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C. Reading / D. Writing · Reading and Writing in French: First Steps

Le calendrier et la météo: Numbers, Dates and Weather

C2.1 C2.2 C1.2 D1.2 D3.2About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can read French numbers from 0 to 31.
  • I can read and write the days of the week and the months in French.
  • I can write the date the French way: le lundi 12 octobre 2026.
  • I can read a French calendar and a short weather report.
  • I can write a sentence about the weather.

Words to know

le calendrier
The calendar. It organizes the days, weeks and months.
la date
The day, month and year, like le 12 octobre 2026.
la météo
The weather report.
la saison
The season: le printemps (spring), l'été (summer), l'automne (fall), l'hiver (winter).
lowercase
Small letters (a, b, c), not capital letters. French days and months use lowercase.

Quelle est la date aujourd'hui?

That means What is the date today? French classes in Ontario often start every day with the date and the weather. A French calendar on the wall is a text you can read! It has numbers, days and months. Its job (its purpose) is to organize time, so we know what is happening when.

Les nombres de 0 à 31 (numbers 0 to 31)

You need these numbers for dates, ages and prices. Look for patterns: 17, 18 and 19 are dix-sept (ten-seven), dix-huit (ten-eight), dix-neuf (ten-nine).

0-1011-2021-31
0 zéro11 onze21 vingt et un
1 un12 douze22 vingt-deux
2 deux13 treize23 vingt-trois
3 trois14 quatorze24 vingt-quatre
4 quatre15 quinze25 vingt-cinq
5 cinq16 seize26 vingt-six
6 six17 dix-sept27 vingt-sept
7 sept18 dix-huit28 vingt-huit
8 huit19 dix-neuf29 vingt-neuf
9 neuf20 vingt30 trente
10 dix31 trente et un
French numbers from 0 to 31. Notice: 21 and 31 use "et un" (and one), with no hyphens.
Les jours (days)Les mois (months)
lundi (Monday)janvierjuillet
mardi (Tuesday)févrieraoût
mercredi (Wednesday)marsseptembre
jeudi (Thursday)avriloctobre
vendredi (Friday)mainovembre
samedi (Saturday)juindécembre
dimanche (Sunday)
Days and months. Many months are cognates! Watch the accents in février, août and décembre.

Three French date rules

  1. Days and months start with a small letter: lundi, octobre (in English: Monday, October).
  2. The day number comes before the month: le 12 octobre (English: October 12).
  3. The first of the month is le 1er (premier): le 1er juillet. All other days use the plain number: le 2 juillet.

Also: French calendars usually start the week on lundi (Monday).

lelundiday: small letter12number firstoctobremonth: small letter2026year last
A French date goes le, day, number, month, year, with small letters for the day and month.
lun.mar.mer.jeu.ven.sam.dim.
1234
567891011
12 Action de grâce131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031 Halloween
octobre 2026. The week starts on lundi. L'Action de grâce is Thanksgiving.
Worked example

Let's write the date the French way

Write Monday, October 12, 2026 in French.

  1. Start with le.
  2. Day of the week, small letter: lundi.
  3. Day number before the month: 12.
  4. Month, small letter: octobre.
  5. Year at the end: 2026.

le lundi 12 octobre 2026. (Short form: le 12 octobre 2026.)

Le temps qu'il fait (the weather)

French uses Il fait... for a lot of weather. Il here doesn't mean he; it just means it.

A schoolyard playground covered in snow under a blue sky, seen through a classroom window.
Look out the window and describe the weather in French: Il neige, il fait froid et il y a du soleil. AI-generated image
WeatherFrenchPicture
It's nice out.Il fait beau.😎
It's hot.Il fait chaud.🥵
It's cold.Il fait froid.🥶
It's sunny.Il y a du soleil.☀️
It's raining.Il pleut.🌧️
It's snowing.Il neige.❄️
It's windy.Il fait du vent. / Il vente.💨
It's cloudy.C'est nuageux.☁️
Weather words. In Canada you will hear both il fait du vent and il vente for windy.
Worked example

