Promoting creativity in French lessons. Using storytelling with year 8. Alice Ayel

Year 8: a simple story about the weather and conjunctions. Objective of the lesson: to reinforce weather words in French. to be able to use the conjunctions si and quand. to be able to understand a story about the weather and activities. to be able to write a simple story using weather words and conjunctions.

Starter: to revise words related to the weather. Students repeat the weather words. They then have to guess which picture/weather word is missing.

1) Main part of the lesson: to listen to the story and learn new words. Pupils are told the story (all in French). Pupils do not just listen to the story, they also interact. They are asked: –What is the weather like. –Which activities Mr Snow do. Because the story is quite repetitive, pupils can relate to it as well as the questions asked by the teacher. 8L3 / 8S2 / 8W1

2) Main part of the lesson: to use conjunctions. Students re-read the story and choose the correct word or expression. In pairs, they imagine what Mr Snow would do in other types of weather. They have to use si/quand when speaking. 8S1 / 8S2 / 8S6 / 8L5

3) Main part of the lesson: to write own little story about a Mr or Miss. Students choose a Mr or Miss. They are asked to write their own little story using the weather and conjunctions. Their aim is to achieve level 3-4. More able students can write the story without any help. Less able students need a template with different activity/weather options to help them write their stories. 8T5 / 8T6 / 8T7

Plenary: peer assessment. In pairs, pupils assess each others stories. They also show and read their stories to the whole class. 8L4 /8C4

Objectif: Dire ce quon fait selon le temps quil fait. Utiliser les conjonctions si et quand.

Il manque quel temps???

Monsieur Neige est très content car aujourdhui il neige!!! Quand il neige, Monsieur Neige fait du ski. Ecoute et lis lhistoire de Monsieur Neige :

Mais quand il pleut, Monsieur Neige est triste (( Il sennuie, alors il mange pleins de carottes et il regarde la télé.

Sil fait très froid, Monsieur Neige va au parc et il joue avec les enfants. Après, il rentre à la maison et il boit une grande tasse de thé.

Sil fait trop chaud, Monsieur Neige a peur de fondre !!! Donc, il reste à la maison avec la climatisation au maximum!

Monsieur Neige doit faire très attention aux températures. FIN

Sil neige / pleut, Monsieur Neige fait du ski. Mais sil y a des orages / pleut, Monsieur Neige regarde la télé. Quand il fait froid, il va au parc / au cinéma puis il fait du vélo / rentre à la maison. Mais quand il fait chaud, il reste à la maison / fait de la natation car il a peur de fondre! Relis lhistoire. Copie le texte et choisis la bon mot.

1.Sil y a du brouillard, Monsieur Neige …………….. 2.Quand il y a du vent, il …………………… 3.Quand il y a des orages, il ………………… 4.Sil y a du soleil, il …………………………. Imagine ce que fait Monsieur Neige. Complète les phrases:

Qest-ce que fait Monsieur Neige quand…. il y a du brouillard? il y a du vent? il y a des orages? il y a du soleil? Pose les questions à ton/ta partenaire:

Choisis un Monsieur ou une Madame: Mr Gourmand Mr Accident Mme Chance Mme Timide Mr Atchoum Mme SoleilMr Guili

Invente une histoire sur ton Monsieur ou ta Madame: Utilise des phrases avec le temps quil fait et des activités. Utilise si/quand il y a du soleil/du vent ……, il/elle fait de la natation…….Ajoute des conjonctions: mais / car / parce que….

Plenary What was the objective of the lesson? What activities did you do to achieve the objective? What worked best for you? Now, read your partners story and give him/her a level with a reason why.

Example of stories:

Conclusions: You can find simple French stories on the Internet: Students can extend their vocabulary and include some abstract items. Students are able to gain level 3-4. Little by little – students are able to build up complex sentences using conjunctions and clauses.