Are you searching for effective and meaningful French classroom community-building activities? As French teachers, we understand the importance of creating an environment where students feel connected, supported, and excited to learn French. I’m excited to share a curated collection of French classroom community-building activities that strike that perfect balance.

Before we get to French classroom community-building activities, let’s establish some basic points

Find a balance between firm and gentle

Teaching Core French in the secondary setting is so much fun. We get to do all sorts of engaging activities and fun projects. We focus so much on community-building and getting to know one another that sometimes too much of a good thing can become a bad thing.

Sometimes our students become a little *too* comfortable with us.

It is so important that teachers, especially new teachers, find that space between being firm and gentle. Both are really important.

If you are too gentle, you run the risk of having a super wild class. This can be super exhausting.

Or maybe you’re too firm and your students are afraid of you and this is impacting your classroom community.

Find the middle ground!

Setting and reinforcing strong boundaries is an essential French classroom community-building activity

Set very strong boundaries at the start of the school year.

So many teachers tell me that they like to co-create class expectations with their students and that works for them. Awesome!

I am a 5’1″, “young-looking”, female, Brown teacher. Unfortunately, I don’t exactly give off “authority” vibes like a tall male teacher would.

As a result, I have found that I need to be very explicit about my expectations. I don’t assume anything. Essentially, I spend all of September teaching and re-teaching routines and expectations.

Creating and reinforcing a safe space for EVERY single student

The French classroom needs to be a space space for every single student. There a few ways you can do this.

Everyone is welcome – create a safe space with posters

The Chaque enfant compte and La vie des Noirs compte are free downloads from my TPT. Tout le monde est bienvenue is from a set from Oui Madame Wee.

Follow up on unsafe actions and choices

Something I often hear from my students is that it really upsets them when one of their peers says something racist, homophobic, or anti-Semitic (a few examples) and the teacher does not follow up. They seem confused or unsure and they just don’t respond.

This is unacceptable. When you do not follow up on an unsafe action or choice, your student realizes that you are an unsafe adult. How are they supposed to learn from you when they don’t feel safe around you?

Interrupt the comment right away. Think about it for a bit while you finish teaching and then FOLLOW UP with all involved.

Here are some racism interrupters :

Embed anti-racism and representation into your French pedagogy

In 2020, so many teachers committed to unlearning and embedding anti-racism and representation into their pedagogy. I know that many French teachers made this commitment as well.

A classroom environment where all students feel safe isn’t just one where students are “kind” to one another. It is a place where the humanity of ALL students and all humans is recognized.

French classroom community-building activity #1 : My favourite routine of all time – question du jour

My favourite French classroom community-building routine is Question du jour.

This is a routine I have been doing with my Grade 11s since they were in Grade 8. Each class we begin with a question and get to know each other a little more.

The questions are sometimes silly, profound, and sometimes hilarious.

I have a full blog post on question du jour if you want to learn more about it and incorporate it into your routines!

You can grab these question du jour prompts here.

French classroom community-building activity #2 : two truths and a lie

Another really fun French classroom community-building activity is Two Truths and a Lie.

You can either do this activity at the start of the school year or the semester or when teaching passé composé. P.s. if you’re looking for resources to teach passé composé, here’s a whole awesome blog post.

How to set up this French classroom community-building activity:

• ask your students to write 2 truths and a lie about themselves in French. Give them some examples of possible truths and lies. Provide them with helpful structures to decrease overwhelm.
• next, I always go over their truths and lie in the hallway to correct any major
• lastly, I take all of their truths and lies and create a slide per person.
• when we’re ready to present to the class, I ask the student to come up to the front of the classroom, read their truths and lie, and guide their peers through the voting process

French classroom community-building activity #3: French adjectives self-portrait

This activity is a low-stakes French classroom community-building activity. I actually discovered this awesome activity from Crayola’s Instagram account. So all credit goes to them!

This activity is all about French adjectives a student would use to describe their identity.

Please note that I do not force students to pick any adjective. They have the freedom to define their identity the way they want to and this includes adjectives that make them feel safe and comfortable.

I love putting these up in my classroom when students are up.

The post French classroom community-building activities appeared first on FLE Avec MmeD.

I am a HUGE fan of teaching all about Francophone cultures in the French classroom. One of the best ways that I love to do this is to combine Francophone cultural knowledge, fun French games, and French reading comprehension. French trivia games do just that. French trivia games are a fun & engaging way to learn about Francophone cultures in the French classroom.

Who should play these French trivia games?

