Hello! The resources here are suitable for students in classrooms, working one-on-one with tutors, or working with the help of a parent at home. They are simple, easy-to-use, printable PDF files. We hope you find something you like!
Hello! The resources here are suitable for students in classrooms, working one-on-one with tutors, or working with the help of a parent at home. They are simple, easy-to-use, printable PDF files. We hope you find something you like!
Improve your reading, practise asking questions, do extra work focussing on verbs in the Präteritum, and practise your declension skills - all while enjoying a unique German fairy tale!
Plot Summary
A mother of seven children makes a pancake that suddenly begins to speak. It leaps out of the frying pan in an attempt to escape. As the pancake rolls through the village, it discovers that, unfortunately, many creatures would like to gobble it up. At last it encounters a pig who offers to give it a ride across a stream to freedom. Will it finally be free, or is it a trick?
This story is divided into five short sections. For each section there are basic assignments and bonus assignments. Teachers may pick and choose which assignments to use. Detailed instructions are included.
Basic Assignments:
· a chart in which to translate unfamiliar vocabulary and identify parts of speech
· three statements that are ‘answers’, for which the student will write the questions
· a short assignment to practise parsing individual words (answer key provided)
Bonus Assignments:
· for each section, learn to conjugate 3 verbs from the story in the Präteritum (14 verbs in total)
· Explore extra Grammar topics (using other materials such as a dictionary or Grammar reference): Ordinalzahlen, the difference between essen and fressen, the difference between wollen and möchten, the difference between das and dass, the use of um . . . zu.
Further assignments apply to the full story, including a ‘Fill in the Blanks’ quiz, discussion, and more exercises focussing on verbs.
Note: Students who work through the Märchen series in numerical order will be challenged by progressively more difficult texts and assignments. For each story, a different part of speech is given special attention. Der Pfannkuchen puts a special emphasis on verbs in the Präteritum. It is suitable for students who can figure out the meaning of a variety of sentence structures, and are learning the Präteritum.
Improve your reading, practise asking questions, do extra work focussing on Adjektive and Adverbien, and practise your declension skills - all while enjoying a unique German fairy tale!
Plot Summary
Three lazy young men living in the city of Bonn find they are unable to sleep as much as they want to because their relatives repeatedly wake them up. One of them says that he knows of a cave where they could go, where they will never be disturbed again. They leave Bonn, find the cave, and finally sleep as much as they have always wanted to. Every seven years, one of them wakes up and says something. Who might be interested in this excruciatingly slow conversation?
This story is divided into four short sections. For each section there are basic assignments and bonus assignments. Teachers may pick and choose which assignments to use. Detailed instructions are included.
Basic Assignments:
· a chart in which to translate unfamiliar vocabulary and identify parts of speech
· three statements that are ‘answers’, for which the student will write the questions
· a short assignment to practise parsing individual words (answer key provided)
Bonus Assignments:
· practise using 18 Adjektive and 12 Adverbien through simple declension assignments and by writing sentences. In some cases, it may be necessary to use other materials (such as a dictionary).
Further assignments apply to the full story, including a ‘Fill in the Blanks’ quiz, discussion, and more exercises using Adjektive and Adverbien.
Note: Students who work through the Märchen series in numerical order will be challenged by progressively more difficult texts and assignments. For each story, a different part of speech is given special attention. Die Drei Schläfer puts a special emphasis on Adjektive and Adverbien. It is suitable for students who can figure out the meaning of a variety of sentence structures, and are learning the Präteritum.
Improve your reading, practise asking questions, do extra work focussing on Präpositionen, and practise your declension skills - all while enjoying a unique German fairy tale!
Plot Summary
A giant visits a fisherman and his family, and challenges the poor man to a game of chess. They bet on the game, using the poor man’s son as a wager. The fisherman loses the game, and the boy’s mother is distraught, so the giant decides to offer the family a way to keep their child. If they can hide the boy so well that the giant cannot find him, they can keep him. Will the child remain safe with his parents, or leave with the giant?
This story is divided into five short sections. For each section there are basic assignments and bonus assignments. Teachers may pick and choose which assignments to use. Detailed instructions are included.
