C–D. Reading and Writing · Reading and Writing in French: Voices, Stories and Communities

Le journal de l'école : Taking an Article Through the Whole Writing Process

D1.1 D1.2 D1.3 D2.1 D2.2 D2.3 D2.4About 75 minutes

Learning goals

I can use all five stages of the writing process, going back to earlier stages when needed.
I can edit for the common French homophones (a/à, et/est, on/ont, son/sont, ou/où, ces/ses/c'est/s'est, leur/leurs).
I can apply French typography rules: spaces before : ; ! ?, « guillemets », and capital letters.
I can publish a polished article that shares an aspect of francophone and Indigenous culture in Canada.
I can assess my growth as a writer and set new goals.

Words to know

le processus d'écriture
The writing process: plan, draft, revise, edit, publish.

corriger
To edit: fix grammar, spelling, punctuation and typography.

un homophone
A word that sounds like another but is spelled differently and means something else (a / à).

la typographie
The rules for how text looks: spaces, punctuation marks, capital letters.

la version finale
The final copy, ready to publish.

une grille d'autocorrection
A self-editing checklist.

le temps des sucres
Sugaring-off season, when maple sap is collected and boiled in early spring (used in Québec and other parts of Canada).

From draft to published

This is the last teaching lesson of the unit, and it brings everything together. Professional writers, journalists and students all follow the same writing process, and they don't follow it in a straight line: they go back, rethink and rewrite.

In Lesson 5 you planned, drafted and revised a story, and you set writing goals. Today you'll focus on the last two stages, editing (corriger) and publishing (publier), by taking a school newspaper article from messy draft to final copy. Then you'll look back at your goals to see how far you've come.

The five stages of the writing process. The dotted arrows show that writers often go back a step, for example from editing back to revising.

Stage 1 and 2 reminder: plan and draft for your reader

Before writing an article for the school newspaper, answer the planning questions:

But (purpose): to inform about an event and share why it matters.
Public (audience): students, families and staff. Some readers may not know the cultural tradition, so explain it.
Forme: a news article: headline, byline, lead with qui, quoi, où, quand, details, a quotation, a closing fact.
Registre: courant, clear and correct; no texting abbreviations.

Then draft quickly. Don't edit yet! A messy draft is normal.

Worked example

Let's edit a draft with a checklist

Jonas wrote this draft for the school newspaper (written for this lesson). Find and fix the errors.

Le temps des sucres a l'école les érables

Le jeudi 25 Mars, les élèves de 9e année on transformé la cour en cabane a sucre. Ils ont fait bouillir de l'eau d'érable pour préparer de la tire sur la neige. « C'est la première fois que j'en mange sur la neige! » s'exclame Sam. Mme Dupuis à expliqué que les peuples autochtones fesaient du sucre d'érable bien avant l'arrivée des européens, et qu'ils ont partagé ce savoir avec eux. Les élèves et leur parents était ravis.

**Homophones a/à (test: avait):** temps des sucres à l'école, cabane à sucre (you can't say avait l'école). But Mme Dupuis a expliqué (avait expliqué works).
**Homophone on/ont (test: avaient):** les élèves ont transformé (avaient transformé works).
Capitals: the school's name is a proper noun: Les Érables. Months are lowercase: 25 mars. Les Européens is a noun for people, so it takes a capital (but the adjective is lowercase: un pays européen).
Verb spelling: fesaient → faisaient (from nous faisons).
Agreement: leur parents → leurs parents (several parents, so plural); était → étaient (the subject Les élèves et leurs parents is plural).
Typography: a space before the exclamation mark: la neige ! (French puts a space before ! ? : ; and inside « guillemets »).
Total: 11 corrections. Jonas also adds the year (2027) for clarity.

Le temps des sucres à l'école Les Érables

Le jeudi 25 mars 2027, les élèves de 9e année ont transformé la cour en cabane à sucre. Ils ont fait bouillir de l'eau d'érable pour préparer de la tire sur la neige. « C'est la première fois que j'en mange sur la neige ! » s'exclame Sam. Mme Dupuis a expliqué que les peuples autochtones faisaient du sucre d'érable bien avant l'arrivée des Européens, et qu'ils ont partagé ce savoir avec eux. Les élèves et leurs parents étaient ravis.

(L'eau d'érable = maple sap and la tire = maple taffy, both used in Québec and other parts of Canada. The boiling was done by adults.)

Quick substitution tests for French homophones. If the replacement word works in the sentence, choose the form shown after the arrow.

Rule	Correct	Incorrect
Space before ! ? : ;	Bravo ! Pourquoi ? Voici : ...	Bravo! Pourquoi?
French quotation marks with spaces	« C'est génial ! »	"C'est génial!"
Months and days in lowercase	le jeudi 25 mars	le Jeudi 25 Mars
Languages and nationality adjectives in lowercase	le français, un chef canadien	le Français, un chef Canadien
Nationality nouns (people) with a capital	les Canadiens, une Franco-Ontarienne	les canadiens
Accents on capitals are kept	École secondaire, À bientôt	Ecole secondaire (the Académie française and the Office québécois de la langue française both recommend keeping accents on capitals)

French typography rules for the editing stage. Spacing varies a little: France puts a space before ; ! ? and :, while many Québec publications put a space only before :. This course follows the first style; always follow your teacher's or publisher's style guide.

