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!
This presentation starts by eliciting the translation and rules for regular verbs.
Expressions:
Je jouerai au foot.
Je regarderai la télé.
J’écouterai de la musique.
Je mangerai un gâteau.
Je finirai mes devoirs.
Je vendrai ma voiture.
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.It is differentiated as follows:
All: Translate the phrases below. To make the future you need a stem and ending. What is the stem ? What is the ending?
Most: AND Which stem is slightly different? Why do you think this is?
Some: AND Which endings do you think go with which subject pronouns: je, tu, il/elle/on, nous, vous, ils/elles. Endings: ons, as, ai ez, ont, a. QFQs!
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. 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!
Slide 22 elicits the rules for regular verbs and slide 23 elicits the endings for the different subject pronouns.
Slide 24 introduces the irregular verbs.
Expressions:
Je serai acteur.
J’aurai beaucoup d’argent.
Je ferai de la planche à voile.
J’irai à Londres.
The final slide has pictures representing all the regular and irregular verbs.
You may wish to play my battleships game to reiforce this new knowledge.
Battleships.
The horizontal expressions are regular verbs, the vertical expressions are irregular verbs.
Expressions:
Je regarderai la télé et
Tu mangeras du poulet rôti et
Il finira ses devoirs et
Elle oubliera son parapluie et
Nous vendrons notre voiture et
Vous jouerez aux boules et
Ils recycleront des journaux et
j’aurai beaucoup d’argent.
tu feras de l’équitation.
il ira en Allemagne.
elle sera très contente.
nous viendrons chez toi.
Ils feront de la natation.
elles iront aux Etats-Unis.
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.
These cards can be used to revise/ elicit different jobs/ professions. I have included a range of tenses to challenge stronger students.
Expressions:
Je veux devenir acteur/actrice
Je voudrais être avocat/avocate.
Je vais devenir chanteur/chanteuse.
Je voulais être coiffeur/coiffeuse.
Je suis commercial/commerciale.
J’ai l’intention de devenir éducateur/ éducatrice.
Je rêve d’être footballeur.
J’aimerais bien devenir informaticien/informaticienne.
Mon frère deviendra mécanicien.
Mon grand-père était pilote d’avion.
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!
Group Talk encourages the spontaneous use of the target language. Here the students use the phrases on the sheet to voice their opinions of the different professions as you show them on the PowerPoint.
Expressions on sheet include:
Je veux être = I want to be
Je ne veux pas être = I don’t want to be
Car/ parce que = because
Et = and
Mais = but
Je dois admettre que = I must admit that
On peut = You can
On ne peut pas = You can’t
Je veux = I want
Je ne veux pas = I don’t want to
voyager = to travel
parler une langue étrangère = to speak a foreign language
gagner beaucoup d’argent = to earn lots of money
J’adore = I love
J’aime = I like
les maths = maths
les langues = languages
le contact avec le public = having contact with the public
C’est = it is
Ce n’est pas = it isn’t
assez = quite
très = very
dure = difficult
facile = easy
Je suis = I am
Je ne suis pas = I am not
patient(e) = patient
gentil(le) = kind
To really enter into the spirit of a lively debate you may choose to also use my Group Talk Discussion Mat with expressions such as :
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?
Expressions taught:
Il faut arriver à l’heure.
Il ne faut pas laisser son portable allumé.
Il ne faut pas manger en classe.
On ne doit pas courir dans les couloirs.
On ne doit pas fumer à l’intérieur.
Il ne faut pas porter de bijoux.
Il faut respecter les profs et les autres élèves.
Il faut faire ses devoirs regulièrement.
Il faut apporter un mot d’absence signé par les parents.
The first 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.
Then there are "Qu’est-ce que c’est?" slides.
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.
This PowerPoint starts by revising regular past participles and the conjugation of avoir. It then introduces the key irregular past participles.
Expressions taught:
J’ai fait du ski. (faire)
J’ai bu un coca. (boire)
J’ai vu la Tour Eiffel. (voir)
J’ai lu un livre. (lire)
J’ai pris une photo. (prendre)
J’ai écrit une lettre. (écrire)
J’ai dit bonjour! (dire)
The first slide on irregular past participles 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 can then discuss the pronunciation and question each other before the teacher checks with the whole class using the next slides.
