In a de-streamed French classroom, catering to the diverse needs and learning styles of students can be quite a challenge. After all, we have students who’ve taken Core French throughout elementary school, some students coming from French Immersion, some francophone learners, former home-schooled students and ELL learners with no previous exposure to French, and much more! French enrichment activities become essential to help bridge these proficiency gaps.
In the past, we had designed academic, applied, and open classes where the learning gaps weren’t as noticeable between the learners we were teaching. Now with the one-stream French class, many French teachers are seeking guidance on different meaningful activities for their early finishers. These moments present opportunities for enrichment, consolidation, or further exploration of the French language and its culture. They can also increase engagement, autonomy, and provide a challenge for students who excel academically.
In this blog post, I will highlight a range of engaging enrichment activities that I’ve used in my de-streamed French classes for students who’ve finished their tasks ahead of schedule.
1. Choice Boards
Choice boards provide a fantastic early-finisher activity for learners. They are essentially “learning menus” that offer students a selection of activities and tasks to choose from. They typically are presented in a grid or list format with a variety of options, each representing a different learning activity.
If you are looking for some choice boards, these are the ones that I use with my students. They are also editable and offer simple or more complex choices for students to reinforce their learning. They are a great way to provide differentiation and promote student autonomy. OMLTA also offers some great choice boards that are geared toward Junior FSL so that students can choose their own learning adventure.
If you have extra planning time, I would suggest making choice boards for all your units to offer further consolidation opportunities for students to meet the learning expectations of the unit. Then, you will be able to use them as French enrichment opportunities in the years to come!
2. Independent Reading
I have accumulated a variety of French books in my classroom over the past 8 years of teaching. These books provide an excellent early-finisher activity for students to independently read. If you want to use independent reading as a French enrichment opportunity, I would also suggest that you have a variety of books related to different reading levels. You can encourage students to select a book and do a “novel study” for extra credit.
You can also subscribe to the Mary Glasgow magazines as there are a variety of levels that correspond with the different CEFR levels. These magazines offer a great opportunity for independent reading and you can also choose the articles based on the proficiency level of your students. That way, every learner has the opportunity to feel successful in their reading journey.
3. Cultural Exploration
Providing early finishers with opportunities to delve deeper into Francophone culture is a great opportunity for French enrichment and intercultural awareness. Students can pick a francophone country and learn more about their history, culture, economy, education system, important figures, cuisine, traditions, family life, and more. They could research this country throughout the term and then create a presentation to showcase all of their findings.
I’ve had students research countries such as Togo, Switzerland, Senegal, Gabon, Vietnam, and Laos. Thankfully there are many French-speaking regions and countries around the world to choose from. If you have AP French students, this is the perfect French enrichment opportunity to help them master the cultural comparison when they take the AP French exam later on.
4. Duolingo
Using Duolingo as a French enrichment opportunity for early finishers is another way to leverage technology and provide additional language learning practice. The online learning platform utilizes a gamified approach to language learning, incorporating elements such as rewards, achievements, and progress tracking to keep users motivated and interested.
Early finishers can create a Duolingo account to improve their French proficiency and then you could track their progress and monitor their usage throughout the semester. This could be a great French enrichment opportunity for students to complete at school and home, and also be used for extra credit.
Lyric Training is one of my students’ favorite French enrichment opportunities to complete when they’ve finished work early. Students test their listening comprehension by listening to a francophone song of their choice and filling in the gaps in the song lyrics as fast as they can. They will earn points based on their performance and can compete against others or individually.
Roxxem is a great alternative but it does require a paid annual subscription. You are able to create classes for your students and assign songs, lessons, and games. It will also let you track student performance, which can be extremely useful.
6. Centers
Centers are also a fantastic French enrichment activity to help students enrich their French learning experience. However, they can require some preparation on the teacher’s part. Throughout my years of teaching, I’ve tried to accumulate a variety of French games that students can use to practice their French. If you can also target the games to different learning objectives within your units, that is even better!
Some ideas to get you started are :
- Guess Who – this is a great early-finisher activity for a Je me présente unit when you are teaching about physical descriptions, adjectives, etc.
- Battleship – this early-finisher activity can be used for French verb conjugations or giving directions in French
- Spot-it – this game is a great way to enhance French vocabulary as players compete to find matching symbols between their card and a central card. They earn points for the number of cards they “win”.
- Scattergories – another great French enrichment opportunity to improve French vocabulary. This game can relate to any of your units of study or can be general topics such as food, body parts, clothing, colors, etc.
- Bananagrams – this game is similar to Scrabble and allows students to construct French words based on letter tiles that they draw. This game provides an interactive way for students to improve their French vocabulary in a competitive context
If you pick centers for your students, you will also want to give them a choice and point out that they should be doing these activities in French. By giving students the freedom to choose their centers, you not only promote autonomy and engagement but also create an environment where they can take ownership of their learning experience.
7. Creative Writing Prompts
Stimulate students’ writing skills and creativity by offering a variety of creative writing prompts in French. You can encourage them to write short stories, poems, letters, diary entries, or dialogues based on given themes or scenarios. You can even relate these creative writing prompts to your units of study.
This French enrichment activity will allow students to improve their writing skills, French grammar and put their French vocabulary into context. It also can be simplified by asking an open-ended question (ex. Quel est le métier de tes rêves) and allow students to answer the question in a simplified or complex manner depending on their capabilities.
When students choose this French enrichment option, it is important to also provide them with feedback and opportunities for peer sharing to foster a sense of community and improvement.
8. Virtual Pen Pals
This is another great French enrichment activity for early-finishers but does require the teacher to connect with another francophone teacher in advance. Afterward, students can connect with different French learners or francophone students around the world through a virtual pen pal exchange!
Students would be practicing their writing skills in an authentic context, while making cultural connections. By communicating with peers from diverse backgrounds, students broaden their perspectives and develop empathy, tolerance, and intercultural understanding. This enriching experience fosters language fluency and promotes meaningful connections and friendships across borders.
If you want to start a virtual pen pal program with your students, feel free to connect with teachers on Facebook, Instagram, or even approved websites. If you have a French consultant, you might be able to ask them to arrange this program for you so that you can find the right French pen pals for your students.
Please keep in mind that you would likely need permission from your department head and principal to pursue this French enrichment avenue.
Conclusion: The Power of French Enrichment Activities
In conclusion, French enrichment activities play a vital role in supporting individualized learning and maintaining engagement. By providing a diverse range of activities that cater to different interests, abilities, and learning styles, teachers can ensure that all students have meaningful opportunities to deepen their understanding and appreciation of the French language and culture. These activities not only enrich students’ language skills but also foster creativity, collaboration, intercultural awareness, and critical thinking.
Emily
P.S. What are some French enrichment activities that you use in your classroom? Let me know in the comments!