Leur or leurs?

One more classic trap:

leur before a verb is the pronoun to them, and it never takes -s: Je leur parle.
leur / leurs before a noun is the possessive their: leur école (one school), leurs parents (several parents).

Test: is it next to a verb? → leur (no s). Is it before a noun? → singular or plural like the noun.

Stage 5: publishing

Publishing means making your work ready for real readers:

Add the headline, a byline (par Jonas Tremblay, 9e année), and if possible a photo or drawing with a caption.
Choose a clean layout: short paragraphs, a quotation that stands out.
Read it one last time aloud. Your ear catches what your eyes miss.
Ask a reader for feedback with two stars and a wish: two things that work, one thing to improve.
Share it: the school newspaper, a class blog, a family email, a bulletin board.

Metacognition: look back at your goals

Open your writing notebook from Lesson 5 (and any goals since). For each goal, write:

J'ai atteint cet objectif ? Oui / En partie / Pas encore, with one piece of evidence (a sentence from your writing).
Ce qui m'aide le plus quand j'écris : (planning with a map? reading aloud? the homophone tests?)
Mon prochain objectif : one specific goal for Grade 10 French.

Example: Objectif : vérifier l'accord des participes passés. En partie : dans ma lettre, j'ai bien écrit « nous sommes allés », mais j'ai oublié « la lettre que j'ai écrite ». Prochain objectif : relire chaque participe passé avec avoir.

Just for fun

Try this famous French tongue twister: Si six scies scient six cyprès, six cent six scies scient six cent six cyprès. (If six saws saw six cypress trees, six hundred and six saws saw six hundred and six cypress trees.) Now imagine it as a dictation: here si, six, scies and scient can all sound exactly alike. Editing really matters!

Hands-on activity

Publish your best piece

You need: your suspense story from Lesson 5 (or your letter from Lesson 10, or a new article about a cultural event in your community), a coloured pen, and a family member.

Revise once more with the four moves (add, remove, move, replace).
Edit with this checklist, one line at a time: every verb agrees with its subject; every adjective agrees; past participles (être: subject; avoir: object before); homophones (a/à, et/est, on/ont, son/sont, ou/où, ces/ses, leur/leurs); accents; spaces before ! ? : ;; « guillemets »; lowercase months, days and languages.
Read it aloud to your family member. Fix anything that sounds wrong.
Publish: type or neatly copy the final version with a title, your name, and a drawing or photo with a caption. Post it on the fridge, send it to a relative, or submit it to your school newspaper.
Reflect: write the metacognition answers above.

If your article is about a sugaring-off, remember that boiling sap is an adult's job: stay back from the hot pot.

Your turn

Name the five stages of the writing process in French.

What is the difference between revising and editing?

a or à? Il ____ trouvé la réponse.

on or ont? Mes cousins ____ une cabane à sucre.

Correct the typography: Il a dit: "Bienvenue!"

According to the article, who made maple sugar long before the arrival of Europeans?

leur or leurs? Les élèves ont montré ____ projets aux parents. Ils ____ ont expliqué la tire.

More practice: warm-up

et or est? Elle ____ contente.

ou or où? Tu veux du thé ____ du lait ?

Capital or not? le 3 _anvier (J/j)

What does publier mean?

Add the spaces: Pourquoi?

More practice: on your own

son or sont? Mes amis ____ partis avec ____ frère.

ces, ses, c'est or s'est? ____ un beau jour : Malik ____ levé tôt pour voir ____ oiseaux.

Find the 3 errors: Hier, les élèves on visité une cabane a sucre en Avril.

Fix the capitals: Les Canadiens parlent Anglais et Français.

Why should you read your final version aloud?

Challenge

Edit this sentence completely (there are 4 errors): Les parents de Sam on dit que la tire était la meilleur qu'ils avaient mangé!

A classmate says: "Editing is boring; my ideas are what matter." Write a two-sentence reply in French or English.

Write a one-paragraph reflection on your growth as a writer this unit, with one goal you met (with evidence) and one new goal.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Fixing ideas and the order of paragraphs is part of...

Elle ____ partie ____ Montréal.

Which is correctly written in French?

Les élèves ____ fini ____ projet.

Which word needs a capital letter?

According to the article, the knowledge of making maple sugar...

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Your child uses the full writing process (D2.1–D2.3), edits for French homophones, agreement and typography (D1.3), publishes a piece for a real audience (D1.1, D1.2), shares an aspect of francophone and Indigenous culture in Canada, and reflects on their growth as a writer (D2.4).

How to help:

Be a real audience: read the published piece (or have it translated for you) and give two stars and a wish.
Help your child find a real place to publish: a relative's inbox, the school newspaper, a community bulletin.
If you visit a sugar bush in spring, let your child write about it. Keep children away from boiling sap.

Common difficulties:

Homophones: a/à, on/ont, et/est, son/sont, leur/leurs. The substitution tests really work: practise them aloud.
French typography (spaces before ! ? : ;) feels strange at first because English doesn't do it.
Skipping the final read-aloud.

Fact note: Indigenous peoples in the maple regions of North America made maple sugar long before Europeans arrived and shared that knowledge with settlers. Le temps des sucres, l'eau d'érable and la tire are used in Québec and other parts of Canada.