Places to go: singular &#x27;aller&#x27;

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Choose singular forms of aller for I and she/he
Select au or à la from the destination noun

Vocabulary: je vais = I go · il/elle va = he/she goes · au parc = to the park · au musée = to the museum · à la piscine = to the swimming pool · à la gare = to the station

Retrieve previous learning

Which verb says ‘we do or make’ and which says ‘we go’?

Check: Nous faisons comes from faire; nous allons comes from aller.

Learn the concept

Aller means go and is irregular: je vais, il va, elle va. Add a destination using à plus its article. Before masculine singular le, à and le contract to au: ‘je vais au parc’. Before feminine singular la, keep à la: ‘elle va à la piscine’. Do not write à le parc. The noun's grammatical gender, not the traveller's identity, chooses au or à la. French ‘je vais’ can be ‘I go’ or ‘I am going’ according to context.

Read the original journey note: ‘Lina va au musée. Sami va à la gare. Je vais au parc.’ It gives three different destinations but no travel times or methods. Musée and parc are masculine; gare is feminine. In speech, final s in vais is normally silent except when an appropriate following vowel links it; a teacher should model a full phrase rather than scoring pronunciation from written responses.

Worked model

Choose the subject elle and recall elle va.
Piscine is feminine singular and takes à la.
Write ‘Elle va à la piscine’: she goes or is going to the swimming pool.

Guided practice

Translate ‘I go to the museum; he goes to the station’ and explain the articles.

Hint: Musée is masculine; gare is feminine.

Check the guided answer

Je vais au musée; il va à la gare. Au is à + le for masculine musée; à la remains before feminine gare.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

With text hidden, the teacher speaks new destinations and records comprehension, then separately observes a learner describe a different role card aloud. Model aller pronunciation and do not infer it from a written answer.

Identifies a destination in unseen speech
Says a new aller destination intelligibly

Find and correct a misconception

“À plus le remains à le before a masculine place.”

Correction: The standard contraction is au: je vais au parc.

Extend and reflect

Write a fictional three-person town itinerary.

Guidance: Include a masculine and feminine destination, and annotate why each uses au or à la.

Where this lesson could lead · French GCSE → Daskerel Education and Workforce Development

This lesson practises: Choose singular forms of aller for I and she/he. French communication can support international learning, services and workplace collaboration.

Next school subject: French GCSE. Check the subject and examination board that fit your school.
Later DASKEREL learning: Daskerel Education and Workforce Development. Explore further study and build evidence from practical work.
Later credential exploration: No subject-specific professional credential is mapped from this lesson. Explore the credential catalogue after choosing a later specialism.
Example career direction: Learning Support Practitioner. Explore organisations and local support.

This is an exploratory route, not a promise of admission, a qualification, certification eligibility or employment. Years 7–9 learning is an early foundation; any later credential may require substantial study, experience or local approval.

Year 7 · Speaking · original lesson pack

DASKEREL beta · internal AI review pending

Ask where, how and when someone goes

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Use tu vas in an informal question
Distinguish où, comment and quand
Answer with a destination, method or time as requested

Vocabulary: tu vas = you go · où = where · comment = how · quand = when · en train = by train · demain = tomorrow

Retrieve previous learning

Give the singular forms of aller for je and elle.

Check: Je vais and elle va.

Learn the concept

For one familiar person, aller is tu vas. An intonation question can place a question word after the verb: ‘Tu vas où ?’ asks where, ‘Tu vas comment ?’ asks how and ‘Tu vas quand ?’ asks when. In writing, where has an accent, où; ou without the accent means or. The response should match the information asked: ‘Je vais au parc’, ‘Je vais en train’ or ‘Je vais demain’. En train gives a mode of transport, not a destination.

Read the original exchange: ‘Tu vas où ? — Je vais à la piscine. Tu vas comment ? — Je vais en bus. Tu vas quand ? — Je vais demain.’ The three answers give place, method and time in that order. A written question mark does not demonstrate audible intonation, so a teacher needs to hear a spontaneous exchange. A teacher can also model the distinct sounds in nous and tu; spelling alone is not listening or pronunciation evidence.

Worked model

Role card asks where a friend goes; select tu vas.
Put accented où after the verb in this informal pattern and raise intonation: ‘Tu vas où ?’
Answer from the friend's perspective: ‘Je vais au parc.’

Guided practice

Write an informal question asking how a friend goes, then answer ‘by train’.

Hint: Use comment after vas and en before train.

Check the guided answer

Tu vas comment ? Je vais en train. Comment asks for the method, and en train supplies it.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

The teacher asks an unseen où, comment or quand question with the transcript hidden and records comprehension. Separately, the learner asks a new question with audible intonation and gives a relevant reply.

Understands which detail an unseen question seeks
Asks an intelligible question with intonation
Answers with a relevant place, method or time

Find and correct a misconception

“Ou without an accent means where.”

Correction: Où means where; ou without an accent means or.