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. Slide 25 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!
Slide 26 can be used for revision during the next lesson.
You may then wish to play one of my Perfect Tense battleships Games/ Lotto Grids to reinforce this content.
Battleships Expressions:
J’ai joué au foot et
Tu as fini les devoirs et
Il a vomi et
Elle a perdu ses devoirs et
On a regardé un film et
Nous avons écouté la radio et
Vous avez mangé des légumes et
Ils ont vendu la voiture et
Elles ont acheté des vêtements et
j’ai fait de la natation.
tu as fait de l’équitation.
il a lu un livre.
elle a bu une limonade.
nous avons pris des photos.
vous avez vu la Tour Eiffel.
ils ont voulu faire la vaisselle.
elles ont dit au revoir.
This PowerPoint presents the Perfect Tense with reflexives.
It starts by revising what a reflexive verb is, how you can spot a reflexive in the dictionary and the reflexive pronouns.
It then elicits that relfexive verbs take être in the Perfect Tense and the word order.
It present 6 examples of reflexives in the Perfect Tense:
Je me suis réveillé(e).
Je me suis brossé(e) les dents.
Je me suis lavé(e).
Je me suis douché(e).
Je me suis reposé(e).
Je me suis couché(e).
The 7th to 10th 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.
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!
Battleships Expressions:
Expressions:
Je me suis
Tu t’es
Il s’est
Elle s’est
On s’est
Nous nous sommes
Vous vous êtes
Ils se sont
Elles se sont
réveillé(e)(s).
levé(e)(s).
lavé(e)(s).
douché(e)(s).
reposé(e)(s).
brossé(e)(s) les dents.
couché(e)(s).
This PowerPoint slide bingo/ lotto game covers the perfect tense with avoir, être and reflexives.
I start by teaming up the students and asking them to translate the expressions, I differentiate as follows:
All: Translate the je forms,
Most: AND the second section of avoir and être verbs with a variety of subject pronouns
Some: AND the remaining reflexive verbs with a variety of subject pronouns.
Then I ask the students to choose 5 phrases and I randomly say phrases in English, eliciting the French and the students tick them off until someone wins!
contains the following phrases:
Lotto: Le passé compose!
Example phrases:
J’ai joué j’ai fini j’ai vendu
j’ai bu j’ai lu j’ai vu
je suis allé(e) je suis resté(e) je suis entré(e) j
je me suis réveillé(e) je me suis levé(e)
Il a regardé tu as vomi elle a perdu
nous avons fait vous avez pris ils ont compris
tu es allé(e) vous êtes partis ils sont descendus
Tu t’es reveillé(e) il s’est douche elle s’est reposée
nous nous sommes amusés vous vous êtes lavés
I use this role play to reinforce the perfect tense.
Jeu de rôles! Extract:
A. Tu t’es réveille(e) à quelle heure hier?
B. Je me suis réveillé(e) à __________ heures.
A. Tu t’es douché(e) ?
B. Oui, je me suis douché(e)/ Non, je ne me suis pas douché(e).
A. Qu’est-ce que tu as mangé et bu comme petit-déjeuner ?
B. J’ai mangé ____________ et j’ai bu ______________.
A. Tu es parti(e) à quelle heure ?
B. Je suis parti(e) à ________ heures.
Expressions: Les métiers!
acteur/ actrice
chanteur/ chanteuse
serveur/ serveuse
vendeur/ vendeuse
coiffeur/ coiffeuse
infirmier/ infirmière
médecin
musicien/ musicienne
footballeur
programmeur/ programmeuse
mécanicien/ mécanicienne
pilote d’avion, professeur,
secrétaire, au chômage.
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 first 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. 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!
I use this sheet to set a homework or classwork task practising body parts, plurals and adjectives. They must first draw the alien described on the sheet (see below) and then use this as a template to describe and draw their own alien. It includes suggested vocabulary to write more sophisticated French for stronger students. This could also be used as a Halloween task!
Extract from worksheet:
1. Read the alien description below and draw it!
Il / Elle s’appelle *@?!!; »=
Il/Elle a mille ans.
Il/Elle habite sur la lune.
