson.)

A smartphone and a tablet with dark screens lie on a wooden desk beside a book, a soccer ball and headphones.
Screens off! An infographic about screen time compares devices with other activities, like reading, sports and music. Who made it, and why? AI-generated image
Worked example

Let's read an infographic

NOS HABITUDES D'ÉCRAN Combien de temps passons-nous devant les écrans ?

40 % des élèves passent de 1 à 2 heures par jour devant un écran, en dehors de l'école.

Seulement 12 % passent moins d'une heure.

Activité préférée : les jeux vidéo (36 %), puis les vidéos (32 %), les messages aux amis (20 %) et les recherches pour l'école (12 %).

60 % des élèves sont pour une soirée sans écrans par semaine !

Notre conseil : Faites une pause toutes les 30 minutes : levez-vous et bougez !

Source : sondage de la classe de 7e année, octobre 2026 (25 élèves)

Glossaire: les habitudes = habits · un écran = a screen · passer du temps = to spend time · en dehors de = outside of · seulement = only · les recherches = research · une soirée sans écrans = a screen-free evening · un conseil = advice, a tip · une pause = a break · toutes les 30 minutes = every 30 minutes · se lever = to get up · bouger = to move · un sondage = a survey

  1. Features: a title in capital letters, a question to hook the reader, big bold numbers, short sentences, a chart (below), an advice box and a source line.
  2. Who made it? A Grade 7 class. For whom? Other students (and families). Why? To inform readers about screen habits and to encourage breaks.
  3. Check the numbers: 12 % + 40 % + 32 % + 16 % = 100 % (all 25 students). 40 % of 25 = 10 students.
  4. Media techniques: bold numbers draw the eye; the exclamation mark makes 60 % seem exciting; the advice speaks directly to the reader with vous commands (Faites, levez-vous, bougez).
  5. What is missing? It doesn't say if weekends are included, or if time for homework on a screen is counted the same way. Only 25 students answered, so the results may not be true for all Grade 7 students.

The most common answer is 1 to 2 hours a day (40 %); video games are the favourite screen activity (36 %); 60 % of the class supports a screen-free evening each week.

12 %40 %32 %16 %moins de 1 h1 à 2 h2 à 3 hplus de 3 h
Bar chart from the infographic: hours of screen time per day outside school (25 students). 12 % + 40 % + 32 % + 16 % = 100 %.
FrenchEnglishExample from the survey (25 students)
40 % (quarante pour cent)40%10 élèves sur 25
plus de la moitiémore than half15 élèves sur 25 (60 %)
la plupart des élèvesmost students60 % are for a screen-free evening
deux élèves sur cinqtwo students out of five40 % = 2 out of 5
seulementonlyseulement 12 % (3 students)
1,5 heure1.5 hoursFrench uses a decimal comma
Reporting numbers in French. Canadian French writes a space before % and uses a comma for decimals.

Critical questions for any media text

  1. Qui a créé ce texte ? (Who made it?)
  2. Pourquoi ? To inform, to convince, to sell?
  3. Pour qui ? Who is the audience?
  4. Comment does it grab attention? (colours, big numbers, pictures, exclamation marks)
  5. Qu'est-ce qui manque ? (What's missing? Whose voice isn't heard?)

These questions work for ads, videos and posts too.

Worked example

Let's write a survey report

Use the second part of the survey (favourite screen activity: video games 9, videos 8, messages 5, research 3) to write a 4-sentence report.

  1. Introduction with the source: Nous avons fait un sondage dans notre classe de 25 élèves.
  2. Biggest result: 9 out of 25 = 36 %: Les jeux vidéo sont l'activité préférée : 36 % des élèves les choisissent.
  3. Comparison: Les vidéos sont presque aussi populaires (32 %).
  4. **Smallest result with seulement:** Seulement 12 % des élèves préfèrent les recherches pour l'école.
  5. Check: a space before %; numbers match the data; 9 + 8 + 5 + 3 = 25.

