Starting reading groups in maternelle can feel mega overwhelming.
You want your students to learn how to read, and not just memorize or guess. You want your lessons to be engaging and effective. And if you’re working in French, you know there aren’t many plug-and-play tools that align with the Science of Reading and actually work for young learners. For example, the levelled readers you’re probably supposed to use that are absolutely FULL of sounds your students haven’t learned yet.
Here’s the good news: launching reading groups in French kindergarten doesn’t have to be complicated or chaotic. With a few key strategies (and the right tools), you can build a strong foundation that supports decoding, fluency, and comprehension, right from day one.
Let’s walk through how to set up your small group reading block with confidence and introduce strategies that stick.
What Do Reading Groups Look Like in Maternelle?
Small group reading sessions in maternelle are short, structured, and student-centered. Reading groups are not necessarily about levelled texts or sight word memorization. They should be more about helping students:
- Understand how reading works
- Build sound-letter connections
- Decode with intention
- Apply strategies when they get stuck
A typical session might include:
- Reviewing a decoding strategy
- Practicing sounds or syllables
- Reading a decodable text
- Applying the strategy in real time
- Brief comprehension or follow-up work
The key is consistency and clear, visual cues that help students internalize what to do when they reach a tricky word.
🛠️ Tools That Set You Up for Success
To teach decoding strategies effectively, you need visual, concrete tools that support both you and your students.
That’s exactly why I created the Science of Reading-Aligned French Reading Strategies Pack—a comprehensive toolkit for launching and supporting guided reading in maternelle.
It includes:
- 🎯 Posters for 6 key reading strategies, each with its own animal mascot
- 📚 Bookmarks and mini cards for small groups and take-home reading support
- ✂️ Activities that reinforce the strategies in fun, hands-on ways
- 🗂️ Organizational tools (planning sheets, tracking pages, etc.)
Let’s take a peek at the six strategies included and how they work in a real classroom.
🐢 1. Touche le premier mot avec la tortue
This strategy is all about teaching students where to start reading. Instead of jumping straight to the picture or looking at you (or the sky haha), students learn to touch the first word and begin decoding from left to right.
✅ Use this when students are “reading” the pictures instead of the print.
🧠 Reinforces that reading starts with letters and sounds—not visuals.
🪰 2. Prépare ta bouche avec la mouche
This one is a game-changer. Students are taught to get their mouths ready to say the first sound of the word before they try to guess or guess-read.
✅ Use this when students blurt out something random that doesn’t match the text.
👄 Reinforces that reading requires attention to each sound.
🐍 3. Étire les sons lentement avec le serpent
Like a snake stretching out, this strategy encourages students to read slowly and blend each sound together as they go.
✅ Perfect for students who guess after seeing the first letter.
🎵 Builds smooth decoding and improves fluency.
🐛 4. Trouve les parties avec la chenille
Instead of getting overwhelmed by long words, students are taught to break them into parts or syllables they recognize.
✅ Great for longer, multisyllabic words.
🧩 Reinforces chunking and decoding efficiency.
🦋 5. Fais attention avec le papillon
This strategy encourages students to look for clues in the word—accents, double letters, familiar vowel combinations, or tricky spellings.
✅ Use when students misread composed sounds like ou, ch, or eau.
👀 Supports metacognitive awareness while decoding.
🚀 6. Fusionne les sons ou les syllabes avec la fusée
Students learn to blend sounds and syllables quickly so they can read words smoothly and fluently. It’s the final step after using the other strategies.
✅ Use when students are over-segmenting or reading robotically.
🚀 Boosts reading speed, fluency, and comprehension.
🧑🏫 A Week in the Life of Reading Groups (With This Pack)
Here’s an overview showing how a week of lessons might look in my classroom, using this resource. In reality, I basically never see a group every day 😂, but my lowest group I do try and see as often as possible.
Day 1: Introduce a strategy with the poster. Practice it using sample words or flashcards.
Day 2: Revisit the strategy and read a decodable text together. If my students are flying right along and don’t need as much support, I take notes of any words/sounds they miss and/or strategies they use for new words.
Day 3: Students try the strategy in small groups or pairs, re-reading the book we read the day before. If I have a group of students with really strong memories, and I’m worried they won’t end up using any of the strategies, I might instead choose a different decodable book or reading passage. I listen in on one pair and take notes using the sheets from the resource.
Day 4: Apply the strategy to a new book. I also track strategies that my students use with the included sheets, and make a note that it’s a “cold read”.
Day 5: I probably would never see a group for 5 days in a row, but if I had that space in my schedule, I would re-read all the books from that week, focusing on building stamina and fluency, and then play a reading game.
💬 What’s Your Biggest Challenge with Reading Groups?
Are you just getting started with reading groups in French?
Do your students struggle with decoding or default to guessing?
Leave a comment below to connect with me —I’d love to hear about your experience and help however I can!
✅ Ready to Launch Reading Groups with Confidence?
If you want to start the year strong and teach your students how to read, not guess, this resource gives you everything you need.
📘 Grab the French Reading Strategies Pack here on TpT
🎁 Download a free sample strategy poster and try it with your next reading group
Let’s build confident, skilled French readers—one decoding strategy at a time.
Want to learn more?
Check out these other blog posts about reading groups and things that make my routines easier!
