Teaching grammar is definitely My Thing. I love it, I’m good at it, and I can make it fun! This is definitely my niche and where I put most of my energy when it comes to professional development and resource creation. I have spent years learning how to teach French grammar and developing my grammar programs, and I am happy to share what I have developed over the years.
This is how I am currently teaching grammar. Is it the best way? Right now, for me it is. Is it perfect for you? Maybe, maybe not! And that’s okay. Take what you want, leave what you don’t 🙂 Hopefully some of these ideas are new to you and they help you understand how to teach French grammar.
Part 1: Introduction (2-3 periods)
I like to start by using a text that is written in the verb tense that we will be practicing. I typically find shorter texts and I aim for texts with few exceptions. Sometimes I’ll choose a page for a novel we have read, other times I’ll use a text from a resource from Les éditions de l’envolée.
3 ways to use the text to introduce the verb tense:
- We read the text together and discuss what time the text is written in. Usually they can come up with present, past, or future. We then discuss the different types of these tenses (simple, compose, etc) and try to narrow it down.
- I have them try to find all the verbs in the text and see if they can spot similarities in the conjugations of the verbs.
- I may ask what the purpose of the text is or what the topic is and discuss what type of verb tense we would typically see in that type of text.
After discussing all this, I will then introduce notes. We go over the notes and I give examples of the conjugations.
Part 2: Practice (1-5 weeks depending on the situation)
When it comes to practicing the verb tenses I try to mix up my techniques to ensure that all kiddos are given the chance to practice in a way that works for them. I also make sure that I am covering all 4 language competencies (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) when they are practicing.
Listening:
- Fun ways to incorporate listening is to find songs that have verbs conjugated in the verb tense you are practicing. Print out the lyrics (fill-in the blanks) and have the kiddos listen for the verbs that are properly conjugated and fill them in.
Speaking:
- Discussion cards (I distribute one card per student and then have them circulate around the room asking other students the question on their card and then exchanging cards)
- Skits (have the student write and present a skit set using the verb tense you are practicing)
- Video clips (have the students record a short video clip of them using the verb tense authentically)
Reading:
- Choose anchor books that use the desired verb tense.
- Choose short texts that use the desired verb tense.
- See how I use texts to introduce verbs above.
Writing:
- Paragraph writing
- Exercises (worksheets)
- Recipes
- Trip planning
- How-to instructions
- Games (GoFish, Bingo, Dominos, etc.)
- Describing a scene
Part 3: Assessment (2-3 periods)
I always end each unit with a few different types of evaluations. It is important to make sure that kiddos have the opportunity to show me that they understand how to use the conjugation in a natural and authentic way but that they also simply understand the basic rules. I find that some kiddos do really well with tests, and others with projects, so I make to have both so that all kiddos can show me what they understand.it
Here I give two types of evaluations:
- A traditional test (closed book)
- Projects (Activities that require the students to use the tense authentically)
- A short piece of writing (to mimic the original text intro). Text is an open book test.
- When an EA is available we can also do a speaking test where I have the students answer a series of questions that would require them to use the verb tense.
- You can find even more ideas in this article: 5+ Ways to assess French grammar
That’s it!
Like I said before, this is my jam! If you are looking for more ideas on how to structure your conjugation units, reach out and let me know at fabfrenchtpt@gmail.com
If there is interest, I would love to do a workshop that goes into more detail on how to structure all this into a unit, how to structure your activities so that they increase in difficulty, etc.