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!
I use these English - French matching cards to revise key conjunctions which take the Subjunctive.
Expressions on cards:
Pour que/ afin que/ de façon que/ de manière que/ de sorte que
À moins que…ne
À condition que/ Pourvu que
Avant que…ne
En attendant que/ jusqu’à ce que
Bien que/ quoique
Non que
Ce n’est pas que
De crainte que…ne…
De peur que…ne…
Sans que
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 slap the card.
I use these English - French dominoes to revise expressions of emotion and the subjunctive.
Expressions:
Je suis surpris qu’elle ne fasse qu'un minimum de travail en ce moment.
1. My mother is very happy that you have settled well into your new house.
Ma mère est très contente que vous soyez si bien installé dans votre nouvelle maison.
We are happy that the weather is fine today.
Nous sommes heureux qu’il fasse beau aujourd’hui.
I am afraid that she isn’t happy.
J'ai peur qu'elle ne soit pas contente.
He is sorry that you didn’t pass the exam.
Il est désolé que tu n'aies pas réussi à l'examen.
I am sorry that we are not going to France this year.
Je regrette que nous n'allions pas en France cette année.
They are afraid that the situation is getting worse.
Ils craignent que la situation s'empire.
Are you sad that the neighbours have to move?
Es-tu triste que les voisins doivent déménager?
It’s a shame that she didn’t say anything to you.
C’est dommage qu’elle ne t’ait rien dit
I would rather that we go to Spain this summer.
Je préfère que nous allions en Espagne cet été.
He is glad that you can come and visit us.
Il aime que tu puisses venir nous rendre visite.
We are surprised that he didn’t visit us.
Nous sommes surpris qu’il ne soit pas venu nous rendre visite.
I am surprised that she is only doing a minimum amount of work at the moment.
You may choose to have different levels of challenge and games as listed above for the matching cards.
I always break down the subjunctive into more manageable chunks when I teach it and this short PowerPoint introduces the subjunctive following expressions giving orders.
Expressions:
Commander que/ donner l’ordre que/ ordonner que = to order that
Le roi ordonne que nous partions en vacances!
Demander que = to ask someone to do something.
Ma mère demande que je fasse la vaisselle.
Exiger que = to demand that
Le maire exige qu’il y ait plus de pistes cyclables.
Tenir à ce que = to insist that
Je tiens à ce que tu manges un autre gâteau!
Interdire que = to forbid that
La sorcière interdit que tu boives la potion magique!
The first slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English and to drill.
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 Game/ Lotto Grid:
Expressions:
Le directeur a ordonné que/ qu’
La loi interdit que/ qu’
Ils veulent éviter que/ qu’
Je souhaite que/ qu’
Elle aime mieux que/ qu’
tout le monde se rassemble dans la cour.
on boive l’alcool dans la rue.
on donne de l’argent aux institutions caritatives.
les élèves fassent de la voile.
nous ayons sommeil.
elles aillent au septième arrondissement.
Battleships Game
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.
The PowerPoint should be used with the English - French matching cards to elicit the formation and use of the present participle.
Examples of expressions on cards:
Il faut réagir énergétiquement en évitant de se battre.
You have to react energetically while avoiding a fight.
Tu ne perdras jamais de kilos en mangeant tant de plats sucrés.
Will will never ________________ whilst you eat so many ___________.
I created this 23 page French - English vocabulary booklet to support my students in their studies of the play Cyrano De Bergerac. It was a real labour of love and took hours and hours to create. I hope you find it useful!
Examples:
Acte 1
L’action = the setting
Un hangar = shed, hangar
Jeu de paume = real tennis * Real tennis is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of lawn tennis, or tennis, is descended. It is also known as jeu de paume in France, "court tennis" in the United States.
Jeu de paume in the 17th century.
Représentations = theatrical performances.
Embelli = made prettier, beautified
Aménagé = converted, equipped
Carré = square
En biais = sideways
Premier plan = the foreground
Le fond = far end
Dernier plan = background
Faire angle avec= at an angle with
La scène = the stage
Pan coupé = piece, trail, side, flap, section, cut away
Encombré = congested, cluttered.