Il/Elle a huit têtes vertes et dix grands yeux bleus.
Il/Elle a aussi un petit nez rouge et cinq oreilles jaunes.
Il/Elle a dix jambes blanches donc il a dix genoux aussi !
Cependant il/elle n’a pas de bras !
À mon avis il/ elle est très gentil(le) mais un peu paresseux/euse.
J’adore mon extra-terrestre !
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. This can also be used as a role play template.
Examples of questions/ sentences on the sheet:
Tu veux
voir un film?
jouer au foot?
visiter Futuroscope?
aller au café?
faire du vélo?
faire du skate?
Ce sera
très
assez
extrêmement
incroyablement
cool
intéressant
génial
chouette
Lundi/mardi/mercredi/jeud/ vendredi/samedi/dimanche
Matin/ après-midi/soir = morning/afternoon/evening
Je pense que = I think that
À mon avis = in my opinion
De plus = Furthermore
B
Bonne idée!
Chouette!
Je veux bien.
D’accord.
Bof.
Ça m’est égal.
Tu plaisantes!
Ça ne me dit rien.
Je n’ai pas envie.
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?
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. It can also be used as a role play template.
There are 5 questions on the sheet:
1. Qu’est-ce que vous mangez généralement, au petit déjeuner?
2. Qu’est-ce que vous buvez normalement?
3. Qu’est-ce que vous mangez et buvez à midi?
4. Qu’est-ce que vous avez mangé et bu hier soir?
5. Qu’est-ce que vous allez manger et boire demain?
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?
Expressions:
Un dessin animé.
Un jeu.
Une émission sportive.
Une émission pour les jeunes.
La météo.
Les informations.
Un documentaire.
Un film.
Un feuilleton.
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 (QFQs = quick fire questions) before the teacher checks with the whole class.
The first 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 where you can ask: Qu’est-ce que c’est?. This can also 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!
Battleships:
Expressions:
J’aime la météo parce que c’est intéressant,
J’adore les feuilletons car c’est super,
J’aime bien les informations parce que c’est intéressant,
Je regarde les documentaires, c’est génial,
Je préfère les dessins animés, c’est amusant,
par contre je déteste les films.
mais je n’aime pas les jeux.
par contre les émissions de sport, c’est nul !
mais je déteste les émissions pour les jeunes.
Battleships Game
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.
As there are many cognates I have included different countries, cities and tenses to increase the level of challenge for stronger students.
This PowerPoint presents the following expressions.
Je vais à Bruxelles à vélo.
Je vais au Portugal en voiture.
Nous allons au Danemark en taxi.
Je suis allé(e) à Londres à pied.
Je ne suis jamais allé(e) en Allemagne à moto.
Je suis allé(e) à Athènes en avion.
Je vais aller aux Etats Unis en aéroglisseur.
Nous sommes allé(e)s aux Pays-Bas en bateau.
J’aimerais bien aller en Suisse en car.
Nous sommes allés à Lisbonne à mobylette.
Je vais à Paris en Eurostar.
The first slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill.
All: translate the transport.
Most: Also translate the country/city.
Some: Also translaate and identify the verb/tense.
The next 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!
Finally there are "what's missing?" slides.
English - French Dominoes Expressions:
Je ne vais pas voyager à mobylette.
Je prends le bus car c’est pratique.
J’aime prendre la voiture car c’est vraiment bien.
J’adore prendre le métro car c’est rapide.
J’ai voyagé en bateau car ce n’est pas cher.
J’aimerais prendre l’avion car c’est rapide.
Je vais voyager à moto.
Je voudrais prendre le train.
Nous sommes allés à Bruxelles en car.
Nous allons à pied car c’est bon pour la santé.
Je n’ai pas voyagé en taxi.
Je ne voyage pas en Eurostar.
These matching cards can be used either to elicit the modes of transportation or to revise previous learning.
You may choose to have different levels of challenge. For example,
Level 1 = line up the dominoes and discuss the pronunciation.
Level 2 = As level 1 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 the students can play a game I learnt in Japan called Karuta. In Karuta the students spread out the dominoes 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!
