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!
French PowerPoint Presentation: Infinitives
The first slide revises what the infinitive is and elicits examples.
The next slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill.
Presentation and Battleships Expressions (please see Battleships instructions for another product - I can't fit it on the word count here!!):
J’aime surfer sur Internet.
J’adore retrouver des amis.
Je n’aime pas regarder la télé.
J’adore écouter de la musique.
Je préfère aller au cinéma.
Je vais aller à la pêche.
Je peux danser.
The next slide s 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 there are "What's missing?" slides.
Worksheet: Infinitives: Qu’est-ce que tu aimes faire avec tes copains?
First task: English to French match up. Key expressions covered:
1. J’aime jouer au foot.
2. J’aime aller à la pêche.
3. Je préfère regarder la télé.
4. Je préfère jouer à l’ordinateur.
5. J’adore faire de l’équitation.
6. J’adore faire des courses.
7. J’adore faire du vélo.
8. J’adore aller au McDo.
9. Je n’aime pas écouter de la musique.
10. Je n’aime pas aller à la piscine.
11. Je déteste aller au cinéma.
Answers:
1 = C
2 = G
3 = I
4 = K
5 = E
6 = H
7 = D
8 = J
9 = F
10 = A
11 = B
Second task: extended sentences unjumbling phrases e.g.J’aime faire de l’équitation car c’est super !
Questions and answers:
l’équitation c’est j’aime car super faire de !
J’aime faire de l’équitation car c’est super!
du j’adore car amusant faire sport c’est !
J’adore faire du sport car c’est amusant!
aller ennuyeux au je cinéma c’est car déteste
Je déteste aller au cinéma car c’est ennuyeux.
préfère en aller je c’est formidable ville car !
Je préfère aller en ville car c’est formidable!
n’aime car jouer l’ordinateur nul je pas à c’est
Je n’aime pas jouer à l’ordinateur car c’est nul.
Extension task 1: Students write sentences based on picture cues.
Extension task 2: Create a paragraph using other phrases with the infinitive.
This colourful and fun PowerPoint presentation teaches adjectives to describe school subjects and teachers.
Vocabulary:
Es aburrido/a.
Es bueno/a.
Es divertido/a.
Es difícil.
Es fácil.
Es útil.
Es inteligente.
Es interesante.
Es relajante.
Es simpático/a.
The first slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill.
It includes a beat the teacher game and a ¿Qué es?slide to check learning.
Beat the teacher is played by the teacher pointing to a picture and saying 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 Instructions
The students love this competitive and fun game!
Vocabulary:
El inglés es aburrido y
Los profesores son buenos y
La informática es útil y
La música es fácil y
El español es divertido y
El profesor es inteligente y
el instituto es bueno.
la geografía es difícil.
las matemáticas son aburridas.
la tecnología es relajante.
los alumnos son simpáticos.
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 Spanish version and then try to play the game saying the Spanish phrases as far as possible from memory. I allow the really weak students to have the Spanish version next to the English version so they have lots of support, stronger students are allowed a few “sneaky peaks” at the Spanish version and the really strong students aim to refer back to the Spanish 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!
Enjoy!
This 19 slide Thanksgiving assembly, tutor/ form time/ PSHE presentation aims to show the students how fortunate they are and to consider the problem of food waste. I have used colourful images and animations and kept text to a minimum. There are several opportunities for audience participation, pairwork, groupwork and class discussion.
The first slide has a teaser to get the students thinking. There are pictures of wheat, sugar cane, sugar beet, a chicken, a cow and some strawberries. The students have to think what the connection could be. Encourage the students to be imaginative in their responses! The second slide shows the link: the origin of ingredients to make a Victoria Sponge Cake!
Slide 3 asks How much do you THINK about the food you eat?
Slide 4 states: Thanksgiving is celebrated in North America to give thanks for the harvest. In the past lives depended on its success. George Washington proclaimed the first nationwide thanksgiving celebration on November 26th 1789. In modern times the President of the United States, will "pardon" a turkey, which spares its life!
