Discover Poitiers!

French Language Learners – Inspired by Carmen Sandiego™, Episode 1, kids locate Poitiers, France, and learn about its historical sites.

Help Carmen Out!

In Episode 1, Carmen needs to figure out where she is! By learning more about her location, and working together to find the important monuments, kids help Carmen get the job done!

Activity Instructions

Kids locate landmarks that relate to Carmen’s origin story.

Estimated Time: 20-30 minutes

Materials Needed: Writing supplies, a map, internet access

  1. Explain to your kids that they’re going to learn more about Carmen’s current location.
  2. Divide kids into even groups and after they locate Poitiers, France, on the map, they will use French-speaking sites to find the following:
  • Its location in the country
  • The region the city is part of
  • Its current population
  • Top three things to do there
  • Two churches
  • Two museums
  • Two additional landmarks
  1. Then, ask the following questions in French and have volunteers from each group take turns answering them:
  • Où est Poitiers? (dans l’ouest de la France)
  • Dans quelle région de France se trouve Poitiers? (en Nouvelle-Aquitaine)
  • Quelle est sa population actuelle? (89.000 habitants environ)
  • Qu’est-ce qu’on peut faire à Poitiers? (Possible answers:On peut visiter beaucoup d’églises médiévales, le musée Sainte-Croix, le parc floral de la Roseraie, le Futuroscope et la Vallée des singes. On peut voir les vestiges gallo-romains au parc de Blossac et marcher dans les rues pittoresques de la ville.)
  • Quelles églises se trouvent à Poitiers? (Possible answers: les églises Notre-Dame-la-Grande, Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand, Sainte-Radegonde, Saint-Porchaire, Saint-Jean-de-Montierneuf, Saint-Germain, Saint-Sylvain, la cathédrale Saint-Pierre
  • Quels musées? (Possible answers: les musées Sainte-Croix, Rupert de Chièvres, l’hypogée des Dunes, le baptistère Saint-Jean, la Collection d’histoire naturelle )
  • Est-ce qu’il y a d’autres sites intéressants à Poitiers?(Possible answers: le parc floral de la Roseraie, le Futuroscope, la Vallée des singes, le parc de Blossac, le Palais de justice)

Related Resources

French Language Learners – Inspired by Carmen Sandiego™, Episode 1, kids find medieval churches in Poitiers, France through French language sites.
French Language Learners – Inspired by Carmen Sandiego™ Episode 1, kids locate various Parisian landmarks.
French Language Learners– Inspired by Carmen Sandiego™ Episodes 1 and 2, kids research the museums in Poitiers, France, to help Carmen find a missing diamond.