When Christmas-time rolls around, it’s always fun to have a lot of activities to teach seasonal vocabulary. When I taught FSL in a high school, I had four levels of French to teach, which meant I wanted materials I could use with all my levels. My French Christmas activity bundle is full of engaging speaking and writing activities for French beginners, but there are a lot of activities geared towards intermediate students as well, so planning is so much easier!
Here are some ways I’ve incorporated French Christmas vocabulary into my class.
Present vocabulary using a French Christmas word wall.
Word walls are obviously great for visual learners, but they make such a good base for so many other activities you can do in class when you have a few extra minutes. One of my favorites can be played as a whole-class or in groups of 2-3. Dim the lights and use a flashlight or laser pointer to point to a word. Students will create a complete sentence using the word you’ve highlighted. You can do this as a writing activity, too, but I’ve only ever done it out loud, because it’s just a quick time-filler I did one day when we had ten minutes left and the lesson was done! 🙂
Practice writing with fun activities that you can use to support your curriculum or all on their own.
I love creating holiday-themed resources because they are a festive way to keep practicing what is already happening in the classroom. This Christmas-themed packet includes plenty of Christmas vocabulary, but there are also activities that support the everyday French vocabulary that you are teaching, like body parts and food.
Reinforce French vocabulary with puzzles.
Also in the Christmas-themed packet, these puzzles are a fun activity at a center, but they can be used to match partners, as a game of concentration, or you can use them for a fun game of vocabulary slap.
Play French games for even more reinforcement and fun.
Vocabulary slap is the all-time favorite game of almost every student I have ever taught! Use the image side to call out the French word, or use the word cards to call out the English word and have students translate. Print them back to back and they double as flashcards!
Another game all kids love is Bingo! From elementary to high school students, Bingo is such a fun way to help kids practice listening for French words, and wow, do they get competitive! This Christmas bingo game comes with a printable vocabulary sheet, so even if students haven’t spent much time with the words, they can still have fun with a few rounds of bingo!
Practice French speaking with fun speaking prompts!
Kids want to speak the language, so giving them fun ways to practice is so important! This winter-themed set has approximately 50 questions about general winter holidays, sports, and activities, plus New Year’s and about 15 questions specific to Christmas. It’s great for use with multiple levels, because I never taught just one level when I was in an FSL classroom!
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