Slide 5 states: Harvest Festivals are celebrated around the world such as….
Slides 6 – 8 name and have pictures of 3 festivals: The Blessing of the Sea in Greece, The Rice Harvest in Bali, Indonesia and Harvest Festival in the UK.
Slide 9 states: These festivals focus on giving thanks and being grateful for the food on our plate.
Slide 10 asks: How much do you THINK about the food you eat? Here is some food for thought…
Slide 11 states: These days we import food from all over the world. If our crops fail we can still eat.
Slide 12 states: Other people are not as fortunate. Today, famine is most widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is caused by many factors such as drought, crop failure and war. It is also influenced by climate change.
Slide 13 shows a picture of a mountain of food and says: Here is a bumper crop. However, the following 2 clicks give the following information: Hang on………this is actually food waste.
Slide 14 shows the famine picture beside the food waste picture and asks: How do these pictures make you feel?
Slide 15 shows an infographic giving information about food waste in the USA.
Slide 16 states: Fortunately there are many individuals and groups who are doing something about food waste. For example:
• Donating to food banks.
• Composting.
• Encouraging shops to stock “ugly” produce.
There are probably locally-run groups in your area which you may want to research and perhaps even support as a school.
Slide 17 asks: Do you waste food? What can you do to reduce your waste?
Slide 18 says: This Thanksgiving take a moment to think about how lucky we are and what you can do to help others….
Slide 19 says: …including the chef! On this slide is the quotation: cooking with love provides food for the soul.
Enjoy!
The students must match the masculine card (with English translation in brackets) with the feminine card. This is pretty straight-forward so give plenty of time for peer questioning (see Levels 2 and 3 below). I also give the students a copy of the sheet so they can use the cards for self-testing and revision.
Masculine adjectives:
Bas (low)
Blanc (white)
Bon (good)
Bref (brief/ short)
Complet (complete)
Doux (soft)
Faux (false)
Favori (favourite)
Frais (fresh)
Gentil (kind)
Long
Public (public)
Sec (dry)
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 peer questioning from masculine to feminine and vice versa.
Level 3 = As Level 2 and challenge each other to remember as many as possible.
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 masculine cards to one side and spread out the feminine cards in front of them. I then say the masculine and the students compete to touch the correct feminine 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!
Battleships Expressions:
Pour aller aux magasins ?
Pour aller au musée?
Pour aller à la poste ?
Pour aller au syndicat d’initiative ?
Pour aller à la librairie ?
Pour aller à l’hôtel de ville ?
Vous allez tout droit.
Vous tournez à gauche.
Vous tournez à droite.
Prenez le bus numéro 15.
Traversez les feux et le pont.
Prenez la première rue à droite.
Prenez la deuxième rue à gauche.
Battleships Game
Firstly I ask the students to work independently in pairs to translate the expressions and discuss the 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!
French - English Cards: Prepositions, Directions & Places.
Expressions:
Continuez jusqu’au carrefour.
C’est tout près d’ici.
L’arrêt de bus se trouve en face de la gare routière.
La patinoire est devant le commissariat.
Le syndicat d’initiative est à coté de la pharmacie.
L’hôtel de ville est devant la boulangerie.
Le stade est entre l’église et la piscine.
La bibliothèque est au bout de la rue.
Le café est à gauche de la librairie.
Au coin de la rue il y a une charcuterie.
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.
Level 3 = As Level 2 but questions from English to French.
Then play pelmenism/ slap the card.
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!
Vocabulary presented:
le français.
L’anglais.
L’espagnol.
L’allemand.
L’arabe.
Les maths.
L’informatique.
La géographie.
L’histoire.
La religion.
La musique.
L’art dramatique.
Le dessin.
La technologie.
Le sport/ l’EPS.
Les sciences: la chimie.
Les sciences: la physique.
Les sciences: la biologie.
As there is a lot of vocabulary I have presented it in 2 groups, each followed by graded questioning.
