Sentence Builders

I've recently started an activity with some of my classes that involves sentence building.  I make a set of words (articles, nouns, verbs, verb endings, etc) that have all the pieces necessary to make sentences.  I give each group a set and have them spread the words out.  Next, I show them a sentence (in English) on the board that they must make in French using the pieces I gave them.  After a few minutes, I will show them the answer.  If they got it right, they get a point.  Most points at the end will win.

I really like this activity, especially with verb conjugation, because it forces them to see the structure of the sentences and specifically the conjugations. It's a bit of work to start, but once you make a set, you can keep re-using them with that unit in future years.  I also have my first group cut out each set to save myself some time.

The kids also enjoy it because it's very kinesthetic and helps them to process sentence structure.  And of course, a little competition never hurts either.

Subjunctive/Indicative Sentence Puzzles

I am currently wrapping up the subjunctive unit with my French 3s, which resolves with being able to know when to use subjunctive vs indicative and how to form said sentences.  About half of my kids get it but the other half still don't understand one part or another.  Some will use the subjunctive even in the trigger phrases (je sois content que tu fasses les devoirs) or don't even get that they have to conjugate those trigger phrases (nous adorer que tu fasses les devoirs).  Others still don't know when to use subjunctive or indicative after the "que" despite having some very clear note sheets on which phrases are subjunctive triggers and which are indicative.

I decided to do an activity with the entire class this morning that really seemed to help it click for the students who were still on the fence.  What I did was I typed up 15 different trigger phrases and 15 different sentence endings.  I cut up the slips and put them in two separate envelopes.  I then wrote SUBJUNCTIVE on one side of the board and INDICATIVE on the other and split it with a line.  Each student picked a slip from each envelope and had to put the sentence together.  Depending on the two subjects or the specific trigger phrase, they had to figure out if it was a subjunctive or indicative sentence and form it accordingly.  Then, once they were done, they wrote their sentence on the board in the correct category.  Once everyone wrote their sentence, we went over them as a class and corrected any errors together.  We were only able to do a couple rounds (it took my 12 person class about 7-8 minutes per round) but it was great to be able to put this stuff together for them.

This was a really fun activity, especially because the possible combinations could potentially be really silly.  The kids really enjoyed it and it definitely helped those who were struggling.

If you would like a free copy of the sentence pieces, CLICK HERE.  It is also part of a bigger subjunctive unit bundle I have on TPT... CLICK HERE to access it.