I’m Rachel and I've been teaching for 18 years! I first taught English (TEFL) in Japan and Madrid and then taught French and Spanish in Surrey. I subsequently worked in a UK curriculum school in sunny Dubai. I have now relocated to the UK and have a gorgeous baby daughter!
I have a learning-centred approach and encourage my students to be active and reflective learners. I really enjoy the creative process of making PowerPoints and worksheets and hope you enjoy using them!
I’m Rachel and I've been teaching for 18 years! I first taught English (TEFL) in Japan and Madrid and then taught French and Spanish in Surrey. I subsequently worked in a UK curriculum school in sunny Dubai. I have now relocated to the UK and have a gorgeous baby daughter!
I have a learning-centred approach and encourage my students to be active and reflective learners. I really enjoy the creative process of making PowerPoints and worksheets and hope you enjoy using them!
Battleships Game/ Lotto Grid: Revision of a range of tenses:.Present, Perfect, Imperfect, Future, Near Future, Conditional, Subjunctive. It could be used as a revision activity at the beginning of of throughout the school year.
Expressions included:
Je suis sorti(e) et
Nous nous sommes amusés et
J’irai au syndicat d’initiative et
Nous irions à la patinoire et
Ils étaient très contents et
il a fait de la voile.
nous avons loué des vélos.
je vais chercher quelques dépliants.
il faisait très chaud.
je travaillerai comme chirurgien.
il faut que je fasse mes devoirs.
Battleships Game
Instructions
I use this battleships game (which can also be used as a lotto grid) to help students to practise their pronunciation and to reinforce new vocabulary and grammatical structures.
Firstly I ask the students to work independently in pairs to translate the expressions and discuss pronunciation.
I then check the translations and drill pronunciation with the whole class before they play the game. The students secretly choose 5 squares on the top grid and then try to guess which 5 squares their partner has chosen, filling in the bottom grid with “hit” and “miss.” To choose a square say a phrase from the horizontal line and complete the sentence with a phrase from the vertical line. Where the 2 phrases meet up is the square you have chosen.
I use the English language sheet to further challenge the students: they should place this on top of the French version and then try to play the game saying the French phrases as far as possible from memory. I allow the really weak students to have the French version next to the English version so they have lots of support, stronger students are allowed a few “sneaky peaks” at the French version and the really strong students aim to refer back to the French version as little as possible. This really helps the students to memorise the vocabulary/structures!
During the game I circulate the classroom checking pronunciation. This is followed by whole class drilling of pronunciation mistakes.
Enjoy!
This warmer activity can be used to revise the Present, Perfect, Imperfect, Future and Conditional Tenses at the beginning of term or throughout the school year.
Each student has a mini-whiteboard to write their answer on; give them 20 seconds.
All: Find the odd-one-out.
Most: Identify the tenses.
Some: Change the odd-one-out to the same tense as the other two.
Example Expressions:
je joue au tennis B. je fais de la voile C. je jouerai de la guitare.
A. je bois un jus de pommes B. je mangerai C. j’irai au syndicat d’inititative
A. j’ai joué au foot B. je lis C. j’ai fait de la natation
Group Talk foster the spontaneous use of the target Language in the classroom. This sheet can be used in conjunction with my Group Talk Discussion Mat.
There are 4 questions on the sheet:
1. Manges-tu sain?
2. Qu’est-ce que tu as mange et bu hier soir?
3. Quelle est ta faiblesse?
4. Qu’est-ce que tu as fait comme exercice la semaine dernière?
The students pair up and one student asks a question. There are then 3 levels of challenge:
1. The student can answer using the expressions in the box (which you have translated and elicited the pronunciation of beforehand).
2. In addition the students use some of the words listed below the box to extend their answers.
3. In addition the students should try to come up with other spontaneous phrases.
Using the discussion mat with this allows them to build in additional responses e.g.
Attend! = Wait!
C’est ridicule! = That’s ridiculous!
Tu es fou/folle?! = Are you crazy?!