These games are ideal for intermediate-advanced French students, either in French Immersion or in Core French. I’ve specifically made these for high school Core French students.

Sidenote, if you’re looking for French games that are NOT trivia games, go read this blog post with tons of different ideas and suggestions.

How do you play these French trivia games?

Simply project these on your whiteboard and play!

What kinds of Francophone topics can you learn about with these games?

Honestly, the world is your oyster. However, here are some ideas from my own classroom.

Learn about Francophone countries and places around the world

I created this French trivia game to test my students’ knowledge on cultural, geographical, and historical facts about Francophone countries and regions around the world.

Teach about les changements climatiques with this powerful French trivia game

Whether you’re looking for a French Earth Day activity or you need a game to teach about climate change any day of the year, this French trivia game is for you!

Explore the celebration of Diwali in French class

I am a teacher in Canada and therefore I have the responsibility of increasing the representation of the cultures of my students in my classroom.

I made this French trivia game so that my own students could learn about Diwali in French.

In the BC French 9 curriculum, students compare their own cultures with francophone cultures. This game is perfect for that!

Take a virtual trip to Belgium with this French trivia game

Next up, we go on a virtual trip to the Francophone country of Belgium in this French trivia game. We learn cultural, historical, and geographical facts about Belgium!

Discover the beautiful country of Morocco

I LOVE teaching about Morocco! I find the history, geography, and culture of Morocco to be so unique and beautiful. This French trivia game is a great opportunity to learn about a Francophone country in detail while playing a French game!

Laissez les bons temps rouler and celebrate Mardi in your French classroom with this French game!

Mardi Gras is a Francophone (and non-Francophone) celebration that French teachers LOVE to teach about. Why not combine learning about Mardi Gras with a fun game? It is the best of both words.

Let’s break down the French trivia games!

A variety of different types of questions

Multiple choice, true or false, short answer — many different types of questions to get your students’ thinking about the topic they’re learning about

What is the right answer?

Check right away to see if your students were correct!

Learn all about the correct answer

The learning doesn’t stop there! Dig deeper into each answer and learn more about that particular question.

Check out the French trivia games bundle here

The post French Trivia Games for Increasing Knowledge and Engagement in the French Classroom appeared first on FLE Avec MmeD.

Are you looking for fun French games for the classroom? Look no further, you have definitely come to the right place! I am sharing with you 10 French learning games that my students LOVE. Some of these are online French games and others are physical games. Whether you are looking for French grammar games, French vocabulary games or multipurpose games — here are 11 fun games for French class!

1. A French vocabulary game – the French numbers game

To begin, this French learning game is perfect for beginner French classes. I play it with my students a few classes after teaching them French numbers. Additionally, it is just perfect for that first week of beginner French!

Goal of this French game : to practice French numbers

What you need : die (2-3 die per pair of students), a timer projected on the board, a piece of paper and a pencil per partner. My favourite online timer is bigtimer.net!

How it works :

• ask your students to partner up
• hand out 2-4 die to each set of partners
• set up a digital timer and project it on your board. I do 10 minutes.
• have your students roll the die and come up with as many (correct) addition equations in French as possible. For example, trois + cinq = huit
• After a few minutes, I begin to to add more die to their pile & halfway through the game I make them switch to multiplication!

2. La francophonie map game

My students are obsessed with this next French learning game! I always play it at the start of my first francophonie unit.

Goal of this French game : to see how well students can place francophone countries on the map. Hint : they can’t!

What you need : maps of francophone countries projected on the board, white board markers for students

How it works :

• distribute a whiteboard marker to each student OR use two for the whole class
• split your class up into two teams
• project a map of the world & name a francophone country
• one member per team has to run up to the board and circle that country correctly on the map
• team members can only assist vocally

If you are looking for this game without all of the hassles of prep, this French game is included in my régions francophones PowerPoint.

3. Quizlet Live

Next up is my students’ favourite online French game! My students love this game so much that they never ask for Kahoot anymore. In my classroom, we play Quizlet Live in teams, however, playing individually is also an option.

Goal of this French game : to work together as a team

What you need : a Quizlet account, a set (created by you or one you’ve searched up)

How it works :

• create or find a Quizlet set on a topic you have been studying in class
• go to the set
• click on the live button & start your game!
• a QR code or game code will appear on your screen
• students will join the game & create a name
• it will group students in teams next
• each time will have the same question, but each screen will have a number of possible answers. Only one screen will have the correct answer!

