Grade by Grade
C. Reading / D. Writing · Reading and Writing in French: Real Texts for Real Readers

Le processus d'écriture: Planning, Writing and Publishing a Short Story

D2 D1 D3 C2About 55 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can name the parts of a story: characters, setting, problem, solution, ending.
  • I can plan a story with a story map.
  • I can write a short draft in the present tense.
  • I can revise by adding, removing, moving and replacing words.
  • I can edit with a checklist and publish my story as a comic or a booklet.
  • I can say what helped me and choose a next step.

Words to know

une histoire
A story.
les personnages
The characters: the people or animals in the story.
le lieu
The setting: where the story happens.
le problème / la solution
What goes wrong / how it is fixed.
une bulle
A speech bubble in a comic (une bande dessinée).
les guillemets « »
French quotation marks, used for the words a character says.

Become an author!

In Grade 4 you used the writing process to write a postcard. In Grade 5 you will use the same steps to write something longer and more creative: a short story. You already know lots of tools: -er verbs, the big four verbs, adjectives, questions, negatives, order words and the futur proche. Now put them all together!

PlanifierÉcrireRéviserCorrigerPublierplandraftreviseeditpublishLe processus d'écriture
The five stages of the writing process.
Worked example

Let's read a model story

Read this short story. Find the characters, setting, problem, solution and ending.

La tuque magique

C'est samedi matin. Il neige beaucoup. Nadia trouve une vieille tuque rouge dans une boîte. Elle met la tuque sur sa tête et... pouf ! Elle peut parler aux animaux !

Un petit écureuil arrive. Il est triste. « J'ai faim, dit l'écureuil. Mes noix sont sous la neige. »

Nadia a une idée. Elle prend une pelle et elle cherche les noix avec son nouvel ami. Enfin, ils trouvent les noix !

L'écureuil est très content. « Merci, Nadia ! » Le soir, Nadia range la tuque dans la boîte. Demain, elle va aider un autre animal.

  1. New words: elle met (she puts), elle peut (she can), elle prend (she takes), une pelle (a shovel), un écureuil (a squirrel), les noix (nuts).
  2. Personnages: Nadia and a little squirrel. Lieu: outside in the snow, on a Saturday.
  3. Problème: the squirrel is hungry because its nuts are under the snow.
  4. Solution: Nadia takes a shovel and looks for the nuts with her new friend. They find them.
  5. Fin: Nadia puts the tuque away; tomorrow she is going to help another animal (futur proche!).
  6. French conventions: the squirrel's words are in « guillemets » with spaces inside. The story uses the present tense: trouve, arrive, cherche.

Characters: Nadia and a squirrel. Setting: a snowy Saturday. Problem: the squirrel's nuts are under the snow. Solution: they dig and find them. Ending: Nadia will help another animal tomorrow.

Story mapNadia's storyQuestions to ask yourself
PersonnagesNadia, un écureuilQui ? What are they like?
Lieu et momentdehors, samedi matin, il neigeOù ? Quand ?
ProblèmeL'écureuil a faim. Les noix sont sous la neige.What goes wrong?
SolutionNadia et l'écureuil cherchent avec une pelle.How is it fixed?
FinL'écureuil est content. Demain, elle va aider un autre animal.How does it end?
A story map (plan de récit) helps you plan before you write.

Revising: make it better (réviser)

When you revise, you change your ideas and words. Use four moves:

  • Ajouter (add): add an adjective or a detail. un écureuil → un petit écureuil triste
  • Enlever (remove): take out a sentence that repeats.
  • Déplacer (move): put sentences in a better order.
  • Remplacer (replace): use a stronger or more exact word. Il est content. → Il est très heureux.

Add order words (d'abord, ensuite, puis, enfin) so the reader can follow.

A grey squirrel sitting on a snowy tree branch.
Un écureuil... un petit écureuil gris! When you revise, adding adjectives helps your reader picture your character. AI-generated image
+Ajouter(add)un écureuil →un petit écureuil triste−Enlever(remove)Il est dehors.(said twice? cut one!)↕Déplacer(move)put sentencesin a better order⇄Remplacer(replace)content →très heureux
Four revising moves: ajouter, enlever, déplacer, remplacer. Revising changes your ideas and words; editing fixes the spelling and punctuation.

