Trois P’tits Chats

Inspired by the Janet Lloyd network conference and Janet’s subsequent blog post on bringing together ideas from the other presenters, I have created some teaching activities based on the traditional song Trois P’tits Chats.

Here is a link to the song
3 ptits chats on You Tube

Here are the lyrics…

Trois p'tits chats, trois p'tits chats, trois p'tits chats, chats, chats, (3 little chats)
Chapeau d' paille, chapeau d' paille, chapeau d' paille, paille, paille, (straw hat)
Paillasson, paillasson, paillasson, -son, -son, (doormat)
Somnambule, somnambule, somnambule, -bule, -bule, (sleepwalker)
Bulletin, bulletin, bulletin, -tin, -tin, (bulletin)
Tintamarre, tintamarre, tintamarre, -marre, -marre, (din, hullabaloo)
Marabout, marabout, marabout, -bout, -bout, (marabout - african bird)
Bout de ficelle, Bout de ficelle, Bout de ficelle, -celle, -celle, (piece of string)
Selle de cheval, Selle de cheval, Selle de cheval, cheval, cheval, (saddle)
Cheval de Troie, cheval de Troie, cheval de Troie, Troie, Troie, (Trojan horse)
Trois p'tits chats, trois p'tits chats, trois p'tits chats, chats, chats…

Clever, isn’t it?

Here are the activities based on it…

1) Introduce the key vocab. but in a random order (not the order of the song).

2) Now let’s have some Janet Lloyd-inspired drama. Introduce actions such as...

Trois p'tits chats = stroking whiskers
Chapeau d’ paille =  putting on hat
Paillasson = wiping feet
Somnambule = arms outstretched in front, eyes shut
Bulletin = writing
Tintamarre = beating drum / blowing trumpet
Marabout = flapping wings
Bout de ficelle = drawing out hands to either side as if along string
Selle de cheval = riding horse
Cheval de Troie = hiding face / looking furtive

3) Group work. Give each group a set of picture cards of the items in the song. Ask them to arrange them in the order they think they appear in the song, starting with the 3 cats. Explain that the ending of one item is the start of the next.

4) Check the answers then sing the song with actions. 

5) Play “Volume Control’. This is a great idea that the wonderful Joanne Hornby presented at the Janet Lloyd Network conference this year. The T controls the volume of the singing by miming a volume button. Turn down the volume for most of the song so that the ch are just miming. Turn the volume back up at the end of each line so that they sing the repeated bits such as “-tin, -tin”. This will help them focus on the sounds.  

6) Phonic Focus. Arrange the ch into 4 or 5 groups and give each group a card with one of the following letter strings (graphemes): in; ou; u; ch; and (if you have 5 groups) è. That represented the sound they are to collect. Now we are ready to play the Shopping Baskets game! Give each team a shopping basket or bag e.g. 

Hold up each picture card in turn and say the word e.g. “chapeau”. Often there will always be 2 groups wanting the same object, which adds an element of competition and excitement. E.g. both the ‘in’ group and the ‘u’ group will be wanting ‘bulletin’.

7) Speaking activity in groups. This is a memory game based on “I went to market and I bought…” Each member of the group repeats what the previous person said and adds an item. It will help the ch if they go in the order of the song as each item leads on from the previous. You can use as long or as short a phrase as you wish, e.g. “Pour mon anniversaries on m’a donné trois petits chats et un chapeau”.

8) Writing. The ch can create a concertina mini book - a lovely idea from Clare Seccombe at Light Bulb Languages. Clare’s mini books

Here’s the one I did…..

9) Finally the ch could create their own cartoon version. They can add text and record themselves. I created one using Wondershare Fantashow...