Ce n’est pas juste = It’s not fair!
Tu plaisantes? = You must be joking/ are you joking?
This colourful and fun PowerPoint presentation presents descriptions of eye colours.
Phrases:
Tengo los ojos azules.
Tengo los ojos verdes.
Tengo los ojos marrones.
Tengo el ojo morado.
Llevo gafas.
Use the first slide to ask students to work in groups to discuss the English translation, the pronunciation and to explain the parts hi-lighted in red. Then go through each slide checking the translation, pronunciation and grammatical rules and then drilling the phrase.
The final slide of the new expressions can be used to revise and to play the following games"
If you have a stamper facility on your interactive whiteboard, a fun game is to ask the students to recite the Spanish phrases over and over whilst you gradually cover the words in stampers e.g. smileys or apples making it more and more difficult – simple but fun!
Another easy game is to send one student out of the room. The remaining class chooses a student to give a top secret signal – this could be a sound e.g. a deliberate sneeze or cough, or something visual e.g. an obvious stretch, zipping/unzipping their pencil case etc. The students then repeat the first phrase again and again until they see or hear the signal. The students then repeat the second phrase again and again until they see or hear the signal and so on. The student who has been sent out must then try to figure out who the secret signal giver is!
This colourful and fun PowerPoint presentation presents various meals. First introducing the noun, then the infinitive, finally a sentence using the verb.
Vocabulary:
¡Las comidas!
El desayuno.
Desayunar.
Desayuno a las seis y media.
La comida.
Comer.
Como a las dos.
La merienda.
Merendar.
Meriendo a las seis.
La cena.
Cenar.
Ceno a las nueve.
Use the first slides to elicit the English, the pronunciation and if you wish the rule to make the present tense form and drill.
The final slide has all the new phrases. This could be used for one of the following fun games:
If you have a stamper facility on your interactive whiteboard, a fun game is to ask the students to recite the Spanish phrases over and over whilst you gradually cover the words in stampers e.g. smileys or apples making it more and more difficult – simple but fun!
Another easy game is to send one student out of the room. The remaining class chooses a student to give a top secret signal – this could be a sound e.g. a deliberate sneeze or cough, or something visual e.g. an obvious stretch, zipping/unzipping their pencil case etc. The students then repeat the first phrase again and again until they see or hear the signal. The students then repeat the second phrase again and again until they see or hear the signal and so on. The student who has been sent out must then try to figure out who the secret signal giver is!
The first slide encourages the students to actively engage with the new vocabulary: working in teams, using their prior knowledge, knowledge of other languages and using a process of elimination to figure out the meanings. They then discuss the pronunciation and question each other before the teacher checks with the whole class.
All: Translate 7/8 colours & PPC!
Most: Translate 8/8 colours & PPC!
Some: What other colours can you remember? How would you say blue trousers, a white shirt & some black shoes?
Jaune
Bleu/ bleue
Blanc/ blanche
Gris/ grise
Marron/ brun/ brune
Noir/ noire
Rouge
Vert/ verte
The next slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English, the masculine/feminine rules and to drill.
The next section of slides have multiple choice questions. Then there is a "Qu’est-ce que c’est?" slide.
The final slide has pictures of all the phrases. This can be used for a Beat the Teacher game, which the students love! The teacher points to a picture and says a word. If it is the correct word the students all repeat it. If its the wrong word the students must stay absolutely silent. If they do, they win 1 point. If not, the teacher gets 1 point. Most points wins!
Noughts and crosses/ tic-tac-toe.
I use this game to revise a range of tenses both at the beginning of the school year and throughout the year.
I put the students into 2 teams. One will be noughts the other crosses. They then discuss the translation, tense and pronunciation of the following expressions:
Je fais de la planche à voile depuis l’âge de quinze ans.
Je me suis couchée de bonne heure.
Nous avions un professeur très stricte.
Je suis surpris qu'elle ne t'ait rien dit.
Si mon lycée était fermé aujourd'hui je ferais la grasse matinée jusqu'à neuf heures et demie.
