26 September 2022 Planet French newsletter
Here are our suggestions of news and course content we recommend this week on Planet French. Bullet points here, details below:
- The biggest hurricane to ever hit Canada smashes into Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and the other Atlantic provinces. In new episode #285, we cover Fiona and students learn about hurricane categories in easy French.
- Every 25 September we celebrate the second biggest French group in Canada with la fête des Franco-Ontariens. Your complete Planet French course Les Franco-Ontariens has 25 videos, a teacher’s guide and an amazing eBook.
- Every September 30th we celebrate Truth and reconciliation Day in Canada. Your complete Planet French course, Les peuples autochtones du Canada features 25 videos, a gorgeous eBook and printable blackline master activity sheets.
- Checkout the home page on www.planetfrench.com for links to all the above, or visit www.planetfrench.com and click the loupe top right corner for the quick search function.
…More:
- It’s “Le temps des pommes”/ apple picking time! We feature the super captivating episode “Le temps des pommes”, in which we take your students on a visit to a very special apple orchard. We learn how to pick apples, and which apples to use for what.
- episode #284: Good news: The salmon are back on the Fraser river.
- Also in episode #284: there are lab-grown meats people can eat. 80% of deforestation happens in order to clear the land to farm animals for meat. Yet animal meat only represents 20% of the world’s caloric intake.
- Speaking of salmon and rivers, the video “La carte et les premiers explorateurs” is easy to follow, in simple French. It covers how early European settlers used rivers to settle Ontario and is part of the course, “Les Franco-Ontariens” on Planet French. It also has a teacher’s guide, an eBook, a narrated eBook, and several videos.
- Video les fruits/c’est une pomme/beginners
Finding a lesson on Planet French is easy: visit www.planetfrench.com, click on the loupe search (top right corner) and type in your keyword. We also populate the front page of Planet French with the most relevant lessons each week. More suggestions below. Enjoy!

All Tracks: Les Franco-Ontariens!
MASSIVE, COMPREHENSIVE and FUN FRENCH COURSE: “LES FRANCO-ONTARIENS”
23 videos covering 10 topics around LES FRANCO-ONTARIENS, eBook, complete activities for grades 4-12, full access for you and your students for Planet French subscribers. All in levelled French!
• Samuel de Champlain
• Pourquoi le canot est important.
• Comment construire un canot
• La carte et les routes des explorateurs
• les régions de l’Ontario et leur dévelopment historique
• Les explorateurs
• Conflits entre les groupes autochtones
• La bouffe et la poutine: on visite le stand de poutine de Monique à Sudbury
• Le Muséoparc Vanier à Ottawa
• Le poste de radio Le Loup à Sudbury
• Le drapeau Franco-Ontarien
• On visite le journal Franco-Ontarien Le Voyageur
• Franco-Fête à Ottawa: On rencontre des jeunes musiciens
• On rencontre des entrepreneurs et commerçants Franco-Ontariens
• We visit a nickel mine in sudbury, l’histoire de l’industrie minière
• …and more !!! You also get online access to the complete kit for you and all your students.
Here is the link to the course description and a demo video: https://booksmarts.biz/franco-ontariens-demo/
Here is the link to the complete course: https://planetfrench.com/courses/les-franco-ontariens/

Complete course: Les peuples autochtones du Canada!
The program is available either as a printed physical product or as an online only program part of Planet French.
It comes with a gorgeous ebook, 25 videos and reproducible blackline master activities.
The level of French is accessible to French immersion students grades 5 through 10 (ages 10 to 16 and above).
This program was designed with new social studies pedagogy in mind, and for the new curriculum. There is a correlation table with the curriculum below. The many contributors to this program are members of Canada’s First Nations themselves. Most also have PhDs and are First Nations native leaders and many teach in grade schools and in universities.
The kit is multi-media, which means it is designed to reach students through a variety of channels (multiple intelligences), and the exposure to a variety of speakers and materials maximises differentiated instruction.
Here is the link to the course description and a demo video: https://booksmarts.biz/les-peuples-autochtones-du-canadales-explorateurs-europeens-french-kit-copy/
Here is the link to the complete course: https://planetfrench.com/courses/les-peuples-autochtones-et-les-explorateurs-europeens/

All Tracks: C’est le temps des pommes!
Welcome to the apple orchard! We visit an amazing orchard and take a deep dive to the “core” of apple picking and which apples to use for what.
Bienvenue au verger ! Nous visitons un verger formidable avec Matthieu, un expert. Matthieu nous montre comment on fait pousser des pommes, comment cueillir des pommes, des citrouilles et des fruits “très spéciaux“!
Gabrielle nous montre les différentes sortes de pommes. Est-ce que tu sais qu’il y a différentes sortes de pommes? Tu apprends quelles pommes il faut utiliser dans quelles situations.
Nous écoutons une légende basée sur des fruits. On examine les tartes aux pommes, les citrouilles et notre équipe est attaquée par des abeilles!