The first slides have the phrase and a picture for each of the first 7 subjects. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill. Then there are "what's missing?" slides.
Then the next 11 phrases are presented followed by multiple choice slides and 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!
Battleships: Expressions:
J’adore le/ la/ les
Je déteste le/ la/ les
Ma matière préférée, c’est
Je suis fort(e) en
Je suis faible en
Je suis nul(le) en
dessin (le)
français (le)
sport (le)
géographie (la)
histoire (l’)
musique (la)
maths (les)
Instructions
Firstly I ask the students to work independently in pairs to translate the expressions and discuss the 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.
During the game I circulate the classroom checking pronunciation.
There are 3 resources:
1. A "discussion mat" of general phrases for lively debate including:
Tu es d’accord? = Do you agree?
Je suis d’accord = I agree
Je ne suis pas d’accord = I disagree
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?
Check the pronunciation of these expression first.
2. A template to give opinions of clothes (colours included).
Opinions:
moche(s)
démodé(e)(s)
cool
joli(e)(s)
chic
sophistiqué(e)(s)
décontracté(e)(s)
habillé(e)(s)
pratique(s)
sportif/ive(s)
I ask the students to discuss the translation and pronunciation of these expressions. Extension: discuss and/or look up additional opinions.
3. A PowerPoint of various outfits.
Simply pair up/ group the students (I find similar abilities work best together for this activity) and give them 1 minute to debate the outfits. Encourage the stronger students to come up with spontaneous phrases and to ask you for additional vocabulary/ phrases as necessary.
It takes a little while to set this up thoroughly, but I loved watching the students expressing a range of opinions and really engaging with the material!
PowerPoint Vocabulary:
Je vais en ville.
Le café.
Le cinéma.
Le parc.
Le club des jeunes.
Le centre sportif.
La plage.
La bibliothèque.
La crêperie.
La piscine.
La ville.
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!
For progression you may wish to use my places in town matching cards:
Expressions:
Je vais à la plage.
Nous allons au club des jeunes.
Elle va à la crêperie.
Je vais aller à la bibliothèque.
Nous allons faire de la natation à la piscine.
Ils vont faire les magasins en ville.
Tu aimes aller au parc ?
Je voudrais boire un coca au café.
Je suis allé(e) au cinéma pour voir le nouveau film de James Bond.
These matching cards can be used either to elicit places in town or to revise previous learning.
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!
PowerPoint:
I use this resource to present Christmas vocabulary.
Vocabulary presented:
la crèche
un sapin de Noël.
le Père Noël
un cadeau de Noël
un ange
une dinde
un chant de Noël
un renne
un bonhomme de neige
The first slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill. The next slide has pictures of all the new vocabulary. 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 it’s 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!
The next section of slides have multiple choice questions. Then there are "what's missing?" slides.
Jingle Bells:
I use this for a bit of a sing-song in my French Christmas lesson. The slide has the following lyrics from Vive Le Vent (Jingle Bells):
Vive le vent, vive le vent,
vive le vent d'hiver;
qui s'en va sifflant, soufflant
dans les grands sapins verts.
Oh!
Vive le temps, vive le temps,
vive le temps d'hiver.
Boules de neige et jour de l'an
et bonne année grand-mère.
I talk the students through the lyrics, then drill them singing each line and put it together for a fun 10 minute activity. I usually get the boys to compete with the girls too! The slide can be printed out too.
Enjoy!
Lotto:
This is a simple lotto game practising the numbers 1-20. Students choose 4 numbers and then I go through the PowerPoint, counting the number of different festive items with the students in French. * Note I count the carol singers as 6!
Please note this doesn't cover all the numbers from 1-20, but when I've played it with my classes I've had a winner in all but 1 game!
Day of the Dead!
Día de los Muertos Activities.
These activities should take a whole lesson and could be extended into homework. Students will learn cultural facts and vocabulary such as:
un cementerio
une tumba
una ofrenda
unos cempasúchiles
unos juguetes
unos angelitos
el pan de muerto
unas calaveras
una catrina
Start by showing the PowerPoint: I have written in English, adding in the Spanish vocabulary and have tried to keep words to a minimum. I have aimed to include vibrant and interesting images and animations to fire the students’ imaginations! This should take about 10 minutes.