Tu pourras venir samedi après-midi, si tu veux.
Ils s’étaient habillés rapidement
Je ne suis pas arrivé à l’heure hier.
Je le lui ai donné
Then I draw a noughts and crosses/ tic-tac-toe grid on the board, giving each square a number.
The teams choose a number and I choose a phrase that they must translate, be able to pronounce and be able to identify the tense in order to win the square.
If they make a mistake the other team can steal the square by answering correctly! If that team makes a mistake the original team can have another go and so on. The aim is to get 3 in a row.
This is a challenging game!
Expressions:
Chez nous le problème c’est....
qu’il y a trop de pollution et
qu’il y a trop de circulation et
la pollution à cause des gaz d’échappement des voitures et
qu’il y a une nouvelle autoroute près de chez nous et
Qu’on construit des maisons tout près et
quand il pleut la rivière déborde.
il y a souvent des inondations.
il y a des papiers/ des ordures partout.
le bruit est affreux.
il n’y a pas beaucoup des transports en commun.
Battleships Game
Instructions
The students love this competitive and fun game!
I use this battleships game (which can also be used as a lotto grid) to help students to practise their pronunciation and to reinforce new vocabulary and grammatical structures.
Firstly I ask the students to work independently in pairs to translate the expressions.
The students then focus on pronunciation and decide the two easiest and two most difficult words to pronounce.
I then check the translations and drill pronunciation with the whole class before they play the game. The students secretly choose 5 squares on the top grid and then try to guess which 5 squares their partner has chosen, filling in the bottom grid with “hit” and “miss.” To choose a square say a phrase from the horizontal line and complete the sentence with a phrase from the vertical line. Where the 2 phrases meet up is the square you have chosen.
I use the English language sheet to further challenge the students: they should place this on top of the French version and then try to play the game saying the French phrases as far as possible from memory. I allow the really weak students to have the French version next to the English version so they have lots of support, stronger students are allowed a few “sneaky peaks” at the French version and the really strong students aim to refer back to the French version as little as possible. This really helps the students to memorise the vocabulary/structures!
During the game I circulate the classroom checking pronunciation. This is followed by whole class drilling of pronunciation mistakes.
Enjoy!
I use this odd one out activity with my Year 12 and 13 students to check their knowledge of whether nouns are masculine or feminine based on their endings. This includes both regular nouns which follow patterns such as feminine nouns usually ending -tion and irregular nouns.
The first slide has 7 groups of 4 nouns from which the students have to identify the odd one out. Beyond the grammatical rules I also invite the students to think outside the box and come up with alternative answers!
Examples:
obstacle chômage combinaison fardeau
combinaison = fem
tension fonction philosophie collège
collège = masc
problème réflexion mystère rejet
réflexion = fem
The first slide has 7 sentences which the students must unjumble. They could do this in teams or individually. The second slide has the answers. This is really challenging and lasts around 10-15 minutes - enjoy!
The task is differentiated as follows:
Tout le monde: Écrivez les phrases dans le bon ordre.
La majorité: Traduisez les phrases en anglais.
Quelques personnes: Écrivez les phrases au passé composé.
Examples:
Li rai ne ecasAl
Il ira en Alsace
Uosv rzeef ed al aneplch à eovil
Vous ferez de la planche à voile
Llee renm’vera nu MSS
Elle m’enverra un SMS
* Please note I do not include the Perfect Tense answers in the PowerPoint - I discuss these with the students.
Expressions:
Avant de faire mes devoirs
Avant de quitter la maison
Avant de manger le déjeuner
Avant de me coucher
Avant de voyager autour du monde
je m’étais levé(e) tôt.
j’avais fait la vaisselle.
j’avais lu une bande dessinée.
j’avais vu les actualités.
je m’étais lavé(e).
Battleships Game
Instructions
The students love this competitive and fun game!
I use this battleships game (which can also be used as a lotto grid) to help students to practise their pronunciation and to reinforce new vocabulary and grammatical structures.
