The first week of French class sets the tone for the rest of the school year. Instead of jumping straight into grammar, it’s the perfect time to build classroom routines, help students feel comfortable speaking French, and create a positive classroom community.
Whether you teach Core French, French 1, or middle school French immersion, having a plan for those first few days helps students gain confidence while making your life much easier.
In this guide, I’ll share some of my favorite first-week French activities that encourage communication, establish expectations, and get students excited about learning French.
1. Help Students Get Comfortable Speaking French
Many students arrive nervous about speaking another language. You really want to keep activities low-pressure and highly interactive. Focus on communication rather than perfect grammar – especially after summer break! You want them talking, but if they worry about mistakes, they’ll shut down quickly.
Some of my favorite activities for the first week of French class include:
- simple partner interviews
- “Find Someone Who”
- This or That questions
- Would You Rather questions
- speaking circles
These activities allow every student to experience success immediately. A this or that activity is perfect for beginners, because the language is repetitive and it won’t intimidate them.
2. Build Classroom Community
Students are much more willing to speak French when they feel comfortable with their classmates. If you teach multiple levels, chances are some of your students already know each other, but it’s still a good idea to use some activities that encourage students to learn about their classmates and to share about themselves, too.
Some of my favorite activities are:
- Two Truths and a Lie
- Summer recap
- Class surveys
- Partner rotations
- Group challenges
Building relationships early leads to more participation throughout the year. Students will feel more comfortable, group work will be more fun, and they’ll be more willing to play with the language.
3. Establish Classroom Routines
The first week isn’t only about icebreakers.
It’s also when students learn:
- entering class routines
- how warm-ups work
- classroom expectations
- using French during class
- where materials are kept
The smoother these routines become now, the easier classroom management will be later.
4. Review Without Stress
Even returning students have forgotten a lot over the summer. Teaching FSL? They probably need some time to remember all the vocab they have learned. Teach immersion? Those kids have been at home all summer, probably not speaking much French. Suddenly jumping back into French all day can be pretty exhausting for them!
Instead of giving a traditional test, review through games and conversation.
Here are some ways you can review all the vocab and verbs they have learned:
- vocabulary review in groups
- greeting one another daily and talking about the weather
- practicing everyday classroom expressions
- simple verb review
- Kahoot or Blooket
- partner speaking
This lets you informally assess what students remember. You’ll have plenty of time for quizzes and tests during the year, so don’t rush to do any assessments right now.
5. Introduce French in Meaningful Ways
Rather than spending an hour on the syllabus, weave French into everything. You can pass out your syllabus and refer to important points in it, but as the mom of a teenager who gives his honest opinion about everything, I can tell you that the first day of school is super boring if that’s what every other teacher is doing, too.
Students can practice:
- introducing themselves
- asking names
- talking about summer
- likes and dislikes
- favorite foods
- hobbies
The goal is helping students realize they already know more French than they think.
My First Week Plan
After teaching French for many years, I realized I was recreating my first week every August. I wanted activities that were engaging, low prep, and helped students start speaking French immediately.
That’s why I created my First Week of French Class Activities resource. It includes everything I use during those first few days, including speaking activities, icebreakers, partner work, and community-building tasks that work for both Core French and French immersion classrooms.
See the full first week of French resource here.
What’s Included?
This includes a variety of different activities for the first week of school that can be used across multiple grade levels. With tons of cognates and options for English questions, some of the activities can even be used on the first day of French 1. Teach multiple levels? This is perfect for your classes, because you’ll have so many activities to choose from for an entire week.
You’ll find:
- printable activities
- partner speaking
- getting-to-know-you games
- low-prep activities
- suitable activities for grades 6-12
Students will practice speaking French from day 1 through engaging partner activities, movement-based icebreakers, and simple conversation prompts that require very little preparation.
Check out these posts for more first week ideas
Back to school checklist for French teachers
Building a French classroom community
French classroom management strategies
The first week of French class doesn’t have to be stressful. With a few engaging speaking activities, clear routines, and opportunities for students to connect with one another, you’ll create a classroom where students feel confident using French from the very beginning.
Whether you create your own lessons or use ready-made activities, investing time during the first week pays off for the entire school year.