Then either show the YouTube link to the gorgeous 3 minute animation of La Día de los Muertos or give the students the worksheet to complete as they watch. You may wish to play the animation twice.
Finally use the last sheet to help the students respond creatively to what they have learnt by creating a Spanish acrostic, a calligramme or a poem. These will make beautiful displays!
I made this flowchart to help my students form the perfect tense for regular past participles, irregular past participles, verbs that take être and negatives. The second slide also includes reflexives. I thought it would be great to create a Perfect Tense machine, hence the Perfectatron! I print out a colour copy for each student to stick in their books. You may wish to use this with my Perfectatron Challenge Worksheet.
The Perfectatron Challenge!
This sheet should be completed using the Perfectatron with avoir, être and negatives. Students work through the following challenges, then we check them together as a class.
All:
I entered (m)= ______________________________
I fell (f) = ______________________________
You (informal, m) arrived = ______________________________
He went = ______________________________
She went = ______________________________
We went out (mixed group) = ______________________________
They stayed (group of girls) = ______________________________
They entered (mixed group) = ______________________________
I read = ______________________________
He said = ______________________________
They drank = ______________________________
We learnt = ______________________________
She saw = ______________________________
I watched = ______________________________
You (formal/plural) finished = ______________________________
He played = ______________________________
She listened to = ______________________________
We chose (choisir) = ______________________________
Most:
Create complex sentences using:
MRS VAN DER TRAMP verbs: ______________________________¬¬¬¬-_________
Irregular verbs with avoir: ______________________________¬¬¬-_______________
Regular verbs with avoir: ______________________________________________
Some:
Create a complex, negative sentence for:
MRS VAN DER TRAMP verbs: ______________________________¬¬¬¬-_________
Irregular verbs with avoir: ______________________________¬¬¬-_______________
Regular verbs with avoir: ______________________________________________
Mega Challenge:
See some, but now using a range of tenses, adjectives and opinions.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This differentiated role play is entitled: Les choses que j’aime faire.
Example questions and model answers:
A. Qu’est-ce que tu aimes faire comme passe-temps ?
B. Ma passion c’est le foot/ le tennis/ la natation/ le netball/ le ski/ la boxe/la lecture/ l’équitation/ car/parce que à mon avis/ je pense que/ je trouve que c’est très/ assez/un peu/ plutôt/ extrêmement/ incroyablement/ vraiment amusant(e)/ délassant(e)/intéressant(e).
A. Quand est-ce que tu en fais ?
B. J’en fais tous les jours/ deux fois par semaine/ tous les week-ends/ tous les vendredis.
Other questions:
A. Aimes-tu faire de l’équitation/ de la natation/ les devoirs/ les magasins ?
A. Aimes-tu jouer au foot/ au tennis/ au rugby/ au netball/ au basket/ du piano/
de la violon ?
Extra extension questions and model answers for stronger students:
A. Qu’est-ce que tu as fait le week-end dernier, c’était comment ?
B. Le week-end dernier j’ai joué au foot/ au tennis/ au rugby/ au netball/ au basket/ du piano/ du violon j’ai fait du ski/ du vélo/ du VTT/ de la natation/ de l’équitation j’ai lu un livre/ travaillé à l’ordinateur. C’était chouette/ génial(e/ nul(le).
A. Qu’est-ce que tu vas faire le week-end prochain, ce sera comment ?
B. Le week-end prochain, je vais faire du ski/ jouer au foot/ faire mes devoirs ce sera chouette/ génial(e/ nul(le).
I use these matching cards with my Year 12 students to build vocabulary associated with the stresses and strains of A Level studies.
Expressions:
On nous fait travailler comme des fous!
Il est possible que je doive redoubler ma première.
Je suis complètement obsédé par mes notes!
