Mme B's Classroom

Every student will tell you that the worst part of french class is conjugating verbs.

I have had many teacher friends ask how to teach verbs in a fun and friendly way, but the short answer is “you can’t”. Verbs just suck. But! There are ways to make them suck a little less, and that is by authentically introducing them into the classroom routine and gradually expecting more.

For example, when we start our Family Unit, we use the verb Avoir and Etre alot; “I have a large family, J’ai une grande famille”, “My mother is calm, Ma mere est calme.” These are natural ways to use the verbs and show off different conjugation based on pronouns.

Each new unit gets its own Avoir and Etre review with questions that reflect the unit. Then they are expected to use these verbs in all sentence creations throughout the unit, as well as assignment generation.

Each unit also comes with it own set of specific verbs; Habiter for La Maison, Porter for Clothes, and so on. We spend 10-20 minutes with the anchor chart in their duotang, fill in the blanks on their worksheet, then that’s it. They will need to use their anchor charts to create sentences throughout the unit that merge the verbs, with the vocabulary, in order to be successful.

Core French students in the younger grades will work best knowing only the Je/Tu/Il/elle/on conjugation, Nous/Vous/ils/elles work well for the older grades, or if they have a previous working knowledge of French. Each class is different and you may find that yours is able to handle all 6 articles at a young age.

Remember, the goal of Core French is to have a functional understanding of French and “survive in Quebec” if need be. They will be forgiven if they accidentally ‘Tu’ someone instead of ‘Vous’; they will not get far if they don’t know the basic vocabulary. With 40 minutes per day plus interuptions, we are picking our battles.

Linked below are the Avoir/Etre worksheets that I created for our Printemps unit. The anchor chart stays at the front of their duotang and a new worksheet is added each unit to refresh their memory and add new context to the verbs. Enjoy!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Core-French-Avoir-and-Etre-verbs-Le-Printemps-9312902