Basic Assignments:
· a chart in which to translate unfamiliar vocabulary and identify parts of speech
· three statements that are ‘answers’, for which the student will write the questions
· a short assignment to practise parsing individual words (answer key provided)
Bonus Assignments:
· use 10 prepositions correctly within various phrases
· Explore extra Grammar topics (using other materials such as a dictionary or Grammar reference): herein/dahin, darauf/daraus, auf as part of a trennbar verb, ‘Dativ or Akkusativ ‘rule for in and auf, ‘Dativ or Akkusativ ‘rule for an, hinter, unter and vor.
Further assignments apply to the full story, including a ‘Fill in the Blanks’ quiz, discussion, and more exercises using prepositions.
Note: Students who work through the Märchen series in numerical order will be challenged by progressively more difficult texts and assignments. For each story, a different part of speech is given special attention. Der Riese und Das Kind puts a special emphasis on Präpositionen. It is suitable for students who can figure out the meaning of a variety of sentence structures, and are learning the Präteritum.
Les tempêtes de neige, qui se produisent rarement dans les plaines de la France, et n’y sont guère dangereuses, sont, au contraire, fréquentes et terribles dans les montagnes et dans les plaines désolées des régions polaires . . .
Put on your warmest sweater, and brace yourself! Here you will read about thermometers, storms, ice, extreme temperatures, natural drama, and historical accounts about famous people and places that were witness to winter’s ‘blast’! Two of the ten selections also focus on extreme heat.
This advanced-level French workbook contains excerpts from ‘Les Grands Froids’, written in 1880 by Émile Bouant. Each 1-2 page reading selection is followed by five comprehension questions and a chart for vocabulary. There are also two bonus readings and assignments.
Here are 78 days of guided French writing practise for intermediate students. For each day, the student is given eight words. The student is also given a sentence ‘type’, for example, ‘a simple sentence in the present tense’ or ‘a sentence containing the word donc’. A brief grammatical explanation (when necessary) and one or more examples follow. The ‘type’ of sentence remains the same for three days in a row. Continue to practise writing that ‘type‘ of sentence, using the new list of words for each day.
Students may begin at the beginning and complete the exercises in consecutive order, or teachers may choose a ‘style’ and assign it. Teachers may, of course, add additional parameters to each assignment (such as ‘donc’, using the imparfait).
These short assignments allow students with a good foundation knowledge of French to make diligent, regular efforts to write. By following the guidelines, students will practise writing within specific boundaries of style and vocabulary, helping to avoid boredom and repetition in their composition.
It only takes one day to begin, and before long, you will have completed an incredible 78 days of writing French sentences!
This book contains the complete story ‘Les Gouttes Qui Tombent’ by Maurice Leblanc.
The text is divided into 14 small sections, each followed by five reading comprehension questions and a blank list for vocabulary, to be filled in by the student (instructions included). The lists are multicoloured for variety.
This is one of many tales by Leblanc featuring the same protagonist, a gentleman-thief by the name of Arsène Lupin, here disguised as ‘Jim Barnett’. He is remarkable for his ability to glean a fortune from wealthy (and usually greedy and unpleasant) people through the clever manipulation of events which are already in motion when he arrives on the scene. His success depends on his intelligence and his prowess as a thief and master of disguise, which allow him to avoid violence or guilt of crime in his adventures. Adding to the fun, he consistently outwits whatever official inspector (here, inspector ‘Béchoux’) he is supposedly helping.
The story is narrated in the passé simple, making it an excellent tool for practising this French verb tense. All advanced French students will benefit from reading Leblanc’s well-written prose!
This book contains the complete story ‘Le Hasard Fait des Miracles’ by Maurice Leblanc.
The text is divided into 16 small sections, each followed by five reading comprehension questions and a blank list for vocabulary, to be filled in by the student (instructions included). The lists are multicoloured for variety.