C’est l’angoisse totale quand le prof me rend un contrôle.
J’aimerais bien que les programmes soient moins chargés.
Mes parents ne veulent pas que je prenne cette filière-là.
Je suis hyper stressé(e) !
J’ai un trac fou à chaque fois qu’il faut passer un examen.
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!
Vocabulary presented:
J’ai un stylo.
J’ai un crayon.
J’ai un cahier.
J’ai un livre.
J’ai un taille-crayon.
J’ai un classeur.
J’ai un sac.
J’ai un dictionnaire.
J’ai une règle.
J’ai une trousse.
J’ai une gomme.
J’ai une calculatrice.
J’ai des ciseaux.
J’ai des feutres.
J’ai des tennis.
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 check the pronunciation, the English, whether the noun is masculine or feminine and to drill. As there are quite a lot of items I have divided them into 2 groups, starting with the first 7 items.
The next section of slides have multiple choice questions. Then there are "Qu’est-ce que c’est?" slides.
Then I have added slides of the next 8 phrases and pictures, followed by multiple choice questions and "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: I have added in a range of tenses and other expressions to challenge and stretch the students.
Je voudrais un crayon
Je n’aime pas mon taille-crayon
J’ai besoin d’une règle
J’achète des ciseaux
Je n’ai pas de classeur
j’ai quinze dictionnaires !
je vais acheter un bâton de colle.
je n’ai pas de feutres.
j’ai acheté une calculatrice.
j’ai oublié mes tennis.
J’ai perdu ma trousse.
As cities and countries are very straight-forward I have built in a range of verbs to increase the level of challenge.
Expressions:
Je vais à Londres en Angleterre.
Je suis allé(e) à Édimbourg en Écosse.
Je vais à Swansea au Pays de Galles.
Je voudrais aller à Dublin en Irlande.
Nous allons à Berlin en Allemagne.
Je vais visiter Athènes en Grèce.
Je suis allé(e) à Berne en Suisse.
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.
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 27 can be used for revision in the following lesson.
The Millionaire game test whether the students remember to use à, en or aux + country/ city. I give the students mini-whiteboards to play this. As an extension ask the students to translate the initial phrase and identify the tense.
E.g Slide one question:
Je vais…
Options:
à Bruxelles.
en Bruxelles.
au Bruxelles.
aux Bruxelles.
PowerPoint vocabulary:
Un chien
Un chat
Un lapin
Une souris
Une perruche
Un serpent
Un cheval
Un hamser
Un cochon d'Inde
Une tortue
Un poisson rouge
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 mutiple 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!
Students ask and answer using the structures:
Tu as un animal chez toi?
Oui, J’ai _____________________________________
Non, je n’ai pas d’animal.
As many students are confident talking about pets I've added 2 extension phrases which the students can also use:
Quand j’étais petit(e) j’avais _______________________________
Je voudrais avoir _______________________________
I've also added a reminder about plurals:
Normally we add an s (silent) e.g. J’ai un chien, j’ai deux chiens.
If the noun ends in al we add replace al with aux e.g. un cheval, deux chevaux.
If the noun already ends in the letter s we do not need to change it to make in plural e.g. une souris, deux souris.
They task has been divided into 3 levels of challenge:
All: answer main question. Draw number of animals.
Most: Give an extra detail in your answer. Draw number of animals.
Some: Give 2 extra details in your answer. Spell the number and animal perfectly in French.
I play the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Game with the students using mini-whiteboards. The question asks how to say an animal in French and there are 4 possible French answers to chose from. Differentiate as follows:
All: Choose a letter.
Most: AND translate one remaining animal.
Some: AND translate all 3 remaining animals.
French PowerPoint Presentation: Introducing the Perfect Tense for regular -er verbs. This presentation also exposes students to Je suis allé(e).
