Verb Race: Fun and Engaging FSL Game

Most of my Grade 8's don't love French class. I think it's because they didn't get enough exposure to it in their Grade 5-7 years and by Grade 8, they are supposed to know a lot more than they actually know.

I try to make it fun and interesting for them, as I LOVE teaching French, but it wasn't working in my favour until I tried Verb Race.

We've been working on regular verbs since September, but the kids are still stuck on the conjugations. A lot of my kids play sports, so I decided to turn practicing verbs into a competition.

I split my kids up into two teams. On the white board, I wrote the personal pronouns je, tu, il, elle, nous, vous, ils, elles for both teams and a space for them to translate the verbs.

One at a time, each team had to run up to the board and fill in one of the spaces. They could either translate the verb or conjugate it for one of the pronouns. The team who completed the relay first, with the most correct answers, was the winner.

Rules:
- Each team gets one whiteboard marker.
- Only one person from each team can come to the board at a time.
- The whiteboard marker had to stay on the ledge of the board - you can't pass it to the next teammate.
- You can only fix or add one item per turn. If you change an incorrect answer from another teammate, you can't add another answer.
- Lock in your answers for the team by handing the teacher the marker. Once both teams have locked in their answers, I check the first to lock in first. If they have all correct answers, they win. If they don't, I'll check the other team's answers. If the second team to lock in has more correct, they are the winner. If the second team is tied with the first team, the first team wins.

When I told them the class was over and they had to move on to their Applied Skills (Home Ec, Business Ed., and Woodshop - classes they absolutely love), they were sad and asked to stay longer!

They've also asked every day this week during Advisory block to play Verb Race!

Do you play something similar? Do you have any strategies for helping kids learn their French verb endings? Let me know in the comments below.

Comments

Come To Canada! A travel brochure using typical Canadian Stereotypes.

As a wrap-up project to a lesson on stereotypes with a Grade 7 class, I decided to have the students create travel brochures for our great country, but they were only allowed to use typical Canadian stereotypes to bring in tourists. Each student had to include information on food, accommodations, sights, and activities to try. It was hilarious to read what they came up with! I was very impressed with their final projects! Some students included typical Canadian advertisements, as well! So, what do you think? Would this work in your classroom? Have you done something similar? Let me know in the comments below. Looking for more great tips and ideas for middle school? Subscribe to my email list and receive an exclusive FREE sub plans resource. It includes plans for math, ELA, science, social studies, and Core French. Click here to subscribe.

Using Disney's "Inside Out" With Middle Schoolers

I love Disney movies! My first memory of going to see a movie in the theatre was with my mom and sister when I was about 3 to see The Little Mermaid. Since then, I've been hooked. I still go to see Disney movies with my sister when they come out in the theatre, but now we also take her 5-year old son (most of the time). When I saw "Inside Out" this summer, I loved it! It takes place inside the brain of an 11-year-old girl named Riley. The main characters are Riley's emotions - Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger. The emotions interact with each other and steer Riley through her days, creating memories. Riley's core memories (important times in her life) create aspects of her personality as Personality Islands. Riley's 5 main personality islands are Goofball Island, Family Island, Friends Island, Hockey Island, and Honesty Island. When Riley was young, Joy was steering most of her actions, but in the course of the movie, Riley's f...

Water Cycle Foldable

My Grade 4's are learning about weather in science. To help them understand the water cycle better, we created foldable water cycles. On each of the four flaps, we wrote the processes of the water cycle, and under the flaps, gave definitions of the process or information about that part of the water cycle. My students enjoyed making the foldables, and now have a better understanding of the water cycle. This activity was a great supplement to the weather pack I created. The class is working through that pack, but when we came to the water cycle section, a significant group of them were still confused about the processes. Instead of simply memorizing the water cycle, they were able to engage with it. This activity was a good, interactive piece that helped to cement the ideas into their memories. After they created the foldable, almost every student earned 100% on the water cycle quiz in the weather ...

One Teacher's Adventures

Search This Blog