Firstly I ask the students to work independently in pairs to translate the expressions.
The students then focus on pronunciation and decide the two easiest and two most difficult words to pronounce.
I then check the translations and drill pronunciation with the whole class before they play the game. The students secretly choose 5 squares on the top grid and then try to guess which 5 squares their partner has chosen, filling in the bottom grid with “hit” and “miss.” To choose a square say a phrase from the horizontal line and complete the sentence with a phrase from the vertical line. Where the 2 phrases meet up is the square you have chosen.
I use the English language sheet to further challenge the students: they should place this on top of the French version and then try to play the game saying the French phrases as far as possible from memory. I allow the really weak students to have the French version next to the English version so they have lots of support, stronger students are allowed a few “sneaky peaks” at the French version and the really strong students aim to refer back to the French version as little as possible. This really helps the students to memorise the vocabulary/structures!
During the game I circulate the classroom checking pronunciation. This is followed by whole class drilling of pronunciation mistakes.
Enjoy!
This PowerPoint presents the following exchange expressions:
Tu peux me prêter..?
un baladeur/ un iPod?
un dictionnaire?
un parapluie?
un réveil?
du dentifrice?
une brosse à cheveux?
The first slide encourages the students to actively engage with the new vocabulary: working in teams, using their prior knowledge, knowledge of other languages and using a process of elimination to figure out the meanings. They then discuss the pronunciation and question each other before the teacher checks with the whole class.
The next slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill.
The next section of slides have multiple choice questions.
The final slide has pictures of all the phrases. This can be used for a Beat the Teacher game, which the students love! The teacher points to a picture and says a word. If it is the correct word the students all repeat it. If its the wrong word the students must stay absolutely silent. If they do, they win 1 point. If not, the teacher gets 1 point. Most points wins!
Then use the slide to ask Qu’est-ce que c’est?
You may wish to reinforce this with my battleships/ lotto game:
Expressions:
Tu peux me prêter un/une
J’ai oublié mon/ ma
J’ai acheté un/ une
Je vais acheter un/ une
J’ai besoin d’un/ une
iPod.
dictionnaire.
parapluie.
réveil.
dentifrice.
brosse à cheveux.
Battleships Game
Instructions
Firstly I ask the students to work independently in pairs to translate the expressions.
The students then focus on pronunciation and decide the two easiest and two most difficult words to pronounce.
I then check the translations and drill pronunciation with the whole class before they play the game. The students secretly choose 5 squares on the top grid and then try to guess which 5 squares their partner has chosen, filling in the bottom grid with “hit” and “miss.” To choose a square say a phrase from the horizontal line and complete the sentence with a phrase from the vertical line. Where the 2 phrases meet up is the square you have chosen.
I use the English language sheet to further challenge the students: they should place this on top of the French version and then try to play the game saying the French phrases as far as possible from memory. I allow the really weak students to have the French version next to the English version so they have lots of support, stronger students are allowed a few “sneaky peaks” at the French version and the really strong students aim to refer back to the French version as little as possible. This really helps the students to memorise the vocabulary/structures!
During the game I circulate the classroom checking pronunciation.
I use these cards to play a game which I learnt in Japan called Karuta. In Karuta the students spread out the cards in front of them. I then say the English and the students compete to touch the correct French card first. Whoever touches it first wins the card. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins. The students love this game!
Adjectives on cards:
Beau/ belle
Bon/bonne
Court/ courte
Excellent/ excellente
Grand/grande
Gros/ grosse
Haut/ haute
jeune
Joli/ jolie
Long/ longue
Mauvais/ mauvaise
Méchant/ méchante
Meilleur/ meilleure
Nouveau/ nouvelle
Petit/ petite
Vieux/ vieille
Vilain/ vilaine
The students must match the 2 halves of the sentence correctly.
Expressions:
Je
Tu
Mon frère Pierre
Ta sœur Amélie
Papa et moi
Vous
Luc et Mélanie
Les filles
Les garçons
suis allé(e) à la campagne.
es allé(e) en France.
est allé à Paris.
est allée à Bruxelles.
sommes allés à Londres.
