Poème à mon frère blanc

Based on a simple but thought-provoking poem by Senegalese poet and cultural theorist Léopold Sédar Senghor (1906–2001), this resource is a great way to get beginners reading authentic French. It uses colour vocabulary to challenge discrimination, conveying an important message of acceptance.

With the help of a dictionary, students first look up key words that they will need in order to understand the poem. Read the poem with your class, projecting it onto the whiteboard. They can then colour in the men on their worksheet to demonstrate their understanding.

The poem can be found online, as explained in the teaching notes. An extension activity could be to write a full translation of the poem.