A series of model texts on Les Vacances / Holidays for KS3 or KS4 French. The first text is annotated as an example. Pupils then annotate the other examples. They can translate them into English or use them as a model for their own writing in French. Suitable for working individually, in pairs, or shared out between groups working with colours and large pieces of paper.

This is a lesson for the Computer suite or laptops/tablets to practise writing about Free Time in Spanish. Pupils work through the activities, dragging the correct words into place. It builds up from small chunks of language to translation of short paragraphs.

Summary version of the powerpoint from my Language World 2020 talk on going Beyond the Sentence, building longer answers and stories. Video of the full talk. https://youtu.be/sfwRR2G3YOs

Structured activities developing pupils' ability to describe artworks in French. Includes the style and how it makes you feel. Support/scaffolding given along with pictures to be described. Can be used for Speaking or for Writing. Works well with Year 7 after they have worked on shapes and colours, or throughout KS3 and into KS4 where you may be working on describing pictures for GCSE.

An 8 page booklet of work designed for setting cover for French lessons in an emergency. All the words the pupils need are on the sheet and pupils can complete the work on the page. Suitable for KS3 or KS4. Works for pupils who have studied the topic or who are unfamiliar with it, as all the words are provided on the page. Topics are “My School” and “Living in Norfolk.” Core language is opinions, reasons, connectives, infinitives. And some examples of past tense at the end.

Lesson on song Plus Tard by Oli et Bigflo to go with their video on YouTube. Tasks to make the song accessible. Not comprehension testing tasks. The link to the sound only version of the song doesn’t work anymore, but the video link still does. Just play the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UgsqtaXiwI without projecting it for the first activity! Don’t rush for the pupils to understand everything from the first activity! That’s what the rest of the lesson is for!!!

French writing resource on the topic of Holidays / Les Vacances. Scaffolded with whole sentences which are to be sorted and then lifted to create writing about a series of pictures. Uses opinions, perfect tense, near future to be re-used in chunks by pupils without necessarily having to conjugate the verbs for themselves at this stage. Suitable for KS3 or KS4. Designed to be doable using the information/language on the page. Copy as 2 A3 sheets. Pictures included.

A very successful approach to Writing Assessment and preparation for exam conditions writing at GCSE. Suitable for use at KS3 and in KS4. A3 sheet to be copied for pupils. In exam conditions, pupils fill in the French in column 1. If they don't know a word, they put a cross in the column. This should take 5 minutes. Then allow the pupils to look at their books etc to fill in column 2 for any words they couldn't remember in exam conditions. This should take 5 minutes. Then pupils do the Writing Assessment using ONLY this sheet. They hand the sheet in with their assessed piece so the teacher can see how much was known language (column 1) and how much had to be looked up (column 2). It also acts as a scaffold with pupils having all the ingredients for success ready to put into their writing.

This is a lesson for the Computer suite or laptops/tablets to practise writing about Free Time. Pupils work through the activities, dragging the correct words into place. It builds up from small chunks of language to translation of short paragraphs.

A mystery that will take you exploring the streets of Vesoul on the trail of a master of disguise whose ambitions are plaguing the town. The characters will talk to you in French, but by answering the easy questions, you will pick up the important clues and know where to go next. Click on the links or scan the QR code to listen to what they tell you. Many many thanks to everyone who has recorded a character! There is a powerpoint video tutorial to get you started. You can print out the document as a 24 page booklet, and use your computer to explore the town on Google Streetview. Or you can just open the document on your computer at the same time as Streetview and switch between windows. Let me know on twitter @veverettmfl how you are finding it. I recommend you try it first before using it with pupils. Use it lots. It will go out of date as soon as the Google Street View self driving car takes new photos of Vesoul! NB Google Street View has now been updated. But if you look in the comments at the bottom of this blog post, you can find a link to videos of the route so you can still do the Mystery. https://whoteacheslanguages.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-french-street-view-mysteries.html

French Free time / Mon temps libre scaffolded writing and translation. Pupils identify key sentence building elements such as opinions, tenses (present, perfect, imperfect), connectives, verb + infinitive. They then match it to meaning and insert it into sentences/translation. They worksheet is designed to be doable using the language/information on the page. It is suitable for KS3 or KS4.

This is designed to be done in Word on the computer (or as a google doc) but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t print it out and ask pupils to do it on paper. Telling stories about what happened when you went to the beach. Scaffolded with parallel texts and with pupils making their own glossary. Opinions and reasons, imperfect and perfect tenses - no prior knowledge necessary. I use it with Year 8.

French my house / ma maison introduction to the perfect tense and the near future in the first person. Pupils sort and match the verbs before seeing them in sentences and then transferring them into their own sentences. Suitable for KS3 or revision at the start of KS4

A basic text on en ville / in town in French with too much repetition. Pupils are given a range of alternative expressions to re-draft the piece of writing and improve it. This activity used to be called Pimp my French when the TV show Pimp my Ride was popular. You can give pupils a "budget" - a very precise number of words they have to use to deliver an improved piece of writing to the client. Uses connectives, verb + infinitive, opinions.

French in school / au college speaking activity for KS3 or revision at the start of KS4 to develop spontaneous speaking. Pupils use the sheet to construct long sentences talking to a partner. You can ask them to swap partners, reducing how much they look at the sheet as the lesson progresses. Simultaneous Translation activity: their partner tells them what to say, constructing long sentences using the sheet.

Verb tables with activities for pupils to find the verb they need in the perfect and imperfect. Starts with the verbs in the verb table. Moves on to identifying the ending of other verbs, then to putting the correct ending on. Used in translated sentences to describe what was happening/what happened, using a crime scenario. Stepped activities which are all designed to be doable using the information/language given on the page. Suitable for KS3 or KS4. Includes the Oxford-Cambridge activity where the questionmaster challenges two partners to race to find verb endings on the page. Pupils buzz in when they find the answer.

This worksheet introduces pupils to the concept of the infinitive, with verbs to be used for talking about my town / en ville. The pupils look for the infinitives, match them to meaning, then insert them into sentences using opinions and je peux (I can). Suitable for KS3 or for revision at the start of KS4.

Here are the resources from my Languages World 2018 workshop “Equipping Pupils to be Creative” including a French version of the “Going to the Beach” Keep Talking sheet.

Resource for working on the Prevert poem Le Cancre. Resources to make it accessible / focus on the content, not test comprehension. Includes links to YouTube videos of the poem. Good for School Topic or literature/culture independent of currrent topic.

A sentence building style resource to enable your classes to talk/write about songs they listen to in French, going beyond sentences, developing their answers.