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

Une carte postale: Planning, Writing and Checking a Postcard

D1.1 D2.1 D2.2 D2.3 D2.4 D3.2About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can say who I am writing for (my audience) and why (my purpose).
  • I can plan, draft, revise, edit and publish a short French text.
  • I can follow a model to write a postcard with a date, greeting, message and closing.
  • I can use a checklist to fix capitals, periods, accents and agreement.
  • I can say which writing strategy helped me.

Words to know

le destinataire
The audience: the person who will read your writing.
le brouillon
The first draft. It doesn't need to be perfect.
réviser
To revise: make your ideas better (add, remove, move).
corriger
To edit: fix spelling, accents, capitals and punctuation.
publier
To publish: make a neat final copy to share.
Cher / Chère
Dear. Cher for a man or boy, Chère for a woman or girl.

A postcard from you!

Imagine you are on a trip, maybe to a beach, a cottage, a city or a cabane à sucre. You want to tell someone about it in French. A postcard (une carte postale) is a perfect first French letter: it is short, friendly and fun.

Real writers don't write a perfect text on the first try. They use the writing process: five steps that you can use for any French writing.

A wooden cottage among pine trees on a rocky shore, with a red canoe tied to a dock on a blue lake.
A trip to a cottage is a great topic for a postcard: Je suis au chalet. Il fait beau. J’aime le lac! AI-generated image
StepFrenchWhat you do
1. PlanPlanifierThink: Who is it for? Why am I writing? Brainstorm ideas and words.
2. DraftÉcrire le brouillonWrite your ideas quickly, following a model.
3. ReviseRéviserReread. Add a detail, remove what doesn't fit, change the order.
4. EditCorrigerUse the checklist: capitals, periods, accents, un/une, agreement.
5. PublishPublierMake a neat copy, add a picture, share it.
The five steps of the writing process.
1. PlanPlanifier2. DraftBrouillon3. ReviseRéviser4. EditCorriger5. PublishPublierReread and go back as often as you need.
The five steps of the writing process. Writers often go back to revise again before they edit and publish.

The parts of a French postcard

  1. The place and date at the top: Sudbury, le 20 mars 2026
  2. The greeting: Cher Papi, (Dear Grandpa) or Chère Mamie, (Dear Grandma) or Salut Léo! for a friend. Cher is for a male reader and Chère for a female reader.
  3. The message: 3 to 5 short sentences. Where are you? What is the weather? What do you like?
  4. The closing: À bientôt! (See you soon!), Bisous! (Kisses! for family), Ton ami / Ton amie (Your friend), then your name.
  5. The address on the right side, with a stamp.
Sudbury, le 20 mars 2026Chère Mamie,Je suis à la cabane à sucre.Il fait froid. J'aime la tire!À bientôt!ZoéMme L. Roy
A model postcard: place and date, greeting, message and closing on the left; the stamp and address lines on the right.
Worked example

Let's go through the writing process

Zoé writes a postcard to her grandmother from a sugar shack trip.

  1. 1. Plan. Audience: Mamie (her grandmother), so she can write Chère Mamie and Bisous! Purpose: to share her trip. Brainstorm: cabane à sucre, froid, neige, tire d'érable, j'aime.
  2. 2. Draft: chère mamie, je suis a la cabane a sucre. Il fait froid. j'aime la tire.
  3. 3. Revise: She adds a detail: Il y a de la neige. She adds a closing: Bisous! Zoé.
  4. 4. Edit with the checklist: Capital letters: Chère Mamie, J'aime. Accents: à la cabane à sucre (à means at). Date at the top: Sudbury, le 20 mars 2026.
  5. 5. Publish: She copies it neatly onto a card and draws a picture of the sugar shack on the front.

Sudbury, le 20 mars 2026 / Chère Mamie, Je suis à la cabane à sucre. Il fait froid. Il y a de la neige. J'aime la tire! Bisous! Zoé

Editing checklist (Liste de vérification)

  • Each sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a . ! or ?
  • The date is the French way: le 20 mars 2026 (small letter for the month).
  • Accents are there: à, é, è, ê, ç.
  • un/une, le/la match the noun.
  • Colours and describing words agree (une maison verte).
  • J'ai (not je ai), age with j'ai ... ans.
  • Cher or Chère matches the reader.
Hands-on activity

Write and send a real postcard

You need: an index card or a piece of thin cardboard (about 10 cm by 15 cm), a pencil, markers, a stamp and an envelope or postcard stamp if you want to mail it (ask a grown-up).

  1. Plan: Choose your audience (a grandparent, a cousin, a friend, your teacher) and a real or pretend trip. Make a word list: place, weather, 2 things you like.
  2. Draft on scrap paper using the model: place and date, greeting, 3 to 5 sentences, closing, name.
  3. Revise: read it aloud to a grown-up. Add one detail (a colour, the weather or a feeling: Je suis content / contente!).
  4. Edit: go through the checklist one line at a time. Tick each box.
  5. Publish: copy it neatly on the card. Draw a picture on the other side. Mail it or hand-deliver it!
  6. Think: Which step helped you most? Tell your grown-up.
Just for fun

Why did the postcard go to school?

To get a stamp of approval!

Your turn

1

What are the 5 steps of the writing process?

2

You write to your aunt (ta tante). Do you write Cher or Chère?

3

Write the date for Friday, March 20, 2026 in French.

4

What goes at the top-left of a postcard?

5

Edit this: je suis a toronto.

6

Who is the audience of a postcard to your best friend?

More practice: warm-up

1

What is a brouillon?

2

What does À bientôt! mean as a closing?

3

Which step fixes spelling and accents?

4

Write a greeting for a postcard to your grandfather (Papi).

5

What does publier mean?

More practice: on your own

1

Revise this message by adding one detail: Je suis à la plage. Il fait chaud.

2

Edit 2 mistakes: Chère Max, J'ai une chien.

3

Would you end a postcard to your principal with Bisous!? What could you write instead?

4

Put the postcard parts in order: closing, greeting, place and date, message.

5

Name one pre-writing (planning) strategy.

Challenge

1

Write a full postcard to a friend from a winter trip to Ottawa. Include all 4 parts on the left side.

2

Find and fix 4 mistakes: ottawa, le 5 Octobre 2026. cher Mamie, je ai neuf ans.

3

Finish this sentence about your own writing: A strategy that helped me was ___ because ___. Next time I will ___.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

What is the first step of the writing process?

2.

You are writing to your grandmother. Which greeting is correct?

3.

What do you do when you revise?

4.

Which date is correct at the top of a French postcard?

5.

Which closing fits a postcard to a friend?

6.

What does a checklist help you do?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: The curriculum asks Grade 4 students to determine, with support, their purpose and audience (D1.1); to use pre-writing strategies such as brainstorming and graphic organizers (D2.1); to draft following a model such as a postcard and revise by rereading, adding, removing and reordering (D2.2); to make improvements using a few conventions such as accents, adjectives and present-tense verbs (D2.3); to describe strategies that helped and set next steps (D2.4); and to use French conventions such as postcard and letter formats and writing dates (D3.2).

Common difficulties:

  • Trying to be perfect in the draft. Reassure: the draft is supposed to be messy.
  • Editing everything at once. Use the checklist one line at a time.
  • Writing in English and translating word by word. Encourage your child to use sentence starters they already know (Je suis, J'ai, J'aime, Il fait...). Short, correct sentences are the goal.

At home: Mailing a real postcard to a relative is very motivating. Ask the receiver to write back in English or French!