êtes allé(e)s en Allemagne.
sont allés au Japon.
sont allées aux Etats-Unis.
sont allés en Espagne.
You may choose to have different levels of challenge. For example,
Level 1 = match the cards and discuss the pronunciation.
Level 2 = match the cards , discuss the pronunciation and then have quick fire questions from French to English, whereby 1 student closes their eyes and their partner reads out the French sentences which the student must translate into English from memory.
Level 3 = As Level 2 but the quick fire questions are from English to French.
I use these English - French matching cards to practise the word order of object pronouns in relation to the verb.
Examples of expressions:
Le secrétaire les leur a envoyés
The secretary sent them to them.
Ils m’y ont vu.
They saw me there.
Je vous en enverrai
I will send you some.
You may choose to have different levels of challenge. For example,
Level 1 = match the cards and discuss the pronunciation.
Level 2 = match the cards , discuss the pronunciation and then have quick fire questions from French to English, whereby 1 student closes their eyes and their partner reads out the French cards which the student must translate into English from memory.
Level 3 = As Level 2 but the quick fire questions are from English to French.
Following checking there are 2 fun games to play, either pelmenism or a game I learnt in Japan called Karuta. In Karuta the students put the English language cards to one side and spread out the French cards in front of them. I then say the English and the students compete to touch the correct French card first. Whoever touches it first wins the card. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins. The students love this game!
I use this either as a fun short warmer activity or to revise some items of clothing and sports as well as other general vocabulary. It is based on the Soccamatic from Wallace and Gromit's Cracking Contraptions on the Extras DVD of The Curse of The Were Rabbit. My version is in English, but it would be great to show this in French perhaps with English subtitles.
We translate the questions, then watch the Soccamatic twice (it only lasts 1.5 minutes) and check the answers.
The worksheet is differentiated with Extra questions to stretch the stronger students.
Worksheet Extracts:
Wallace et Gromit!
Cracking Contraptions!
A. Vrai ou faux? Extract:
1. Gromit porte un pull vert.
2. Wallace et Gromit jouent au badminton.
3. Wallace porte un short violet.
Extra : Cochez les choses que vous voyez. Extract:
un ballon de foot une robe une jupe
un ballon de tennis une raquette une gomme
des chaussettes un lapin un banc une règle
une trousse une poubelle un lampadaire
The students must put the cards into the correct order.
Examples of expressions on cards:
Si je faisais un plus grand effort je réussirais
à mes examens. Si j’étais riche
j’achèterais une maison secondaire. Si j’avais
une sœur nous serions les meilleures
amis. Si je n’avais tant de
travail, je sortirais ce
soir. Nous voudrions passer....
You may choose to have different levels of challenge. For example,
Level 1 = line up the cards and discuss the pronunciation.
Level 2 = line up the cards , discuss the pronunciation and then have quick fire questions from French to English, whereby 1 student closes their eyes and their partner reads out the French cards which the student must translate into English from memory.
Level 3 = As Level 2 but the quick fire questions are from English to French.
Following checking you can play a game I learnt in Japan called Karuta. In Karuta the students spread out the cards in front of them. I then say the English and the students compete to touch the correct French card first. Whoever touches it first wins the card. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins. The students love this game!
I have made this series of resources to help the students to understand the excitement, challenges, history and prestige of this incredible event and to teach them facts and vocabulary associated with Le Tour De France. It features YouTube videos, colourful slides, dominoes and a plenary board game.
The second slide states:
Objectif: To to learn facts and vocabulary related to the Le Tour de France. it is divided into All, Most and Some.
Slide 3 acts as both the lesson hook and the warmer task: the students watch the fantastic DailyMotion (French version of YouTube) video (6 mins) showing highlights of the 2015 Tour and note down any facts and French vocabulary they already know.
