If you teach novice French classes, you know the struggle of finding relevant and engaging French reading comprehension texts. There is no in-between. You either find engaging texts that are waaay too difficult or boring texts that are at the right level. I am here to tell you that we can have both, fellow French teachers! Here are novice French reading comprehension articles on engaging and relevant cultural topics.
Who are these articles for?
These French reading comprehension articles are ideal for beginner French students. I have written these for my own novice Core French students in Grade 8.
But what are effective French reading comprehension strategies for beginner French students?
“but….Madame, I don’t speak French. I can’t read this!” was something I used to hear often the first few years of my career!
That and my students looking down at my reading comprehension text and not understanding a SINGLE word. Does this happen to you, fellow French teacher?
Chances are that you are making some crucial mistakes when structuring your reading comprehension activities with your students!
With my beginner French students, I teach a very specific set of French reading comprehension strategies. I have written a blog post where I break down each strategy.
All five of the articles mentioned below follow the structure and strategies mentioned in that blog post.
Looking for posters with helpful reading comprehension strategies?
I have created a set of posters that I have up on my whiteboard at the front of the classroom. They are so handy! They also go hand-in-hand with all of the novice French reading comprehension articles mentioned in this blog post.
When students forget their strategies, I simply remind them to look at the board.
Why are these French reading comprehension worksheets ideal for novice French students?
For all 5 of the articles, I have chosen high-frequency structures and vocabulary that beginner French students learn in class. I have also purposefully chosen tons of cognates to further facilitate comprehension.
French reading comprehension topic #1 – Kylian Mbappé
So many of my novice French students not only love soccer, but they also love Kylian Mbappé. I felt that it only made sense to learn about Mbappé’s background.
High-frequency vocabulary & structures highlighted: French sports vocabulary, French nationality/ethnicity adjectives, French ER verbs, family vocabulary
French reading comprehension topic #2 – Le Louvre
The next novice French reading comprehension article is on the famous Parisian museum – le Louvre.
In this article, students are exposed to some past tense structures such as “était”.
We learn a little about the history of the Louvre and we also read about some interesting facts about the museum.
High-frequency vocabulary & structures highlighted: French adjectives, French art vocabulary
French reading comprehension topic #3 – Marseille
The third French reading comprehension article is all about the French city of Marseille!
In this article, French students will learn basic information about the city and people of Marseille.
High-frequency vocabulary & structures highlighted: French travel vocabulary, weather, French adjectives, il y a, être
French reading comprehension topic #4 – les Antilles
I strongly believe that you shouldn’t have to wait until your French students are at an intermediate level to expose them to la Francophonie.
This one in particular is filled with cognates. You can expose your Core French students to les Antilles françaises at a high novice level with the help of this article!
High-frequency vocabulary & structures highlighted: travel vocabulary, French adjectives, il y a, French irregular verbs
Reading comprehension topic #5 – le petit-déjeuner
Last but not least we’ve got one of my favourites! Le petit-déjeuner autour du monde.
In this article, students will learn about what kinds of breakfast dishes are eaten around the world.
High-frequency vocabulary & structures highlighted: French food vocabulary, country names in French, ER verbs
Grab these engaging beginner French reading comprehension texts
Each of these articles comes with structured pre-reading activities and strategies and reading comprehension questions in English and in French!