Coulisses = behind the scenes, in the wings
Banquettes = upholstered benches
Tapisseries = wallpaper, tapestries
S’écarter = to move apart
Manteau d’Arlequin = Le manteau d'Arlequin est un trompe-l'œil imitant des rideaux ouverts sur les côtés. Un manteau d'arlequin encadre la scène de théâtre et permet d'augmenter ou de diminuer la taille de la scène visible en déplaçant les panneaux sur lesquels on a peint les draperies.
Les armes royales = the royal coat of arms
L’estrade = rostrum, platform
Une rampe de chandelles = candles as footlights
Les latérales = lateral, side
Galeries = galleries
Les loges = boxes/ balconies in a theatre.
Le parterre = the stalls (ground floor seats)
Les gradins = raised, tiered stands
Le buffet = sideboard
Un petit lustre = a small candelabra
Verre de cristal = crystal goblets
Assiettes de gâteaux = plates of sweetmeats.
Un lustre = chandelier
Fleuris = with flowers
Des flacons = small bottles/ flasks
S’entrebaîlle = ajar/ half-open
Un battant = second door
Clorise = the Goddess of War
Scène 1 EXTRACT
Le portier = doorman, also goalkeeper, la distributrice = seller, un tumulte = chaos, uproar, brusquement =abruptly, suddenly, chevau-léger de la maison du roi = his majesty’s cavalry, mousquetaire = musketeer, fleuret = foil (kind of sword) for fencing, Flanquin = the name of a character, un pourpoint = a doublet, dés = dice, coquin = kid, rascal scallywag, chandelle = candle, coller = stick/attach, une bouquetière = a flower-seller,
To help my A Level students to consider French stereotypes I show them the fabulous Cliché! by Cédric Villain on YouTube and ask them to complete the worksheet. I have been pretty sneaky in the wording of the questions to test a range of vocabulary and grammatical structures!
Examples of questions.
1.
a. La plupart des Français ne portent que des rayures, un foulard rouge, un béret et une baguette.
b. Tous les Français portent des rayures, un foulard rouge, un béret et une baguette.
c. Les Français portent souvent des rayures, un foulard rouge, un béret et une baguette.
2.
a. Les Français n’habitent qu’à Paris ou sur la Côte d’Azur.
b. La moitié des Français vivent à Paris.
c. Beaucoup des Français demeurent à Paris ou sur la Côte d’Azur.
3.
a. Quelques Français ont une vue de la Tour Eiffel.
b. La majorité des Français ont vu la Tour Eiffel.
c. Tous les Français peuvent voir La Tour Eiffel de chez eux.
There are 5 sets of matching cards; one for each Act.
I use these cards as a warmer whereby students have to match the quotations with the correct characters to help the students to memorise key quotations for their essays and to remember the plot of the play.
Examples from Act 1:
J’entre gratis.
= Un cavalier.
J’ai soustrait à mon maître un peu de luminaire.
= Un laquais.
Jour de Dieu !
Et penser dans une salle pareille
Qu’on joua du Rotrou, mon fils.
= Le bourgeois.
Act 2 examples:
Examples:
Ciel! Mes livres vénérés! Les vers de mes amis! Déchirés! Démembrés!
= Ragueneau
Quelle heure est-il?
= Cyrano
Qu’avez-vous à la main?
= Lise
Ouverts à coups d’épée, huit malandrins sanglants illustraient les pavés.
= Deuxième poète
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 quotation cards and the student must say the character from memory.
Level 3 = As Level 2 but the quick fire questions are to say the quotation.
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 names cards to one side and spread out the quotation cards in front of them. I then say the character and the students compete to touch the correct quotation card first. Whoever touches it first wins the card. The student with the most cards at the end of the game wins. The game can of course be played the other way around. The students love this game!
Warmer: Cyrano and Roxane quotations: students divide into 2 columns: Cyrano and Roxane and then divide into Acts:
Examples of quotations:
Un pauvre garçon qui jusqu’ici m’aima
Timidement, de loin, sans oser le dire.
Je me suis donc battu, madame, et c’est tant mieux,
Non pour mon vilain nez, mais pour vos beaux yeux.
Il est fier, noble, jeune, intrépide, beau…
Votre vengeance envers Cyrano, c’est peut-être
De l’exposer au feu qu’il adore (...)
Un homme comme lui de la faire enrager:
Vous voulez le punir? Privez-le de danger.