Nous avons fait un sondage dans notre classe de 25 élèves. Les jeux vidéo sont l'activité préférée : 36 % des élèves les choisissent. Les vidéos sont presque aussi populaires (32 %). Seulement 12 % des élèves préfèrent les recherches pour l'école.

36 %32 %20 %12 %les jeux vidéo9 élèvesles vidéos8 élèvesles messages aux amis5 élèvesles recherches pour l'école3 élèves36 + 32 + 20 + 12 = 100 % · 9 + 8 + 5 + 3 = 25
The favourite screen activities as a circle graph. The four parts add up to 100 %, and the numbers of students add up to 25.
Just for fun

Funny but true: if you took a break every 30 minutes like the infographic says, a 2-hour movie would have 3 breaks. Popcorn refills for everyone!

Hands-on activity

Family survey and mini infographic

You need: paper, coloured pencils or markers, a ruler, family members or friends (at least 5 people; a phone or video call is fine with a grown-up).

  1. Choose one question in French with 3 or 4 answer choices: Quelle est ta saison préférée ? Quel est ton déjeuner préféré ? (In Québec and other parts of Canada, le déjeuner is breakfast.)
  2. Ask at least 5 people and record the answers with tally marks.
  3. Calculate the percentages with a grown-up or a calculator (number ÷ total × 100). Check that they add up to 100 % (rounding can make it 99 % or 101 %).
  4. Design a mini infographic: a title, a hook question, a simple bar chart, 3 big numbers with short French sentences, one piece of advice and a source line.
  5. Add one sentence at the bottom: Ce qui manque : (what your survey can't tell us).

Your turn

1

Who made the infographic, and what is its main purpose?

2

What percentage of students spend 2 to 3 hours a day on screens?

3

What is the favourite screen activity?

4

What advice does the infographic give?

5

Write forty-five percent the French way, in numbers.

6

How many students were surveyed, and when?

7

Name two features that make the infographic catch your eye.

More practice: warm-up

1

Translate: la moitié

2

Translate: un sondage

3

Write 2.5 hours the French way.

4

What does la source tell you?

5

Translate: Seulement 12 % des élèves...

More practice: on your own

1

How many students is 60 % of 25? Show your reasoning.

2

Is it correct to say La plupart des élèves sont pour une soirée sans écrans ? Explain.

3

Write a French sentence about the students who spend more than 3 hours a day on screens.

4

Why might the class have added Notre conseil to the infographic?

5

What important information is missing from the infographic? Name one thing.

Challenge

1

A company that sells video games makes an infographic that only shows: 36 % des jeunes adorent les jeux vidéo ! What is missing, and why might they have chosen that number?

2

Write a 5-sentence survey report about this data (20 people): l'hiver 8, l'été 6, l'automne 4, le printemps 2.

3

Write a hook question and one piece of advice (with a vous command) for an infographic about sleep.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

How do you write 25% in French?

2.

Which is a feature of an infographic?

3.

La plupart des élèves means...

4.

In the survey, 40 % of 25 students is...

5.

Which critical question asks about the audience?

6.

How is 1.5 hours written in French?

7.

Why is the source line important?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Your child reads a media text (an infographic) and analyzes its features and techniques (C2), asks critical questions about purpose, audience and missing information (C1), and creates a short report and a media text of their own (D1). Media forms are part of the Grade 7 reading expectations.

How to help:

  • Look at a flyer, cereal box or online infographic together and ask the five critical questions (Qui ? Pourquoi ? Pour qui ? Comment ? Qu'est-ce qui manque ?).
  • Help with the percentages in the activity; a calculator is fine.

Common difficulties:

  • Writing 25% without the space, or 1.5 with a point. French uses 25 % and 1,5.
  • Believing any number in a poster. Remind your child that a small survey can't speak for everyone.

Note: the survey in this lesson is invented. Canadian French used (used in Québec and other parts of Canada): le déjeuner for breakfast.