This is one of many tales by Leblanc featuring the same protagonist, a gentleman-thief by the name of Arsène Lupin, here disguised as ‘Jim Barnett’. He is remarkable for his ability to glean a fortune from wealthy (and usually greedy and unpleasant) people through the clever manipulation of events which are already in motion when he arrives on the scene. His success depends on his intelligence and his prowess as a thief and master of disguise, which allow him to avoid violence or guilt of crime in his adventures. Adding to the fun, he consistently outwits whatever official inspector (here, inspector ‘Béchoux’) he is supposedly helping.
The story is narrated in the passé simple, making it an excellent tool for practising this French verb tense. All advanced French students will benefit from reading Leblanc’s well-written prose!
This book contains the complete story ‘Gants Blancs . . . Guêtres Blanches . . .’ by Maurice Leblanc.
The story is divided into 15 small sections, each of which is followed by five reading comprehension questions and a blank list for vocabulary (instructions included). The lists are multicoloured for variety.
It is one of many featuring the same protagonist, a gentleman-thief by the name of Arsène Lupin, here disguised as ‘Jim Barnett’. He is remarkable for his ability to glean a fortune from wealthy (and usually greedy and unpleasant) people through the clever manipulation of events which are already in motion when he arrives on the scene. His success depends on his intelligence and his prowess as a thief and master of disguise, which allow him to avoid violence or guilt of crime in his adventures. Adding to the fun, he consistently outwits whatever official inspector (here, inspector ‘Béchoux’) he is supposedly helping.
The story is narrated in the passé simple, making it an excellent tool for practising this French verb tense. All advanced French students will benefit from reading Leblanc’s well-written prose!
This book contains the complete story ‘La Lettre d’Amour du Roi George’ by Maurice Leblanc.
The text is divided into 13 small sections, each followed by five reading comprehension questions and a blank list for vocabulary, to be filled in by the student (instructions included). The lists are multicoloured for variety.
This is one of many tales by Leblanc featuring the same protagonist, a gentleman-thief by the name of Arsène Lupin, here disguised as ‘Jim Barnett’. He is remarkable for his ability to glean a fortune from wealthy (and usually greedy and unpleasant) people through the clever manipulation of events which are already in motion when he arrives on the scene. His success depends on his intelligence and his prowess as a thief and master of disguise, which allow him to avoid violence or guilt of crime in his adventures. Adding to the fun, he consistently outwits whatever official inspector (here, inspector ‘Béchoux’) he is supposedly helping.
The story is narrated in the passé simple, making it an excellent tool for practising this French verb tense. All advanced French students will benefit from reading Leblanc’s well-written prose!
In this Canadian classic, you will read about an Ojibwa brother and sister, 11-year old Sajo and 14-year-old Shapian, and their adorable pet beavers, Chilawee and Chikanee.
One spring day, Sajo’s father rescues two baby beavers from an otter attack and brings them home to their village. After one of the beavers must be traded for food, Sajo and Shapian set off to see if they can buy him back. Travelling by canoe and by train, they face various challenges on their trip to the City. They employ skills they have learned from their Ojibwa elders, and are also helped by a Missionary, American tourists, and an Irish policeman. Written in the style of old-fashioned classics like ‘Heidi’, this original tale by the renowned British-Canadian conservationist known as ‘Grey Owl’ is both informative and touching. Rich and reportedly accurate descriptions of the Eastern Canadian wilderness provide the backdrop to a story of caring people who triumph in their efforts to reunite two baby beavers with their family and finally return them to the wilderness. Illustrations by the author and a glossary of Ojibwa terms are of further interest.
The book is divided into 23 chapters. Write your own definitions, answer reading comprehension questions, and research 22 topics (ranging from how otters and beavers hunt and eat, to how elevators and steamboats work). For each of these activities, you may go into great detail, or just scratch the surface – the material is adaptable to different students.
Enjoy a trip into the past with a sincere story-teller and lovable characters!
Research topics: Jacques Cartier, Ojibwa tea, beaver dams and lodges, how otters hunt, feeding human food to wildlife, Ojibwa/European trade, what beavers eat in the wild, what instinct is, the Hudson’s Bay Company, birch bark canoes, what ‘portage’ means, forest fires, steamboats, who are the Ojibwa, Native American spiritual beliefs, animals in zoos versus in the wild, travelling by train in Canada (in the past), how elevators work, the importance of saying thank you, what bannock is, autumn around the world, how dangerous wolves really are.
