As you can see from the illustrations for the cards, “prof de français” and “cheveux”, the ostensible goal of this game is to guess the mystery word(s) given the fewest number of clues possible. In point of fact, however, it is to motivate students to talk about their immediate environment in the target language. The focus of the deck is the world of school but there are just enough cards on more general topics to keep things interesting. EXTENDING THE LESSON There are 120 cards in this deck. To extend the lesson and to create a new deck, distribute two or three blank cards to each of your students and challenge them to write in their own “mots devinettes”. NOTES 1 Although I designed these cards on a printable business card template - 10 per sheet - you can also run them on card stock and cut them along the guidelines. 2 Tailor the deck for use by younger or less advanced students by culling the more abstract concepts like “avenir” and “style”. 3 I’ve offered a handful of expressions in both European and Canadian French. The Canadian French vocabulary is marked with a small maple leaf.

Because it's hard to find big, bright, text-rich, French motivational stickers, I have designed about fifty “reward cards” to encourage and congratulate my students. My kids like them and I like being able to update them as needed. Many sincere thanks to my (much) younger colleague, who gently suggested that I move into this millennium and label this file as “brag tags”! HOW I USE THEM 1) AS COLLECTIBLES They work as little giveaway rewards for good effort. (I’m from Canada, hockey trading card country. The best compliment I ever got was when one of my boys announced that he was trying to collect the “whole set”!) 2) AS CURRENCY Students may trade in 10 cards for a package of gum or a dollar store /pound shop gift. 3) As a “bon point” incentive A bon point is redeemable for “1 mark on our next test”. Even high school kids love this little card trick. If you go this route, reserve two or three styles (for example, the “vachement bien” and the “de quoi être fier /fière” cards) as the bon point cards.

Challenge your students to use their words with these Christmas, Hannuka, The New Year and Remembrance Day puzzles. Unlike Scrabble players, Scribblescrabblers can choose which letters to use for each of their turns. As in Scrabble, however, they will score the most points with the strategic placement of those letters. You may ask your students to incorporate a thematic vocabulary list or to play using general vocabulary only. Either way, they will be engaged! In fact, very competitive students tend to want to play every possible open square. This file includes English, French and Spanish versions for of each grid and a blank grid for those of you teaching other languages.

Unlike Scrabble players, Scribblescrabblers can choose which letters to use for each of their turns. As in Scrabble, however, they will score the most points with the strategic placement of those letters. Download this free Scribblescrabble to see if this activity is right for your students: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/a-scribblescrabble-for-hannukah-6301284 This file includes English, French and Spanish versions of each grid as well as a blank grid for those of you teaching other languages.

You’ll find two new word work puzzles in this file.
 1 I know these words backwards and forwards (CHRISTMAS) The end of every word in this circular puzzle is also the beginning of a new word. The words embedded in the puzzle are: 1 rejoice 2 celebration 3 Noel 4 list 5 stocking 6 gift 7 trim 8 imagine 9 newborn 10 ornament 11 tree 12 eggnog 13 gingerbread 14 advent 15 tinsel 16 elves 17 sleigh 18 holly 19 yuletide 20 decorate 21 eating 22 guest 23 star 24 reindeer 2. Broken Words! (A CHRISTMAS word puzzle) In this virtual race, players have to reconstitute and recopy words that have been broken into syllables and scattered over the game grid. The words embedded in this puzzle are: 1 chimney 2 stable 3 magi 4 angel 5 holly 6 stocking 7 advent 8 carol 9 manger 10 tinsel 11 infant 12 present 13 joy N.B. Try before you buy. Be sure that these activities will be right for your students by downloading their free sister resources: I know these words backwards and forwards (THANKGIVING) at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/i-know-these-words-backwards-and-forwards-thanksgiving-11424790 and Chopped Up Words (A Hallowe'en word puzzle) at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/chopped-up-words-a-hallowe-en-word-puzzle-11407269

These Scribblescrabbles games are for Valentine’s Day, MLK Day, Chinese New Year & Groundhog Day. English, French & Spanish grids are included as is a blank grid for other languages. As in Scrabble, students will score the most points with the strategic placement of their letters. Unlike Scrabble players, Scribblescrabblers choose which letters to use for each turn. You may ask your students to incorporate a thematic vocabulary list or to play using general vocabulary only. Either way, they will be engaged! In fact, very competitive students tend to want to play every possible open square.

Challenge your students to use their words with these puzzles for Saint Patrick’s Day, Easter, Passover and Earth Day. Unlike Scrabble players, Scribblescrabblers can choose which letters to use for each of their turns. As in Scrabble, however, they will score the most points with the strategic placement of those letters. You may ask your students to incorporate a thematic vocabulary list or to play using general vocabulary only. Either way, they will be engaged! In fact, very competitive students tend to want to play every possible open square. This file includes English, French and Spanish versions for of each grid and a blank grid for those of you teaching other languages.