Extend and reflect

Make a three-question fictional travel interview.

Guidance: Ask where, how and when, and check that each answer supplies the requested type of information.

Where this lesson could lead · French GCSE → Daskerel Education and Workforce Development

This lesson practises: Use tu vas in an informal question. French communication can support international learning, services and workplace collaboration.

Next school subject: French GCSE. Check the subject and examination board that fit your school.
Later DASKEREL learning: Daskerel Education and Workforce Development. Explore further study and build evidence from practical work.
Later credential exploration: No subject-specific professional credential is mapped from this lesson. Explore the credential catalogue after choosing a later specialism.
Example career direction: Learning Support Practitioner. Explore organisations and local support.

This is an exploratory route, not a promise of admission, a qualification, certification eligibility or employment. Years 7–9 learning is an early foundation; any later credential may require substantial study, experience or local approval.

Year 7 · Writing · original lesson pack

DASKEREL beta · internal AI review pending

Choose à l' and aux for destinations

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Use à l' before a singular vowel-initial destination
Use aux before a plural destination

Vocabulary: à l'école = to school · à l'hôpital = to the hospital · aux magasins = to the shops · aux jardins = to the gardens · souvent = often · rarement = rarely

Retrieve previous learning

How do you write ‘to the park’ and ‘to the station’?

Check: Au parc; à la gare. The noun's article controls the form.

Learn the concept

A singular noun beginning with a vowel or mute h generally has l' for the definite article; after à write à l': ‘elle va à l'école’, ‘il va à l'hôpital’. Learn the noun's gender separately, because l' hides whether it is masculine or feminine. For a plural definite noun, à + les contracts to aux: ‘je vais aux magasins’. Do not write à les magasins. These patterns state a destination; au and à la remain useful for other singular nouns.

Frequency adverbs often follow the French verb: ‘Je vais souvent à l'école’; ‘Elle va rarement aux magasins.’ Souvent says often and rarement says rarely, without inventing an exact weekly count. In ‘aux élèves’ a teacher may model liaison from aux before a vowel; such a spoken observation is distinct from checking the written contraction. A destination noun like magasins needs its own plural -s as well as aux.

Worked model

Start with ‘the school’, l'école, a singular vowel-initial destination.
Add à before l' to make à l'école.
Complete ‘Je vais à l'école’; for plural shops, choose ‘Je vais aux magasins’.

Guided practice

Translate ‘She rarely goes to the shops; I often go to school’.

Hint: Place frequency adverbs after the verb; shops is plural.

Check the guided answer

Elle va rarement aux magasins; je vais souvent à l'école. Aux is the contraction for plural shops, and à l' precedes école.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

With text hidden, the teacher reads a new destination and frequency pair, records what was heard, then separately observes a new spoken itinerary. Written contractions must be checked separately.

Recognises a destination and frequency in speech
Says a new plural destination intelligibly

Find and correct a misconception

“To the shops is à les magasins.”

Correction: À + les contracts to aux: aux magasins.

Extend and reflect

Write a fictional week of frequent and rare journeys to three places.

Guidance: Use au, à la, à l' and aux where appropriate; explain the article behind each choice.

Where this lesson could lead · French GCSE → Daskerel Education and Workforce Development

This lesson practises: Use à l' before a singular vowel-initial destination. French communication can support international learning, services and workplace collaboration.

Next school subject: French GCSE. Check the subject and examination board that fit your school.
Later DASKEREL learning: Daskerel Education and Workforce Development. Explore further study and build evidence from practical work.
Later credential exploration: No subject-specific professional credential is mapped from this lesson. Explore the credential catalogue after choosing a later specialism.
Example career direction: Learning Support Practitioner. Explore organisations and local support.

This is an exploratory route, not a promise of admission, a qualification, certification eligibility or employment. Years 7–9 learning is an early foundation; any later credential may require substantial study, experience or local approval.

Year 7 · Writing · original lesson pack

DASKEREL beta · internal AI review pending

Use a checked reference to extend destination questions

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Use a dictionary to verify one new place noun and its article
Ask and answer a singular aller question with the correct destination form

Vocabulary: tu vas où ? = where are you going? · au = to the, masculine singular · à la = to the, feminine singular · à l' = to the, singular before a vowel · aux = to the, plural

Retrieve previous learning

Which form follows à before les, and which follows it before le?

Check: À + les becomes aux; à + le becomes au.

Learn the concept

A bilingual dictionary is most useful here for checking a single new place noun, its grammatical gender, its plural and an example, rather than translating a whole complex sentence blindly. Suppose a checked entry gives ‘la bibliothèque’ for library. Because it is feminine singular, ask ‘Tu vas où ?’ and reply ‘Je vais à la bibliothèque.’ For ‘les bibliothèques’, use aux. Keep the question structure and verb you already know; change only the verified destination phrase.