Bonus! This title includes a set of Canadian Wilderness themed notebooking pages.
Here are four practise sheets for each of 47 French verbs. These will be useful for daily verbs practise for advanced French students, who will review the présent, passé composé, passé simple, subjonctif present, impératif, conditionnel présent, imparfait, futur simple, and participe présent for each verb.
For every verb in this collection, you will find:
A review sheet to be filled in with the help of a reference such as ‘Bescherelle: La Conjugaison’ (Hatier). This sheet requires that the student review every person of the présent, passé composé, passé simple, and subjonctif présent for the given verb.
A quiz sheet to be filled in without the help of a reference. This sheet may be filled in on the same day as the review sheet, or on the following day. The quiz sheet requires that the student correctly conjugate three random persons of each tense for the verb just studied, and write four sentences using the verb samples given. The student may replace a pronoun with a person’s name or other suitable noun if they prefer. (For example, instead of using ‘il a’ for a sentence, the student could use ‘George a’.
A second review sheet to be filled in correctly using a reference. This sheet asks the student to review the impératif, conditionnel présent, imparfait, futur simple, and participe présent for the given verb.
A second quiz sheet to be filled in without the help of a reference. This sheet may be filled in on the same day as the review sheet, or on the following day. The student may use the verb samples in the negative, if preferred, to allow for variety.
Note: each set of pages is unique and cannot be interchanged with another.
This set of worksheets contains four pages for each of the following verbs: Avoir, Être, Aimer, Placer, Lever, Céder, Payer, Finir, Aller, Venir, Mettre, Joindre, Faire, Connaître, Croire, Tenir, Dormir, Conclure, Plaire, Peser, Peindre, Mourir, Manger, Jeter, Dormir, Boire, Suivre, Courir, Recevoir, Voir, Pouvoir, Falloir, Pleuvoir, Savoir, Rendre, Prendre, Devoir, Apprécier, Vivre, Lire, Dire, Rire, Écrire, Cuire, Créer, Battre, Vaincre
Here are pages to help you study and test your knowledge of 38 French verbs. For each verb, there are six pages.
The first page (for the présent and passé composé) is to be filled out with the help of a reference guide, such as ‘Bescherelle: La Conjugaison’ (Hatier). You will use this sheet to study the verb in those two tenses, so copy them out carefully! At the bottom of the page, you must write three simple sentences to show that you know what this verb means and how to use the two tenses.
The second and third sheets are for testing purposes. Quiz 1 is identical to the very first page, only it is labelled as a quiz and requires that the student fill out the entire verb in order, from memory. The student must also indicate what the verb means in English, in the infinitive.
Quiz 2 is more of a challenge. The verbs are in reverse order (the passé composé comes first) and the persons are in random order (instead of the predictable ‘je, tu, il/elle, etc’ it is written ‘vous, je, ils/elles, etc.’). Again the student must write three sentences to show that they can actually use the verb and have not simply memorised it without knowing what it’s for.
The following three sheets follow the same pattern for the same verb, but review and test the imparfait and futur simple. The quizzes are labelled Quiz 3 and Quiz 4.
This story and workbook will introduce you to 160 French words and phrases, and to ten basic concepts of French grammar and language.
Read about Noisette, a little cat who lives in Paris with the ‘grand-mère’, an elderly woman who loves to paint. Every lesson contains a short story, with French words embedded and translated in the text. After the reading, memorize the new words, learn a bit of grammar and do a short grammar exercise. Also included are ‘fill in the blanks’ pages for practise or testing, a complete list of vocabulary, and extra review ideas.
Note: as this is not an audio product, the teacher/parent must have a prior basic knowledge of how to pronounce French words.
Bonus! Now included are notebooking pages featuring cat silhouettes - useful for vocabulary lists, written assignments, etc.
For beginner or early level French students, here is a solid introduction to the two most-used French verbs (‘to be’ and ‘to have’) as well as to the ‘first group’ of French verbs. Noisette the cat narrates a simple text and workbook in which the student learns about French verbs in short sections. Each section has a corresponding ‘Practise Sheet’ to reinforce and review the material (23 in total). Upon completion of this book, the student will have a thorough knowledge of ‘être’ ‘avoir’ and the er-verbs in the present tense.