Let's read a weather report

Read this weather report (la météo):

La météo à Timmins

lundi: Il neige. −5 °C

mardi: Il y a du soleil. Il fait froid. −12 °C

mercredi: C'est nuageux. −3 °C

  1. Title: La météo à Timmins = the weather in Timmins, a city in northern Ontario.
  2. Features: a title, the days in bold, a short sentence and a temperature for each day. That makes it quick to read.
  3. lundi (Monday): it is snowing, minus 5 degrees.
  4. mardi (Tuesday): it is sunny and cold, minus 12 degrees. That is the coldest day.
  5. mercredi (Wednesday): it is cloudy, minus 3 degrees.

The coldest day is mardi (−12 °C). A weather report's purpose is to tell people what the weather will be so they can plan, like wearing a warm coat!

0 °C−5 °C−10 °C−15 °ClundiIl neige.−5 °CmardiIl y a du soleil.−12 °CmercrediC'est nuageux.−3 °CLa météo à Timmins
The Timmins weather report as a bar graph. The longest bar going down is the coldest day: mardi, −12 °C.
Hands-on activity

Your French weather station

You need: paper, markers, a window (or a weather app with a grown-up).

  1. Make a weather chart with 5 rows, one for each school day: lundi, mardi, mercredi, jeudi, vendredi.
  2. Every morning this week, write the date the French way at the top: le mardi 13 octobre 2026.
  3. Look outside. Write one weather sentence: Il pleut. or Il fait froid. Add a drawing.
  4. Add the temperature from a thermometer or app: 8 °C.
  5. On Friday, read your chart out loud. Which day was the warmest?
Just for fun

Funny but true: on April 1, French speakers say Poisson d'avril! (April fish!) and try to stick a paper fish on someone's back without being noticed.

Your turn

1

Write the number 15 in French.

2

Write the number 21 in French.

3

What day comes after mardi?

4

Write July 1, 2026 (Canada Day) the French way.

5

What does Il neige mean?

6

Look at the octobre 2026 calendar. What day of the week is le 16 octobre?

7

Fix this date: le Lundi 5 Octobre 2026.

More practice: warm-up

1

What is douze?

2

What is samedi in English?

3

What is décembre in English?

4

What does Il fait chaud mean?

5

Write 30 in French.

More practice: on your own

1

Write Friday, December 25, 2026 in French.

2

What number is dix-huit? Explain.

3

A weather report says: samedi: Il pleut. 11 °C. Do you need an umbrella on Saturday?

4

Look at the calendar. How many lundis (Mondays) are in octobre 2026? List their dates.

5

Write a weather sentence for a cold, snowy January day.

Challenge

1

Halloween is le 31 octobre 2026. Use the calendar: what day of the week is it? Write the full date in French.

2

Which is correct: le premier septembre or le un septembre? Why?

3

Read this report and answer: La météo à Ottawa. jeudi: Il fait beau. 22 °C. vendredi: Il pleut. 14 °C. Which day is better for a picnic? Why?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

What is seize?

2.

Which date is written the French way?

3.

What does Il pleut mean?

4.

Which day is jeudi?

5.

How do you write the first of May?

6.

What is the purpose of a calendar?

7.

What number is vingt-sept?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: The curriculum names calendars as a familiar text form whose purpose is to organize information (C2.1), and asks students to notice features of text forms (C2.2). It also asks students to use French conventions such as the correct way to write dates (D3.2), to write short practical texts (D1.2) and to understand short texts with visuals (C1.2).

Key conventions: day before month (le 12 octobre), lowercase days and months, le 1er for the first. Canadian French uses Celsius, like English Canada.

Common difficulties:

  • Capitalizing days and months (English habit). Gently point it out each time.
  • Writing the month first. Practise saying the date the French way every morning.
  • Mixing up 12 (douze), 13 (treize) and 16 (seize). Play a quick number game: say a number, your child points to it on a calendar.

At home: Make the French date and weather a breakfast routine this week.