How long does it take you to get to school, and how do you travel? Tell a partner in English first: the way you go, and roughly how many minutes.
Today you will say the same thing in French, joining a transport word to a time.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Name eight ways to travel in French
- Say how you get to school and how long it takes
- Sort transport words into le and la
- Talk about why some French tickets are checked before boarding and why fast trains give you a seat number
You are outside a French collège on a normal school morning, beside a train station and a bus stop. Listen as each transport word is played, then say it back with the class — first a cluster of four, then the next four. Keep the article when you name the word.
Journey pattern:
Je vais à l'école en bus. Ça prend dix minutes. (I go to school by bus. It takes ten minutes.)
Je vais à l'école à vélo. Ça prend quinze minutes. (I go to school by bike. It takes fifteen minutes.)
After en, drop le/la: en bus, en train, en voiture, en avion, en bateau, en taxi, en moto. Bike is different: à vélo.
Times today: cinq (sank), dix (dees), quinze (kanz), vingt (van).
You are back on the same French street, with the trains, buses and other vehicles you have just met. Look at each picture and choose the correct French label. Say the word quietly with its article as you choose.
First, say your journey. Keep the model on the board and listen to a few example sentences, then say them back with the class. With a partner: Partner A says their full journey sentence; Partner B repeats it; then swap.
Then open your copy and write the sentence you just said:
Je vais à l'école en ____. Ça prend ____ minutes.
Use en + a transport word from today (no le/la after en). If you choose the bike, write à vélo instead. Pick a time from the board bank: cinq, dix, quinze, vingt. Copy accents carefully from the board.
On the station board, drag each transport word into the correct gender column (le or la). Think about the article you heard with it on the word table before you decide.
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