Slide 4 gives instructions on how to use the dominoes whereby the students match the 2 halves of sentences about Le Tour. There are also dominoes in English to support younger/weaker students:
All : Put the English and French dominoes into the correct order.
Most : AND Perfect Pronunciation Challenge!
Some : AND Quick Fire Questions! * Here the students quiz each other about the phrases: French to English, English to French, spellings….
Extra Challenge: Don’t use the English dominoes and translate the French!
Examples of dominoes phrases:
Il y a 21 étapes réparties sur une période de 23 jours.
La course couvre près de 3 500 kilomètres.
Le coureur avec le meilleur temps total est le leader de la course et porte le maillot jaune.
Slides 5 to 16 reveal the answers.
The students will now watch an excellent 10 minute YouTube video explaining the Tour de France. This has brilliant graphics, but the narration is in English so I have written a worksheet with 17 multiple choice questions in French. Examples:
1. 3500 kilomètres est approximativement la distance entre New York et…
A. Chicago.
B. Las Vegas.
C. Los Angeles.
6. Les courses de nuit ont été abandonnées à cause…
A. du danger.
B. de la tricherie.
C. du froid.
To prepare thoroughly I first instruct the students to work in teams to translate the questions.
The answers are on the first two pages of the worksheet.
Slide 18 has the board game which you should print off. Also in the resources are templates for dice and a cyclist template which the students can colour in and use as their counter. There are a series of multiple choice question cards to print off which cover all the information taught in the lesson.
The students should answer the question correctly before being allowed to shake the die. Weaker students could be shown the questions (covering the answer below) and you may allow them to translate the question and possible answers into English together too.
Slide 19 allows time for reflection.
This PowerPoint focuses on what one used to do at primary school.
Qu’est-ce que tu faisais à l’école primaire?
Expressions taught:
Je dessinais.
Je chantais.
J’apprenais à lire/ écrire/ compter.
Je faisais du ski.
Je jouais au foot.
J’écoutais des histoires.
Je parlais avec des copains.
The first slide encourages the students to actively engage with the new vocabulary: working in teams, using their prior knowledge, knowledge of other languages and using a process of elimination to figure out the meanings. They then discuss the pronunciation (PPC = Perfect pronunciation Challenge). Stronger students then match the endings to the subject pronouns.
The next slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill. The next section of slides are vrai- faux questions. Then there are "what's missing?" slides. The final slide has pictures of all the phrases. This can be used for a Beat the Teacher game, which the students love! The teacher points to a picture and says a word. If it is the correct word the students all repeat it. If its the wrong word the students must stay absolutely silent. If they do, they win 1 point. If not, the teacher gets 1 point. Most points wins!
Having familiarised the students with these key phrases slides 28 and 29 focus on eliciting the formation and the endings for all subject pronouns. Slide 31 looks at the irregular verb être and the final slide covers all the information taught. This can be printed out and stuck into student's books.
The use the role play.
I noticed that some of my GCSE students weren't spotting the synonyms that would help them to answer their Listening and Reading Exam questions and made these cards. The students have to group the cards together sometimes in pairs, others in groups of 3 or more.
Expressions:
Les voitures
Les véhicules
Les autos
Les déchets
Les papiers
Les ordures
Les détritus
La capitale française
Paris
Beaucoup de gens
Beaucoup de personnes
Beaucoup de monde
Travail
Emploi
Métier
Carrière (technically not a synonym of the previous 2, but links to the topic).
Je garde les enfants
Je fais du baby-sitting
Conduire
Rouler
Réduire
Diminuer
La flore
L’herbe
Des plantes
Les arbres et les fleurs
La faune
Les animaux
En fin de semaine
Le week-end
Se reposer
Se détendre
Se relaxer
Le transport en commun
Le réseau de bus urbain
Les jeunes
Les adolescents
Following checking there is afun games to play which I learnt in Japan called Karuta. In Karuta the students spread out the cards in front of them. I then say the English and the students compete to touch the correct French cards first. Whoever touches it first wins the card. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins. The students love this game!