The first slide (details below) encourages the students to actively engage with the new vocabulary and grammar: working in teams, using their prior knowledge, knowledge of other languages and using a process of elimination to figure out the meanings and grammatical rules. They then discuss the pronunciation (PPC = Perfect Pronunciation Challenge) and question each other (QFQ = Quick Fire Questions) before the teacher checks with the whole class:
All: Look at the perfect (past) tense phrases below. Translate them.
Most: What verb is in green? The word in red is called the past participle, what do you take away from and then add to the infinitive (in blue) to make the past participle?
Some: What differences can you think of between the present and perfect tenses? PPC & QFQs!
J’ai regardé la télé. (regarder)
J’ai dansé. (danser)
J’ai joué sur une console. (jouer)
J’ai surfé sur Internet. (surfer)
J’ai écouté de la musique. (écouter)
J’ai retrouvé des amis. (retrouver)
* Je suis allé(e) au cinéma. (aller)
* Je suis allé(e) à la pêche. (aller)
Then there are individual slides with pictures for each phrase which the teacher can use to check the students translation, pronunciation and rules.
Then there are multiple choice slides followed by Qu’est-ce que c’est? slides.
Slide 32 revises the structure: form of avoir + past participle.
Slide 33 elicits the full conjugation of avoir.
Slide 34 should be used to elicit how to change the infinitive into the past participle (regular -er verbs).
If you wish to mention irregular past participle use slide 35 to do so.
Slide 36 briefly introduces the idea of verbs that take être.
French Battleships Game/ Lotto Grid: Perfect tense intro regular -er verbs & je suis allé(e).
Expressions:
J’ai
Tu as
Il a
Elle a
Nous avons
Vous avez
Ils ont
Elles ont
regardé la télé.
joué au tennis.
retrouvé des amis.
dansé et je suis allé(e) au cinéma.
surfé et je suis allé(e) à la pêche.
fait du sport.
Battleships Game
Please see instructions in one of my other battleships product descriptions - I can't fit them into the word count here!
Enjoy!
The first slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill. I also like to elicit a gesture for each month, which we then use for a fun game of Simon Says!
The next slide (14) 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!
Use slide 21 to pounce on students (directed questioning).
The final slide links into birthdays asking:
Quelle est la date de ton anniversaire?
With the model answer:
Mon anniversaire, c’est le 30 janvier
The matching cards can be used either to elicit the months or to revise previous learning. As the months are so straight-forward, I have added cultural information and longer sentences to expose the students to new facts and vocabulary as well as practising the months.
French Expressions:
Mon anniversaire est le quinze septembre, c’est génial!
J’adore l’Halloween, donc j’adore le mois d’octobre !
Je fais des bonhommes de neige en janvier en France, c’est cool !
Poisson d’avril !
Je mange beaucoup d’œufs au chocolat en mars et avril car c’est Pâques!
La fête nationale a lieu le 14 juillet.
Les mois d’été sont juin, juillet et août.
Le 14 février, c’est le Saint-Valentin, c’est très romantique!
J’espère voir le père Noel en décembre!
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.
Then play pelmensim or slap the card.
Battleships Expressions:
Lundi,
Mardi,
Mercredi,
Jeudi,
Vendredi,
Samedi,
Dimanche,
dix juin.
treize mars.
vingt décembre.
premier avril.
quinze août.
trente et un juillet.
Please see the instructions on another battleships product description - I can't fit them in here!
PowerPoint and Matching Cards (Englsih - French) Expressions:
J’ai les cheveux blonds/ Je suis blond(e).
J’ai les cheveux bruns/ je suis brun(e).
J’ai les cheveux roux/ je suis roux/ rousse.
J’ai les cheveux longs.
J’ai les cheveux courts.
J’ai les cheveux frisés.
J’ai les cheveux raides.
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 mutiple 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:
J’ai
Tu as
Il a
Elle a
On a
Nous avons
Vous avez
Ils ont
Elles ont
les yeux bleus.
les yeux verts.
les yeux noisette.
les cheveux blonds et courts.
les cheveux noirs et raides.
les cheveux roux et frisés.
Instructions
Firstly I ask the students to work independently in pairs to translate the expressions.
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!