When using a reference, write down its title or URL, the exact noun entry, its article and the date checked. A web result without an article may be insufficient to choose au or à la. Compare the original answers ‘Je vais au musée’ and ‘Je vais aux musées’: the first goes to one museum, the second to museums as a plural destination. A teacher still has to observe a fresh spoken question and answer; a dictionary search is written support, not speaking evidence.

Worked model

Look up a single destination noun and record its article; for example, la bibliothèque.
Choose à la because the verified noun is feminine singular.
Write ‘Tu vas où ? — Je vais à la bibliothèque’; record the reference entry and check that the answer gives a place.

Guided practice

A verified entry gives ‘le cinéma’. Write a where question and a first-person answer.

Hint: Contract à + le and keep the question word accented.

Check the guided answer

Tu vas où ? Je vais au cinéma. The verified masculine article le requires au, and où asks for a destination.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

The teacher asks a new destination question with no text visible and records comprehension. In a separate oral turn the learner answers using a checked place noun, while the teacher assesses intelligibility independently of the reference note.

Understands an unseen spoken where question
Gives an intelligible answer with a checked destination

Find and correct a misconception

“Au can be used before plural destinations because it sounds like aux.”

Correction: Use au only for à + le; use aux for à + les, even when the two sound alike in isolation.

Extend and reflect

Add two verified place nouns to a fictional route plan.

Guidance: Record the reference for each entry, then write a matching question and answer without translating a whole unknown sentence.

Where this lesson could lead · French GCSE → Daskerel Education and Workforce Development

This lesson practises: Use a dictionary to verify one new place noun and its article. French communication can support international learning, services and workplace collaboration.

Next school subject: French GCSE. Check the subject and examination board that fit your school.
Later DASKEREL learning: Daskerel Education and Workforce Development. Explore further study and build evidence from practical work.
Later credential exploration: No subject-specific professional credential is mapped from this lesson. Explore the credential catalogue after choosing a later specialism.
Example career direction: Learning Support Practitioner. Explore organisations and local support.

This is an exploratory route, not a promise of admission, a qualification, certification eligibility or employment. Years 7–9 learning is an early foundation; any later credential may require substantial study, experience or local approval.

Year 7 · Reading · original lesson pack

DASKEREL beta · internal AI review pending

Read an original family poem and notice adjective agreement

DASKEREL wrote this teaching and practice using Oak's sequence as a source. View the source lesson at Oak National Academy. Oak has not endorsed this material. Check Oak's terms and separate rights for third-party works.

Learning outcomes

Explain who goes where in a short original poem
Explain content/contente agreement
Prepare a reading aloud for teacher observation

Vocabulary: je vais = I go · au parc = to the park · ma sœur = my sister · mon frère = my brother · content/contente = happy · nous regardons = we look at

Retrieve previous learning

Which verb is je vais from, and how is it different from je fais?

Check: Vais is aller, to go. Fais is faire, to do or make.

Learn the concept

Read this original DASKEREL practice poem, written for this lesson rather than copied from Oak: ‘Je vais au parc avec ma sœur. / Nous regardons les arbres et les fleurs. / Mon frère est content; ma sœur est contente. / Le soir, je rentre avec ma famille.’ The speaker goes to the park with a sister, looks at trees and flowers with others, and returns with family in the evening. The poem does not say that the brother went to the park.

Je vais is first-person singular of aller. In ‘au parc’, au combines à and le. Content describes mon frère; contente describes ma sœur. The extra written -e marks feminine singular agreement in the supplied context. Mark a pause at each line break, then read aloud with a teacher. A text question checks comprehension, while observed reading checks clarity and response to feedback.

Worked model

Find ‘Je vais au parc’ and identify the destination.
Connect ‘content’ to brother and ‘contente’ to sister.
Practise line pauses, then read to a teacher who can assess intelligibility.

Guided practice

Who explicitly accompanies the speaker to the park, and what happens in the evening?

Hint: Use only the first and fourth lines.

Check the guided answer

The sister accompanies the speaker. In the evening the speaker returns with family. We cannot conclude that every family member visited the park.

Independent practice

Write your own response to every question before viewing the model answers. Your writing stays in this page session; this activity does not submit, store or grade it. Avoid including private information.

Independent listening practice

Play the short French passage and answer the listening questions. You may replay it. Browser speech is synthetic practice audio; a teacher should also check listening with a natural speaker. The transcript and answer guide appear after you submit an attempt.

Teacher observed practical evidence

The teacher models the poem with text hidden for listening, then observes the learner reading aloud and gives feedback on phrasing and intelligibility. Synthetic browser speech alone does not validate pronunciation.

Identifies place and companion after hearing the poem without text
Reads with meaningful pauses
Responds to pronunciation feedback

Find and correct a misconception

“The poem says the whole family visits the park.”

Correction: Only the sister is explicitly said to accompany the speaker. The final line does not establish where every family member was earlier.

Extend and reflect

Write two new original lines about a destination and a pair of regular adjective forms.

Guidance: Use aller for a destination and ask a teacher to listen to a revised reading.