4. French Bingo Games – Halloween, Travel, Sports, Food

This next French vocabulary game is pretty self-explanatory! I have a few BINGO games printed, laminated & ready to go in my classroom. You would think that students would be indifferent to this old school game, but mine always beg for Bingo!

Goal of this French game : to practice key French vocabulary

What you need : printed/laminated Bingo cards, whiteboard markers & microfibre cloths for wiping

How it works :

• print and prep your Bingo games
• hand one out to each student, along with a whiteboard marker and microfibre cloth for erasing

5. Jeopardy

This next one is an oldie, but still a favourite French grammar game of my students! They get so into it, and my 90s/early 2000s heart gets so happy!

Goal of this French game : to practice key French grammar or vocabulary via this online French game

What you need : a pre-made & ready to go Jeopardy game or one you’ve searched up, individual whiteboards, whiteboard markers

How it works :

• find or create your Jeopardy game. I use jeopardylabs.net
• divide your students into pairs
• project the jeopardy game
• hand out 1 whiteboard + pen to each pair

6. French taboo

I recently played Taboo in English with my students and it was such a hit! The majority had never played this game ever before and they had so much fun! We ended up ordering French Taboo games from Amazon for our Grade 11 and 12 students. Disclaimer: I have yet to play this game, but it seems to be perfect for advanced French students!

Goal of this French game : to practice French vocabulary

What you need : French taboo (from Amazon or elsewhere)

How it works :

• purchase French Taboo
• split your class into two teams
• have one member from each team come up to the front for each round

7. French trivia games

Goal of this French game : to learn about a variety of different topics or review information about topics

What you need : pre-made French trivia games (or make them yourself), your computer, and projector and maybe even candy or stickers for prizes

How it works :

• Display the trivia game
• Remind students that you have to read the question as a class and they have to raise their hand and wait to be called upon
• Pick a student and see if their answer was correct!

8. Categories

I couldn’t make a list of my favourite fun French games without including Categories in it! Since having fun is one of my biggest priorities in French class, we always play Categories every few weeks!

Goal of this French game : to practice French vocabulary

What you need : a ball for tossing

How it works :

• take your students outside preferably or have them spread out evenly in the classroom
• state a category of French vocabulary your students will be familiar with
• toss the ball to the first person. They have to name a word in that category either before they catch the ball or within 2 seconds of catching the ball
• if they do not say a word within 2 seconds, they are out

Possible categories :

• matériel scolaire
• adjectifs
• sports
• activité avec faire
• couleurs
• aliments
• French irregular verbs
• French ER verbs

9. Vocabulary tag

Vocabulary tag is a fun French game perfect for any level of French! This game is actually very similar to Categories. The main difference is that this game is much more active than Categories. I would say it’s ideal for Elementary to Grade 8 students. It’s especially perfect if you feel that your students have tons of energy that needs to be released!

Goal of this French game : to practice French vocabulary

What you need : the outdoors or a gym

How it works :

• go outside or to your gym (if it’s available)
• decide on your category (see above)
• have students stand in a giant circle
• one person will be in the middle, they are “it”
• they run to someone in the circle and that person has to shout a word in the category you have selected
• if the person standing in the circle is too slow or does not say a word, they are now it!

10. Musical chairs without chairs

Musical chairs without chairs is another game I play with my beginner French students in the first week of French. We spend tons of time practicing French greetings and salutations. Therefore, this game is perfect for the first week of French class!

Goal of this French game : to practice French salutations, greetings and conversational basics

What you need : catchy French music & a loud speaker

How it works :

• create a French music playlist filled with catchy French songs
• play an upbeat French song
• have your students stand up and begin to walk around the classroom
• stop the music after 30 seconds or so and have your students turn to the person closest to them to have a quick conversation
• repeat!

11. Vocabulary pictionary

Last but not least is an interactive French vocabulary game that will result in tons of laughter & fun!

Goal of this French game : to practice French vocabulary

What you need : 1 whiteboard, 1 whiteboard marker & 1 whiteboard eraser per pair

How it works :

• create a list of French vocabulary that your students have recently been practicing in French class
• have students pair up and sit with their partner
• distribute 1 whiteboard and 1 whiteboard marker to each pair
• share a vocabulary term with your students. For example, ‘un chat’
• they must draw an image illustrating that vocabulary term and quickly throw it up in the air
• first pair to get it correct wins a point!

What French classroom games do you play with your French students?

Thank you so much for reading all the way to the bottom of this article! I hope that your students love all of these games for French class! What French vocabulary games or French grammar games do you play with your own students? Are there any online French games that your students are obsessed with? We would love to hear your recommendations in the comments below!

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