This PowerPoint starts by eliciting the definitions of the infinitive (the 3 kinds of verbs are -er, -ir and -re) and conjugation. The next slide elicits the different subject pronouns. Slide 5 elicits the conjugation of Aimer and slide 6 elicits the rules for conjugating -er verbs.
The final slide resumes the rules for -er verbs and sets the following differentiated ask (this slide could be printed off):
All: Use colour, pictures, analogies etc to remember how to conjugate regular –er verbs. Write 7 sentences using regular –er verbs.
Most: Write 7 complex sentences for exercise, using connectives, adjetives, adverbs and opinions.
Some: Include regular –ir and –re verbs (see verb tables).
Regular er verbs: aimer = to like, arriver = to arrive, chanter = to sing, danser = to dance, jouer = to play, penser = to think, rêver = to dream, travailler = to work, voyager =to travel, détester = to hate, regarder = to watch, collectionner = to collect.
There is also a link to the fabulous Conjugation Back song on YouTube. Whilst this is for Spanish, it clearly illustrates the idea of conjugation.
English - French Matching Cards:
As well as regular -er verbs in the present tense I have included one perfect tense and one near future tense phrase to challenge the stronger students.
Expressions:
Je joue au tennis depuis dix ans.
Nous adorons le français car c’est très intéressant !
Il mange beaucoup de croissants.
Je vais regarder la télé avec ma sœur.
Tu aimes les chevaux?
Ils jouent du piano trois fois par semaine.
Nous avons écouté des chansons françaises.
Vous détestez le chou? Moi aussi!
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!
This worksheet practises the possessive adjectives: mon, ma, mes, ton, ta, tes and son, sa, ses.
It starts with short translations for mon, ma and mes e.g.
We use mon to talk about someone or something masculine:
e.g. Je mets mon pull = _________________________________________.
Then the students must fill in a table eliciting ton, ta tes and son sa, ses.
The next exercise tells students to:
(i) Underline all the possessive adjectives in the following 4 sentences.
(ii) Translate the sentences into English
Example sentence:
1. Je mets mon pull noir, mon sweat bleu, mes chaussettes rouges et mes baskets blanches =
Finally there is an extension task to write 7 of their own sentences.
I use these matching cards having taught clothes, colours and possessive adjectives to revise this vocabulary and grammar. Stronger students will be challenged by the range of tenses and adjectives.
Expressions:
Quand je vais au collège je mets ma chemise blanche.
Quand il y a du soleil je porte mes lunettes de soleil.
Quand je vais chez mes grands-parents je porte ma robe rouge.
Je préfère mes chaussures vertes car elles sont très confortables.
Quand il pleut nous mettons notre anorak jaune.
Hier j’ai porté mon short bleu car il y avait du soleil.
Demain je vais mettre ma casquette bleu-clair car j’aime le look décontracté.
Ma sœur porte son tee-shirt marron et son jean car c’est très confortable.
Hier nous avons porté une cravate; c’était pratique mais un peu moche.
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!
Use the PowerPoint in conjunction with the Matching Cards to elicit the rules for forming plurals in French.
Expressions on cards:
Une main
Deux mains
Un nez
Deux nez
Un cheveu
Des cheveux
Un animal
Six animaux
Un gâteau
Des gâteaux
Un genou
Trois genoux
Un œil
Les yeux
I use the first slide to elicit some imaginative plural translations, but you may wish to skip this.
Slide 2 asks:
Match the singular and plural cards.
ALL: How do you make most nouns plural?
MOST: How do you make nouns that end in the following letters plural?
-z
-eu
-al
-eau
-ou
SOME: Which noun is completely irregular and doesn’t follow ANY rules?
Extension: Make up a song/ poem/performance to help people remember these rules.
Slides 3 and 4 check the answers and slide 5 summarises the rules (this can be printed out and stuck into books).
This quiz has 8 tricky questions and could be completed individually, in pairs or in teams.Examples of questions:
1. I went (f)
a. Je suis allé
b. Je suis allée
c. J’ai allé
d. J’ai allée
2. We went out
a. Nous avons sortis
b. Nous sommes sortis
c. Nous sommes sorti
d. Je suis sortie
3. She was born
a. Elle a né
b. Elle n’est pas née
c. Elle est née
d. Elle est né
4. They (mixed group) drank
a. Elles sont bus
b. Ils sont bus
c. Ils n’ont pas bu
d. Ils ont bu
I use this role play to reinforce student's understanding of the Perfect Tense.