General topics include:
How to conjugate a verb
Matching verbs and subjects
Using masculine and feminine pronouns and nouns and matching them to the verb
Using the correct form of ‘you’
Simple sentences
Why er-verbs belong to the ‘first group’
Common technical terms such as first person plural, infinitive, root etc.
How to conjugate any verb from the first group
This book is the logical next step after completing ‘Beginner’s French with Noisette the Cat’.
Bonus! Now included are notebooking pages featuring cat silhouettes - useful for vocabulary lists, written assignments, etc.
This collection of French texts contains fourteen selections on the subject of ‘cats’, taken from Champfleury’s ‘Les Chats – Histoires, Mœurs, Observations, Anecdotes’ published in 1869. (Please note that although it dates from a previous century, the language remains appropriate for French written style.) Each two-page piece of writing addresses a specific topic in a thoughtful manner. Following each selection are: four reading comprehension questions, a dictée, phrases to translate, room for a vocabulary list and a place to write a ‘résumé’ of the text. The selections may be completed in any order – each one is unique and an effort has been made to avoid any repetition of vocabulary in the lists of phrases, so that a student may use this entire collection and continue to learn with each new topic.
About The Author
As Napoléon’s ‘premier valet de chambre’, Louis Constant Wairywas at the emperor’s side for fifteen years. Incredibly, he wrote an account of his experiences, offering the curious reader interesting insights about the famous couple’s personalities and habits, and also relating anecdotes and offering descriptions that bring to life the time, people and places of Napoléon’s rule. Whether you admire the self-proclaimed emperor – or not – you are sure to find this selection of texts entertaining, for the descriptions of historical events, fashions, battles, palaces, daily life and people.
Contents & Instructions
Here are 27 excerpts from the diaries of Constant, suitable for advanced students who are ready to improve their French through a generous amount of reading. Each text is two to three pages long. The student should begin by reading the excerpt. Unfamiliar vocabulary should be copied into the blank list provided for each section (or a separate notebook), and translated with the help of a dictionary. If it is easier for the student to make notes in the margins of the text they may do so. Large margins have been provided for this purpose.
Having read the excerpt, the student must now exercise their research and writing skills. They may simply write a brief ‘résumé de texte’ for each section, or attempt a longer assignment, in which case you may refer to the ‘Essay Writing’ section and follow the instructions to write either a ‘synthèse de texte’ or a ‘commentaire de texte’.
*Depuis le départ du premier consul pour la campagne de Marengo, où je le suivis, jusqu’au départ de Fontainebleau, où je fus obligé de quitter l’empereur, je n’ai fait que deux absences, l’une de trois fois vingt-quatre heures, l’autre de sept ou huit jours. Hors ces congés fort courts, dont le dernier m’était nécessaire pour rétablir ma santé, je n’ai pas plus quitté l’empereur que son ombre.
Mémoires de Constant, Introduction. *
Schubert is a small brown dog. He is very intelligent, but he often makes mistakes! This story and workbook will introduce the young student to 150 German words and phrases, in ten short chapters. The text is in English, with German words embedded and translated, giving each one a context and entertaining you as you go!
Following each chapter there are:
· A vocabulary list, without articles (to avoid declension complications).
· An exercise to practise adding ‘the’ and ‘a’ to the nouns, to learn which nouns are masculine, feminine and neutral (all in the Nominativ case).
· A short ‘Notice’, a quick bit of information about the German language (such as ‘all German nouns begin with capital letters’) with a question included (such as ‘how many nouns are there in this chapter?’)
· A ‘Fill in the Blanks’ page specific to that chapter, for review or a quiz.
· A special page focussing on words linked by theme, loosely associated with the chapter, such as Haus or Farben. Some vocabulary from the extra page may appear before or after its assigned chapter, or nowhere else at all.
There are also four pages to introduce the concept of gendered nouns, and a very short introduction to the composer Franz Schubert (with a link to some of his music)