All Tracks: Episode #284:
After a landslide blocked their path in the Fraser, salmon couldn’t swim upstream to spawn but now they’re back! We also look at some of the stakes (no pun–ok, yes, pun, let’s own it…) involved in producing meat in the lab.

All Tracks:
283-la reine Elizabeth-Les changements depuis sa naissance en 1926
In this new Planet French episode we remember Queen Elizabeth’s life, we show excerpts from the video “On prend le thé avec la reine Elizabeth,” linked further below, and we have students revisit all the remarkable inventions that changed the world since the Queen’s birth in 1926 and have them team up in groups to discuss changes that happened since were born, in French.
Elizabeth was the longest standing monarch and her passing means change, and by George the world has changed, hasn’t it?
To watch the episode, login to www.planetfrench.com and click here: https://planetfrench.com/courses/nouvelles-actualite-cette-semaine/lessons/283-la-reine-elizabeth-les-changements-depuis-sa-naissance-en-1926/

All Tracks: On prend le thé avec la reine!
Queen Elizabeth, monarch of 15 countries including Canada for 70 years, has passed. She will be sorely missed.
But she lives on in this Planet French episode. La reine Elizabeth laisse sa marque sur l’histoire, et elle continue de faire rayonner son influence dans cet épisode de Planet French.
We learn about tea, what to eat with it, how to prepare it and the proper way to drink it.
Students pick up explicit vocabulary laid out in the video, and there’s even a quiz under the video.
Elle est la reine de l’Angleterre et du Commonwealth depuis 70 ans.
Une chose qui est sacrée chez les Anglais, c’est le thé. Alors Planet French décide de prendre le thé avec la reine Elizabeth. To watch the episode, login to www.planetfrench.com and click here: https://planetfrench.com/courses/nouvelles-actualite-cette-semaine/lessons/on-prend-le-the-avec-la-reine/

All Tracks/beginners-easy: En classe
The lesson “En classe” has a video and an ebook component. To watch, login and click here: https://planetfrench.com/courses/lecole-cours/lessons/ecole-en-classe-2/
The lesson “SABRINA ET ALEC PARLENT DE LEUR ÉCOLE” has a video and an ebook component. To watch, login and click here: https://planetfrench.com/courses/lecole-cours/lessons/bienvenue-a-lecole-sabrina-et-alec-st/
Both lessons are part of the Planet French course, “BIENVENUE À L’ÉCOLE”. The course is on Planet French and is comprised of a teacher’s guide, an eBook, an actor-narrated eBook, and of a series of videos.
The course features components at different levels of difficulty. To find out how these courses work, check out the tutorial video here: https://planetfrench.com/tutorials-how-to-navigate-planet-french/

All Tracks/beginners-intermediates: Introductions-BONJOUR BOB!
The BONJOUR BOB kit is the new, fun way to teach SIMPLE GREETINGS, introductions, simple commands, family and other basics in VERY EASY FRENCH.
Take your students of French from A0 through A2 to B1 CEFR levels (Ages 5 to 75).
In the first episode, MAX is having problems at school when an alien, BOB, slams his spaceship onto Earth, running from the evil and sinister CROLKS!
This video lesson is part of the course bonjour Bob which features a teachers guide inspired by the CEFR
To watch the episode login first to planet French then click here:

BEGINNER TRACK: Qu’est-ce que c’est? C’est une pomme!
This short video introduces fruits and basic structures “qu’est-ce que c’est? C’est…”, “est-ce que c’est…?”
To watch, login and click here: https://planetfrench.com/courses/ma-sante-junior-facile/lessons/cest-une-pomme-facile/
It’s part of the PLanet French course “Ma santé-facile”