Teaching French adjectives

Teaching French adjectives is a really important part of any French teacher’s job. Learning adjective agreement well from the beginning sets students up to perform better on concepts like past participle agreement using être or with preceding direct objects. They’ll get a strong grasp on the importance of gender. In addition, they’ll form good habits from the start.

It is necessary to teach our students speak and write correctly, but it is overwhelming when we have so many concepts to teach. We teach the lessons, we quiz the students, and we move on to something else. Sometimes we realize that they haven’t fully mastered the concepts. But… we have to keep moving or we will NEVER teach everything that we need to teach!

Teaching French adjectives in a meaningful way

 I have found that while I don’t have trouble teaching grammar, it takes so much practice to really make it stick. That means we need to have a lot of fun ways to teach, reinforce, and assess so that no one gets bored, all learning styles are practiced, and students actually MASTER the skills!

My French adjectives bundle has nearly 650 pages of writing practice, games, speaking activities, projects and more. Includes student packets and engaging activities to teach French colors, adjectives, comparative and superlative adjectives, nationalities, and so much more!

Here’s a look at some of the resources in my French adjectives bundle.  

First, there is a grammar and vocabulary packet, because students need to have thorough explanations. This French adjectives packet has full-French and English versions. That means it is great for learning the first time or as a review for more advanced learners. Students get notes and vocabulary pages they can write on and ample practice for the concepts presented.

The first half of the packet is in French, and the second half uses English to explain the grammar concepts. With first year classes, I use the English version. I also love to review at the beginning of the year, and I’ll use the French version with a French 2 or 3 class who needs a refresher. After each explanation, students get to practice the skills explained with structured writing pages.

Provide visual support.

Because writing is not the only way students will learn adjective vocabulary and the rules of agreement, the bundle also includes many types of visual support.

First, there are posters with masculine and feminine adjectives:

As a supplement to the speaking and writing activities, there are 2 word wall packages with almost 50 common adjectives in all. Students will get examples in their masculine and feminine forms + images to help visual learners. The word walls include many of the French adjectives in the packet making them a perfect supplement to the packet and presentations.

Present the material with an engaging PowerPoint.

Also included is a PowerPoint show to help teach alongside the packet.  There are 28 pages of notes and exercises that you can use as exit tickets, bellwork, speaking practice, or with individual whiteboards.  Students love the visuals, and because it coordinates with the packet, it simplifies the teaching process A LOT!  As with all other resources, there is a French and and English version.

You’ve met the needs of your visual learners and provided great guided notes and writing practice. Now you’ll want some practical ways for students to SPEAK using their newly acquired vocabulary and grammar concepts. For many students, this is where there is a disconnect. Often they do not get enough speaking practice, and for many, many students, this is the key to LANGUAGE AQUISITION.  We don’t want to teach it and have them just forget, do we?

Get students speaking French.

First, get them up and speaking. These French speaking prompts are one of my students’ favorite activities, because they love to move around. It breaks up the class time so well that class seems to fly by! I love it because they really use their vocabulary in a practical way, and I know that this means they will retain that information! It’s great for movement which has been proven to help the learning process and retention of skills. There are many fun ways to use them, and detailed instructions for 5 fun activities are with the question cards.

Find more ideas for getting students speaking French here.

Next, get them in groups and have them play a board game.  This is a perfect activity for groups of 3, 4, or 5. Directions come in French and English. The goal of the game is for students to correctly use the vocabulary shown on the board in complete sentences to reach the end of the before their opponents. There is a mix of masculine and feminine adjectives that correspond directly to the word wall adjectives. The game also includes a vocabulary list with the same visuals so that students can easily identify the words.

The packet includes 3 speaking activities, including the one shown below. The bundle also includes a Find Someone Who activity and French adjectives speaking dice. 

Review with engaging activities.  

We LOVE Scoot!  You can practice the skills you want as an entire class, make really good use of your time, and the students love to move.  They NEED it, and for your kinesthetic learners, this is a great way to make that information stick!  As with all other resources, there is a French and English version.

To play Scoot, simply tape numbers on the corners of your desks and have students work their way through all of the questions.  I have them start at their own desk, complete the questions in order, and make their way back to their own desk.  There are numbered and non-numbered cards in the pack, so questions can easily be skipped if they don’t match the curriculum exactly.  With 44 questions to choose from, it’s sure that everyone can find the practice that works best.

Here’s what the answer sheet looks like. Notice that this student didn’t start at desk one, because she was not seated at desk one when we started the game.

As an incentive for the winner, I always give a small prize – either a toy from my bin, a pencil, or something small like that. I sometimes give free homework passes away, so I put them in this pack in case that might be handy.  🙂

If you need remediation or want something for centers, these puzzles are a fun activity that kids love. I’ve included ideas for using them, so they don’t have to just be puzzle pieces. They are part of the adjective packet.

So, what do teachers think of these activities? Here are some comments made by buyers:

Nicole A. says, “This resource is incredible! The powerpoint is very useful and the dice game is really fun. My students love it!”

Leslie J. says, “LOVE! This resource has everything I need to teach my students about adjectives, and includes many different engaging activities!”

Noemi S. says, “This was the perfect resource for teaching adjectives to my grade 9 Core French class. It’s not “baby” like a lot of beginner activities, it has English and French PPT. The PPT’s are interactive, the activities are fun and interesting and well supported with information. LOVE!!”

Elyse W. says, “Life saver! So much time was saved with this resource. Excellent for introducing vocabulary which we can use to do more interactive activities in class.”

Emily K. says, “This is a great resource! I really feel that this resource helped me teach adjectives better this year. My kids scored higher on their assessments than last year!”

Click here to see the full French adjectives bundle.