Use this lesson plan, based on the beautiful short film Le Ballon Rouge, to inspire students to love languages, literacy and film…
This lesson is taken from Into Film’s resource, Love Languages – French, created in partnership with the Association for Language Learning.
The resource features curricular linked activities, lesson ideas and film clips from Le Ballon Rouge, Kirikou et les Hommes et les Femmes and Une Vie de Chat.
What is Le Ballon Rouge about?
A great first step into French cinema, Le Ballon Rouge follows the adventures of a Parisian boy named Pascal who discovers a big, shiny red balloon one morning, and soon finds it has a will of its own.
Together they set off through the streets of Paris, but not everyone is as taken with the balloon as Pascal.
Although considered a short rather than a ‘feature’, Le Ballon Rouge is every bit as exciting as a full-length movie and the running time of 34 minutes makes it a manageable text to explore over one or two lessons.
Packed with character and action, it’s ideal for students in the early stages of learning French. This lesson plan provides a range of ways to work with Le Ballon Rouge that enable students to read film text, develop French language skills and an appreciation of French culture.
The clips used in the activities are available in the Love Languages – French PowerPoint on the Into Film website and the time codes have been provided if you are using a DVD.
For maximum benefit, watch the whole film (available free to order by setting up an Into Film Club at intofilm.org).
Learning objectives
- Speak in French using sentences, familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures
- Describe people, places, things and actions in French orally and in writing
- Listen to music with attention to detail and recall and describe sounds from memory
Starter activity
Play the sound, but not the pictures, on the clip ‘Boy walking down the street’ (time code 00:09:40 – 00:11:10).
Ask students to think, pair and share what they can hear, focusing on music, voices and other sounds. Can they think of an adjective to describe the feelings or mood of the music?
Record feedback on a whiteboard or flipchart. Ask students what they think they will see when they watch the clip, with particular reference to the characters and setting. You may wish to play the sound again between these two questions.
Watch the clip with the picture to find out how accurate students were with their predictions. Ask what surprised them most when they saw the sound and pictures together.
What do they think will happen next? This activity is still effective even if students have watched the film previously, as they can try to remember where this scene appears in the story.
Samantha Clarkson is CPD / resources coordinator at Into Film – an education charity that places film at the heart of young people’s educational and personal development.