2 Jeux de mots pour Noël (EN COMMENÇANT PAR LA FIN et MOTS COUPÉS) EN COMMENÇANT PAR LA FIN The end of every word in this circular puzzle is also the beginning of a new word. The words embedded in the puzzle are: 1 renne (m.) 2 neige (f.) 3 générosité (f.) 4 terre (f.) 5 réveillon (m.) 6 Noël (m.) 7 lutin (m.) 8 invité (m.) 9 étoile (f.) 10 lettre (f.) 11 rêve (m.) 12 vert 13 traîneau (m.) 14 auberge (f.) 15 église (f.) 16 étable (f.) 17 emballage (m.) 18 geler 19 roi (m.) 20 imagination (f.) 21 naître MOTS COUPÉS In this virtual race, players have to reconstitute and recopy words that have been broken down into syllables and scattered over the game grid. The words in this puzzle are: vacances (f.pl.) sapin (m.) cadeau (m.) étoile (f.) église (f.) chaussette (f.) enfant (m.) lutin (m.) hiver (m.) traîneau (m.) jouet (m.) grelots (m.pl.) 13. gui (m.) SEE IF THESE ACTIVITIES ARE RIGHT FOR YOUR STUDENTS. TRY . . . a free English version of “En commençant par la fin” : https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/i-know-these-words-backwards-and-forwards-thanksgiving-11424790 a free English version of "Mots coupés: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/chop-chop-a-hallowe-en-word-puzzle-11407269

As students solve this MOTDOKU (SUDOKU) du SUBJONCTIF they inadvertently “write out” the following verbs. (Yes, it’s manipulative! Mea culpa.) 1 que je vienne 2 que je doive 3 que je prenne 4 que je voie 5 que je veuille 6 que je puisse 7 que j’aille 8 que je sache 9 que je fasse To be sure that this kind of activity is right for your students, download the free MOTDOKU du subjonctif (vouloir): https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/le-sudoku-du-subjonctif-vouloir-6160677

There are a dozen puzzles in this file, including ten Christmas carol titles in rebus format. They are intended for francophone, advanced FSL and gifted students. I've also included a list of links to audio and video files of the songs featured in the puzzles. Joyeux Noël!

In this small-group activity, Fate (the dice) will determine which Christmas character or object your students will describe. A relaxed way to reinforce lessons on adjectives and to encourage speaking in full sentences in French (or any target language). If you’d like to extend the lesson to written work, just assign any dice co-ordinates (ie: •• x •••• or •••• x •) I’ve included a PDF and a Powerpoint version of this resource. To be sure that this kind of activity is right for your students, download the free Exprime-toi (Les vêtements) at : https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/exprime-toi-les-v-tements-6291778 Joyeux Noël!

The objective of “Où sont les trésors cachés? (Les aliments)” is to help students to build sentences and to talk about food using indefinite and partitive adjectives. It uses primarily the present tense. Even reluctant learners will be motivated to listen carefully to speak in French in full sentences. After the oral treasure hunt, you can assign coordinates to create an instant written assignment. To see if “Où sont les trésors cachés? (Les vêtements)” is right for your students, download the free “Où sont les trésors cachés? (Les verbes ER). https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/o-sont-les-tr-sors-cach-s-les-verbes-er-6438862 VOCABULARY FEATURED IN THIS GAME le beignet la boisson le beurre d’arachides le biscuit le café la cerise les chips (f.) le chocolat les choux de Bruxelles (m.) la fraise les frites (f.) le fromage le gâteau la glace le hamburger le légume les oeufs (m.) au plat la pastèque la pizza la pomme le poulet le raisin le sandwich les spaghettis le sushi ALTERNATIVE VOCABULARY FEATURED IN THE QUÉBÉCOIS VERSION la beigne le beurre de pinottes la crème glacée les croustilles le melon d���eau

Originally designed for Modern Language classes, “Where are my Christmas gifts?” is a virtual scavenger hunt that encourages even reluctant students to participate enthusiastically in class. It works well as a full class and as a small group activity. You’ll be astonished to experience the phenomenon of an entire class listening “actively” because no one wants to waste a guess choosing a square from which the gift has already been claimed. After the oral treasure hunt, you can create an instant written assignment by assigning a handful of co-ordinates. I’ve included answer keys for the present and the future tenses but “Where are my Christmas gifts?” works well for almost all verb tenses. Please note that there are two versions of the game to accommodate those who know that the name of the one and only jolly old elf is “Father Christmas” . . . or “Santa Claus”. If you’d like more resources on this theme, just type “Christmas” into the search window of my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/Carlav

Un jeu conçu pour aider les débutants à apprendre le nom des vêtements. Once your students have finished matching each vocabulary card with its corresponding picture card, they will turn over all the pairs to correct their own work. Matching icons on the back of the flipped pair will confirm that the task has been well done. Icons that don’t match tell players that it’s time to try again. To be sure that "GET THE PICTURE (Les vêtements)" is the right kind of activity for your students, download the free resource, "GET THE PICTURE (Le présent des verbes ER)" https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/get-the-picture-le-pr-sent-des-verbes-er-a-self-correcting-learning-activity-11342123 There are 56 cards in this file.

“Où sont les trésors cachés? (Noël)” works well both as a full-class, teacher-directed game and as a small group activity. You’ll find that even reluctant learners will be motivated to listen carefully to hear which squares have already been “played” by their classmates. And the promise of “treasure” tends to generate enthusiastic oral participation as well. After the fun of the oral treasure hunt, you can also assign co-ordinates to create an instant written assignment to reinforce the correct spelling of the verb endings. This answer key is for le présent, le passé composé, l’imparfait, le futur simple & le conditionnel antérieur. However, the game works for all verb tenses. To see if “Où sont les trésors cachés? (Noël)” is right for your students, download the free “Où sont les trésors cachés? (Les verbes ER)… https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/o-sont-les-tr-sors-cach-s-les-verbes-er-6438862