Editing checklist (corriger)

Read your story once for each line:

  1. Majuscules (capitals) at the start of sentences and names; days and months in lowercase.
  2. Ponctuation: a period, ? or ! at the end; a space before ? and !; « » around speech.
  3. Accents and apostrophes: écureuil, très, j'ai, l'école.
  4. Accords: le/la/les, adjectives match their noun (une vieille tuque).
  5. Verbs: the ending matches the subject (ils trouvent, nous cherchons).
Worked example

Let's revise and edit a draft

Here is a first draft (un brouillon): le chien a froid. Il est dehors. Il est dehors dans la neige. léo trouve le chien. Il donne un chandail a le chien. le chien est content

  1. Enlever: Il est dehors repeats. Keep only Il est dehors dans la neige.
  2. Ajouter: add adjectives: un petit chien, un chandail bleu.
  3. Ajouter order words: Ensuite, Léo trouve le chien. Enfin, le chien est content.
  4. Corriger: capitals (Le, Léo), à + le = au chien, a period at the end.
  5. Remplacer: content → très heureux for a stronger ending.

Le petit chien a froid. Il est dehors dans la neige. Ensuite, Léo trouve le chien. Il donne un chandail bleu au chien. Enfin, le chien est très heureux !

Just for fun

The French word for a first draft, un brouillon, comes from the verb brouiller, which means to mix up or scramble. So your first draft is officially allowed to be a scrambled mess! 🍳

Hands-on activity

Write and publish your own story

You need: paper, a pencil, an eraser, pencil crayons; a stapler or a folded sheet for a booklet.

  1. Planifier: fill in a story map: characters, setting, problem, solution, ending. Ideas: a lost mitten, a snow day, a talking maple tree, a pet that goes missing.
  2. Écrire: write 6 to 10 sentences in the present tense. Don't worry about mistakes yet!
  3. Réviser: add 3 adjectives and 2 order words. Read it aloud: does it make sense?
  4. Corriger: use the 5-line checklist, one line at a time. A grown-up can help you look up words.
  5. Publier: make a comic (une bande dessinée) with 4 to 6 boxes and speech bubbles, or a little booklet with pictures.
  6. Réfléchir: finish this sentence in English or French: A strategy that helped me was... Next time, I will...

Your turn

1

Who are the characters in La tuque magique?

2

What is the problem in the story?

3

What is the solution?

4

Find one sentence in the futur proche in the story.

5

What are the 5 stages of the writing process?

6

Revise by adding an adjective: Nadia trouve une tuque.

7

Write the squirrel's words Thank you! with French quotation marks.

More practice: warm-up

1

What does le lieu mean in a story?

2

What is un brouillon?

3

What do French quotation marks look like?

4

Which stage comes after réviser?

5

What is une bande dessinée?

More practice: on your own

1

What is the difference between réviser and corriger?

2

Edit: nadia et l'écureuil cherche les noix

3

Revise by replacing a word to make it stronger: L'écureuil est content.

4

Put in order: Enfin, ils trouvent les noix. / D'abord, l'écureuil a faim. / Ensuite, Nadia prend une pelle.

5

Why do authors make a story map before writing?

Challenge

1

Write a new ending for La tuque magique in 2 sentences, using the futur proche in one of them.

2

Plan a story with a story map (5 parts) in French, in short notes.

3

Edit 4 mistakes: le lundi, Zoé et moi, nous joue au soccer. « bravo! » dit le coach

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

What is the problem in a story?

2.

Which stage is about fixing capitals, accents and verb endings?

3.

Which is correct French punctuation for speech?

4.

Ajouter, enlever, déplacer, remplacer are moves for...

5.

Which sentence is in the present tense?

6.

What is a story map for?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: The curriculum asks Grade 5 students to use the stages of the writing process (pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing and publishing) to develop and organize content, clarify ideas, correct errors and present their work (D2); to write for a purpose and audience using vocabulary and stylistic elements (D1); and to use French conventions in their writing (D3), such as French quotation marks « » and the space before ? and !. Reading a model story and naming its elements supports C2. Reflecting on what helped and setting a next step is part of the curriculum's metacognition focus.

Common difficulties:

  • Trying to write in English and translate. Encourage simple sentences with words they know.
  • Editing everything at once. One checklist line per read-through.
  • Over-long drafts. 6 to 10 sentences is plenty for Grade 5 Core French.

Canadian French used: une tuque, le soccer, un chandail. (Le coach is heard in everyday Canadian French too, but l'entraîneur is the standard word.)

At home: Display the finished comic or booklet and have your child read it aloud to a relative on a video call.