Firstly I ask them to translate the expressions and to discuss the pronunciation before I check this with the whole class and drill any tricky phrases. I encourage stronger students to extend their answers, perhaps by including opinions.
As the students work their way through the role play with different classmates I circulate correcting pronunciation and writing the most common pronunciation mistakes on the board before eliciting the pronunciation and drilling the whole class.
Role play:
A. Qu’est-ce que tu as mangé pour le petit-déjeuner hier ?
B. J’ai mangé des céréales/ du pain grillé/ un croissant/ je n’ai rien mangé.
A. Qu’est-ce que tu as bu ?
B. J’ai bu un jus d’orange/ du lait/ du thé/ du café/ de l’eau minérale/ je n’ai rien bu.
A. Tu as joué au foot hier?
B. Oui, j’ai joué au foot hier/ non, je n’ai pas joué au foot.
A. Tu as lu un livre hier ?
B. Oui, j’ai lu un livre hier/ Non, je n’ai pas lu de livre.
A. Tu as fait du vélo hier ?
B. Oui, j’ai fait du vélo hier/ Non, je n’ai pas fait de vélo.
A. Tu as fait tes devoirs hier ?
B. Oui, j’ai fait mes devoirs/ Non, je n’ai pas fait de devoirs.
A. Tu es allé(e) à la plage hier?
B. Oui, je suis allé(e) à la plage/ Non, je ne suis pas allé(e) à la plage.
This PowerPoint presents the following expressions with avoir and regular past participles:
J’ai joué au foot.
J’ai regardé la télé.
J’ai écouté de la musique.
J’ai mangé un gâteau.
J’ai fini mes devoirs.
J’ai vendu ma voiture.
The first 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. 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!
Slide 21 asks:
J’ai joué au foot.
This sentence is made up of 2 key ingrediants. What are they?
Elicit from the students:
J’ai = the form of avoir.
joué = the past participle.
Slide 22 elicits the conjugation of avoir.
Finally use slide 23 to elicit the formation of the past participles (I write the rules on the board).
Battleships Expressions:
J’ai
Tu as
Il a
Elle a
Nous avons
Vous avez
Ils ont
Elles ont
joué au foot.
regardé la télé.
écouté de la musique.
mangé des gâteaux.
fini les devoirs.
vendu la voiture.
Battleships Game
Instructions
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.
Enjoy!
The first slide quickly revises regular past participles using the following examples:
J’ai joué au foot.
J’ai fini mes devoirs.
J’ai vendu ma voiture.
Elicit from the students how to change the infinitive into the regular past participle.
Slide 3 explains:
If we take the verb faire and apply the rules for re verbs we get the following:
Faire – re = fai
+ u = faiu!
French doesn’t like this so the verb faire has the irregular past participle fait (which doesn’t follow any rules).
Slide 4 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) and question each other (QFQs = Quick Fire Questions) before the teacher checks with the whole class.
The first slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill.
Then there are multiple choice slides followed by Qu’est-ce que c’est? 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!
Expressions presented:
J’ai fait du ski. (faire)
J’ai bu un coca. (boire)
J’ai vu la Tour Eiffel. (voir)
J’ai lu un livre. (lire)
J’ai pris une photo. (prendre)
J’ai écrit une lettre. (écrire)
J’ai dit bonjour! (dire)
Cards: These matching cards can be used either to elicit key irregular past participles or to revise previous learning.
Expressions covered:
J’ai fait du ski.
Faire = to do/make
J’ai bu un coca.
Boire = to drink
J’ai vu la Tour Eiffel.
Voir = to see
J’ai lu un livre.
Lire = to read
J’ai pris une photo.
Prendre = to take
J’ai écrit une lettre.
Écrire = to write
J’ai dit bonjour!
Dire = to say
You may choose to have different levels of challenge. For example,
Level 1 = put the cards into 3 columns: the picture, the infinitive and the perfect tense phrase and discuss the pronunciation.
Level 2 = As above 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
Following checking there are 2 fun games to play, either pelmenism or slap the card.