Le bonheur né de mon sacrifice.
This one slide odd-one-out warmer activity checks student's knowledge of the conjunctions which do and do not take the subjunctive. I give the students mini-whiteboards to record their answers on. They must write down the conjunction which does not take the subjunctive e.g. from a choice of:
bien que quoique pour que parce que
I use these English - French matching cards to revise key conjunctions which take the Subjunctive.
Expressions on cards:
Pour que/ afin que/ de façon que/ de manière que/ de sorte que
À moins que…ne
À condition que/ Pourvu que
Avant que…ne
En attendant que/ jusqu’à ce que
Bien que/ quoique
Non que
Ce n’est pas que
De crainte que…ne…
De peur que…ne…
Sans que
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 PowerPoint elicits the rules for position and use of the pronouns le, la, l' & les with the present tense. There are then 2 slides looking at pronouns and the Perfect Tense to extend stronger students.
Expressions covered:
Je le regarde.
Elle la mange.
On les écoute.
Je l’adore
Je l’ai lu pendant le voyage.
Je l’ai oubliée
Battleships Expressions:
La télé? Je la regarde tous les jours.
Les films de guerre? Je les déteste !
Le rap? Je l’écoute de temps en temps.
Les bandes-dessinées? Je les lis souvent.
La pizza? Je la mange une fois par semaine.
La télé-réalité? Je l’adore!
Les séries policières? Je ne les regarde jamais.
Le jazz? Mon frère l’aime beaucoup.
La gymnastique? Je la fais souvent.
Les films d’arts martiaux? Moi, je les déteste!
Battleships Game
Instructions
The students love this competitive and fun game!
I use this battleships game (which can also be used as a lotto grid) to help students to practise their pronunciation and to reinforce new vocabulary and grammatical structures.
Firstly I ask the students to work independently in pairs to translate the expressions.
The students then focus on pronunciation and decide the two easiest and two most difficult words to pronounce.
I then check the translations and drill pronunciation with the whole class before they play the game. The students secretly choose 5 squares on the top grid and then try to guess which 5 squares their partner has chosen, filling in the bottom grid with “hit” and “miss.” To choose a square say a phrase from the horizontal line and complete the sentence with a phrase from the vertical line. Where the 2 phrases meet up is the square you have chosen.
I use the English language sheet to further challenge the students: they should place this on top of the French version and then try to play the game saying the French phrases as far as possible from memory. I allow the really weak students to have the French version next to the English version so they have lots of support, stronger students are allowed a few “sneaky peaks” at the French version and the really strong students aim to refer back to the French version as little as possible. This really helps the students to memorise the vocabulary/structures!
During the game I circulate the classroom checking pronunciation. This is followed by whole class drilling of pronunciation mistakes.
Enjoy!
The cards have the following On Exchange conversation which the students must unjumble:
Hugo: Voici ma mère. Je te présente ma mère.
Mme S: Bonjour Lloyd. Bienvenue à Strasbourg.
Lloyd: Merci madame.
Hugo: Et mon père.
Lloyd: Bonjour monsieur.
M S: Bonjour Lloyd. Tu as fait bon voyage ?
Lloyd: Oui, c’était bien, mais un peu long.
Mme S: La mer n’était pas agitée ?
Lloyd: Non, la mer était calme.
Hugo: Qu’est-ce que tu as fait pendant le voyage ?
Lloyd: J’ai parlé avec mes copains.
Extension: Develop the final answer.
Then answer the question: Qu’est-ce que tu voudrais faire demain?
You may choose to have different levels of challenge. For example,
Level 1 = order the cards 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 there is a fun game to play which I learnt in Japan called Karuta. In Karuta the students spread out the cards in front of them. I then say the English and the students compete to touch the correct French 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 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!
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.
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.
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.
Expressions:
C’est une ville agricole.
C’est une ville ancienne/ historique.
C’est une ville animée.
C’est une ville industrielle.
C’est une ville moderne.
C’est une région touristique.
C’est un village mort.
C’est un joli village.
Il y a beaucoup de gens.
Il y a beaucoup de circulation.
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 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!
The 13th slide asks Qu’est-ce que c’est?
Finally, all the French expressions are listed for a re-cap.
Expressions:
Le football est plus intéressant que le golf!
Le basket est plus passionant que le tennis!
David Beckham est plus célèbre que Thierry Henri!
Britney Spears est plus intéressante que Beyonce!
La pêche est moins passionante que le foot!
La nourriture italienne est moins épicée que la nourriture mexicaine!
La musique es aussi fatigante que le sport!
Le chocolat est meilleur/ pire que la natation!
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 and rules. It is differentiated as follows:
All: translate the sentences below.
Most: What is the word in red? What should we check here?
Some: Come up with 5 comparative sentences.
The next slides have each phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English, the rules and to drill.
Slide 11 can be printed off and stuck in the student's books. It summarises the information and sets a written task as follows:
Comparatives.In order to compare two things we use the following structures:
plus + adjective + que = more … than
moins + adjective + que = less … than
aussi + adjective + que = as … as
E.g. Le football est plus intéressant que le golf! =
Remember: to say that something is better than = meilleur que and to say that something is worse than = pire que.
E.g Le chocolat est meilleur que la natation =
Remember: the adjective must agree with the subject of the sentence.
E.g.
Le football est plus intéressant que le golf!
Britney Spears est plus intéressante que Beyonce!
1. Create 10 of your own comparatives using a variety of adjectives.* Try to use plurals e.g les films de science fiction sont plus intéressants que les films d’horreur. Also use different tenses: Les comédies étaient meilleures que les actualités
Expressions:
Avant de faire mes devoirs
Avant de quitter la maison
Avant de manger le déjeuner
Avant de me coucher
Avant de voyager autour du monde
je m’étais levé(e) tôt.
j’avais fait la vaisselle.
j’avais lu une bande dessinée.
j’avais vu les actualités.
je m’étais lavé(e).
Battleships Game
Instructions
The students love this competitive and fun game!
I use this battleships game (which can also be used as a lotto grid) to help students to practise their pronunciation and to reinforce new vocabulary and grammatical structures.
Firstly I ask the students to work independently in pairs to translate the expressions.
The students then focus on pronunciation and decide the two easiest and two most difficult words to pronounce.
I then check the translations and drill pronunciation with the whole class before they play the game. The students secretly choose 5 squares on the top grid and then try to guess which 5 squares their partner has chosen, filling in the bottom grid with “hit” and “miss.” To choose a square say a phrase from the horizontal line and complete the sentence with a phrase from the vertical line. Where the 2 phrases meet up is the square you have chosen.
I use the English language sheet to further challenge the students: they should place this on top of the French version and then try to play the game saying the French phrases as far as possible from memory. I allow the really weak students to have the French version next to the English version so they have lots of support, stronger students are allowed a few “sneaky peaks” at the French version and the really strong students aim to refer back to the French version as little as possible. This really helps the students to memorise the vocabulary/structures!
During the game I circulate the classroom checking pronunciation. This is followed by whole class drilling of pronunciation mistakes.
Enjoy!
Spanish PowerPoint Presentation: using er and ir verbs in the preterite to describe holidays/ vacations.
Expressions:
Salí de casa a las seis. (salir)
Fui en tren. (ir = irregular)
Vi un partido entre el Real Madrid y el Barcelona. (ver = irregular)
Llevé una camiseta, una gorra de lana y una bufanda. (llevar)
Comí patatas fritas, una hamburguesa con cebolla y un perrito caliente. (comer)
Bebí una naranjada. (beber)
Vi a David Beckham. (ver = irregular)
Leí el programa. (leer)
Hice una llamada con mi móvil. (hacer = irregular)
The first slides have the phrase and a picture. Use this to elicit the pronunciation, the English, how to change the infinitive (in brackets) into the preterite and to drill.
The next section of slides have multiple choice questions. Then there are "what's missing?" slides. 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 finals slides remind us of the rules elicited:
Salir - salí, comer - comí
How do you form the preterite for regular verbs?
Remove the er/ir and add í e.g. Salir salí
Here are the other endings: ió, imos, ieron, iste, isteis. Can you conjugate the verb salir?
I went out =
You went out =
He/She/You went out =
We went out =
You went out =
They/ you went out =
Extra: conjugate comer and beber.
I went out = salí
You went out = saliste
He/She/You went out = salió
We went out = salimos
You went out = salisteis
They/ you went out = salieron
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).
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!